Chapter 2: The Voice Behind the Door
For several seconds, I couldn’t hear anything except the blood pounding inside my ears.
The ring sat in my palm, cold and impossibly heavy.
I turned it over.
The scratched Iron Vultures symbol was still there, crooked from years of wear. The blue stone had a thin crack running through one side, exactly where I remembered it.
I had bought that ring in a pawn shop twenty years ago.
Not because it was valuable.
Because Mara had laughed at me for trying to find something that looked like it belonged to a biker queen.
“You’re terrible at romance,” she’d told me.
I had smiled.
“I’m better with engines.””
“You’re better with hiding.””
Those were the last words she said to me before everything fell apart.
Now that same ring was sitting in the hand of a six-year-old girl.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Torque,” he said quietly, “tell me that’s not what I think it is.””
I closed my fingers around the ring.
“It is.””
Marcus stared at Lily.
Then at me.
Then back at the ring.
“Jesus.””
Lily flinched at the word.
Marcus immediately softened.
“Sorry, sweetheart.””
She didn’t respond.
I pulled out a chair from the nearest booth and crouched beside it.
“Lily, sit down.””
She hesitated.
I lowered my voice.
“You’re safe here.””
She slowly climbed onto the seat.
The waitress rushed over with a glass of water.
“Here, honey.””
Lily took it with both hands.
Her fingers were so small they barely wrapped around the glass.
I sat across from her.
The entire diner was watching.
I looked at Marcus.
“Get everybody outside.””
His jaw tightened.
“Everyone?””
“Everyone.””
He understood immediately.
No questions.
Marcus turned toward the club.
“You heard him. Outside.””
Chairs scraped across the floor.
Boots moved.
Leather vests brushed against the doorways.
The patrons began whispering again, but Marcus gave them one hard look and they went quiet.
Within moments, the diner was almost empty.
Just me.
Lily.
Marcus.
The waitress.
And the hum of an old refrigerator behind the counter.
I looked at Lily.
“Your mother’s name is Mara, right?””
She nodded.
“Mara.””
Hearing the name out loud nearly knocked the air out of me.
The waitress looked from Lily to me.
“You know her?””
I didn’t answer.
Marcus did.
“He knew her a long time ago.””
The waitress frowned.
“How long?””
“Twenty years,” I said.
Lily lifted her eyes.
“She said you would remember.””
“I do.””
“She said you might be mad.””
My chest tightened.
“Why would I be mad at her?””
Lily shrugged.
“She said grown-ups get angry when they find out the truth.””
Marcus leaned against the counter.
“What truth?””
Lily looked at him.
“I don’t know.””
That answer was so simple it almost hurt.
I stared down at the ring.
“Where is your mother now?””
Lily’s face changed.
Fear replaced the little bit of confidence she’d been holding.
“She told me not to go back.””
“Why?””
“She said they were looking for us.””
Marcus straightened.
“Who?””
Lily shook her head.
“I don’t know their names.””
“Did you see them?””
She nodded.
“How many?””
She held up three fingers.
“Three men.””
“What did they want?””
“My mama.””
“And you?””
Lily looked down at the table.
“They said they wanted me too.””
The room seemed to shrink.
Marcus cursed under his breath.
I leaned forward.
“Lily, did they hurt your mother?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know.””
That was worse than yes.
I carefully reached across the table.
“Tell me exactly what happened.””
She wiped her face with the back of her hand.
“We were at home.””
“Where?””
“An old house.””
“Where is the house?””
She looked toward the window.
“Near the mountains.””
“That’s not enough.””
Lily swallowed.
“Mama packed a bag.””
“When?””
“Yesterday.””
My chair creaked as I leaned closer.
“Yesterday?””
She nodded.
“She told me we were going on a trip.””
“Did you leave together?””
“Yes.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Then where did you separate?””
Lily’s voice became almost a whisper.
“At a gas station.””
I stood.
“What?””
“She said I had to stay inside.””
Marcus moved closer.
“Torque—”
I held up a hand.
“Let her talk.””
Lily continued.
“Mama gave me money and the ring.””
“Why the ring?””
“She said you would know what it meant.””
I stared at the silver circle.
“What happened after she gave it to you?””
“She hugged me.””
Lily’s lip trembled.
“Then she said, ‘Find Torque.’”
“And?””
“She told me not to trust the police.””
Marcus went still.
The waitress stopped wiping the counter.
I felt something cold settle in my stomach.
“Did she tell you why?””
Lily nodded.
“She said one of the bad men wore a badge.””
Nobody spoke.
Outside, an engine started.
Then another.
The Iron Vultures were waiting.
I sat back down.
“What happened after that?””
“A lady came to the gas station.””
“What lady?””
“She said she knew my mama.””
“Did you go with her?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Mama told me not to go with anyone.””
For the first time, I almost smiled.
“She listened.””
Lily nodded seriously.
“I’m good at listening.””
“I can see that.””
She gave me the smallest smile.
Then it disappeared.
“I waited.””
“How long?””
“Until it got dark.””
My jaw clenched.
“You were alone at a gas station all night?””
Lily nodded.
“Then I remembered what Mama said.””
“What?””
“‘The Dusty Spur. Ask for the man with the silver tooth.’”
Marcus looked confused.
I reached up and touched the old silver cap on one of my back teeth.
Lily pointed at me.
“You have one.””
I looked at Marcus.
He stared at me.
“You’ve got to be kidding.””
I ignored him.
“And you came here?””
“Today.””
“How?””
Lily glanced toward the parking lot.
“Truck.””
“What truck?””
“Blue one.””
“Who drove it?””
“A man.””
“Do you know him?””
“No.””
“Where is he now?””
She pointed toward the front windows.
“Outside.””
I turned sharply.
Marcus was already moving.
He reached the door, pulled it open, and looked across the parking lot.
Nothing.
Only motorcycles.
Cars.
Sunlight.
The empty road.
Marcus stepped back inside.
“He’s gone.””
Lily suddenly grabbed my sleeve.
Her voice cracked.
“He was waiting.””
“Who?””
“The man in the truck.””
“What did he look like?””
She closed her eyes, trying to remember.
“Big.””
“How big?””
“Like you.””
“Beard?””
She shook her head.
“Hat?””
“No.””
“What did he wear?””
“A black jacket.””
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“Could be anybody.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
I knew that description.
Not because it was unique.
Because I had seen the same jacket two hours earlier.
At the edge of the highway.
Watching our bikes roll toward the diner.
I walked to the front window.
The parking lot shimmered under the afternoon sun.
Two hundred motorcycles stood in rows.
People moved between them.
But beyond the lot, near the road, I noticed something.
A cigarette butt.
Fresh.
Next to a tire track.
I stared at it.
Someone had been waiting here.
Someone had known I would come.
My cell phone buzzed.
Everyone froze.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
Nothing.
Only breathing.
Slow.
Controlled.
Familiar.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Who is this?””
Still nothing.
Then a woman whispered my name.
“Rylan.””
My heart stopped.
Marcus looked at me.
Lily climbed down from the booth.
The voice came again, softer this time.
“You found my daughter.””
I pressed the phone against my ear.
“Mara?””
A shaky breath came through the speaker.
“Listen to me.””
“Mara, where are you?””
“Don’t come looking for me.””
I stepped toward the window.
“Where are you?””
“You need to get Lily out of that diner.””
“Why?””
There was silence.
Then three words.
“They found you.””
May you like
The line went dead.
And from somewhere outside The Dusty Spur, a motorcycle engine suddenly roared to life.
