Chapter 3: Four Bikers and a Broken Promise
The message stayed in Jackson's mind long after the SUV disappeared.
Bring the ledger by six, or she dies.
He had faced men who threatened his life before. Most had wanted money, revenge, or the satisfaction of watching someone else break.
Victor Sloane was different.
He knew where to find the wounds that had never healed.
And now he had found a way to use an eight-year-old girl to reopen every one of them.
“Get her inside,” Jackson ordered.
The four men moved quickly, escorting Emily into a small roadside office attached to a motorcycle repair shop owned by Marcus's longtime friend. The shop stood several miles from the diner, tucked behind a row of pecan trees and a weather-beaten fence.
The owner, a gray-haired man named Frank, unlocked the side entrance and took one look at the child.
“What's going on, Jackson?””
“Family trouble.””
Frank glanced at the three other bikers, then at Emily.
He didn't ask another question.
“Back room's empty. There's a couch, bottled water, and a bathroom. I'll lock the front gate.””
Emily stopped in the doorway.
“Will you stay with me?””
Jackson's expression softened.
“I'm not going anywhere.””
Frank led them into the back room. It smelled of machine oil, old leather, and coffee that had been sitting on a hot plate too long. A box fan rattled in the corner.
Cole found a clean blanket and placed it over the couch.
Emily sat down but kept both feet planted firmly on the floor.
“Can I ask you something?”” she whispered.
“Anything,” Jackson said.
“Did Daddy know he was going to die?””
The question seemed to take the air from the room.
Jackson sat on the edge of the workbench opposite her.
“I don't know, sweetheart.””
“But you were his friend.””
“I was.””
“Then why didn't you save him?””
Ryder turned away.
Marcus stared at the floor.
Cole closed his eyes.
Jackson had been expecting anger. Fear. Maybe a demand that he promise to bring her mother back.
He hadn't expected the question that had haunted him for nine years, spoken by the one person who had every right to ask it.
“I should have answered his call,” Jackson said.
Emily tilted her head.
“What call?””
Jackson rubbed his palms against his jeans.
“Your daddy and I argued the night he died. He called me afterward. Twice. I was angry, so I didn't answer.””
“Why were you angry?””
“Because I thought he was making a mistake. I thought I knew better than he did.””
“Did you?””
Jackson looked at the little girl.
“No.””
The room fell silent.
Then Emily asked, “Did Daddy think you didn't love him?””
Jackson's eyes burned.
“I hope not.””
She studied him for a moment before looking down at the photograph in her lap.
“Mommy says people can love you and still make bad choices.””
Jackson nodded slowly.
“Your mommy sounds like a wise woman.””
“She says Daddy was trying to protect people. But sometimes he got scared, too.””
Ryder turned back.
“Daniel scared? That's a new one.””
Emily's face brightened faintly.
“He used to check under my bed for monsters. Every night. Even when he was working late, he would call Mommy and tell her to check.””
A broken laugh escaped Cole.
“That sounds like Daniel.””
Emily looked up.
“You knew him when I was a baby?””
“We knew him before you were born,” Cole replied.
“Did he talk about me?””
“Every chance he got,” Ryder said.
The words came out so quickly that everyone looked at him.
Ryder crouched beside the couch.
“Your daddy once spent an entire afternoon showing us pictures of a tiny pair of pink shoes he bought for you. You weren't even born yet. He was so proud of those shoes that he made us look at them about twenty times.””
Emily's lips parted.
“He bought me shoes?””
“He did.””
“Were they pretty?””
“Ridiculously pretty,” Ryder said.
“Little white sneakers with pink laces. Your dad said you were going to be the toughest kid in Texas, but you still needed good shoes.””
For a few seconds, Emily looked like an ordinary child hearing a funny story about her father.
Then she pressed the photograph against her chest.
“I wish I remembered him.””
Nobody knew what to say.
Marcus finally pulled up a chair.
“We're going to help you get some answers, Emily. But we need to understand what Victor wants. Your mother mentioned a ledger?””
Emily nodded.
“She said Daddy had a book with names in it. She said some people would do anything to get it.””
“Did she tell you where it was?”” Marcus asked.
Emily shook her head.
“She gave me the key. She said Daddy left it somewhere that only his brothers could find.””
Ryder held up the brass key.
“Locker 317.””
Cole frowned.
“Could be a storage facility. Could be a locker at the old garage.””
Jackson studied the key's stamped number.
“Daniel used to rent a storage unit outside Austin. He kept tools there when the club was moving between garages.””
“Do you remember the address?”” Marcus asked.
“Not the number. But I remember the place.””
Marcus took out his phone.
“Then we verify it before we go anywhere near it.””
He called Frank into the room and asked him to help arrange a safe place for Emily to remain while they investigated. They agreed that she would not be left alone, and no one would take her anywhere without confirming the destination with Jackson and Marcus through a trusted, separate channel.
When Frank returned with a plate of sandwiches, Emily stared at the food.
“You should eat something,” Cole said.
“I'm not hungry.””
“I understand. But even superheroes need lunch.””
Emily glanced at his tattooed arms.
“Are you a superhero?””
Cole considered the question.
“Not officially. I tried to get the paperwork, but the government said my motorcycle was too loud.””
A tiny laugh slipped out of her.
It was brief, fragile, and almost immediately swallowed by worry.
But the four men heard it.
And each of them silently made the same promise.
They would protect that laugh.
Whatever it cost.
At 5:02 p.m., Marcus returned from the front office with a notepad.
“Frank has a friend checking the storage records. We're not going in blind.””
Ryder paced beside the workbench.
“We don't have time to wait for every record in Texas. Victor gave us less than an hour.””
“We're not handing him a ledger we haven't even found,” Marcus replied.
“And we're not walking into a trap because you're impatient.””
Ryder turned sharply.
“You think I'm the one being reckless?””
“I think Victor wants us to forget how to think.””
“Then stop talking and help me figure out how to get Daniel's daughter and her mother back.””
“Both of them,” Jackson said firmly.
“We're getting both of them back.””
Ryder looked at him.
“You believe Daniel is alive?””
Jackson hesitated.
The note had been written in Daniel's hand, but it could have been old. Victor's threat suggested he knew about the ledger, but that didn't prove Daniel had survived the fire.
“I believe someone lied to us,” Jackson said.
“Until we know who and why, we assume nothing.””
A knock sounded at the side door.
Everyone froze.
Frank called from the front office.
“Jackson? There's someone here asking for you.””
Jackson reached for the heavy flashlight lying on the bench.
“Who?””
“A woman. Says her name is Denise Carter.””
Emily sprang to her feet.
“Mommy?””
She ran toward the door, but Jackson gently caught her around the shoulders.
“Wait, sweetheart.””
“That's my mommy! I know her name!””
“I know. Let me make sure it's safe first.””
He exchanged a glance with Marcus, who moved toward the doorway while Ryder stayed beside Emily.
Marcus checked the narrow window.
A woman stood outside wearing a gray hoodie, dark jeans, and one muddy sneaker. Her hair was tangled, and a bruise darkened one cheek.
She looked exhausted.
But she was standing on her own.
“Denise?”” Marcus called through the closed door.
The woman looked up.
“Where's my daughter?””
Her voice cracked.
Jackson unlocked the door, keeping himself between the woman and the room until he could see her hands clearly.
“Are you Denise Carter?””
“Yes.””
“Can you tell me your daughter's name?””
“Emily Rose Carter. She's eight. She has a little scar on her right knee from falling off a scooter, and she still sleeps with a stuffed rabbit she calls Captain.””
Emily gasped.
“Mommy!””
Jackson stepped aside.
Denise rushed into the room and dropped to her knees. Emily collided with her so hard that both nearly fell backward.
“Oh, baby,” Denise sobbed, holding her daughter against her chest.
“Oh, my baby. I thought I'd never see you again.””
Emily buried her face in her mother's neck.
“He said he was going to take me!””
“I know. I know, sweetheart. I'm here.””
“You said to find Daddy's friends.””
Denise looked over Emily's head at the four men.
Her eyes settled on Jackson.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Denise whispered, “You look older.””
Jackson let out a breath that was almost a laugh.
“You look like you've been through hell.””
“I have.””
Ryder crouched beside them.
“Where's Victor?””
Denise's expression tightened.
“He thinks I'm still in the car he arranged for me. I jumped out when his driver stopped at a gas station.””
Marcus frowned.
“Why would he let you ride alone?””
“He didn't. I was supposed to be locked in the back seat.””
Her hands trembled as she smoothed Emily's hair.
“He wants the ledger. He's convinced Daniel hid it somewhere before the fire.””
Jackson took a step closer.
“Denise, I need you to tell us everything you know about that night.””
She looked at Emily.
“Not in front of her.””
“Mommy,” Emily whispered, “they know about Daddy.””
Denise closed her eyes.
Then she looked directly at Jackson.
“There's something I should have told you nine years ago.””
The room went silent.
Denise carefully removed the little girl's arms from around her neck and held both her hands.
“Emily, sweetheart, why don't you sit with Cole for a minute? I need to talk to your uncles.””
Emily hesitated.
“Are you going to leave again?””
Denise kissed her forehead.
“Not if I can help it.””
Cole guided Emily toward the couch and offered her another sandwich.
When the child was out of earshot, Denise faced the four men.
“Daniel didn't die in that fire,” she said.
Ryder's face went rigid.
“Then where the hell has he been?””
Denise's eyes filled with tears.
“He was there when the building burned. He got out, but he was badly injured. Victor's men found him before the ambulance arrived.””
Jackson felt his heart pounding.
“Why didn't he come home?””
“Because Victor told him that if he contacted us, he would kill me and the baby.””
“Daniel knew about Emily?”” Cole asked.
Denise nodded.
“He knew she was a girl. He knew her name. He saw pictures of her.””
Jackson gripped the edge of the workbench.
“Then he was alive all these years?””
“Yes.””
“Where is he now?””
Denise's face crumpled.
“I don't know.””
The answer was barely audible.
She wiped her cheeks and continued.
“Three weeks ago, I received a package. Inside was a photograph of Daniel, taken recently. He looked older, thinner, but he was alive. There was a note telling me to find the ledger and bring it to Victor.””
Marcus leaned forward.
“What happened after that?””
“Victor came to my apartment. He said Daniel had escaped and that he was looking for Emily. He claimed Daniel was dangerous now, that he had become someone we wouldn't recognize.””
Ryder shook his head.
“Victor has been lying to you.””
“I know that now.”” Denise glanced toward Emily.
“But then he showed me something.””
She reached inside her hoodie and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
It was a photograph of a man standing behind a wire fence.
His hair was longer. His face was thinner. A dark scar ran along his jaw.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
Daniel Carter.
On the back, someone had written a date and a location.
*TONIGHT. 6:00 P.M. CARTER GARAGE. COME ALONE.*
Jackson stared at the picture.
“Where did you get this?””
“It was inside the package.””
“Why didn't you bring it to us sooner?””
“Because Victor told me he was watching every person who had ever known Daniel. I didn't know who I could trust.””
Denise's gaze shifted to the little girl on the couch.
“I only came here because I found something in the lining of Daniel's old jacket. Something I should have found years ago.””
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny memory card.
“Victor doesn't just want the ledger,” she whispered.
“He's afraid of what's on this.””
Marcus stared at the card.
“What is it?””
Denise shook her head.
“I haven't opened it. But Daniel left me a message with it.””
Jackson's voice dropped.
“What message?””
Denise looked at the four men, one by one.
“He said that if Victor ever came for Emily, I should find you and tell you the truth.””
Her voice broke.
“He said one of you already knows why he had to disappear.””
Ryder stiffened.
“Which one?””
Denise looked straight at Jackson.
Then she said the words that made his blood turn cold.
“Daniel said you were the only man who could explain why the garage was locked from the outside the night it burned.””
Jackson stopped breathing.
Because he remembered the lock.
He remembered reaching the garage and finding the side door chained shut.
And he remembered one other thing.
A key in his own pocket.
A key Daniel had given him three days before the fire.
A key Jackson had never admitted possessing.
Before he could speak, a phone began vibrating on the workbench.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Jackson answered.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a man's weak, distorted voice whispered through the speaker.
“Jackson?””
Every muscle in Jackson's body locked.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it in a hundred memories, a thousand dreams, and every nightmare that followed the funeral.
“Daniel?”” Jackson whispered.
A ragged breath came through the phone.
“Listen to me. You have to get Emily away from the garage.””
Jackson gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“Where are you? Are you alive?””
“There's no time.”” Daniel coughed, and something crashed in the background.
“Victor knows Denise escaped. He's coming for the girl.””
Jackson looked toward the couch.
Emily was watching him.
“Daniel, tell me where you are!””
A pause.
Then Daniel spoke again, his voice breaking.
“Brother, I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth years ago.””
Jackson closed his eyes.
“What truth?””
The answer came in a whisper.
“The night of the fire, you didn't just leave me behind.””
A loud bang erupted through the phone.
Daniel gasped.
Then his voice returned, terrified and urgent.
May you like
“Jackson, you were the one who locked the door.””
The call went dead.
