She Begged a Biker for Help, Not Knowing He Was...

Chapter 3 - The Brother Who Sold Blood

Victor grew impatient.

He came back into the diner with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"This has gone far enough," he said. "My wife is confused. She has been under stress since her mother’s accident."

Cole stood slowly.

"Her mother was my wife."

Victor’s smile faded.

Nora looked up sharply.

Cole did not look away from Victor.

"And Nora is my daughter."

A murmur spread through the diner.

Victor gave a soft laugh.

"That is a touching fantasy."

Cole stepped closer.

"Where is Ray Maddox?"

Victor’s face changed for the first time.

It was quick.

But Cole saw it.

"That name means nothing to me."

"It means enough that you just forgot how to breathe."

Victor’s hand slipped toward his coat.

Cole moved faster.

He slammed Victor against the counter and pinned his wrist before the weapon cleared the pocket. A small black pistol clattered onto the floor. The diner owner kicked it behind the bar.

Nora stood, trembling.

"He always carries one," she said. "He said no one would ever take me from him."

Cole’s voice was low.

"He’s wrong."

Before Victor’s men could break through the door, three motorcycles pulled up outside. The headlights cut through the rain. Men in leather jackets stepped off their bikes and formed a wall in front of the diner.

Cole had not ridden alone in years.

The Black River Riders still answered when he called.

Victor was tied to a chair in the back office.

Cole did not torture him.

He did not need to.

He placed Elena’s letter on the desk and put his phone beside it, already recording.

"Tell me where Ray is."

Victor spat blood from his lip and smiled.

"You think your brother cared about you? Ray hated you. Your father left the garage to you. Elena chose you. The club followed you. He had nothing."

Cole’s face did not move.

"So he sold Elena."

Victor leaned back.

"Ray gave her to people who specialized in making problems disappear. False IDs. Fake debts. Women without families. Elena was supposed to vanish quietly."

Nora covered her mouth.

"But she was pregnant," Victor continued. "That made her valuable. A baby can be used. A woman with a child can be controlled."

Cole’s fist landed against the wall beside Victor’s head.

The wood cracked.

Victor flinched.

"Where is Ray?"

Victor looked toward Nora.

"He came back after Elena died. He said the girl was the last loose end. I told him I could handle my wife."

Nora’s face went pale.

Cole turned to her.

"What happened tonight?"

She hugged herself.

"Victor found the letter. He said my mother had ruined everything even from the grave. Then he said he was taking me somewhere quiet until I became reasonable."

Cole looked back at Victor.

"And Ray?"

Victor smiled weakly.

"He’s waiting at the old Maddox garage."

Cole picked up Elena’s pendant and placed it back around Nora’s neck.

Then he opened the office door.

"Call the sheriff," he told the diner owner. "Tell him Victor Hale tried to abduct his wife and pulled a gun in my diner."

The owner blinked.

"Your diner?"

Cole looked around the old place, the cracked vinyl booths, the coffee stains, the neon sign buzzing against the rain.

Then he looked at Nora.

"Tonight, everything that was lost starts coming home."