“Name's Darren Pike.”
Mason said nothing.
Darren smiled.
“You're Wolf.”
It wasn't a question.
Mason's eyes narrowed.
“How do you know that?”
“People talk.”
“What do they say?”
“That you're dangerous.”
Mason leaned back.
“People exaggerate.”
Darren's smile disappeared.
“I just want the girl.”
Mason looked at Emma.
Then back at Darren.
“No.”
Darren's jaw tightened.
“She belongs with her family.”
“Then call her mother.”
Silence.
Darren's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Mason noticed.
“So you know Rachel,” Mason said.
Darren didn't answer.
“You know she's alive.”
Still nothing.
Mason stood.
“Why did everybody tell me she died?”
Darren took one step forward.
“This isn't your business.”
Mason's voice remained calm.
“Everything changed when you walked into my brother's life.”
Darren stared at him.
Then he smiled again.
“You don't know what happened.”
“No.”
Mason glanced at Emma.
“But I'm going to find out.”
Darren looked toward the little girl.
“Emma.”
She recoiled.
That was enough.
Mason stepped between them.
“You're leaving.”
Darren's face hardened.
“You think a leather vest makes you sheriff?”
“No.”
Mason's eyes stayed fixed on him.
“I think a terrified nine-year-old is enough reason to ask questions.”
Darren's hand moved.
Not toward a weapon.
Toward his phone.
He held it up.
“One call.”
Mason didn't move.
Darren's voice lowered.
“You have no idea what you're stepping into.”
Mason answered quietly.
“Neither do you.”
Behind him, Millie picked up the phone.
She dialed 911.
Darren heard it.
His face changed.
He turned and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he looked at Emma.
“This isn't over.”
The door closed.
The bell jingled.
Nobody spoke.
Then Emma whispered:
“He lied.”
Mason turned.
“About what?”
“He said my mother was dead too.”
Rachel
The police arrived seventeen minutes later.
Deputy Aaron Miles entered first.
He knew Millie.
He knew half the bikers.
And he knew Mason.
That made the situation easier.
It also made it more complicated.
Because Aaron's expression changed when Mason handed him the photograph.
“Where did you get this?”
“Emma.”
Aaron looked at the girl.
“Who is she?”
Mason answered.
“Her name is Emma Callahan.”
Aaron's eyebrows lifted.
“Callahan?”
“My brother's daughter.”
Aaron stared at him.
“Your brother Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“Daniel's dead.”
“I know.”
“And Rachel died with him.”
Mason shook his head.
“That's what I was told.”
Aaron looked at Emma.
The child stood beside Millie, holding a glass of water with both hands.
“Where's your mother?”
“At home.”
“Where is home?”
Emma hesitated.
“Near Benton.”
Aaron crouched.
“Can you give me an address?”
Emma nodded.
Then stopped.
“He'll know.”
“Who?”
“Darren.”
Aaron exchanged a look with Mason.
“What does Darren do?”
Emma looked down.
“He works for people.”
“What people?”
“I don't know.”
Mason crouched beside her.
“Emma, listen to me.”
She looked up.
“If your mother is in danger, we need to know where she is.”
Emma's eyes filled again.
“She told me not to trust the police.”
Aaron didn't react.
Mason did.
“Why?”
“Because Darren said he had friends.”
Aaron sighed.
“That doesn't tell us much.”
Mason stood.
“I'll go.”
Aaron looked at him.
“No.”
“I know the area.”
“No.”
“I know how to get there.”
“You're not going to a potentially dangerous house with thirty bikers behind you.”
Caleb raised his hand.
“Technically, we have thirty-two.”
Aaron glared.
Caleb lowered it.
Mason looked at Aaron.
“I'll go alone.”
“No.”
“Then you're going?”
Aaron hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Mason grabbed his vest.
Emma stepped forward.
“I want to come.”
“No.”
“You need me.”
Mason looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because my mother won't open the door unless she hears my voice.”
The sentence landed heavily.
Aaron nodded slowly.
“We'll take her.”
Mason looked at him.
“You sure?”
“She may be the only person Rachel trusts.”
The convoy left twenty minutes later.
Aaron's cruiser in front.
Mason behind him.
Then three motorcycles.
Not thirty.
Mason had made that clear.
This wasn't a show.
It was a rescue.
The road to Benton narrowed as they left the highway.
Pine trees closed around them.
Emma sat in the back seat of Aaron's cruiser.
Mason followed in the black Road King.
After nearly forty minutes, Emma suddenly pointed.
“There.”
Aaron slowed.
A small farmhouse appeared beyond a line of trees.
The front door stood open.
One window was broken.
Mason stopped his motorcycle.
His stomach tightened.
Aaron drew his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
They approached.
“Rachel?” Aaron called.
No answer.
Inside, the house was cold.
The kitchen table was overturned.
A cup lay broken on the floor.
A child's backpack sat beside the stairs.
Emma ran forward.
“Mom!”
Mason caught her before she reached the hallway.
“Wait.”
A noise came from upstairs.
Three slow knocks.
Then silence.
Mason looked at Aaron.
Aaron nodded.
They moved.
The bedroom door was locked.
“Rachel?”
Nothing.
Emma began crying.
“Mom!”
A voice came from inside.
“Emma?”
The little girl screamed.
“Mom!”
Mason stepped back.
Aaron broke the lock.
Rachel Callahan was lying on the floor.
Alive.
Bruised.
Weak.
But alive.
She looked at Mason.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then she whispered:
“Daniel's brother.”
Mason swallowed.
“Rachel.”
She closed her eyes.
“I knew you'd come eventually.”
Mason knelt.
“You told everyone you were dead.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
Rachel looked toward Emma.
“Because Darren wasn't the worst part.”
Mason's expression hardened.
“What was?”
Rachel reached for his hand.
Her fingers were cold.
“Daniel didn't die in an accident.”
Mason froze.
“He was murdered.”
Eleven Years of Lies
The truth came in pieces.
Rachel was taken to the hospital.
Emma went with her.
Mason stayed in the waiting room until two in the morning.