"He saw something."
"He always sees something."
They followed the trail toward the industrial district.
Boone called.
"I got the plate."
"What is it?"
"KV7-4812."
"Who?"
"Marcus Webb."
Wade went silent.
"Who is that?" Cal asked.
Boone answered.
"Former sergeant-at-arms of the Cobalt Reapers."
Cal gripped the wheel.
"Where?"
"I traced the truck to a machine shop on Fulton Road."
Cal turned the truck around.
Twenty minutes later, they found it.
A gray Ford pickup sat behind a chain-link fence.
The plate read:
KV7-4812.
Cal wanted to run inside.
Wade stopped him.
"Look first."
Cal crossed the street.
The gate was chained but unlocked.
Inside the building, the smell hit him.
Motor oil.
Solvent.
Brake fluid.
He pushed open the door.
The shop was mostly dark.
Then he saw him.
Jace.
Sitting on a wooden crate.
Alive.
Cold.
His backpack beside him.
Cal nearly collapsed.
He crossed the room and dropped to his knees.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
Jace nodded.
Cal pulled him into his arms.
For several seconds, the boy resisted.
Then he broke.
Not crying.
Shaking.
Cal held him tighter.
"Never do this again."
Jace nodded.
Then he opened his notebook.
"I found something."
Cal stared.
Jace had drawn a map.
The Iron Veil clubhouse.
The storage garage.
The machine shop.
An arrow connected them.
Then there were two names.
Gray Truck Man.
And:
Elias.
But between them was a dotted line.
Not certainty.
A question.
Jace had written:
Gray truck man was inside our garage. Used same door Elias uses. Knew cameras were off.
Cal stared at the page.
"How did you find this?"
"I saw him Tuesday."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wasn't sure."
Jace continued.
"I looked up the plate."
"How?"
"Boone's computer."
Cal almost laughed from disbelief.
His son had been investigating using Boone's records.
Then Jace said:
"I knew everyone was going to blame Dane."
Cal closed his eyes.
The boy was right.
Again.
Boone called.
He had discovered something else.
"Marcus Webb worked at Holston Freight three years ago."
Cal looked at Jace.
"That's where Elias works."
The pieces came together.
Webb knew Elias.
Webb knew the clubhouse.
Webb knew the cameras were down.
And Elias, exhausted and isolated, had been manipulated.
He hadn't knowingly betrayed the club.
He had simply been weakened until someone else could use his weakness.
Cal took Jace outside.
Wade saw them.
The older man's face broke for one brief second.
Then he hugged the boy.
"Never scare us like that again."
Jace nodded.
They returned to the clubhouse.
A black truck waited outside.
Inside sat a man Cal had never seen.
Tall.
Thin.
Gray beard.
Cobalt Reapers patch.
He introduced himself.
"Cole Maddox."
President of the Cobalt Reapers.
Maddox explained everything.
Marcus Webb had gone rogue.
He had manipulated Elias.
He had sabotaged Rhett's motorcycle.
His plan was to destabilize the Iron Veil and take over their legitimate repair contracts.
Dane had nothing to do with it.
Elias had been used.
And Marcus Webb was still out there.
Maddox had a tracker on Webb's truck.
The location was south of Winslow.
A salvage yard.
Rhett stepped forward.
"Let's go."
Cal stopped him.
"Not for revenge."
Rhett looked at him.
"Then what?"
"To end this."
Wade nodded.
"We go together."
Six Harleys and a Verdict
By sunset, the Iron Veil was ready.
Six motorcycles stood in the freezing lot.
Engines warmed.
Exhaust rolled into the air.
Cal looked at Jace.
The boy was wrapped in a wool blanket.
"You stay with Mrs. Tierney."
Jace nodded.
Cal crouched beside him.
"I need you to understand something."
"What?"
"You were brave."
Jace looked down.
"And stupid."
The boy almost smiled.
"Both can be true."
Cal continued.
"You are eleven. You're not a soldier. You're not a detective. You don't have to protect grown men."
Jace swallowed.
"What if you don't come back?"
The question hit Cal harder than anything else had.
"Your mother said she'd come back."
Cal's face changed.
"But I'm not your mother."
He placed both hands on Jace's shoulders.
"I'm your father."
Jace stared at him.
"I come back."
The boy nodded.
Cal touched his forehead to Jace's.
Then he left.
The riders moved south.
Wade led.
Cal followed.
Rhett rode beside Boone.
Garrett and Lyle brought up the rear.
Maddox followed in his truck with Pike.
The highway stretched beneath a darkening sky.
The cold was brutal.
But nobody slowed.
After forty-seven minutes, they reached the salvage yard.