Jackal tried to reach over the counter and take the stool away, but he had to dodge it when Max swung it at him. Ice and Max fell backward into the wall, leaving a massive hole in the plaster.

“I’m going to kill the motherfucker then piss on him!” Max roared in fury.

“You should have told us you changed your mind about sharing her.” Snake staggered to his feet, holding his broken nose. He froze when Max broke away from Ice.

“Run!” Jackal and Ice both yelled as Max charged forward.

Stump turned, running for his life.

“Shit!” Jackal ran to Ice’s office when Max caught Stump by his long braid, jerking him off his feet. Max felt the skin on his knuckles split when he bashed his fist against Stump’s mouth.

A shock of electricity coursed through his body, knocking him to the floor.

“That’s enough, Jackal!” Ice ordered. “Fade, knock him out as soon as Jackal stops!”

“Fuck, no! I’m not going near that crazy fucker.”

Ice took the gun Fade tossed him, going to Max who was trying to get up. He slammed the gun down on the back of his neck, and Max fell back to the floor, unconscious.

“Hurry. Tie him up and toss him on his bed before he comes to,” Ice ordered, wiping the blood away from the corner of his mouth.

“Do we have to? I don’t want to be near him if he comes to before we can tie his hands.” Fade cautiously moved closer with a couple of brothers sliding behind him as backup.

“Jackal, bring the SUV to the front. We have to get some of them to the ER.”

They ended up taking two vehicles. Once there, they blamed their injuries on bike crashes.

“They all wrecked their bikes?” the nurse quizzed Ice as she noted their injuries.

“Yeah, they were hit by a semi.”

Chapter 23

Max banged on Casey’s door. He was fed up with her ignoring his calls and not answering when he came by her apartment. It had been three days, and they needed to talk to get things settled between them.

“Can I help you?” Max dropped his fist from the door, turning to see the dark-skinned woman he recognized from the bank Casey worked at.

“I’m trying to get Casey to open her door.” He knew she wasn’t at work, since the bank had a large sign outside stating it was closed for repairs and directing the customers to another branch.

“She’s not there.” The attractive woman stepped forward. “I’m Gianna, a friend of Casey’s. You’re her stepbrother, Max, aren’t you?”

He gave an abrupt nod.

She held up the key in her hand, inserting it into the lock and opening the door.

Max went inside the eerily quiet apartment. He went through the rooms, checking to make sure she wasn’t there, before returning to the living room where Gianna was standing with a somber expression on her face.

“Where is she?”

Gianna placed her purse on the kitchen counter, tilting her head to the side. “You don’t know?”

Max shook his head.

“Casey’s moved away. She came by my house two days ago and gave me the key to her apartment.” Sadly, she stared around the apartment. “She asked me if I would clean out her apartment and sell everything then give the money to her mother.”

Max had expected to find Casey and have a massive fight before making up, not to find her gone. He looked around the living room before going back into her bedroom. Opening her drawers, he found her clothes still inside. She had even left her cell phone on the nightstand. Picking it up, he slid it into his pocket before going back into the other room.

“Do you know where she was going?”

She shook her head. “She wouldn’t tell me…” Her voice broke off. “She just said she was leaving town after she gave her statement to the police.”

She had left town without taking one item with her as far as he could tell. The only things gone were the pictures of her and Cole that had hung on her wall.

“Thank you. If you hear from her, will you give me a call?” Max went into Casey’s kitchen where she kept a pad of paper and a pen. Scrawling his number down, he handed the slip of paper to Gianna.

“I’m going to miss her,” Gianna said, slipping the paper into her purse. “She talked to the head branch so I could be trained as the president when the bank reopens. She could have given that job to anyone, but she made sure it was locked in place for me.”

Max’s hands clenched by his side.

“If she contacts you, call me,” he reminded her.

“I will, but Max, I don’t think she will. There was something wrong. She wouldn’t tell me what it was… I tried to talk to her, but Casey’s never been one to let anyone get too close.”

Max knew Casey didn’t have many friends, but he had believed she had someone she would confide in. Gianna had dispelled that illusion.

There was only one person who had the information he needed, and it was long overdue for them to have a talk.

* * *

“Where is she?” Max asked his stepmother as she painted her fingernails.

“Who?” Renee looked up at him from her seat on the couch.

Max retained his temper out of respect to his father, who was standing next to him after letting him inside.

“Casey? Where is she?”

“How would I know? I haven’t seen her in months, not since she tried to get the Predators arrested.” She finished painting one hand and waved it in the air. “Have you tried calling her?”

“Yes, she’s not answering her calls. Casey asked her friend to sell all her things and to give you the money.”

The greedy excitement in her eyes before she concealed her expression disgusted Max. How could the woman not be concerned for her daughter, who had disappeared without a trace?

“Where would she go?”

“How should I know? She never tells me shit.” Renee shrugged. “Casey will turn up.” She began painting her other hand. “Don’t worry about her. She knows how to take care of herself.”

Max wanted to shake the woman; instead, he went outside to stand on the porch.

“I’ll talk to her and find out if she has any idea where Casey could be,” Mugg said, coming outside to stand next to him.

“Find out what you can. If I talk to her any longer…” Max took a good look at his father’s worn expression. “Everything okay?”

“We’re not exactly getting along right now. Renee bought an expensive ring I told her we couldn’t afford. I barely have enough to pay the bills this month.”

“I could help,” he offered.

“Not going to take money from my son again. If she doesn’t take it back, I’m leaving. Ice said I could stay at the clubhouse.”

“You talked to Ice and not me?”

“You’ve had a lot on your mind lately. Didn’t want to trouble you with my problems with Renee. She’ll take the ring back.” Max heard the doubt in his father’s words.

“If you change your mind, I have a few bucks I could let you have,” Max offered again, seeing the stubborn pride that would keep his father from accepting any help from him.

“No, thanks. Don’t worry, Max. Either she takes the ring back, or I’m leaving.” Mugg gave him a wry smile. “I’m too old to let a woman destroy me. Sometimes, you have to know when to walk away.”