“They moved away after the fire, and I didn’t see her again for years until she changed high schools sophomore year. I believe her mother married a man named Mason, and that was why she switched schools. Sawyer and I tried to become friendly with her, but other than saying hi in the hall, we never talked much. It was always her and Cole. Even when he had girlfriends, Cole would let her tag along. Her brother was a year older than her, but when he graduated, Casey still kept to herself. I don’t believe she had any friends.

“One day, a couple of girls were picking on her, so Sawyer and I broke it up. We told her she should go to the principal’s office, but she wouldn’t. She said that, as soon as Cole found a job, he was coming back for her. He never did. She graduated a year later, and I didn’t see her again until the night of the concert. I’ve always regretted that I didn’t make more of an effort to become friends with her.”

“She never said why Cole didn’t come back?”

“No, but a few months later, she missed a week of school. Casey never missed. When she came back, she was even more withdrawn. I offered her my notebook to copy.” Vida shook her head, laughing.

“What?” Max prompted.

“Nothing. I gave her my notebook. I felt stupid offering her the notes. I was an average student, while Casey was smart. She graduated as valedictorian. She flipped through my notes then handed them back to me. It hurt my feelings because I thought they weren’t good enough for her. I started apologizing, but she stopped me. She didn’t need to make notes—Casey had a photographic memory. At first, I didn’t believe her, but I think she saw I was hurt, so she opened the notebook and repeated everything on the first page, word for word. It was amazing. I wish I could do that.”

“Me, too. That would be awesome.” Maxie swung her legs back and forth. “Casey was awesome.” Maxie lowered her head, looking up at him from under her lashes. “She talked to me about Fisher, told me I needed to be careful about my first kiss.” Maxie turned bright red. “She told me that it should be special, not to be pressured. She said her first time wasn’t perfect, and she had done it for the wrong reasons, but she would never forget it because he was special. She made me feel as if I could tell her anything.”

Max had a terrible feeling that he had misjudged Casey.

“We better go. Your mom will be waiting for you.”

“Here’s the drawing.” Colton handed Max the design for the bed.

Max stood, unaware he had come into the room and had been listening, too.

“I’ll get it done as soon as possible,” Max promised.

“No hurry. You going to try to find her again?” Colton asked.

“Yes, and this time I’m going to find her,” Max stated with determination.

Casey could have easily reproduced the files she had stolen from the clubhouse and the information she had stored at the bank, but she hadn’t. She had been going to betray them, but something had stopped her, even after they had kidnapped her. Max thought he knew the reason, the same one that, despite her being gone for four months, he could no longer deny to himself.

“Good luck. Want a piece of advice?”

“At this point, I’ll take any help I can get,” he said truthfully.

“I would start with Roni. She’s been around the clubhouse a long time, and Roni and Renee used to be friends until Roni caught Renee in bed with her boyfriend. She might know something.”

“Thanks, Colton.”

“I don’t know if it will do any good,” Colton cautioned him.

“It’s a place to start. This time, I’m not giving up until I find Casey and bring her back where she belongs.”

“She may not want to come back. There’s nothing in Queen City she’s going to miss.”

“I’m here, and that’s all she’s ever going to need.”

Chapter 25

Casey cut the sandwiches into pieces, removing the crusts. Cole hated to eat the crust. He would leave the sandwich untouched if he saw a brown speck on his bread.

She hummed as she went to the refrigerator to make them some glasses of iced tea. Her brother could drink the whole pitcher himself. As she poured their drinks, Casey noticed her arms were getting darker. She would have to use more sunscreen in the future.

When she had first moved to the sunny area, she had burned from being in the sun. Now she had developed a tan that the women at the bank would be envious of.

Her smile slipped at remembering Queen City. She didn’t miss the bank, the city, or her mother, but one person in particular never left her mind, despite all her efforts to keep herself busy. The beach house was meticulously organized and clean, despite the sandy beach just outside her door.

She looked out the front window to see what Cole was doing as she replaced the pitcher in the refrigerator. Casey took off running as fast as she could, her bare feet running across the cool tile floor, both hands slamming the screen door open before she ran across the porch. Leaping over the two steps, she landed on the hot sand.

“Leave him alone!” Her terrified gaze landed on the large group of men standing near Cole, who was sitting on a blanket.

Casey hastily bent to grab a piece of driftwood then raced forward, stopping in front of Cole, blocking them from getting any closer.

“Stay away from him!” she screamed, glaring at Max, Ice, Jackal… All the Predators stared back at her, calmly stepping back.

“What’s wrong, Casey?”

She didn’t take her gaze off the Predators at her brother’s soft question, unaware whimpers of fear were escaping her lips.

“I was showing them my shells.” Cole was surrounded on the blanket by the shells he had collected. “They like my starfish.”

Max’s gaze went soft as he edged to the side slowly. He dropped to his knee on the blanket. “I like this one.”

Casey half turned, watching Max distrustfully as she kept the Predators within sight.

“That’s one of my favorites,” Cole said excitedly, picking it up to hand it to Max. “You can have it.” As soon as he offered the shell to Max, his beautiful smile slipped.

“That’s okay. I’ll find some myself. Maybe I can find one like it.” Once Max refused Cole’s offer, he saw the sunny smile return.

“I’ll help. I like looking for shells. I have forty-two or forty-five.” He looked up in confusion at his sister.

“Forty-six,” Casey answered gently.

“Forty-six.” Cole nodded.

Casey lowered the piece of driftwood as Cole began showing Max his favorite shells. Ice, Jackal, and Fade all took a seat on the blanket as he showed off his collection.

Casey stared down at her brother’s blond head. He was wearing a swimsuit, his skin tanned and slick. Staring at him, she thought he was one of the most handsome men Casey had ever seen. Surrounded by the Predators, she saw he was as muscular and fit as any of the bikers. There was only one difference between Cole and them.

He had the mind and capability of a child.

“Cole, your lunch is ready. Go inside, and I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay, Casey,” Cole said happily, unaware of the tension coming from the group. Cole picked up his red bucket, putting his shells away. Then he stood up, taking his bucket with him.