Chapter 32

TRAX

Not a word.

Not a single, solitary god damn word from Sophie in over three days. Three long fucking days!

I have no idea where she is or how to find her. It's like she's vanished from Angel Valley without a trace. I've driven past any place I could think she could be and have come up with nothing. I've even spent hours driving through every motel parking lot within twenty-five miles looking of her car.

Someone must have given her some money as I know she didn't have much cash on her. Even though her damn cousin denies it, it had to be Chrissy.

So I'm stuck until she contacts me. Sophie will have to as I know she won't abandon all of the shit she has here. She has no reason to. It wasn't like I'm an abusive asshole, I'm just a dumb fuck.

I just finished showering so I can drive my slow ass over to the garage and see how it's doing. I haven't been there since I got shot. Except, my head keeps going back to Sophie. It's spinning and cloudy as fuck thanks to the bottle of Jack I see on the floor.

I decided to give myself a few more minutes and lie back down on the bed. Hopefully, the aspirin I took before the shower will kick in soon. That should help with the pounding, but not the problem.

The problem that I can't seem to find Sophie anywhere.

Her two main places were either Chrissy's and she ain't there, or the bakery. The day she left I went to the bake shop but it was closed up tight with not a sign of her car.

The only other hope I had was Maddie. I had to wait until the next day to talk to her since I didn't know where she lived. Sure I could have used Code to track her down, but I wasn't ready to let the club in on my mess yet.

I rolled into the bakery before it even opened. The back door was unlocked so I walked on in. The two Hispanic guys that help Maddie bake looked up from their work for a second then ignored me. They knew me by sight from Sophie so they realized I wasn't a threat. My Spanish was non-existent so talking to them was not gonna happen.

Maddie had her back to me as she added ingredients into this huge mixer. One of the guys said something in Spanish and Maddie turned around. I saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes that she quickly hid.

"Trax, what are you doing here?"

My hip leaned up against the big worktable she had in the room. She was my best hope so I couldn't afford to piss her off even though I was exhausted and frustrated. "Do you know where Sophie is?"

"No," she said before turning back to the mixer. That was quick.

"Is she working today?"

This time she turned back to me and crossed her arms over her chest. "No. She told me she needed some time off, but you know what Trax, I'm trying to run a business here. I've given her plenty of time off but I need someone to work the front of the store. What's good in having a bakery if I can't sell what I'm baking? I like Sophie, I really do, but this is my livelihood and if she can't work, I'll get someone else that can."

"You ain't seen her?" I snapped.

"It's not my problem that you can't keep track of her. She's not here and I have no fucking clue on when or if she's coming back. Now, will you get out of here so I can try to get enough shit baked for the morning rush since I have to work the front until I can get someone in to help me."

Maddie was typically pretty easy going so her getting all in my face wasn't normal, except I could understand what she was saying. Sophie had more time off lately than she actually worked. I couldn't blame Maddie for getting upset.

I noticed the guys that ignored me earlier now stood behind Maddie glaring at me. Either they do speak English or they recognized her angry tone. I was not in a mood for a fight, but I respected them for backing her up.

"I'm sorry I interrupted you, I just really need to find her." I tried to keep my voice relaxed. "We had a misunderstanding that she won't let me explain. Plus, I need to make sure that she's safe. And I get that our lives have unintentionally fucked up yours. I'm sorry about that, Maddie. I know neither of us wanted that. I'm going, but if you do hear from her, please tell her to call me."

"I will." Maddie's eyes no longer held that fiery light.

"Thank you," I said before heading home.

That was the day before yesterday. The next day was Friday and I still heard zero from her. While I still needed to explain everything, I was starting to get really concerned about her. Was she in a safe place? Did she have enough money?

This was messing with my head big time.

Except, I did one thing right yesterday. I saw Bear in the morning and pulled him aside.

"Hey, have you thought about patching Brick in?" I asked my president.

I usually stayed out of club politics. Prospects were there to do our shit jobs. They came and went and I didn't pay much attention to them until they patched in.

But Brick was different.

He did any job we had him do without bitching. Volunteered for everything. He rescued Sophie that night she went on that date with the limp dick serial killer and knew to call me right away. Plus, he and his AK-47 literally saved the lives of many of us that night we got ambushed.

He deserved to be patched in.

"Was planning on bringing it up in Church today."

"Good. He deserves it." I lit up a cigarette. "Think I'll check out the garage tomorrow. Been sitting on my ass too long."

I watched Bear hold back a laugh. "Brother, you got shot barely two weeks ago and underwent major surgery. Take all the time you need. Got Cage in the office and Mickey's doing a good job running the shop. It's good, man. Don't sweat it."

"I'm going crazy with nothin' to do. I…ah…need somethin' to distract me. I'll just see how everything's going." Even though my problem with Sophie is the main shit I got going on, the garage has always been in the back of my mind. It might be owned by the club, but deep down I consider it mine. It had a shit reputation when I took it over and now we're making good money with it. Legitimate money.

"Don't overdue, brother."

Hell, I couldn't overdue if I tried. Except to drink. Drinking was easy to do and after church at the patch in party, I did my part to celebrate Brick becoming a full-fledged brother.

I did crack a little smile remembering church yesterday. We always mess with the prospects first. Why? Cause we're guys and we get a kick outta fucking with them. We got all the regular shit out of the way when Striker called Brick in.

"Yo, Brick get your sorry prospect ass in here."

Striker forced him to sit in an empty chair. "Don't move your ass," he growled at him.

"Do you know why you're here, prospect?" Bear asked him. His voice was deep and menacing, and we all loved it.

"No, sir." God, I loved the nervousness we could all hear in his voice.

"Did you pick up the bakery order this week?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you check the order to make sure that you didn't fuck anything up since you drive like shit?" We all saw Brick's eyes get big when he realized he may have fucked up Bear's sweets. The Prez's sweet tooth was becoming legendary around the club.

"No, Sir. You told me to bring the order right in each week and not to touch a single one," Brick responded.

"Exactly. I said not to touch them, but I said nothing about making sure they didn't get fucked up during the delivery. You look at what's in this fucking box!"

Bear slid one of Maddie's bakery boxes towards him. We all watch in anticipation as the kid slowly opens the box. The scared look on his face quickly changed to a huge smile when he sees what's in the box. "No way!"

"You've been with us over eighteen months, Brick. You've demonstrated your loyalty to the club several times over. It's time we made you a full patched member. Congratulations, brother!"

Brick held up the new rockers that promoted him from lowly prospect to a patched brother. "I never wanted anything as much as I wanted this. I won't let any of you down," he told everyone.

We all knew how he felt. He gained a permanent family today. Every single man here just became a brother to him. We were loyal to the club and each other until the day we died. There was no better feeling than that.

"If we thought you would, you'd never be holding onto those new rockers. Move yourself out of the prospect room and take an empty room in the bunkhouse. Church is adjourned and drinks are on Brick!" Bear slammed down the gavel and the room roared its approval.

The party went into the wee hours of the morning. Women and booze were the highlights of the evening. Patch in parties tended to be a bit crazier than normal. I watched from my seat at the bar as half-dressed and naked women were being dragged willingly into every sex act imaginable.

I watched all I wanted to, but I didn't touch a single woman that offered herself to me. I didn't want any of them. I only wanted my Sophie, and since I couldn't have her, I drank myself stupid.

And that's where I am now, feeling like shit the next morning as I try to get my ass to work. The only thing that helps is the big cup of coffee I take with me. The coffee we have at the clubhouse is much better than the swill we make at the shop. That's why I fill the biggest to-go cup I can find and head toward my truck.

I drive over to the garage in my ancient pickup. The body looks like shit with dings, dents and scratches all over it. It used to be blue but it's faded to more of a dull gray. When the weather is bad and I can't ride my bike or it needs major repairs like it does now, it's my only other mode of transport. I'm hoping soon I can get back on my bike, but my belly is still to tender for that even if it was rideable.

As the pickup turns into the parking lot, I easily see that all the bays have cars being worked on. That's good, really fucking good.

I leave the truck in front of the office and head toward the garage. The office is empty so I don't even stop in there yet. In the first open bay, I see Mickey talking to Ricky, one of the younger mechanics. I stand there for a second leaning up against the wall until they raise their heads and see me.

"Hey, Trax! Good to see you," says Mickey with a big smile. "Hey guys, the boss is back!"

One by one the guys come out from under cars to welcome me back. This garage is my second home and I did miss it. I always liked working with my hands, so me and cars are a perfect fit.

After a couple of minutes of them asking me how I'm doing, most of the guys go back to work and Mickey and I head for the office.

"Thanks for running things, Mick. Bear says that you've kept everything running smoothly and that's high praise from him," I let Mickey know. Bear expects us to do our jobs right and if he says anything more, you've impressed him, which doesn't happen that often.

But it happened to me and I know not to take those words for granted.

"No problem, man. You taught me well. Me and the rest of the guys really like working here, so they pitched in working extra hours. Ricky even brought his cousin by to give a hand. The kid is good with cars, especially imports, so if we ever need another guy permanently, I'd suggest Doug."

I had been of hiring another guy before I got shot, this would make it easy. "Do it. Hire the kid. I was thinking of bringing on a new guy anyway. You know how to do the paperwork?"

This garage was fully legit. I followed all the codes and laws we needed to keep any law enforcement eyes off of us. Too many of them still saw us as the 1%er we used to be.

"Yeah, I do. Cage was also a big help with invoices and orders. He could probably teach you a thing or two about that computer," Mickey laughed.

He knew I hated that thing. Or maybe it was because that damned computer hated me. I had enough of a hard time working my smartphone.

"He probably fucking could," I agreed. Maybe I'd have Cage show me a few things so it wouldn't take me so damn long to get shit done. "Anything I need to know go on?"

Mickey was going over a few things with me when my phone rang. Dutch was calling and that was unusual.

"Trax." No need for any pleasantries with the club. I always simply answered with my name.

"Get back here, Trax. Your ol' lady is here and I think she's clearing her shit out," he told me.

"Fuck that! I'll be right there. Do not let them open the gate so she can leave." I turned to Mickey, "Gotta go. Keep doing what you're doing," I told him as I ran out the door.

I finally had Sophie in a place where she couldn't escape. We needed talk and I'll tie her to the damn bed if I have to. This leaving me bullshit was over.

She was my ol' lady and I was not going to let her go.