Missing Ch. 21-30

I opened the link to include my Alpha and George. "I talked to the Moon Goddess. She told me that I still had work to do for her and that Sean's love for me was as strong as ever."

Sally caressed my cheek. "His killers still live, so your work isn't done. When they are dead, you're still not done. There's so much more you can do for your family and your Pack. We all love you so much."

"One thing at a time," I replied.

The Alpha spoke next. "What do you want to do about your attackers, Bonnie? Do you want to avenge them yourself? You could claim amnesia. I heard there is no evidence against anyone right now."

I thought about it for a minute, my wolf liking the idea of their blood on my teeth. I made my decision. "No to Pack justice. They came after me as humans and can face human justice. If the Horsemen start dying mysteriously, the FBI will come after my friends and me. We can't allow that."

"That's a good call. If the human system can't give us justice, then I reserve the right to dispense it wolf style." Anyone watching Sally and me would only see us looking at each other and crying, not knowing we communicated with the bond. We talked until I fell asleep again.

"Sleeping" was a near impossibility in the Intensive Care Unit unless you're in a coma or VERY tired. Every fifteen minutes, the blood pressure cuff on my left arm would inflate and squeeze the hell out of my arm as it got its reading. I tried to sleep through a few cycles and gave up when the nurse came in. "You're awake," she said.

"I'm starving, and that thing keeps waking me up."

"I'll see what I can get you for food. Meanwhile, there is an FBI agent who insists on talking to you. We've been holding him off while you sleep, but if you're awake?"

May as well get this done. "I'll talk to the investigators. Can you raise my head a little?" Without fingers available, I couldn't do anything for myself. She raised the bed about thirty degrees, then left to get the agent.

The FBI agent was in her thirties with short brown hair and a pantsuit that screamed "Federal Agent" more obviously than wearing a raid jacket. She showed me her identification. "Special Agent Linda Greenlaw, FBI Boston. I'm part of the investigation into your kidnapping. Do you feel up to giving a statement?"

"Sure."

She looked at the nurse, motioning her towards the door. As she left, she gave her warning. "My patient needs to rest and heal up. I'll be watching her vitals from my station; if it gets out of hand, I'm kicking you out."

"I'll be good," I promised. Almost twenty-five years in Law Enforcement, and I'd taken thousands of statements and given hundreds. I started from Friday night and Destiny getting asked out, then the meeting with the Task Force and my Saturday night shift.

Linda held up a voice recorder and notified me of recording my statement; she would have it transcribed and bring it to me to sign later. "You said your Task Force thought it was too dangerous to let you go to the clubhouse, yet you told Blade you'd go. Why?"

"I thought my best chance to get information out of Blade was to get him alone. I had to try, and I figured I could talk him into parking and talking."

"Your note said you were going to the clubhouse."

"That was the worst-case scenario. If I didn't come back by morning, it would be because Blade had taken me there. Anywhere else, and I'd be back in my hotel room."

"If you say so." Special Agent Greenlaw replied. "What happened then?"

"The van pulled up, and three men jumped out. By the time I recognized the danger, it was too late for me to get away. They hit me with a Taser, bound me, put a hood over my head, and tossed me in the back of the van. The next time I could see, I was hanging over the ocean."

"Do you know who your attackers were?"

I nodded. "They had all been my customers at Full Throttle a few times. I guessed correctly based on body shapes, mannerisms, and personal hygiene." Greenlaw raised an eyebrow. "Tartarus has some nasty-ass breath. It's like he eats onions with every meal or something. I told them who they were, and they pulled off their ski masks to confirm it. All Manchester Chapter Iron Horsemen; President Red ran the show with Master-at-Arms Tartarus. Two patched members, Skidmark and Fever, helped out. I didn't catch the driver; he stayed with the van. Red drove separately and met the guys at the house. After they cut the rope, they left."

"How did you get away?"

"It's not my first time diving into cold water, and I'm in good enough shape to hold my breath. I managed to get the cuffs off and get out of my wet clothes. I swam to the dock pilings where I could get a breath without being seen. As soon as they loaded up into the vehicles, I got out of the water and went looking for help. Nobody was open, and no residents were around. I got lucky and saw a house with a light still on. I remember banging on the door, then nothing until I woke up."

She nodded at me. "What about Blade? Was he part of the kidnapping?"

"I didn't see him after I left the Full Throttle. He liked Destiny, and he liked her a lot. I don't think he'd hurt me, but his Club would. I have to believe the Club ran a background check on me when they found out he was bringing me there, and that's when my cover identity collapsed."

"Do you have any other information germane to the situation?"

"I tried to talk my way out of it. I told them about the Task Force and how we'd bugged Full Throttle to spy on them and what we were looking for. I tried to convince them that I didn't give a shit about their Clubs, that I wanted the Cartel just like they did. I even told them that if they worked with me to take down the Cartel, I'd give them a walk on everything else. In the end, they didn't believe me. They believe I died in that freezing water. If they find out I'm still alive, they'll come after me with everything they have."

"We can protect you," the FBI agent said.

"I'm a sworn Law Enforcement agent, and I'm not going to hide. Fuck them for what they did. I hope they spend the rest of their lives in some 'pound-me-in-the-ass' Federal prison."

She let out a smile. "We'll get them for you, Bonnie. We need corroborating evidence. So far, we've only recovered your yoga pants, but the divers are still looking. We need to find that van."

The nurse came into the room. "That's enough," she told her. "She needs to rest."

"Food?"

"The best I can do is a warm chicken broth," the nurse replied.

"I'll leave you to your dinner," Special Agent said as she turned off the recorder. "When you're able, we'll do a walk down of the crime scene."

I ate my broth and managed to sleep until morning.

Ch. 30

Bonnie Woods' POV

Addison Gilbert Hospital, Gloucester, Massachusetts

Monday, January 14, 2020

I was moved from the Intensive Care Unit to a regular hospital room after the doctor's morning rounds. I was still a physical mess. My left shoulder was in a sling; the MRI showed that surgery was not required, but the orthopedist wanted it immobilized for ten days before starting physical therapy. The frostbite on my hands, feet, and ears was not deep enough to require amputation, but it hurt a lot, and blisters were already forming on my fingers and toes. My new room had a television, but I couldn't hold a remote or use my phone.

I was able to get a real breakfast, and I could have multiple visitors now. George and Sally booked their hotel room for two more days, but the others had commitments elsewhere. Alpha Anthony sent most of the trackers and warriors home already, and he stopped by to say goodbye. "I wish I could stay longer," he told me, "But Mom needs our support right now."

"What's going on? Is she all right? Why would Luna Adrienne need your help?" My parents just smiled knowingly and didn't respond over the link. They'd been hiding something.

"Luna Adrienne found her second-chance mate on her trip to the Midwest," Anthony said quietly.

My eyes got big. "WHAT!"

"Remember Alpha Leo Volkov?" Of course, I remembered Leo from when Adrienne had lost her mate. Luna Catherine was a close friend and helped her survive those dark months. "You know he went off the rails after he lost his mate."

After losing Catherine, I didn't see Leo, but I'd heard stories about his drinking and self-destructive behavior. "Yeah, and his so-called Beta challenged him, took over the Pack, and exiled him. Leo is still alive?" Adrienne barely made it with her son and an entire Pack helping her. I couldn't imagine how Leo held on as a rogue wolf.

"Not only alive, but he formed the Miesville Pack. Adrienne found him on Council business, mediating a dispute between Alpha Leo and several other Packs. Leo found a mantled Alpha female child living nearby who didn't even know she was a werewolf."

"How can that be! That's dangerous for all of us!"

"It's a long story. Alpha Leo adopted the child; her mother was bitten in an attack and is now a werewolf mated to a Pack member. Leo's Pack has absorbed the remains of the Welch Pack. Luna Adrienne and Alpha Leo will have their mating and Pack recognized by the Council at the Scratch n Sniff in a few weeks, and she's moving to Minnesota at the end of the month."

"Damn." Luna Adrienne wasn't just another Mom to me; she was a living example of strength and character, the best wolf I know. She wasn't running the Baxter Pack, but only a fool ignored her advice. I'd miss seeing her. "Any other bombshells I missed while I was working?"

"You've been kicked off the Task Force. Once you return to duty, it will be back at the Sheriff's Office. The DEA wanted you disciplined, but Ty shut that down."

It wasn't a shock that Allison would want me out. If that is the extent of the discipline, I'll suck it up and go with it. "What happens now?"

"Once you're healthy enough to release, we'll have you moved back to Maine. We'll make sure you have help until you can walk and hold things again," my Alpha said.

"You can stay with us," Sally said.

"Thank you." It wasn't like I had a choice; I needed help using the bathroom. Until the bandages were off, I couldn't even use my phone! It was more annoying than serious, as the doctors assured me that I'd have a full recovery in a few weeks.

I was in the hospital for two more days, getting treatment on my blistered extremities several times a day. I was still in danger, so Sheriff Ty sent down an escort. Christina Cotter rented a van with a wheelchair ramp, and her mate Gabe rode shotgun. Literally, with a 12-gauge pump at his side. He was in uniform, while Christina was wearing a bulletproof vest. Since she was officially a civilian, she couldn't carry a pistol, but Gabe had 'extras.'

I wasn't in uniform as the nurses wheeled me out, but the police closed off the area around the exit anyway. I was wearing a bulletproof vest under my warmup suit, with my Ed Brown.45 secured in a holster at my stomach. My belongings from my apartment and the hotel room were in the back.

Why all the security? Word on the streets was that the biker gangs were pissed, and the Horsemen knew from the warrant that the Government's case depended on my testimony.

I'd signed the transcribed statement after I was off the painkillers. It was enough to get arrest warrants for the four Iron Horsemen I could identify, but the US Attorney didn't think there was enough evidence to convict. The four bikers were supposedly playing poker all night at Red's house, and his old lady swore they were there all night. The FBI got warrants for their cellphones. All four of their phones were pinging a tower in Red's neighborhood all night. To cement the alibi, text messages and phone calls went to and from those phones during the kidnapping. Security cameras at a neighbor's home showed their cars arriving and leaving, and a neighbor saw one biker leaving in the early morning. The US Attorney wanted physical and DNA evidence tying the club to my abduction. Only then would she come down on them like the Roadrunner dropping a boulder on Wile E. Coyote.

FBI Special Agent Linda Greenlaw was waiting for us at the house where I'd nearly died. "Hopefully, you can help us find something here. The only physical evidence we have is the cut rope and your yoga pants."

Christina was pushing me while Gabe trailed behind. "You couldn't get tread marks or footprints," she asked?

"It wasn't snowing until I got out of the water," I said. Today was a much different day than that cold night, sunny with temperatures rising into the fifties. All the snow had melted long ago.

"And the driveway and walkway are paved," Linda added. "We've got some surveillance and traffic camera video that traces the van from Kittery to here and west towards Boston, but then we've got nothing on US-1 or Interstate 95 or anything west of there."

Gabe didn't act shocked. "They probably dumped the van and drove back in another car."

Linda nodded. "It's also possible they slapped a few magnetic signs on the sides, put real license plates back on, and drove back roads until popping up forty miles from here. We're checking the cameras to track movements of every Ford Transit matching this description, looking for any that start near here and end up in Manchester. It's not easy, and it probably won't work unless they are stupid."

"They aren't stupid, and my abduction was well-planned," I said. "If I hadn't survived, nothing would lead you to within a hundred miles of this place." We'd reached the docks; I pointed to what I could, but it wasn't anywhere they hadn't already checked. "The van is the key. We need to find it."

"If we can find it," Gabe said. We left her behind with the other investigators. They weren't interested in the path I'd traveled after getting out of the water; our police dog had documented that pretty well, and a naked woman leaves no clues behind. Gabe moved me from the wheelchair to the bucket seat, and we got on the road.

We had left Massachusetts for New Hampshire on I-95 when Christina saw them. "Ten, maybe twelve motorcycles coming up fast in the left lane," she said.

"Shit," Gabe replied. He popped out of his seat, shotgun in hand. "Bonnie, I'm going to recline your seat so they can't see you." He did that, then unzipped a bag. He took a Kevlar helmet and strapped it on me, then put another one on Christina's head as she accelerated. She was calling 911 as Gabe finished gearing up, taking a position in the back rear of the van. "Loading slugs. If they start firing, swerve into them."

I held my in my bandaged right hand, ready to go if needed. The seat didn't recline far enough to be out of sight, and I wasn't going down without a fight.

"Gabe, State Patrol is two minutes out," Christina said. "I'm traffic-limited." That meant she couldn't go faster without pulling in front of them, and they were still coming.

"Too late," Gabe said. He cracked the window open and took his firing position.

The phalanx of riders roared up next to us. "Hell's Angels," Gabe said as he saw the cuts. The first riders roared by, perhaps to cut us off? I raised my head slightly and looked out. The riders weren't paying any attention to us at all.

"TAKE THE EXIT," Gabe ordered. Christina checked behind her, waiting until the last second, then hit the brakes and swerved onto the exit ramp. The bikers roared past, not even slowing as we rolled towards the bottom of the hill. "False alarm?"

"Maybe," I said. "We should get an escort, though."

"I'm calling it in."

We followed Troopers the rest of the way home. I didn't relax until I sat in Sean's favorite recliner in his parent's living room.