Chapter 3: The Man Who Came Back From the Grave
Bear stared at the phone.
For fourteen years, he had imagined what he would say if he ever got another chance to speak to Michael.
He'd imagined shouting.
Asking questions.
Demanding to know why his brother had disappeared without a word.
But now that the moment had arrived, all he could manage was one word.
"Michael.""
Duke stepped closer.
"Was that him?""
Bear nodded.
"Yeah.""
"You're sure?""
"I'd know that voice anywhere.""
Daniel calmly adjusted his cuffs.
"Phone calls can be manipulated. Voices can be imitated.""
Bear turned toward him.
"You're going to have to do better than that.""
Daniel picked up his envelope.
Duke slapped his hand away.
"I wouldn't.""
For the first time, Daniel looked genuinely angry.
"You have no idea what you're interfering with.""
Bear leaned over the table.
"Then tell me.""
Daniel glanced at Laura.
"Ask her what happened to Michael after the clinic.""
Laura shook her head.
"Don't listen to him.""
"Why not?"" Daniel asked.
"You were there.""
Bear looked at her.
"Laura?""
She wiped her cheeks.
"I was there when they took him.""
"Who took him?""
"Two men wearing hospital security uniforms. They said he needed to be transferred. I argued with them, but they had paperwork.""
"Was Michael conscious?""
"Yes.""
Laura's voice cracked.
"He looked directly at me and said, 'Take care of our daughter.'' Then one of the men injected something into his IV.""
Bear gripped the back of a chair.
"Why didn't you stop them?""
"I tried!""
Laura's voice broke.
"I was twenty-three, Bear. They were armed. One of them told me they knew where my parents lived. They said they'd hurt my baby before she was even born.""
Emily looked up.
"Mommy?""
Laura immediately knelt.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart.""
Emily touched the necklace.
"Daddy said I should keep this safe.""
Bear crouched beside her.
"Did you meet your father?""
Emily nodded.
"Once.""
"How old were you?""
"Six.""
Bear looked at Laura.
She nodded.
"Michael came to our apartment one night. He stayed for less than an hour.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because he begged me not to. He said he was trying to keep people away from us.""
Emily reached into her little backpack.
"He gave me something else, too.""
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
The edges were soft from being handled too often.
Bear opened it carefully.
Inside was a child's drawing of a motorcycle, a man, and a little girl holding hands.
Underneath, written in block letters, were the words:
*DADDY'S BROTHER WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO.*
Bear felt his throat tighten.
"Did your father tell you that?""
Emily nodded.
"He said if the bad man ever came to get me, I should find a man with a big beard and a wolf on his jacket.""
Bear looked at his vest.
The Iron Wolves emblem was stitched across his chest.
Emily touched it.
"He said you'd look scary, but you'd be nice.""
Duke looked away.
One of the younger bikers suddenly became very interested in his coffee.
Bear managed a small smile.
"Your father knew me pretty well.""
Emily nodded.
"He said you used to steal his french fries.""
Bear laughed.
A real laugh.
For the first time that morning.
"That little liar.""
Laura smiled through her tears.
"He talked about you all the time.""
Bear looked down at the drawing.
Then he noticed something unusual.
The motorcycle in the picture had a small number written on its side.
214.
Bear's face changed.
He knew that number.
Michael's old motorcycle had carried the same number on its registration plate.
But the number also meant something else.
It was the combination to an old storage locker their father had rented decades earlier.
A place Bear hadn't visited since he was twenty.
"Where did he get this number?"" Bear asked.
Emily shrugged.
"Daddy told me to remember it.""
Daniel suddenly moved.
He lunged toward the drawing.
Duke caught him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"That's enough.""
Daniel's polished shoes scraped across the tile.
"Get your hands off me!""
"Stop reaching for children," Duke replied.
Ruth returned from the kitchen.
"The police are on their way.""
Daniel's eyes moved toward the entrance.
Then toward the windows.
The man outside the SUV had disappeared.
Bear noticed.
"Diesel?""
"Yeah?""
"Where's the driver?""
Diesel looked outside.
"He's gone.""
Bear turned to Daniel.
"Who was in that SUV?""
Daniel said nothing.
"Who?""
Daniel smiled faintly.
"Someone who knows more about your brother than you ever did.""
Bear stepped closer.
"Then you should be worried about what happens when I find him.""
A siren sounded in the distance.
Daniel glanced toward the door.
Then he made a decision.
He shoved Duke backward, knocking over a chair, and bolted toward the kitchen exit.
Two bikers moved immediately.
One blocked the back door.
The other caught Daniel before he reached it.
Daniel struggled.
"Let go!""
Bear walked toward him.
"Where is my brother?""
Daniel spat out a laugh.
"Ask your father.""
Bear stopped.
His father had been dead for nine years.
"What did you say?""
Daniel looked directly into his eyes.
"Your father knew Michael wasn't dead.""
The room went silent again.
Bear felt as though someone had punched him in the chest.
"No.""
Daniel nodded.
"He paid to keep the truth buried.""
"You're lying.""
"Ask your mother. Ask her why the funeral was closed-casket. Ask her why your father's lawyer handled everything.""
Bear grabbed Daniel's coat.
"Say that again.""
Laura stepped forward.
"Bear, don't.""
Daniel's smile widened.
"Your brother didn't disappear because he was afraid of strangers. He disappeared because someone in your own family made a deal.""
Bear released him.
For several seconds, he couldn't hear anything except the rain.
Then his phone vibrated again.
A message.
Unknown number.
*STORAGE LOCKER 214. COME ALONE. YOUR BROTHER IS WAITING.*
Bear stared at the screen.
Duke read it over his shoulder.
"That's a trap.""
"Probably.""
"Then we're going together.""
The phone vibrated again.
A second message appeared.
This time, it contained a photograph.
A man stood in front of a rusted metal door.
He was older, thinner, and had a long scar running down the side of his neck.
But Bear recognized the eyes.
He recognized the crooked smile.
He recognized the way the man's left shoulder sat slightly lower than his right.
It was Michael.
Alive.
And standing beside him was a woman Bear hadn't seen in fourteen years.
Their mother.
The woman everyone believed had died peacefully in her sleep.
Bear zoomed in on the photograph.
His hands went cold.
Because his mother was holding a newspaper dated that morning.
And across the front page, beneath the headline, were the words:
*FORMER POLICE CAPTAIN FOUND DEAD IN UNMARKED GRAVE.*
The dead captain was the man who had signed Michael's death certificate.
Bear looked at Laura.
"Get Emily somewhere safe.""
Laura clutched her daughter.
"What's happening?""
Bear slipped his phone into his pocket.
"Someone has been lying to my family for fourteen years.""
He looked at the photograph one more time.
"And I think my mother is about to tell me why.""
Then another message arrived.
May you like
Only four words.
*DON'T BRING YOUR CLUB.*
