Lake’s Legacy (Demon Dawgs MC: New Orleans #3)

Chapter Three Lake

CHAPTER THREE: LAKE

As Levi said, when I call Olivia’s phone, it goes to voicemail. However, when I open the app that shows her location, I see that she’s at Tulane Hospital.

“Her phone is at Tulane?” I ask Levi.

“She transferred over to Tulane a week ago. She got a position in obstetrics because she needs the experience for her nurse practitioner certification.”

I’m disgruntled that she didn’t mention changing jobs, but our phone calls while I was in Ireland with my brothers were more about checking in than long conversations. Since I couldn’t share what we were doing, I didn’t encourage her to fill me in on everything going on in her life. Now, I wish I had.

“Did you try calling the hospital to have them page her? Maybe her phone died,” I suggest.

Levi just manages to keep from rolling his eyes. “I just called. They said she left about thirty minutes ago.”

I move toward the door, intent on searching for her.

“Hold up, we’ll go with you.”

I see Dixie glance longingly at Delphine. He doesn’t want to leave her.

“No, you should all go,” Delphine says as Cleo nods. “She needs your help. We can celebrate when Olivia is home safe.”

“You guys go. I’ll crack into the hospital security feed. I’ll also check the traffic cams if her car isn’t there. Maybe she’s driving home and accidentally left her phone at the hospital,” Pirate offers, heading toward his office. “I’ll call when I find her or if she arrives home.”

The five of us hop on our bikes and ride through the gate. It feels fucking amazing to be back on my bike riding in the humidity after two weeks in a cold and wet country. I feel like I’m finally back home. The only thing that would make it perfect is if Olivia was my backpack. Usually, riding brings me peace, but I won’t feel peace until we find her. My anxiety grows as we draw nearer to the hospital and haven’t heard from Pirate. I thought we might pass her car on the way, but I know there are several routes she could have taken. I itch to shoot off by myself and search every possible route, but I fight my instincts. I settle in my spot next to Abra. Zip is in the lead as the Road Captain, with Hex and Dixie behind him and Abra and me taking up the rear. Zip will make sure we take the fastest route to the hospital.

Hex and the others search the hospital parking lot, leaving me to run inside to look for her. My first stop is obstetrics. Spotting a doctor, I approach him.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Olivia Delacroix. Have you seen her?”

The doctor’s eyes widened as he considered my size and kutte. He’s tall, probably 6’, but I’m several inches taller and broader. His doctor’s coat, slacks, and button-down shirt fit his trim form, while my jeans and T-shirt don’t hide my muscles.

“Who are you?” the doctor asks.

“I’m her man. Now tell me, have you seen her?”

“I saw her earlier, but her shift ended over an hour ago. Have you tried the staff locker room?”

“Where is it?”

He gave me directions to the second floor. I rushed down and found the room just as a nurse stepped out. “Excuse me, is there anyone else in there?”

“Someone is taking a shower.”

“Can you check if it is Olivia Delacroix? I’m looking for her, but haven’t found her. I’m her man. I just returned from Ireland and thought I’d surprise her at work.”

“Oh, how sweet. Damn, Olivia is a lucky girl,” the nurse says, eyeing me. “But she’s not here. She left a while ago. I saw her going out to her car.”

“Damn. Okay, thanks.” I spin on my heel and run down the stairs to the lobby and back out the door. Hopping on my bike, I go in search of my brothers. When I find them, they’re near the exit. Hex ends a call and glances at me.

“Pirate found Olivia on the traffic cams. He said she left the parking lot forty-five minutes ago.”

I nod. This information matches what the nurse gave me. “Did he say which way she went?”

“Yeah, she was heading toward the clubhouse.”

“Back the way we came? But we didn’t see her.” I feel panic rising, which is rare for me. I’m usually the calm one. Not knowing where Olivia is has me ready to tear out of my skin.

“Pirate is tracking her through the cams. Let’s ride. He’ll update us as he learns more. Calm down. We’re going to find her,” Hex assures me.

I nod, even though I want to rage at Hex. How can he suggest I calm down? If this were Cleo, he’d be riding through the streets screaming her name, which is what I want to do. But I don’t. I have to trust Pirate. I have to trust my brothers. I joined the Demon Dawgs for a reason. We’re a family, and we’re stronger together. I can’t cover all of New Orleans by myself. Pirate has the means to locate her, so I have to trust him to find her. Olivia needs me to stay calm and locate her, not go off the rails.

We’re three blocks from the hospital before Zip pulls into an empty parking lot outside a public park. We follow him in before disembarking to join him. He’s on the phone with Pirate. I can tell by Zip’s question that Pirate lost Olivia.

Fuck!

I glance around the neighborhood. It’s quiet, with no open businesses. Across the street is a row of apartment buildings. I see a couple of cameras, which I’m certain Pirate has accessed. I open my mouth to ask but spot a white van driving by. It’s going slow. Too slow.

Abra tenses next to me. We both draw our guns as the van continues past us and turns at the nearby corner. I watch it as it continues its slow progress. It stops in the middle of the street for several seconds. I glance at Abra, who continues to watch the van. Opening my mouth to get Hex’s attention, I spot a car in the van's headlights. A burgundy Honda Civic. Just like the one Olivia drives.

“That might be her car,” I call out, returning to my bike.

The guys hop on theirs, and we rev our engines before easing back onto the road. When I pull in front of the parked car, the white van is gone. No one is in the front seat, but I see the silly cat ornament hanging from her rearview mirror. Its paws are up as if trying to get my attention. Well, it has it.

Swinging off my bike, I step to the driver’s side door. My heart sinks when I yank on the handle and find it unlocked. Olivia wouldn’t have willingly left her car door unlocked. Pushing the seat back, I slide in and check the ignition. No keys. Her purse sits on the passenger seat, surrounded by its contents. I see everything but her wallet and phone.

“Open the hood,” Abra calls out. I do as he asks before restoring the items to her purse.

Where the fuck is she?

“Pirate, we found her car,” Hex says, giving him the location before putting the phone on speaker.

“Okay, hold on, let me find the nearest traffic cam. Okay, I got it. It’s on the corner. Let me see if it caught anything.”

I glance down the street and spot the location. It’s more than 200 feet away, so the chances of it catching anything we can use are minimal.

While waiting for Pirate to work his magic, Abra examines the engine.

“Someone fucked with her car,” he says. “They knicked her radiator hose. Probably at the hospital. She’d get this far before the car died on her.”

“Okay, got you. I can spot you on the camera, but barely. I’m rolling back the feed. Okay, here, I see where Olivia pulled over. Asshole.” Pirate mutters.

“What? What happened?”

“Nothing. It looked like the car had lost power, so she pulled over to the side of the road. Some jerk had been riding her tail and flipped her off when he went past. Okay. I can see her moving in the car. She opened the door and got out. I think something spooked her. She took off running across the street. Damn, she’s out of sight. I’ll have to see if I can find her. Wait.”

I growl. I don’t want to fucking wait. I’m fucking tired of waiting. All I want to do is find Olivia and ensure she’s okay.

“A van pulled behind her car, and two guys exited. At least, I think they’re guys. I can’t get a good look at them. Fuck, they took off after her.”