Spark of Hope (MacKenny Brothers #3) - Kathleen Kelly Page 0,1

I get her voice mail.

“Yo, babe, ring me back… and ring your mother.”

Taking the steps two at a time into the clubhouse, I walk toward the telephone and pick it up. “Mrs. Cartland, this is Kyle MacKenny, Lola’s boyfriend.”

“I know who you are. What have you done with my Lola?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I know what kind of man you are, and my Lola deserves better than you!”

The line goes dead, and I look at Cutter.

“What?”

“She hung up on me.” I search through my cell until I find Annie’s phone number, then I hit dial.

“Hello?” answers Annie. She’s eighty-two, and although she’s getting on in years, she’s still as sharp as a tack.

“Hello, Annie, it’s Kyle MacKenny.”

“Oh, Kyle, I recognize your voice!”

I smile at the fondness in her tone. “Ah… is Lola there?”

“No, son. She drove me to and from the church. I assumed she’d gone home.”

“No. She hasn’t turned up yet.”

“If she’s anything like my Annette, I bet she’s gone shopping. Annette regularly forgets the time when she’s out.” Annette is Annie’s granddaughter and the apple of her eye.

“I’m sure you’re right. Thanks, Annie.” I end the call. Cutter’s moved to stand near me. “Something’s not right. Wanna go for a ride?”

“Anything you say, Prez.”

I grab my cut, and we both head for our bikes. As I mount mine, my cell phone begins to ring. The call is Annie Farrow.

“Hey, Annie, did you forget something?”

“Kyle, her car is still outside, and the passenger door is open. Kyle, do you think something happened to her?”

My stomach drops at the news, but to Annie, I say, “I’m sure she’s fine. I’m coming over. Be there in five.”

“Okay, son.”

Putting my phone in my jacket, I lift my chin at Cutter. “We need two more men.”

“Why?”

“Lola’s car is at Annie’s, door’s left open. Someone’s got my girl.”

Cutter’s lips turn down. “Wheels and Rocky are home. I could call them?”

“You do that. Tell them to meet us at Annie’s.”

I start my bike and leave Cutter to make his calls. If this is a rival MC looking to make a move, me going by myself is a mistake. The fact her mother called makes me nervous. Lola doesn’t talk much about her family, but I know they made her life hard.

When I pull up at Annie’s, she’s waiting on the front porch. More energetic than a woman her age should be, Annie meets me on the sidewalk before I fully get off my bike. For an older woman, she shows no signs of slowing down.

“It’s over there,” says Annie as she points to Lola’s red Chevrolet Malibu parked a little up the street.

“Thanks, Annie, please wait here.”

“I’ll do no such thing, Kyle MacKenny!”

With a shake of my head, we both approach the car.

“I didn’t touch anything, save for pushing the door closed with my foot.”

Peering in the front window, Lola’s handbag is on the front seat, and the keys to the car are on the driver’s side floor.

Shit.

“Did anything happen today?”

“No, Lola was on time. Unlike some of your men, she did come in and sit with me in the church as Annette couldn’t come today. Did you know my girl’s been spending time with Lochlan?”

With eyebrows raised, I shake my head. “No, he hasn’t mentioned it.”

Mainly because I warned the bastard off Annette. Lochlan is my youngest brother, a model who uses women like I change my underwear. I specifically told him not to pursue Annette. She’s Annie’s only granddaughter and precious to her. More than one member of my MC has made a move on Annette, and I’ve had to shut that shit down before it went any further.

I glance up and down Annie’s street searching for something, anything.

“Kyle, Mr. Beetson, who lives in this house…” she points, “… has a camera. Maybe he filmed something?”

“Worth an ask.”

I move to walk up to his porch, but Annie stops me with a soft touch of her hand.

“Let me. Arthur is a good neighbor, and he likes me, has for years. You get more with sugar than you do with vinegar.”

“Are you saying I’m not nice?” I ask teasingly.

“Oh, Kyle, I know you’re nice. But, well… you don’t look it.”

Annie goes up the path by herself. The sound of Harleys, signal that my men have arrived. Not only did Cutter get Wheels and Rocky, but my brother, Sean, is with them.

He’s the first to me. “What’s happened?”

“Purse is on the front seat, car keys on the floor, and Annie said the passenger door was open