Seeking Shadows (Royal Bastards MC Tampa Chapter Book 3)

by K E Osborn

  “You have no idea. That bed is not built for a man like me.”

  “A man like you, hey?” She runs her hand up and down my stomach.

  “I can go again. We have time.”

  She groans, slowly sitting up. “I can’t abandon Cruz for the entire time I’m here. I have to be a mom at some point today.”

  I bring my hand up to caress her cheek. “You’re a fucking great mom.”

  “Cruz absolutely adores you.”

  “He makes it easy.”

  She leans in kissing me, her naked breasts pressing against my chest making me semi-erect again as a knock on the door breaks us apart.

  “Yeah?” I ask.

  “The kid’s been asking for Shadow. Think he might be wondering where you are,” Nycto calls from the other side of the door.

  Shadow sits, moving her head around looking for her clothes. “Coming.”

  “I bet you were,” Nycto jokes.

  I rub her arm as she jumps from the bed. “See… mother duties.”

  “I’ll come with.”

  We both get dressed, then head out into the clubroom where everyone smirks as we enter, including Scorn from New Orleans, RBMC. I raise my chin to him as he stands in the main room with Nycto and Void.

  “Hey, brother, didn’t know you were riding in,” I tell him, walking over grabbing him in an all-man back slapping bro hug.

  “Jameson’s got me doing some shit. Just been to Cleveland, now I’m stopping in before heading home.”

  “It’s good to see you again. Heard something’s going on with Knuckles?”

  “Yeah, I’m up for replacing him as Sergeant-At-Arms. It’s why I’m running all over the fucking place. But we do what we gotta do for the club, right?”

  I glance at Void, a mutual understanding flowing between us. “Yeah, brother. We do.”

  Scorn turns to Shadow, looking her up and down. “Haven’t seen you around before, you a new club girl?”

  Shadow scoffs.

  I place my hand on her arm to keep her calm. “No. She’s with me.”

  Scorn raises his brow. “Shit! First patching in, now getting yourself an Ol’ Lady. Damn, Justice, you’ll be gunning for president soon.” Scorn nudges Nycto in the ribs, and he scowls at him.

  “Not fucking likely,” Nycto grunts out.

  “I’m happy where I’m at. And I haven’t claimed Shadow yet, but she’s off-limits to anyone else. If you hear what I’m saying?”

  “Not my type, anyway…” Scorn snorts. “Trixie! I need a beer!”

  She rushes over to the bar to pour him a cold one as Shadow tugs on my arm. “If Trixie’s in here, then where is Cruz?”

  I spin around, Eva’s sitting on the sofa with Pepper, looking at magazines. My chest squeezes as my eyes meet Shadow’s.

  I see it.

  The second the fear hits her.

  I spin toward the bar. “Trixie! Where the fuck is Cruz?”

  Her eyes widen like she forgot all about him. “He’s outside, playing by the bikes. I only left him for a minute while Scorn rode in. I was going back out, I swear!”

  Shadow and I don’t wait for even one second. We both run like hell for the front door and bolt up the concrete hill.

  The gate is wide open.

  No sign of Cruz anywhere.

  “Oh my God!” Shadow whimpers, her hands flying into her hair, clutching at it in frustration.

  “Cruz!” I scream at the top of my lungs as I make a mad dash out of the gates searching around. But I can’t see him anywhere. “Jesus fucking Christ, Cruuuz!”

  “Baby, where are you?” Shadow calls out, tears streaming down her face as she runs to my side. “Dash! Where is he?”

  My stomach rolls, nausea hitting me full force. I’m not even the kid’s father, and I’m shaken to the core at losing him. “I don’t know, but we’re gonna find him!”

  “The gate is open. Could he have wandered off outside the perimeter?” Shadow clutches at straws as Nycto walks up the ramp toward us.

  “What’s going on?” he grunts out.

  I turn to him my face contorted with concern. “The gate’s open, and Cruz is missing.”

  Nycto runs his hand through his hair, his face falling. “Dash, you and me will get on our rides now and search the neighborhood. Shadow, you stay back in case he wanders back to the clubhouse.”

  I grip hold of Shadow’s hand.

  “Okay… please find him!”

  Leaning in, I place a quick kiss on her forehead as our other brothers start to congregate out the front of the clubhouse with the commotion. We can’t talk to them right now. I got a kid to find. Nycto and I rush to our bikes, but when I spot Voltage, it’s like a hammer slams into my chest. Nycto starts up his ride, but I jump off mine and start running. Everyone watches me as I race toward the clubhouse, and push through the swarm of brothers gathered at the doorway. “Move, get out of the way!” I yell at them and rush for the bedroom.

  I slam open the door and race around the bedroom searching like crazy. Pulling the bedsheets away, turning our bags inside out, but nothing.

  I can’t find it anywhere.

  Shaking my head, I make my way back out into the main clubroom to find Voltage and Shadow have made their way inside to check on me.

  “What the hell are you doing, Dash?” Shadow blurts out.

  But I see it in Voltage’s eyes.

  He knows.

  Because he is a part of this. “Is it here?” he asks.

  “I can’t find it, maybe he took it with him?”

  Shadow scrunches up her face. “What? What are you talking about?”

  Voltage and I rush toward his tech hub.

  Nycto storms inside. “Justice, what the fuck is going on?”

  I skid to a halt, a slow smile crossing my face. “With the danger of Tyler more than evident, I went to Voltage to put some fail-safes in place, in case something should happen. Something like this.”

  Shadow jerks her head back, and I grimace. “I’m sorry, Shadow, I should have told you, but I didn’t want you to say no, so I did it without telling you.”

  “You put a tracker in something.” Nycto chuckles.

  Shadow gasps. “You what?”

  I exhale. “Mister Sprocket. He takes that thing everywhere. I thought if anything happened, it was the safest bet.”

  Shadows grits her teeth, but then rushes toward Voltage and me. “I wish you had told me, but right now, I just hope the damn things work so we can find Cruz!”

  We all make our way into the tech hub, Voltage gets to work quickly locating the tracker and the beacon is moving. I tilt my head to the side as I shift my eyes to Nycto.

  “Prez, that’s moving fucking fast for him to be out on his own and walking the streets, right?”

  A grim frown forms on his face. “That’s because he’s not on his own. He’s in a vehicle, and they’re moving fucking fast away from here.”

  Shadow gasps, her hand slapping at her mouth as she lets out a whimper. “It’s Tyler, he has him, Dash. It has to be him!”

  Fear ripples through me. After hearing what Tyler has in store for Cruz, I don’t want Cruz anywhere near that fucker. “Prez!”

  “We’re going, as many of us as is available. We’re getting your son back, Shadow,” Nycto informs her.

  “I’m coming too. I can’t stay behind and wait to see if Tyler kills my son. He has no rights to him. I can’t stay back, Dash. I won’t!”

  “Shadow, no! It’s too danger—”

  “I don’t give a shit. I would do anything to protect my son, Dash. I need to be there for him. You guys go in and do the grunt work, but I need to be there for Cruz.”

  “Shadow, no—”

  “Justice, she’s tough. If Toxin can handle something like this, I think Shadow can too.”

  “I’m going. Nothing is stopping me from going. As Nycto said, if I can go, so can Shadow!” Toxin announces from behind us.

  We all turn, and Shadow glances at To
xin, mutual respect sweeping between the two women, who only hours before were ripping each other’s hair out.

  I hesitate, but the determination in Shadow’s eyes lets me know she isn’t budging. “Fine, but we go now, and I need someone guarding Shadow at all times. If Tyler sees her, he won’t hesitate to hurt her.”

  “Done,” Nycto confirms, and we all rush out to the parking lot.

  “I want in on this action, too. I’m feeling a little trigger-happy. Want a hand?” Scorn asks, already heading for his ride.

  Nycto’s eyes shift to me for confirmation. I nod. Nycto bobs his head, and Scorn mounts his ride as I slide onto my Harley.

  Shadow’s visibly shaking as she steps up to me.

  I exhale, reaching out for her hand. “We’re gonna get him back.”

  She sniffles, quickly wiping a tear from her face, then slides in behind me. Her arms wrap around my waist, and she holds on tight. I haven’t ridden with her before, and even though this moment is full of angst and anxiety, it does feel fucking good to have her behind me. I start my ride as Voltage takes off at the front. We follow, taking off like a shower of shit to get our boy back.

  The ride is fast, my stress levels are rising with every turn. With every drop of a gear, I can’t help but wonder if Tyler has stopped, and if we’re going to be too late. But I have to be strong for Shadow because losing Cruz would surely end her, and it would definitely end me.

  The procession of bikes rolls toward a warehouse. It appears outdated and abandoned, but the low beating of bass thumps ever so slightly. We pull up down the alleyway, out of sight, as we slide off our rides, huddling together. The entry for the warehouse has security out the front which could be an issue. If there are men outside, there’s obviously far more inside.

  “What’s the play here, Nycto?” Void asks as we all crowd together, assessing the situation.

  We glance back over where a couple of leggy blondes walk up to the front door, talking to the security guards. They flick their hair around a few times, then the guards let them in.

  I try to listen a little harder, there’s definitely music coming from inside. “I think it’s a club. Or at least something like that. Maybe some exclusive venue. I can hear music.”

  Everyone turns to the building and nods.

  “Here’s my plan. Toxin, strip off your cut, tussle your hair, and try to get inside. Then you call and tell us what you see. Exits. How many guards. Whatever the fuck else is in there. Get us a way in. Got it?”

  Void frowns, but Toxin smiles wide like it’s the best news she’s heard all day. “I got this.” She shrugs out of her cut, handing it over to Void, then fluffs her hair making her look like a sex bomb. My eyes shift to Shadow who reaches out placing her hand on Toxin’s arm. She turns to face Shadow with a shocked expression on her face. “Be safe.”

  Toxin smirks. “Where’s the fun in that?” she quips, turns to Void, kisses him roughly, then runs away from us around the other side of the parking lot to come from a different direction. The woman is fucking smart.

  I wrap my arm around Shadow as she stands impatiently tapping her foot. “What if Tyler is already draining Cruz? What if he’s already…” She lets the sentence hang in the air as the rest of us stand by waiting to go in.

  “He’s not. Cruz is gonna be okay.”

  “I fucking hope so.”

  Ivy saunters up to the security guards like she is some kind of Barbie doll. She’s tied her shirt at the side in a knot, her tits practically hanging out of the top she’s wearing, her ripped jeans showing off her legs. It all works perfectly with the ensemble.

  The guards look her up and down, we can’t hear what she’s saying to them, but they are lapping up each and every second of it, laughing and smiling at her. She even leans in squeezing one of their biceps.

  Void grunts as the rest of us chuckle at his unease.

  They open the door, and she blows them both a kiss as she walks straight on through.

  “We’re in,” I mumble to no one in particular.

  Shadow’s practically bouncing out of her skin as she keeps tabs on the tracker on Voltage’s tablet. “It’s gone still, does that mean they’re doing the ceremony?”

  “We’ll get to him as soon as we can. Hang tight.”

  “We should be in there. Why are we waiting around when you could all be storming this place right no—”

  Suddenly, Void’s cell vibrates, stopping Shadow’s outburst as he swipes the call putting it on speaker, but at a low volume. “You’re on, Toxin.”

  “Guards are manning every exit point. Two on each. They look locked and loaded, but without getting too close I can’t tell for sure. This appears like some kind of exclusive club. There are men everywhere, and the women seem to be here solely for them. One set of stairs going up, and another going down at the rear of the main room. If you come in via the side entrance where you guys are located, the stairs will be almost in front of you.”

  “Guards just inside the door to the side entrance?” Nycto asks.

  “Affirmative.”

  “How many guards in total can you see?” Void asks.

  She mumbles under her breath like she’s counting. “Maybe ten?”

  I like those odds.

  With all of us here and Ivy inside, we have a good chance at this. “You see anyone else who looks official?”

  She exhales. “I mean… all the men here are wearing suits and shit. So I doubt they’re of any importance, just assholes looking to get laid.”

  “Okay, we’re coming in. Side entrance. Get ready, Toxin. We’re gonna need you to help keep up a distraction.”

  “Got it.” She ends the call and Nycto turns to me.

  “What do you want to do with Tyler if he’s in there?”

  Shadow turns up her lip with hatred, and I know what I have to do. “Leave him for me,” I reply.

  Everyone nods, and we pull up our weapons, loading them.

  I turn to Shadow, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Please, stay out here. Once we have Cruz, I’ll get Toxin to bring him out to you.”

  She huffs, folding her arms over her chest. “Dash, what if he needs me?”

  “I can’t concentrate on getting Cruz back if I’m worried about protecting you too. Let me focus on him.”

  It’s obvious as she sinks in on herself. “Okay.”

  “Good.” I lean in pressing my lips to her forehead. “I’ll be back soon.”

  Her eyes meet mine. “You better be.”

  I press my lips to hers briefly, then turn and walk with my brothers toward the side entrance. We all gather either side of the door. I lean on one side, Nycto on the other, our brothers flanking behind us as Nycto bangs on the door. We edge against the building as the door swings open, and a guard steps out.

  Bringing my gun up, I shoot him, once, straight in the head. He collapses to the ground as the roar of the gunfire echoes through the parking lot. We wait as the second guard pops his head out, and Nycto repeats the process, the second guard falling right down on top of the first.

  I smirk at Nycto as we nod our heads at each other, and I take the lead. Darting around the doorway, I head inside, my gun up as I walk in, the bass from the terrible music is thumping. Scantily clad women and men in suits are everywhere like they own the joint.

  My brothers follow me, but this all feels a little too easy. We race around for the stairwell when the music cuts off and everyone suddenly turns to face us. We still, as a round of slow clapping starts from the other side of the room. The hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention, and as we stop, an older man walks toward us, two henchmen with him, and in their possession is Toxin.

  Void steps forward, but Nycto holds him back as we all stare each other down.

  I step forward, needing to know where Cruz is. I don’t have time to play their stupid games right now. “Where’s the kid?”

  The old man laughs, shaking his head. “So eager… you send in your girl like she’s bait thin
king she could pull this off? We have a certain type here. We knew the second she showed up something was amiss. I captured her the moment she walked through those doors. She’s quite the actress, that phone call to you was great, don’t you think?”

  “Who are you?” I ask.

  “Oh, Dash, you know who I am… at least who we all are.”

  Glancing around, my eyes shift between the men in the room, all their focus is on me. The power, the persuasion in the room, these men are from money, from substance.

  Of course, I know who they are. “You’re the Order of Abaddon.”

  He shrugs. “Some of us. A small faction. Actually Dash, we’re acquainted, you and I!”

  “The fuck we are.”

  He grins maniacally. “You were quite a bit younger when I first met you. Perhaps five when I met you again.”

  Contorting my face, I shake my head. “I don’t know you!”

  “I suppose you wouldn’t remember me, would you? Let me tell you about a man and how he was a part of the Order. How he was their problem child. He was a great member, such a high rank until he wouldn’t allow his firstborn be initiated. So instead, he let his son move away to a group home in LA because shit with his father was so bad at home. Even though said child adored his younger siblings, he left and lived as a street kid to get away from his father. Starting to ring any bells, Dash?”

  My stomach knots as a cold sweat invades my body. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “The reason your father died was because he wouldn’t initiate his firstborn into the Order, Dash… that child was you.”

  My eyes fall to the scar on my wrist which has been there ever since I remember. “You’re telling me, my father was a member of the Order?”

  “Not just a member, a high-ranking official, but he grew a backbone once he started having more children. When you survived your draining, you were instantly marked to be a part of us. Just like Cruz as he’s now known. His ceremony is taking place as we speak.”

  “This was a diversion?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “Cruz!” I call out, racing past the asshole, hearing the roaring of gunfire break out in the main room.

  My brothers aren’t waiting anymore for a fight—we’re bringing it to them.