by Erin Osborne
“Keg, you’re in the SUV with Slim’s bitch,” Haggard says, registering my surprise at once again being linked to Slim. “Yeah, we know exactly who you are. Too bad we got your cousin instead of you that night.”
My pain and rage amp up as he makes the connection between these assholes and my cousin. These are the men that killed her and took Patience away from Kinsliegh. Away from my aunt and me when she had so much life left to live.
I try to tamp down my emotions as I remember Kinsliegh’s in the backseat. She needs me more than ever right now if these fuckers are about to kidnap us. looking around, I don’t see anyone I can scream out to help me. The parking lot is emptier than I’ve ever seen it. Just the way the guys want it. That’s why they loitered near the front of the store and didn’t walk through it. They wanted everyone inside to see them so no one would walk out while they were still in the parking lot.
“Keg, get in the fuckin’ SUV. Bitch is drivin’ so she can’t try to take you out durin’ the road trip,” Haggard repeats.
“What if she still tries somethin’?” Keg asks.
“Then knock her the fuck out and hope the accident resultin’ from that kills you. If not, I’ll make sure you pay for takin’ our payday away, you stupid fuck,” Haggard answers, leading the other three men over to the bikes.
The man named Keg forces me into the driver’s side of the SUV. He holds a gun on me and my only thought is of Kinsliegh in the back. I won’t do anything to jeopardize her or her safety. She’s the most important person in my life besides Slim.
Slim also takes up space in my mind as I think of the time we lost while he was being an asshole. And I think of the way he’s going to react when he figures out I’m not at the house anymore. I’m not sure exactly what these assholes are planning on gaining by taking me, but I guess I’ll figure it out eventually. For now, I have to focus on what’s going on. Thoughts of Slim can invade my mind later.
“Follow Haggard out of the parking lot. You’ll be surrounded so don’t fuck up,” Keg growls.
Nodding my head, I follow the bike in front of me. There’s Haggard and another man in front and two more behind me. I follow Haggard as he leads us out of town. We get on the highway where the bikes surround me. Keg directs me to the middle lane so this can happen.
To an outsider, it would seem like these men are escorting someone important to the club. In reality, I’m important to their club because of my relationship with Slim. But they’re not escorting me to anywhere but the doom that awaits me when they get me wherever we’re heading.
I know I won’t be able to formulate a plan of escape. It has to be something simple since I’m not alone. All I know right now is I will kill any of these fuckers if they mess with Kinsliegh or try to take her away from me.
We drive for almost two hours before Haggard pulled onto a dirt road. He’s leading me into the middle of nowhere. There’s no other houses around us and nothing to hide in like woods or brush. We’re literally in the middle of a field that’s been plowed down and left to die in the hot summer sun with no one taking care of it.
Keg has kept his gun on me the entire drive and I’ve been afraid to try anything. He’s been leering at me and making the odd comment about how much he wants to tear my pussy up. I’ve almost gagged several times because of his comments. Somehow I manage to keep my composure and ensure we get to our final destination safely.
He shows me where to park the SUV before holding the gun to my head and making me climb over the console. I land with a thud in his lap. Keg takes the opportunity to cop a feel and make sure to lick the back of my neck. Before anything else can happen, Haggard pulls open the door.
Haggard pulls me into his arms and away from Keg. After pushing me behind him, he goes after the man still sitting in the SUV. The entire time Haggard was going after the man he made ride with me, I manage to convince one of the other guys to let me in the backseat so I can get Kinsliegh.
This guy, Crack, seems to be the softest of the men I’m now surrounded with for the foreseeable future. Crack leads me into the house after getting Kinsliegh, still in her car seat, and the diaper bag out of the vehicle. I try to look around as much as possible so I can figure out a layout without calling attention to myself.
Crack leads me up to the second floor of the old farmhouse we’ll be staying in right now. There’s five doors up here and we walk to the end of the hallway. He opens the door and I almost throw up on the man standing before me. It smells like garbage and decaying flesh in the room. There’s no way in hell I’m taking the baby in this hellhole.
“Is there somewhere else I can stay?” I ask, using one hand to cover my nose with my shirt.
“Nope. It’s here or with one of the guys,” he mutters.
Fuck that! I’ll take my chance in this room. I walk in the room and set the car seat down on the floor next to the bed. The room itself is pretty clean, so I’m not sure where the smell is coming from.
Looking at the window, I silently ask if I can open it up. Crack nods his head and watches as I walk over to the only window in the room. As I try to pry it open, I notice there’s more nothing on the backside of the house. I’m literally in the one place there’s nowhere to hide if I manage to escape.
Before I turn away from the window, the door slams shut and I hear the lock turn from the outside. Well, it looks like we’ll be locked in here. Now, I just have to wait and see how long it takes for someone to come in and see me. And to find out what they plan to do with me.
Sitting on the bed, I watch Kinsliegh as she continues to sleep. She’s in her own little world and that’s the best place for her right now. Hopefully she doesn’t remember anything that’s about to happen to us.
As I watch the baby sleep, I let the thoughts of Slim invade. I’ve been pushing them away since I got back in the SUV. Now, I don’t have to. Image after image flashes through my head. From the very first time I laid eyes on the man that seems larger than life to a few hours ago when I looked at him for the last time.
Tears fill my eyes as memories flood my senses. Slim takes everyone’s problems and puts them on his shoulders to carry. On top of that, he has an entire club to run and make sure everyone involved is safe and comes back home whole. It’s no wonder the man pushed me away more times than I can count. I don’t know what I’d do in his position.
I get he doesn’t want a target painted on my back because we’re together. That didn’t stop me from falling in love with the man though. But it looks like that doesn’t matter now since I’ve been taken. Who knows if I’ll ever get out of here alive?
Before I can get too lost in the memories of Slim, Kinsliegh begins to stir. I quickly walk into the bathroom to fill a bottle with water for her. Making it warm, I measure out the formula. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best I can do right now. Picking her up, I cradle her in my arms and relish the weight of her little body as she eats.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Slim
WAKING UP, I reach over for Shy. My hands meets the cold sheets where she should be lying. I open my eyes to see her spot empty and wonder where she’s at. Getting up, I take care of business before walking to the nursery. She’s not there and neither is Kinsliegh.
Listening, I don’t hear any noise coming from downstairs. So, I walk through the house and call out her name. No answer. What the fuck? I run up the stairs to grab my phone out of the jeans I had on this morning when I got back. Pulling up Shy’s name, I click on send to call her. It goes straight to voicemail.
Panic sets in as I throw clothes on and run out of the house to my bike. Straddling it, I pull out of the driveway and race toward the clubhouse. The closer I get to the parking lot, my eyes frantically search for the SUV that’s missing from the house. I don’t see it anywhere.
I park my bike right in front of the door and barely remember to put the kickstand down before racing inside. As soon as I enter the common room, my gaze rakes over the few occupants in the room. Playboy,
Tank, Hound, Ghost, Stryker, and Killer are sitting at one of the tables talking. Ian and Alex are behind the bar making sure everything is stocked and clean for tonight.
Killer is the first one that picks up on my panic. “What’s goin’ on, Slim?”
“Where’s Shy and Kinsliegh? Have any of you seen them?” I ask, not waiting for an answer as I make my way to the room we have at the clubhouse.
“What do you mean, dad?” Playboy asks. “We haven’t seen her since yesterday. She should be at home.”
“She’s fuckin’ not there. Kinsliegh and her aren’t there. Her phone goes straight to fuckin’ voicemail. Did the girls have somethin’ planned?” I ask, flinging open my door and searching in the small room.
“No. I’ll double-check with Sami, but I don’t know of anythin’ goin’ on today.”
Playboy walks back into the hallway to call Sami. When I turn around, the guys from the common room are standing in the hallway outside my door. I slump down on my bed and wonder what the fuck is going on. My gut tells me that something is majorly wrong here.
Shy wouldn’t just disappear with Kinsliegh. She knows what she means to me. Thinking of everything that’s happened in the last few weeks, I realize suddenly I never told her. Shy has no clue I’m in love with her; that I want her and Kinsliegh in my life more than I’ve ever wanted anything before. The only exception is my kids.
“She doesn’t fuckin’ know. I never told her,” I say, looking up at the guys I’ve been closer to than anyone else in my life.
“She knows,” Tank says, walking through the door and standing in front of me.
Playboy walks back in the room and shakes his head. The girls didn’t have anything planned for today. Fuck! Where the fuck are my girls?
Before I can make a move to lash out, Tank is on me. If there’s anyone here that can take me down, it would be him or Killer.
My breath is coming out ragged as I fight against the hold Tank has on me. I struggle with everything in me to break his grip on my arms so I can lay him the fuck out. The only thought running through my mind right now is getting loose to find my woman and baby girl before anything happens to them.
“I’m not lettin’ you go until I know you’re good. You have to get right in the head so we can find them. If you go off half-cocked, you’re goin’ to fuck up. That’s not what needs to happen right now,” Tank says. “I’m goin’ to let you go in a second. But, if I think you’re goin’ to do somethin’ stupid, I’ll knock your ass the fuck out. Got me?”
“Yes.”
Tank lets go of me and I can feel him brace for me to attack him or lash out. He’s right though. I need to figure out who has Shy and what’s going on. Fox needs to get here or wake the fuck up so he can try to trace Shy’s phone.
I stalk out of my room and make my way down the hallway to his room. Pounding on the door, I wait only a second before I pound again. Fox opens the door and his eyes widen at my appearance.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Shy and Kinsliegh are missin’. Need you to try to track her phone.”
Fox runs to his make-shift office. He’s got so many computers and gadgets in here there’s not much he can’t do. I stand directly behind him as he types away on the computer and waits a second before the word ‘failure’ appears on his screen.
“Her phone’s either off or it’s been ditched. When’s the last time you saw them?” he asks.
Dread fills me on top of the panic. The need to lash out and destroy something fills me. Knowing this isn’t the room to do it in, I leave Fox sitting there and make my way out the back door. Everything out here is fair game.
There’s chairs, the barrels for fires, picnic tables, and a few other odds and ends that we’ve left outside that meet my wrath. I’m so pissed even the picnic tables don’t stand a chance against me.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been tearing shit apart out here, but by the time I’m done, not a single thing is left standing. Or in one piece. My chest is rising and falling rapidly with the exertion I just used to try to get a hold of the pain, dread, panic, and fear coursing through me.
Tank and Killer are standing outside. Killer’s leaning against the door so no one else can come out while Tank leans against the wall. They’re both watching me, looking as calm as if we were talking about the weather right now. I know that’s not the case though. They’re both poised to get me and wrestle me to the ground in a second if it’s necessary.
The thought of getting in the ring with one of them fills me because I’m nowhere close to losing the aggression that’s now also coursing through me.
“Don’t even think about it,” Tank says. “I’m not gonna explain to my wife why her old man is beat to shit.”
“Like you stand a chance,” I say, turning my attention to Killer.
“Not happenin’, Prez,” he says.
I slump down once again. I’ve never felt so inept or like a failure in my life. Knowing Shy and Kinsliegh are out there somewhere is gutting me. I should’ve just stayed awake and this wouldn’t be happening right now.
I’ve got to do something to get the ball rolling on finding my family. I walk toward the door. Killer moves out of my way and lets me inside. Both men follow me closely to make sure I don’t take out any casualties on my way in. Right now, if one person says the wrong thing to me, I’m going to lose my shit worse than I just did.
I make my way into the office and sit behind my desk. Tank is the only one to follow me in. As he takes a seat on my couch, I pull out my phone and begin to make calls. The first person I call is Renegade.
“What’s up?” he asks, answering his phone on the first ring.
“We have a situation. Shy and the baby are missin’. No one’s seen them here and the girls didn’t have any plans today. I don’t want to call her aunt and alert her to a potential problem. Know they wouldn’t be there though. Not without Shy lettin’ me know,” I say.
“Fuck! You think it’s the Snakes?” he asks.
“I don’t know what to think right now. It’s the only thing that makes sense though.”
“Okay. Let me put out some feelers and see if anyone’s seen anythin’ closer to here. You have anythin’ to go on at all?” he asks.
“We finally found that bitch we kicked out. She said they got a house in Carlisle. Not sure where it is exactly because I don’t know the area. That’s my guess where they’re at though. I’m goin’ to put my own feelers out. Call when you got somethin’.”
I hang up the phone and put a call into Grim. After giving him the same information, he tells me he’ll get his guys on it. They’ll all be turning in markers to figure out where the house is. And he’ll let Gage know so they can get on it too. That’s one less call for me to make. After thanking the man, I hang up and sit back in my chair. I should call Butcher, but I don’t have it in me right now. Besides he’s farther away than anyone else and won’t know the area either.
Tank and I sit in silence as I contemplate what I’m going to do now. We need to call church first of all so everyone knows what’s going on. I’m sure most of the guys know by now considering they all gossip worse than the females around here. Having an idea of the next thing I need to do in mind, I pick my phone up and send a mass text out to let the guys know church is in fifteen minutes. I’m not wasting any time on this.
“You sittin’ in on church?” I ask the man in front of me.
“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” he answers, standing up and leaving me alone in the office for now.
I sit at my desk and think back on everything I’ve done to Shy since she walked through the doors of the clubhouse. I’ve been a major asshole where she’s concerned and now I might not ever be able to change that.
Shy’s a woman that deserves everything good life can give her. Instead all I did was treat her like shit. Instead of treasuring her and the gift she gave me, I pushed her away and then banned her from the clubhouse after she moved out. In doing this, I forced
her hand to the point she took a fucking job at Allure and had the shit beat out of her. Fuck! When am I going to stop fucking things up when it comes to her?
I’m so lost in my own head, I don’t hear anyone knock on my door. It’s not until a hand lands on my shoulder that I even realize someone else is in the office with me. Turning my head, I see Killer standing behind me. He’s got a grim look on his face and my first thought is he’s heard something.
“What’s wrong? Did you hear somethin’?” I ask, standing up so fast my chair flies backward, narrowly missing him.
“Not yet, Prez. Everyone’s waitin’ on you for church,” he answers.
I nod my head and lead him from the room. We make our way to church where Alex is standing with a box in his hands. Usually guns and phones go inside. Today, I’ll leave my weapon, but I’m keeping my phone with me. Renegade, Grim, or Gage could call and I’m not missing it for anything. Or, whoever has my girl could call.
Walking to my seat, I bang the gavel on the scarred table before I’ve even taken my seat. I take a few seconds to compose myself while I look around the table at my brothers. These men have had my back for so long and I have theirs. My son sits at this table as my Vice President and my son-in-law is sitting with us today. The rest of the guys are close enough to be my brothers or my sons.
“Shy and Kinsliegh are missin’. We had business to take care of late last night and now they’re gone. I woke up to an empty house. The guys that were here haven’t seen them. Playboy called Sami and there weren’t any plans for the day. Her phone is either off or it’s been destroyed because Fox can’t find a signal for it,” I tell the men surrounding me.