by Harley Wylde
Huh. The Prospects we had were decent enough, but not many volunteered themselves for work. They’d jump to do anything we asked, but I’d planned on hauling all this shit into the house myself. “You any good at putting shit together?” I asked.
“Somewhat. Two sets of hands will still be better than one.”
I nodded. “All right. When you’re done, stop by. You can help me unload the furniture. I want the baby’s room done before I go get Lilian.”
His eyebrows shot up. “I thought no one knew where she was.”
“Outlaw knows. He just won’t tell me. But he will. Eventually.”
The Prospect opened the gates and I pulled through, giving him a wave as I turned toward my house. I pulled into my driveway a few minutes later and carried in the bags of various baby items, leaving the heavy furniture for Carver. If he wanted to help and try to earn his patch, then I’d let him. I set the bags inside the closet in the nursery and put the packages of diapers under the window.
I didn’t know what Lilian would think of the baby’s room. It was my hope she’d see the effort I’d put in and realize I wasn’t running from her and our baby. I wanted that kid, as much as I wanted her. No, it hadn’t been in my plans to start a family right now, but maybe Fate knew more than I did. Lilian wouldn’t have gotten pregnant unless there was a reason, other than she didn’t get that damn pill I told her to take. She’d been right, though. What were the odds she’d conceive now when she never had before? I didn’t kid myself and think I had super sperm, which meant for whatever reason, this baby was meant to be.
I’d spectacularly fucked this up, but I’d fix it. I just had to convince her to give me a chance first. Or rather, I had to find her location and bring her home. Outlaw couldn’t keep her hidden forever. Eventually, the Pres would demand to know the location of his daughter and unborn grandkid. Since Griz didn’t seem so pissed at me anymore, I was about ninety percent certain he’d share the information with me when he found out.
A knock at the door told me Carver had arrived. I went to let him in, only to be greeted by the large box containing the crib. I stepped aside and he carried it into the house. After telling him which room was the nursery, I went to get the changing table box. It only took another few minutes to get the other box into the nursery along with the rocker, and then we both stared at the three.
“Maybe crib first.” It seemed logical. The kid needed a bed more than the other things, right?
“On it,” Carver said. “If there’s something else you need to do, I can handle this. I can at least get it all together, then you can put it wherever you want it.”
If he was offering, I wouldn’t say no. I gave him a nod and walked out. My phone alerted me to a message and I quickly checked it.
Church in ten.
Looked like I was about to be busy anyway. I’d left my bike at the clubhouse when I’d picked up the truck for my shopping earlier. Taking the truck back to the front of the compound, I parked it and then went inside the clubhouse, putting the keys back on the hook for whoever needed it next. I saw Dingo, Wolf, and Scorpion stepping through the doors of Church and followed. After I took my seat, I realized everyone was here.
“This may bring up unpleasant memories for some of you,” Grizzly said, looking at me, “but Julio Ramirez isn’t just dropping packages in our area anymore. It looks like he’s mobilizing his own crew.”
I digested that news a moment. The bastard had someone torture me so the Pres would agree to let him hide shipments in our territory as a way to slowly overthrow his boss. It seemed that time had come. As much as I hated the bastard, I knew it was just business. He hadn’t singled me out. I hadn’t signed up for this life thinking it would be a cake walk. “His crew in our territory?” I asked.
“From what I can see, it looks like they’re unloading the crates they have stashed in town. The question is where they’ll be taking them,” Grizzly said. “Now that we have kids here, I don’t want to take the risks we have in the past.”
Demon snorted. “We’ve always had kids here. You keep taking in strays.”
Grizzly flipped him off. “Leave my girls out of this.”
“Technically, Demon is right, and you put them in this by bringing up kids,” Slash said. “But that’s neither here nor there. We need to find out what Ramirez is up to. If he’s making his move to take down his boss, I don’t want that shit happening here in our town.”
“Agreed,” said Hot Shot. “This fucker blindsided us once. I’ll be damned if he gets to do it twice.”
“Anyone doing recon?” I asked.
“I tracked them a little ways, but I lost them partway through town. I don’t know if he’s just changing the location of his merchandise, or if he’s taking it out of the area,” Wolf said.
“Basically, we’ve got a whole lot of nothing,” Grizzly said. “And I don’t fucking like it. Dragon, I know you’ve got other shit to worry about, but you were with Ramirez and his men. If anyone knows how these fuckers work, it’s you. I need you to see what you can find out.”
“What about Lilian?” I asked.
Outlaw cleared his throat. “She’s fine, and when she’s ready, she told me to disclose her location. To Grizzly. Sorry, Dragon. The way you handled things has her convinced you don’t want her or the baby. She needs time. Focus on this right now. Lilian is okay.”
“Fine. Tell me where to go and I’ll head out now.” I didn’t like it, but Outlaw was right. I’d fucked up shit with Lilian and no matter how much I wanted to bring her home, maybe she needed some time away. At least if she wasn’t around Ramirez, I knew she’d be safe.
Wolf gave me the last location he’d seen Ramirez’s men, along with the location of the crates he’d been storing. With that information in hand, I walked out and decided to do what I did best. Focus on club shit. Women were too damn complicated. There was a reason I’d remained single all this time. A wife and kids hadn’t been on my radar, at least not for another decade, if ever. Now I didn’t have a choice, at least on the kid part.
I got on my bike and pulled through the gate. I decided to scout the storage facility first, and it was a legit storage place. All this time, I’d thought Ramirez would have some secret warehouse or something, but no. He’d rented a set of storage lockers at the local spot. I idled my bike across the street, sticking to the shadows. The goons in suits had to be part of Ramirez’s crew. No one else around here wore shit like that unless there was a funeral. And even then, half the people would still be in jeans, or what Adalia had once called country chic. Whatever the hell that was.
The men loaded wooden crates into the back of an SUV, then pulled out. I waited a moment, keeping them in my sights. Just as I was about to follow, another black SUV pulled up, identical to the other. Deciding to see if they were more of Ramirez’s men, I hung back. Three men in suits got out. I didn’t know why they weren’t pulling inside to load up. Made more sense to me. Unless…
I eyed the storage facility and saw cameras posted at various places behind the gate. Each time one of the men passed one, they looked the other way. It seemed they were camera shy, and probably didn’t want their plates on video. That told me the plates were probably legit. After they’d loaded several crates and pulled off, I discreetly snapped a pic of the car tag with my phone, then sent it off to Outlaw. Even though he didn’t do a lot of computer work these days, he’d get someone to help if he couldn’t handle it.
This time, I decided to wait and see if any others came through. After ten minutes of no more SUVs, I decided to call it a day. I didn’t know if the plate would tell us anything, but I’d ask Outlaw to pull the footage from the storage facility as well. Maybe we’d catch a break and get this shit figured out. Grizzly was right to worry. If Ramirez came after our women the way his men had gone after Ashes’ woman, I knew there would be hell to pay. Lilian might not officially be mine, but I’d die to protect her, and I knew Dingo and Outlaw felt the same about their women. Blades and
Mei’s mom were unofficially together, and there was no fucking way he’d let someone get their hands on her.
Not that he didn’t want to claim her, but after the hell she’d been through, I could understand him giving her space. They lived together, and he doted on her, but she wasn’t ready to officially belong to anyone. I admired that he was able to hold back on what he wanted in order to ensure she had what she needed. Probably should have learned something from him before I fucked shit up with Lil.
I’d no sooner pulled through the gate at the compound than Slash approached. His expression was grim, and I could hear Grizzly roaring from somewhere nearby. My heart kicked against my ribs and my stomach knotted.
“What happened?” I asked. “Where is she?”
Slash shook his head. “We don’t know. Someone took her.”
Motherfucker. This was the last damn time I listened to everyone. If I’d found a way to track her and gone after Lilian, then she’d be safe right now. But no, I’d given her space.
“Reckless Kings called,” he said. “She was staying with Beast. He’s tearing the place apart searching for her, but… there’s no ransom note. Nothing. She’s just gone.”
“I’m going to need a truck.”
Slash nodded. “Already having one gassed up for you. Go get your shit. Wolf said he’s going with you, and I’m sure several others will too. Griz wants to go, but Shella needs him here. We’ve got your back.”
I snorted. “Right. Now that she’s gone you have my back. When I wanted to go get her, everyone told me to just wait, that she’d come home when she was ready. How did that fucking work out?”
“You’re right. Outlaw should have told you where she was. Maybe she’d be safe right now. Or maybe whoever has her would have found a way to get to her anyway. We don’t know if this is related to the Reckless Kings, to us, or she’s a random victim. Meet back here in fifteen minutes.” Slash stepped back. “Whatever you need to get her back, you’ve got it. Pay the fuckers off if you need to. Just find her. Not only for you, but for Griz too. He’s losing it.”
I nodded and revved the engine on my bike, heading for the house. A few changes of clothes, and every fucking gun I owned would be packed in record time. Then my ass was out of here, whether the others were ready or not.
Hold on, Lil. I’m coming for you.
Chapter Five
Lilian
I’d never felt so stupid in my entire life. Not even when I’d given myself to Dragon and he’d stomped all over my heart. Or when I’d run after hearing Shella talking to our dad. Nope. This topped the damn list. Beast had said he’d take me to the appointment, but then he’d gotten a call. While he’d been busy, I’d watched the minutes tick by. I hadn’t wanted to miss seeing the doctor, so I’d grabbed the address he’d written down, programmed it into my phone, then decided to drive myself.
Being a grown-ass woman, that shouldn’t have been an issue. I just forgot for a moment that I was staying with bikers, and there was a reason they lived in a damn fortress. Because shit on this side of the gate wasn’t safe. Maybe I’d gotten complacent since I’d been safe ever since I went to live with Grizzly. He’d always cautioned me that the club still had enemies and I’d be seen as an easy target. I just hadn’t thought I’d get snatched when I wasn’t anywhere near home, which made me think this had to do with the Reckless Kings.
“Stupid bitch couldn’t do even the simplest thing,” my captor muttered as he paced. He’d tied me to a chair, but other than a headache from whatever he’d used to knock me out, he hadn’t hurt me. Scared the crap out of me, but he hadn’t done any permanent harm that I could tell.
“What was I supposed to have done?” I asked. If he was referring to me as the incompetent bitch, then it would at least be nice to know why I’d been snatched from my car. I hadn’t even made it very far from the compound before I’d had a flat and pulled over. Idiot that I am, I got out to see the damage, only to get grabbed from behind.
“Not you. Charlotte.” He spat on the floor. “Took time to lure that bitch in. I knew Beast had a thing for her. Everyone knows it. What happens? She gets knocked-up and now she doesn’t want anything to do with him. Fucking useless.”
I had a feeling he was talking about the woman I’d seen with Beast, but I couldn’t remember if he’d shared her name. My head was pounding. I knew if it didn’t abate soon, I’d end up throwing up all over myself. As much as I’d love to douse the guy with puke, I didn’t think that would earn me any favors. He seemed a teensy bit unhinged, and I wasn’t sure how he’d react. “So this has to do with Beast?” I asked.
He snarled at me. “Of course! Why else would I take you? Obviously, I picked the wrong woman. If I hadn’t seen you in his house, I’d have never realized my mistake.”
Wait. He’d seen me in Beast’s house? How? It was far enough back from the gate or even the fence line I didn’t think anyone could see in the windows, unless they were inside the compound. If that was the case, had this man been let in voluntarily, or did the compound have a weak spot no one had discovered? I wanted to tell him that I didn’t belong to Beast, but if he thought I was useless to him, he might decide I was expendable. “What do you need with Beast?” I asked.
“It’s his fault. All his fault.”
Well, that answered… nothing. “What’s his fault?”
The man flung his arm out, his eyes wide and crazy. “Everything! She should have been mine. No, if he hadn’t interfered, she would have been mine.”
I was starting to feel a little like I was talking to the March Hare. Not a damn word he said made any sort of sense. The more information he gave me, the less I understood. He obviously felt Beast had wronged him somehow. And it seemed to have something to do with a woman, but… not Charlotte?
If I’d even somewhat followed his craziness, he’d been using her to get closer to Beast. Since it hadn’t worked out, I was a little worried about where Charlotte might be right now. Had he hurt her?
“But you’re his, and carrying his kid. He’ll care about that. Just need to send the right message, then all this will be over. He can have you back, and I’ll have what I need.”
Oh, shit. No, I wasn’t Beast’s, and my baby certainly wasn’t either. If the guy had been keeping tabs on the club, wouldn’t he have noticed I just showed up the other day? Although, when he started mumbling to himself, things became a little clearer. Well, in the fact I now understood the level of crazy I was facing, not so much that he actually made sense.
His voice rose an octave. “I told you the woman was useless, but you insisted he favored her. Now look at this mess!”
“I know! I know I screwed up, but I’m fixing it. I have the right woman now,” he said in his normal voice. Or the voice he’d used with me up to this point.
“Always such a screwup,” he said, in yet another tone. “Never could do shit right. Useless. Fucking useless. Should have been drowned at birth.”
Anger lit his eyes and his body tensed. “Not useless!” he shouted in the voice of… person one? I might not have gotten a degree in psychology, but I’d taken enough of those courses to be almost certain I was dealing with someone who had multiple personalities. I only hoped none of them were homicidal.
I began working my wrists, trying to loosen the rope. He hadn’t bothered tying my legs, and since I hadn’t kicked at him, he must have thought I was adequately subdued. I wasn’t about to dissuade him of that notion. Not until I thought I might actually have a chance of escaping.
Sure, Lilian. Run away from home. What’s the worst that could happen? Well, getting kidnapped by a crazy person was at the top of that list now. Normally I would have never been so callous as to even think of a mentally ill person as crazy, but when that person had kidnapped me, tied me to a chair, and planned to use me as bait or something, then crazy seemed to fit. Sadly, if he’d ever been medicated for his illness, it seemed he’d stopped taking the pills. Or his doctor was an incompetent idiot.
&nbs
p; Whatever the case, I was well and truly fucked. For now. I kept working at the ropes, hoping I could slip one of my hands free. I could feel the rough fibers tearing at the skin and I had no doubt I’d be bleeding before I was done. Being free would be worth it. I’d been a victim for too long, and then a survivor, to deal with this shit now. Not to mention, I really needed to pee. Dragon’s kid had to be sitting directly on my bladder.
The man continued to pace, having an argument with the various people in his head, or however that worked. Right now, I needed to focus on getting free. I kept an eye on him, in case he came closer or seemed like he might hurt me, but otherwise I did my damnedest to get my wrists free. I didn’t know if I could pull off some of the self-defense moves I’d learned, since I was now five months pregnant, but I was going to try my hardest to get out of here. I didn’t even know where here was, but I’d figure it out once I’d put my kidnapper far behind me.
I wondered if anyone had found my car yet. Beast had to know I was missing, which meant my father likely did as well. I’d be lucky if I was permitted outside the gates after this. Goodbye job and freedom. Grizzly had always been protective, but something told me he was about to up his game about a million percent. I’d have felt sorry for what that meant for Shella too, but since her treacherous mouth is why I’d left to begin with, it served her right if she was put on lockdown.
I could admit I was still a little bitter over what felt like a betrayal. She might have been trying to do what she felt was right, but she’d fucked up. When I told her I hadn’t been forced, she should have listened. But no, she heard what she wanted, saw what she wanted, and then acted how she’d wanted. It was past time for her to grow the hell up. Either that, or someone just needed to turn her over their knee and paddle her ass. From what I’d seen, Dagger would be happy to handle it, or rather handle Shella.
Dad might have wanted more for us than pairing off with bikers in his club, or any club, but he should just get used to the fact we felt safe with men like him. Adalia and Badger were happy, and if Dragon hadn’t been an asshole, I’d have been over the moon to be his. It was only a matter of time before Dagger made a move and claimed Shella. At least, that was my prediction.