Frowning, I continue toward Gracie’s, but that sensation doesn’t fade, it only intensifies. Picking up my speed, I move my feet a bit faster, glancing back behind me and finding nobody there as my heart picks up its pace as well.
Something isn’t right, but I don’t see anyone. It’s scary, and it reminds me of the time I was taken from Montana. I felt like I was being watched for days, and I was. Every fucking move I made, I had eyes on me. It was only when Lucifer left on a two-day run and didn’t take me with him that the people who had been watching, finally snatched me.
I begin to sweat, my body feeling that urge to hide taking over. I lost the sense of flight or fight a long time ago. I have the urge to hide and survive now. I’m like a damn ostrich, hiding my head in the sand in hopes that if I can’t see them, then they assuredly cannot see me.
Sprinting up Gracie’s walkway and porch, I bang on her door a little louder than I need to. She wrenches the door open, looking past me before she looks into my eyes.
“What happened?” she shouts.
Slipping past her, I walk into the house and let out a breath. “I don’t know. I felt like I was being watched my entire walk over here,” I exhale, trying to catch my breath. “It was probably just me being paranoid,” I say, shaking my head.
Gracie’s eyes narrow and she shakes her head. “Don’t do that, Hayden,” she murmurs.
“Do what?”
She hums. “Downplay your instincts. I doubt it was nothing. You’ve been walking to and from the bar to here a million times and never felt that way. You’re marked and claimed now, which puts a gigantic target right here on your chest,” she says, placing her hand right where Crooner’s name is scrawled.
“I didn’t see anyone, though. I think I’m just overreacting a little because Crooner’s gone,” I shrug.
Gracie purses her lips together, her eyes narrowing. She doesn’t believe me, and frankly, I don’t believe myself, but she doesn’t say anything else about it.
She changes the subject and tells me all about Easton, and their night together. Apparently, he was fantastic, fell right to sleep, and didn’t make a peep until this morning.
I thank Gracie and give her a hug before I leave with Easton in my arms. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here. I could make us some lunch?” she offers.
“You’ve done enough. I promise we’ll be okay.” I wave as I walk down the stairs.
I don’t look back, worried that I’ll see her concerned face and rush back inside. By the time me and Easton are home, I’m not surprised to see a motorcycle parked in my driveway. What does surprise me is that Snake is the man leaning against it.
“Hey there, Hayden,” he offers gently.
He’s always been very sweet and gentle with me, and while I appreciate it, I know he’s that way because he knows more details about my past than anybody else.
I offer him a smile and wave as I walk closer toward him. “Gracie said she was a little concerned, said you felt like you were being watched,” he explains as he follows behind me into the house.
“On the way to her house, I had a weird feeling, but it was gone by the time I left,” I shrug.
I can feel Snake’s assessing gaze directly on me, but I avoid his eyes contact. He grunts. “You going to work today?” he asks, changing the subject.
“I don’t know, I worked all night,” I sigh.
He chuckles. “Traci called and told us everything. I’m sending over a prospect and a clubgirl to help her out tonight, and every night until these guys are gone, or until Ginger can hire some more help. Give her a call, she said she was planning on being down there to open today. She figured you’d be dead on your feet.”
I nod, I am dead on my feet, that’s the most accurate description of how I feel right about now. “Okay, I’ll call her.”
He lifts his chin and starts to walk away from me, pausing with his hand on the front door knob. He turns his head, his lips tipping into a smile and his eyes focused on my chest.
“Glad to see you and Crooner got all worked out, and are together,” he winks then walks out of my house without allowing me to say a word.
Although I’m not sure what I would even say, except, I’m glad too.
CROONER
Gathering in Fury’s office, I don’t sit down, choosing to lean against the side of the wall instead. My phone is burning a hole in my pocket. I want to call Hayden, maybe even FaceTime with Easton. It’s only been a couple of days, but I miss both of their faces.
“All right, I briefed Dirty, and Sniper on what you told me yesterday. Do you have any ideas on the layout, on how many men you’ll need, or how to breach their security?” Fury asks.
Free scrubs his hand over his face, he looks haggard as fuck and probably didn’t sleep at all last night.
“They have video security all around the roads leading to the compound. They are surrounded by chain-link and razor wire. There’s an entrance gate, but we never got close enough to see it. There are also sniper towers placed every fifty yards. They are not fucking around, and they do not want anybody in there,” Free explains.
“Fuck,” Sniper curses.
Clearing my throat, all eyes turn to me. “We need men, we need a serious fuckin’ plan, and we need technology know how,” I explain.
Fury snorts, but doesn’t speak, he looks over to Sniper who runs his fingers through his beard. If anybody will know what kind of military plan we need, it’ll be him. He leans back in his chair and lifts his chin to Fury.
“I think we’re going to need to contact Torch on this one. He’s the bomb expert. If we can’t figure out a way to get in without being seen, he might need to create an entrance for us.”
“There’s a lot of women and children there,” Free sighs.
Sniper grunts. “None of us wants to hurt an innocent, but we have to remember that these women and kids are probably fuckin’ brainwashed,” he shakes his head, lifting his eyes and meeting each of our gazes before he speaks again. “We have to stay on alert, and there are going to be casualties. That’s what happens in war.”
I run my hand through my hair, tugging on the ends before moving to wrap my fingers around the back of my neck. “Of course, we don’t want any casualties, but we also know sometimes shit happens. Our goal is to get as many Old Ladies and kids outta there as possible.”
Fury nods. “Agreed. Let’s conference call my Pops.”
He doesn’t wait another minute, he puts his phone on speaker and calls MadDog in California, the president of the original charter. If there is a man who can amass a force of men, it will be him.
MadDog answers on the third ring and Fury doesn’t waste a second before telling him exactly what we have going on. He agrees, we need Torch, we need a mass of men and we need a tech wizard. He also says that he’s going to call the presidents of the other charters to collect men, that we’ll plan to roll out in six weeks, and the meeting point will be our clubhouse in Canada.
“I’ll have a couple of tech guys by then. I just have to find them, probably pull them from other clubs. More heads are better than one on this shit,” he growls.
Every other man in the room makes a sound of agreement, including me. I want to get this shit handled in one go. The more bodies to fight, the better. Six weeks seems like it’s too far away, yet by the time I return back to my club, it will be right around the corner.
Another trip I’m going to have to take, leaving Hayden and Easton. Goddamn, I didn’t think this shit was going to be this hard. I’ve cared about her for almost two years and left at least a dozen times for days, sometimes weeks, but I’ve never felt this ache before from being away from them. As soon as I claimed her, everything shifted.
Fury ends the call and leans back in his chair, his blue eyes scanning each of us before he speaks. “This war is going to be goddamn ugly, but you know what? It’s necessary. I’m sick of these fucks, and any women and kids that we can save, it will be worth it in the end, even if i
t’s only a handful.”
We all lift our chins in agreement. “Now, let’s get this other shit handled, so we can focus on the new task at hand.”
We all adjourn from his office and head out to his warehouse. Now we have other shit to wrap up, and the sooner I get this done, the sooner I can get home to my woman.
CHAPTER TWENTY
HAYDEN
I can’t remember the last time I didn’t do anything other than hang out with Easton. Usually, I’m busy doing laundry, cleaning, and stocking up at the grocery store on my days off. However, today, I’m too exhausted to do any of that.
After a lazy early afternoon and lunch, I decided we both need some sunshine. I have boxes to finish unpacking, and I’m sure I could meal prep some healthy dinners for the week, but I don’t feel like it right now.
I watch as Easton runs around the yard with this oversized bouncy ball that Gracie gave him for his birthday. It has his favorite cartoon character plastered all over it in overly bright colors. He kicks the ball, then falls down, repeating the act over and over again all while he lets out a stream of giggles.
The minutes tick by and I get that feeling of being watched again. Sweat trickles down my back but it isn’t from the warmth of the sun, it’s downright fear that begins to consume me. Standing, my legs feel like Jell-O and I slowly walk toward Easton.
I know for a fact someone is watching me now. I can feel it with every single part of my body. My goal right now is to get myself and Easton safely in the house and locked in.
Once we’re inside, then I’m going to call Snake. I know he’s around, and probably not too far away from the Cash Bar since Ginger is working there today, and he’s never far away from her.
Scooping Easton into my arms, I kiss his fat baby cheek as I swiftly walk toward the sliding glass door. My hand shakes as I reach for the handle, quickly pulling it open, just enough for us to slip inside, then I slam it closed and flip the lock. Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my phone.
“Now, Hayden, I wouldn’t start calling people if I were you.”
The voice is cold, ice fucking cold and it slithers up my spine making my entire body shiver. I know that voice, I lived with that voice in my ear for months.
“Jack,” I whimper as my head turns to the side.
He’s standing in my kitchen, his ass leaning against the counter, his cold eyes, and his colder gun pointed directly at Easton. He moves his gaze down to Easton, tilting his head to the side and eyeing him. “He looks like me. You fucking took him away from me, you whore,” he growls.
“I didn’t.”
I know Jack, and I know how to keep him from going off of the rails. He enjoyed subservient women, to the point of ridiculousness. I know speaking in anything above a whisper will get me slapped across the face. I know if I don’t attempt to meet his needs before he actually needs them met by trying to read his mind, I’ll get punched.
“You did. I watched you get on the back of their bikes like the dirty little fucking whore you are,” he shouts. Spittle flies everywhere, but his voice is so shrill that it makes me flinch and Easton hides his face in my neck. “Then you let one of them mark your skin, again. You’re not theirs, Hayden, you’re mine. I fucking earned you,” he growls.
Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times before I speak. “They took me, Jack. I needed to survive. I did what I had to,” I lie.
He walks toward me, closing our distance and the tip of his gun presses against my cheek. My body stiffens, but I try not to show any fear. The man loved scaring me, but if I showed him fear, he would get pissed. Everything pissed him off, and I can see that in almost two years, nothing has changed.
“Are you ready to come home now, Hayden?” he rasps, pressing his lips against my ear.
My heart races against my chest, and I want to tell him no, but I can’t. He has a gun and I have a baby to think about. I wish that Ward were here, but he’s not, he’s not even anywhere close. Letting out a breath, I turn to face him.
“Okay, let me pack a bag for us?” When Jack doesn’t say anything, I decide to add, “Easton needs a lot of stuff, especially if we’re going to be traveling.”
He looks from me, down to Easton, then back up again with a nod. “Go ahead, but hurry up now and hand me your phone.”
I slip my phone into his hand and watch him drop it on the ground before he stomps on it. It shatters into a million pieces, along with my heart. I have absolutely zero faith that Ward will find us because I don’t know where we’re going. He doesn’t even know what Jack looks like.
Hurrying into my bedroom, I pull out a bag and begin to pack some clothes for myself. As I pack, I look around for some kind of way to leave a clue. Jack isn’t stupid enough to allow me to leave a note in the middle of the bed or anything like that, but I need to leave something for whoever comes and checks on me when I don’t show up to work tomorrow or answer my phone.
Easton wraps his fist in my hair and tugs, but I have to ignore him right now. Once I have a bunch of stuff in my bag, I move to the bathroom and begin to pack my toiletries from there. Pressing my lips together, I wrack my brain trying to think of what I could do or leave, that would give whoever comes looking for us a clue.
“You done yet?” Jack’s voice clips from the doorway.
My hand is full of shampoo and conditioner bottles, and I lift my chin. “I just have to pack some things for Easton,” I holler.
“Hurry the fuck up. You better not be stalling,” he grinds out.
I shake my head, swiftly walking back to my bag and dumping the containers inside. I hope they don’t bust open and leak everywhere, but I suppose that’s the least of my worries right now.
Slipping past Jack, I hurry toward Easton’s room. I set him down so that I can move a bit faster. Luckily, he has some toys in here and he toddles right over to them and begins to play.
Throwing clothes, shoes, and as many diapers as I can fit into his bag, I grab a handful of socks before I freeze. Looking at the doorway, I then look back toward the closet. As quickly as I can I spell out JACK with Easton’s socks on the floor of the closet. Hopefully, someone will open the door and be able to read it.
I close the door, putting the rest of his socks in the bag. I grab his favorite blanket and stuffed animal off of the bed, shoving those into the bag, then take a few of his favorite toys and do the same. Hopefully, this will be enough to keep him from fussing too much.
Picking him up off of the floor, I walk out into the living room where Jack is lounging on my small sofa. “I can’t carry our bags, and I need to pack some snacks for Easton,” I murmur.
“I’ll start loading shit in the truck,” he barks.
I blink. I didn’t know he had a truck here, but I don’t dally. I hurry into the kitchen, grabbing a tote from a shelf in the pantry and begin to fill it with some snacks for Easton. I don’t bother packing anything that needs to stay cold, in hopes that Jack will at least take care of him, even if he abuses me and punishes me by restricting access to food. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done that, so I don’t put anything past him, especially since he’s so angry with me right now.
Once the tote in the kitchen is finished, I carry it into the living room and set it down next to my feet, waiting for him to come back inside. I’m surprised when the front door swings open and he walks inside. Peering behind him, I see there is indeed a pickup truck. I send a prayer up to whoever is listening that Fish or Gracie, anybody has seen this truck parked in front of my house.
“Time to go,” he growls, wrapping his fingers around my bicep.
Jack tugs me harshly, my head snapping back before he drags me outside. I bite my bottom lip, trying not to whimper in pain as I attempt to keep up with his swift steps. He wrenches the pickup door open and tosses me toward the passenger seat.
Climbing inside, I sit down and look around for a car seat, which of course he doesn’t have. When he finally makes his way toward the driver’s side,
I glance over to him.
“You don’t happen to have a car seat, do you?” I whisper, trying not to speak too loudly.
“Where we’re going it won’t matter, you’re never leaving there again, so he won’t need one. Hold onto him on your lap,” he announces.
I nod, sitting straight-backed in my seat, placing Easton firmly on my lap and then pulling the seatbelt over both of us. If we get in an accident, I doubt it will do much to save us, but it’s better than nothing at this point.
CROONER
My stomach twists. I don’t know why, but something doesn’t feel right. I glance behind me, but I’m completely alone. I know that Free is on the other side of the warehouse door, but it doesn’t ease my sudden anxiety.
Stomping over to the door, I yank it open. Free twists his head to the side and glances at me. “Croon?” he asks, his brows furrowing.
I look at him, then look past him, before shaking my head. “Got a feeling,” I explain.
“Need me to do a perimeter to ease your mind?” he offers.
Letting out a breath, I lift my hand and rub the back of my neck. “Nah, just nerves or something, all this talk about that compound up north,” I shrug.
Free’s concerned gaze meets mine, but he doesn’t say anything else. Turning away from him, I can’t shake the feeling that something really fucking bad just happened. Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I glance at the time.
It’s late, after the day and night Hayden had yesterday, she’s probably fast asleep by now. I think long and hard about calling her, but in the end, I shove my phone back in my pocket.
Turning back to my inventory, I get back to work. I need to get this shit done, the faster, the better. The quicker I work, the sooner I get home to Hayden and Easton.
SNAKE
I scroll through the contacts on my phone, finding Fish’s name before tapping send. It rings a few times, and he groggily answers which can only mean one thing, that he slept over at the clubhouse last night and didn’t go home, again.
Chased with Strength_Notorious Devils Page 16