by J. M. Walker
“I guess you’ll never know.” Price shut the back door of the car. “Kill him.”
The last thing I heard was a gunshot going off before everything went black.
Greyson
When I was told by Piper that my son had done something stupid and went after the fucker who took his daughter, I couldn’t say I blamed him. At all. But I still didn’t like it. Especially when his mom found out and I had to watch her shatter in my arms again because of her son’s temper. Or the fact that it brought us back to a dark time in the beginning of our relationship where I almost lost them both.
I channeled that anger, the rage that my son felt, and let it be the driving force behind my actions. Eve knew I was going after Jaron. But I did my best to reassure her that I would bring him home along with our granddaughter. I had to. For her and for Piper.
I respected the hell out of Piper Michaels. Knowing that she could have left Jaron long ago, and never did. Even though in the beginning, things had never been official, I felt their love for each other even before I found out that she was carrying my second grandbaby. The twins let it slip and it only made me need to find Jaron more. This shit needed to end and the only way that could happen, was by putting a bullet between Price’s eyes.
I wasn’t sure why he had it out for my son. Even before Jaron killed Brody for attacking Piper, Price always hated him the most.
“Boss.” Catch, my former vice president before my son took over that role, came up to me and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jaron isn’t here.” He dropped his arm to his side and looked back at the motel. “We searched the room, and no one is in there. We even talked to the staff. The one maid recognized Price but didn’t see him with a baby, so she never called it in.”
“Fuck.” We had gone to the last known address that Price and Brynlee had been seen at, but it meant shit when they were no longer there, and neither was Jaron. “We have to find them.”
“I know.” Catch went to put his phone to his ear when something inside of me snapped.
I slapped the phone out of his hand and grabbed him by the collar of his leather cut.
“Greyson.” His eyes widened.
Bodies surrounded us, my men, guys I had known for years. Guys who were my family. They were my life besides my wife, son, and now grandbabies. Even Piper held a special spot in my heart because of the love she had for my boy. But for whatever reason, the fact that Catch thought he knew shit, pissed me off.
“You need to find my son and granddaughter,” I bit out through clenched teeth. My voice was so low, even I didn’t recognize it. “If you don’t.” I looked out at the men surrounding us. “If any of you don’t bring them back to safety, I will kill you and your families. You hear me?”
They shifted but nodded and muttered their agreements.
“Do you hear me?” I asked Catch.
He swallowed hard but nodded.
Smart guy.
I released him roughly and pulled my phone out of my back pocket. I knew it wasn’t my men’s fault. They didn’t take my granddaughter. They didn’t make Jaron disappear. But if I couldn’t bring them home, I was going to lose my wife and future daughter in-law.
When I dialed the number of the one person I knew I could trust and find out what I needed to know, I walked away from my men.
“Why, Greyson. I was just talking about you.”
I stopped walking. “You are not who I called.”
“Well, luckily for you, I have my dad’s phone and decided to answer for him. ‘Cause I am a nice guy and all.”
I rolled my eyes. Rowan Crane was the epitome of his dad. No matter what happened, Lucas would always walk this earth as long as his son was around.
“Fine, you’ll do I guess,” I muttered.
Rowan chuckled. “Aren’t you sweet? I really have no idea how you landed a nice lady like Eve.”
“As much as I enjoy this banter, I need answers. I can’t find my son.”
“Shit. I thought it was just Brynlee who was missing?” The humor quickly left and was replaced with the serious side of Rowan. While his parents were experts when it came to computers, Rowan liked to venture a little deeper. He enjoyed teetering on the edge of the law and what was considered morally sound, just to see if he could get caught. One of these days it was going to backfire on him. I would love to be a fly on the wall when that happened and his mom kicked his ass.
“It was and then my son found her location thanks to you and now he’s missing as well.”
“He called me asking for help, so if you want it as well, you’ll refrain from accusing me of shit. Got it?”
I let out a slow breath, trying to ease my racing heart. “Yeah. I got it.”
“Good.” I heard the sound of keys clicking in the background. “Um…Greyson?”
“What?” My back stiffened as my guys approached me with caution.
“I was able to hack into the security cameras at the motel. Surprisingly, for a shitty establishment, they have a good system, and the picture is crystal clear.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked, needing to know what the hell was going on.
“Jaron approached Price, who was holding your granddaughter. A couple guys came up behind Jaron and it looks like something spooked them but…”
“What?” I demanded.
“I think Jaron was shot,” Rowan said gently. “It was probably why they didn’t shoot him in the head. Something startled them.”
“Do you see them take him?” Red clouded my vision, my throat working over a hard lump. If Jaron was gone…
Catch came up to me, clapping my shoulder. That single touch alone calmed some of the nerves rushing through me.
“No. This shit is fucked up. Greyson,” Rowan continued. “Price placed Brynn on the ground, and they left. Just like that.”
“So they’re here,” I told him. “They have to be.”
“That’s what it looks like, but the video cuts out after that. They must have seen the cameras. I don’t know. Greyson, it doesn’t look good. Jaron dropped and was unmoving. He…”
“Thank you, Rowan.” I disconnected the call and turned to my men. “Jaron and Brynlee are still here. Find them. Please for the love of God, I need you to find them. Not for me. But for Eve and Piper.”
“We will.” Catch gripped my shoulder, gave it a squeeze, and went to walk away when I caught his arm.
“Listen, I’m—”
“Don’t.” Catch shook his head. “I would have reacted the same way. We’ll find them.”
A sharp scream had our heads turning toward the noise. A maid was backing up out of a room on the second floor.
The closer we got to her, the harder my heart raced.
“Ma’am.” Catch went up to her as Tray went into the room, followed by Cheesy and another prospect, Jamie Locke. A couple of other guys joined them. “Tell us what happened.”
“Blood. So much blood.” Her chin wobbled, not even mentioning anything about the fact that it was bikers going into the room unannounced.
Tray came out a moment later. “It’s Jaron.”
“What?” I rushed past him into the room. “Where is he?”
“Greyson, wait,” Tray called out, but I ignored him.
The room wasn’t overly big, so Jaron couldn’t be very far. Where the hell was my son?
That was when I saw Locke and Cheesy in the bathroom. Cheesy was crouched down by an unmoving body.
All blood drained from me, leaving me ice cold as I closed in on them.
When I neared the door to the bathroom, the scene before was like it came right out of a horror movie. Cheesy and Locke stepped aside as I entered the small room. Jaron was lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Another guy was in the bathtub with the shower curtain and rod on his lap. His dead vacant eyes stared back at me, sending a shiver down my spine.
But what bothered me most by the whole situation in front of me, was Brynlee lying beside Jaron. She had a pig soother in her mouth and was cover
ed in blood. But she stared up at me and was sucking on that thing like her life depended on it.
“I searched the body and didn’t find anything,” Cheesy told me.
I crouched by my son and picked Brynlee up. Using my shirt, I wiped the blood off of her face. Jaron was not moving but I could see the faint rise and fall of his chest.
“Boss, I called for an ambulance,” Catch said from behind me.
“Cheesy, your dad still a cop?” I asked, reaching out to check my son’s pulse.
“He is,” Cheesy answered. “I’ll make a call.”
“Alright, Jaron. You need to stay with me. Help is on the way.” I wasn’t sure where he was bleeding from, but I didn’t want to move him in case there were other injuries I didn’t know about.
Brynlee pulled the soother from her mouth, drawing my attention back to her.
I hugged her against me and kissed her head.
“Dada.”
My chest tightened, a lump forming in my throat. “Yes, baby girl. That’s your daddy.”
Brynlee looked up at me with her big gray eyes. “Dada.” Her eyes welled.
I cupped the back of her head and cradled her into my chest. My stomach twisted, a sharp exhale leaving me as a wail left my granddaughter.
Piper
Depression had settled in rather quickly. I stayed in Jaron’s room at the clubhouse while Cyrus and Sammy remained close by. It was probably to make sure that I didn’t do something stupid. I didn’t know because I didn’t ask. I stayed in the bedroom. The scent of his cologne lingered in the room. The smell was faint, but it helped ease some of the anxiety rushing through me.
I didn’t know where he was. No one told me anything. He had gone after Price. Some of the guys had followed him but I didn’t know anything more than that. Had they found him yet? Had they found Brynn?
Time was lost on me the longer I didn’t have my daughter and the man I loved in my arms. I was pissed at him, but I got it. I did. I was mad with the way we left things. He probably thought I blamed him. A part of me did at first. I couldn’t help but admit it. But that didn’t matter. I got over it and just wanted my little family home safe and sound.
I slept off and on, crying myself to sleep only to wake up from a nightmare that I would never see Brynn or Jaron again. I kept dreaming that I could see them but no matter how much I ran toward them, I could never catch them. It made me wake up in a cold sweat with tears streaking my cheeks.
This pain was nothing like when Jaron was in jail. At least then I knew he was alive because Cyrus and Sammy told me so. But now they couldn’t tell me anything because they didn’t know themselves. I had told them to go with the guys to find Jaron, but they refused. They made a promise and no matter what happened, they planned on keeping it.
I cupped my stomach, praying that my unborn baby could survive this stress resting on my muscles. I tried swallowing my emotions, so the baby wouldn’t feel it, but I couldn’t.
Be strong, little one. Please be strong.
One morning, I was restless. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I last held my daughter or seen Jaron. Maybe a day. Maybe more. I wasn’t sure. No matter how much I tried to sleep, I couldn’t. So instead, I took a shower, got dressed, and went to see if Cyrus and Sammy had any news for me. But before I could ask any questions, I was stopped short by several members of Hell’s Harlem filling the vast room on the main floor of the clubhouse.
Cyrus and Sammy were talking to the guy I had come to know as Cheesy. Sammy caught my gaze and came toward me.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my heart racing hard.
“Jaron and Brynlee have been found,” he said gently.
“What?” My eyes widened. “Where are they?”
“At the hospital. The guys only just showed up here or else we would have woken you up sooner,” Sammy explained. “Brynlee is fine. There are no injuries. Price didn’t hurt her.”
“Oh.” I latched on to his arm to keep from falling. “Thank God.”
“But…” Sammy looked back at his crew.
“What is it?” I gripped his arm tight. “Tell me. Please. I can handle it.”
Sammy looked down at me. “Jaron was shot. He was in surgery last we heard.”
“I…” My chest tightened, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Take me to the hospital. Please.”
“Stay here in case Greyson needs you,” Cyrus instructed the guys. “We need to stick together until this shit dies down.”
“Let’s go, kiddo.” Sammy hooked his arm around my shoulders and led me out of the house.
“Let’s go see your daughter and Jaron.” Cyrus stood back. “I’ll join you in a moment.”
“Sammy.” I turned to him when we stopped at his SUV. “Tell me how bad it is.”
He searched my face before letting out a hard sigh. “I don’t know. Greyson said there was security footage showing Price holding Brynlee. Jaron approached them and guys came up behind them. Brynn is fine but she was found lying beside Jaron. She was covered in blood.”
“God.” I shivered, bile rising to my throat. “I’m glad she’s young enough that she won’t remember this.”
“Same,” Sammy said as Cyrus joined us.
We filed into the SUV with me in the back and the guys in the front. Cyrus drove like he usually did.
“Who shot Jaron?” I asked.
“One of Price’s men but he was found dead in a tub in a motel room,” Cyrus explained. “But we don’t know how Jaron got into the motel room. The footage shows Price leaving in a car. Unfortunately, the car didn’t have a license plate.”
“Of course,” I mumbled.
“We’ll find Price and he will pay for what he’s done, Piper,” Sammy said, his voice taking on an edge that made my stomach twist. I could feel the rage coursing through him. Through both of them actually, but Sammy’s anger set me on edge.
“Is Jaron going to make it?” I heard myself ask.
“I don’t know, darling.” Cyrus’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “But whatever happens, we’ll protect you.”
“Oh, we should tell you that your parents are staying at the clubhouse for a few days,” Sammy pointed out.
My eyes widened. “What? Why?”
“It’s safer there and more secluded. I’m sure they won’t have to stay there for long but after your dad talked to Greyson, they both agreed it would be best. And we don’t know what’s going on with Price. He’s no longer the mayor according to the media. They’re saying he’s on leave due to personal reasons.” Sammy scoffed. “Right. We’ve always known he was a fucker, but we didn’t know how far that went until now.”
“Having a bar that underage girls work at, proves he’s sick in the head.” I shivered at the thought.
“Yeah, that’s only part of it, kiddo.” Cyrus pressed a foot on the gas. “But don’t worry about that shit. We’ll take you to your daughter and hopefully we can get an update on Jaron as well.”
I nodded, sitting back in the seat. I was on edge, my nerves racing and jumping through me. I was vibrating with excitement that I would get to see my daughter again. To hold her, smell her baby scent, to have her back in my arms and never let go. It wasn’t rational to think that, but I would keep her to myself at least for a few more years.
“We’re here,” Sammy said gently.
Hesitation coursed through me when I looked out at the large building. I wanted my baby girl back in my arms but then I also worried about how I would react when I saw Jaron. No one told me how he was actually doing. Just that he was shot, and he was fighting. No more details were said.
The door opened, revealing Sammy. “Come on, kiddo. They need you. Jaron…” His jaw clenched.
“Sammy?” I whispered.
Cyrus joined him, clapping his shoulder. “He’ll make it through this.”
Sammy shoved away from him. “You don’t know that.” Spinning on his heel, he stomped away.
My eyes welled, my chest const
ricting over the thought of losing Jaron. “Cyrus, I…”
“I know.” He held out his hand. “Give Sammy time. Jaron’s like our little brother, so it’s…hard.” When his voice cracked, a sob escaped me. “Shit.”
I covered my face, letting the cries shake through me.
“Piper.” Cyrus reached into the back seat and pulled me out of the vehicle and into his arms. “He’s a strong, stubborn fucker. He’s going to make it through this. He has to.”
I latched on to him, the scent of his leather cut wafting into my nose. While the smell was familiar, it wasn’t Jaron.
“Come. Everyone is here, including your parents. You need them and so does Jaron.” Cyrus wrapped his arm around my shoulders, closing the door behind me and leading me to the front doors of the building.
I was like a zombie, walking with him. Both he and his brother had been good to Brynlee and me. I remembered back to when Sammy first held Brynn. He was gentle with her. It shocked me at first because there were rumors that he had a violent streak. Whenever I had picked them up from Rouge after they had too many drinks, I had seen the women fawning over Sammy. But he would either give them a look or mutter something in their ear that would make them slap him or run off crying.
“Do you think Sammy will ever find his person?” I asked, my voice weak and hoarse.
Cyrus looked down at me. “You don’t worry about that shit, darling.”
“I just want you both happy,” I murmured.
“And we love you for that, but you know Sammy. He’s struggling. He won’t admit it, but he is. It’ll take a strong woman to put him in his place and not back down when he gets in one of his moods.” Cyrus shook his head. “But enough of that. You have more important things to worry about than our love lives.”
“It’s distracting.” But before I could say anything more on the subject, we reached the floor where I could only assume Brynlee was.
“This way.” Cyrus led me down the hall. “Your dad texted me that they were here with her.”
“You texted my dad?” I asked, my head whipping around.
Cyrus gave me a small smile. “Ever since Jaron went to jail, kiddo. I got your parents’ cell numbers and gave them mine in return. So did Sammy.”