by Erin Osborne
Senator Andrews walks out of the room without a backward glance. I relax back against the pillows on the bed and take in the information that he’s laid out. So, Trenton is still out there somewhere and he’s going to keep coming after me until we can find him and stop him. I’m payment for revenge from a man being killed and Kim’s dad losing money from whatever he was doing for him. Now, I’m going to be stuck in this house until I have the babies. Then, I’ll get a one-way ticket to some asshole that bought me. Fuck my life!
True to his word, there’s a knock on the door before a young girl walks through carrying a tray. She sets it on the bed next to me before disappearing back through the door. As I eat my dinner, my thoughts turn to Shadow and Dylan. They both must be flipping out right now. I have to do everything in my power to get the hell out of this place. From the sounds of it, Senator Andrews won’t be here so maybe I can find a way to escape. It will take me getting some help from someone here. But maybe if Kim’s friend is here, he’ll help me. For now, there’s nothing I can do accept for making sure that I eat and get enough rest. I have to protect the babies.
Chapter Fifteen
Shadow
IT’S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE RENEE WAS taken from us. Two weeks of pure hell. Dylan has been acting out because he just doesn’t understand why Renee isn’t here and he can’t talk to her like when she was in the hospital. Melissa is trying to keep him occupied, but some days nothing will work for him. Not unless I’m there and hanging out with the little guy.
I’m torn in two. On one hand, I want to be there for Dylan. Help him get through this period when he can’t comprehend things. But I know I need to be out there looking for my girl. I can’t get into anything like the Christmas spirit or the laughing and hanging out with my family. When I see them sitting together and having a good time, I want to stand in the middle of the room and scream my head off. How can they claim to like Renee when they’re carrying on like nothing is wrong? Am I the only one besides Dylan and Melissa that want her to come home? I know the thoughts I have aren’t rational, but they’re there none the less.
Tank has taken me in the ring more times than I can count when I’m at the clubhouse. He watches me and makes sure that he catches me before I try to destroy anything. Yeah, I’ve been tempted to a few times. And I can honestly say that our room has had to have some cleaning and new walls put in. After the first night she was missing, the guys locked me in our fucking room, so I wouldn’t go out looking for Renee any more. It was fucked-up and I’m still not over it. But I get where they were coming from. I’ve come back to the clubhouse more than once bone tired and to the point that I could barely stand in one place. That’s the only time that I allow myself to get any rest.
Kim has reached out to her contact and he’s trying to get us the information we need. Something in his voice is telling me that he knows where Renee is, but something is holding him back. Maybe he doesn’t want to betray Andrews that way. Or maybe he’s not as honest as Kim wants to think. At any rate, we’ve been out searching every single day with no luck. Tech couldn’t even manage to get a lock on them after he did his thing and got the footage of the cameras in the parking lot. To say that I’m filled with rage, frustration and concern for her well-being is an understatement.
Today, I’ve had breakfast with Dylan and now I’m getting ready to head out searching again. Just as I finish putting my boots on, there’s a pounding on the door. The last thing someone should be doing right now is pounding on the door the way they are.
“What the fuck?” I yell, getting up and making my way to the door.
When I fling it open, I see Kim and Fox standing there. Kim looks like she’s about to run away with the way I opened the door. Fox is glaring at me like I’m afraid to throw down with him. I don’t give a fuck who it is, I’ll get in a ring or fight wherever I am. Especially these days.
“You’re gonna wanna hear this,” Fox says, wrapping his arm around Kim and nodding to her.
“Tommy, you there?” she asks, letting me know the phone is on speaker.
“I’m here,” he says, a nervousness to his voice that I haven’t heard before when she’s called him. “I don’t have much time.”
“Do you know where she is now?” I ask, knowing in my gut that he’s known all along where Renee is.
“I do. She’s fine. No one has touched her, and she’s been locked in a room. Alone. The only person that goes in there is Gwen. She takes her food and makes sure that she has plenty of fluids. Gwen even went and got some over-the-counter prenatal vitamins for her to take,” Tommy says, the sound of a female in the background. “You need to get here now! He’s coming back for her. If you’re not here in the next hour or so, she’ll be gone, and you won’t ever see her again.”
“Why are you finally tellin’ us now where she is? I know you’ve known this entire time,” I ask, needing to know the answer as I grab Kim’s phone and run toward the front door.
“I had to get plans for myself in place before I betrayed the Senator. I’ve left a folder with her. It’s got everything you’ll need to put him away for a long fucking time,” he says, a door creaking open.
“Shadow, are you there?” I hear my girl’s voice coming through the phone. “Please tell me you’ll come get me. Get us?”
“I’m on my way baby. Did they touch you? Are you hurt in any way? I love you so fuckin’ much!” I say, tears running down my face unchecked. I don’t give a fuck who sees me right now.
“I’m fine. I’ve been locked in a clean room with a bathroom and I’ve been fed. A lot. Love you too. Tommy will give you the address,” she says as I hear muffled shuffling before Tommy gets back on the phone.
“You’re not that far from us. I’ll send the address to Kim’s phone. Hurry in case they arrive early! He’s been known to do that,” Tommy says, hanging up the phone.
I run to my bike and see that every single man is running out with me. Fox is grabbing Kim’s phone so that we have the address while we’re on the road. So, I let him lead so that he can get us there as fast as possible. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be waiting like I am right now. It seems that we’re driving slow as fuck. Maybe it’s just because I know that we have a small window to get Renee out of wherever she is before Kim’s dad and whoever else shows back up.
Finally, after being on the road for twenty minutes, we pull over. Fox tells us that the house is on the other side of the road and we’re gonna have to go in on foot. We’re not sure how many guys are standing guard, but we don’t want to alert them anymore than we already have. I jump in the SUV with Gage and Steel and turn to drive up to the house. Gage rams straight through the gate and doesn’t slow down as a guy starts shooting at us. I open the window after pulling my gun out and return fire. Steel does the same thing as a few guys start coming out of the woods to fire at us. Tommy better not have fucking set us up. I’ll fucking gut him!
Before we make it to the end of the driveway, so I can jump out, I see a few guys that aren’t with us step out and start firing on the guys that are coming at us. Thank fuck! We have a lot of guys here, but they’re walking up to the house. These guys will hopefully have our backs while I go in for my girl.
“Where is she?” I ask, jumping out before Gage even stops the SUV when we’re at the side of the house.
“Follow me,” a guy says, turning and running into the house.
I follow him in and up the stairs. There’s a girl standing at the first door in the hallway. She quickly turns and unlocks the door. Pushing my way past the two, I rush in the room and see Renee sitting on the edge of the bed. She’s rubbing her back and I can see the nervous energy practically vibrating off her body. As I scan her from head to toe, I don’t see any marks on her precious skin. She looks remarkable clean and I know that they were telling us the truth.
“We need to hurry,” the guy says, standing in the door, he continuously looks down the hall. “One of the guys just called him and they’re hauling ass here now.”
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“Can you run baby?” I ask, needing to know if I have to carry my girl or not.
“Yes. Let’s get the hell out of here. Come on, Gwen. You’re coming with us,” Renee says, holding her hand out for the young girl. “You’re not going to suffer because you helped me.”
Gwen looks between the two of us and I know that she’s waiting for confirmation before she makes a decision. Nodding my head, I gently pull on Renee so that she gets the hint that we need to leave. Now. The four of us turn and make our way back outside. Steel is waiting at the front door and looks back to see that we’re on our way.
“Andrews knows we’re here,” I say, letting him know that we need to head out now.
“Got it,” he answers, looking out the door before leading us back to the SUV.
“Need a ride Tommy?” I ask, not knowing how he’s going to get out of here.
“I’m set. Get these two out of here. Andrews is selling them to the highest bidder. Leave now!” he responds, taking off in the opposite direction of us.
I run behind Renee and Gwen as we make our way to the waiting SUV. Steel runs around the front and jumps in the passenger seat as Gwen dives into the very back, leaving the middle seat for Renee and me. Before the doors even shut all the way, Gage is taking off. He doesn’t stop and wait for the guys that are running back to their bikes. We take off down the road as I pull Renee into my arms and onto my lap. She wraps her arms around me and presses against me as close as she can get. I kiss her senseless, not giving a shit that anyone else is by us. This is the first time in two weeks that I’ve had my girl in my arms and I’m not letting go anytime soon. Hell, she’ll be lucky if I let her out of my sight anytime soon.
“I’m here and I’m okay,” she says, knowing that I need the reassurance.
“It’s gonna take a while before I believe that. I think we need to go get Dylan and take you to the doctor. I want to make sure nothin’ is wrong with the baby,” I say, trying to take the demanding tone out of my voice.
“I’m fine Shadow. I don’t need to see the doctor. I want to go get Dylan, go home, and spend the next few days locked away from the world. The only thing I want is to lay in bed with you holding me and watch movies with Dylan. How is he?” she asks, knowing that I’m probably going to fight her on going to see her doctor, but turning the subject away from it.
“We’ll see what happens,” I say, not committing to anything right now. Maybe I’ll just keep an eye on her the next day or two, it will be enough. But the second I think anything is wrong, she’s going to the damn hospital. “Dylan is scared, and he doesn’t understand what’s been goin’ on. He needs to see you and know that you’re okay.”
I’ll give her anything she wants right now. If Renee wants to be locked away for the next few days, that’s what we’ll do. But, if she wants to go out and be with everyone, we’ll do that. As long as I can keep my eyes on her and know that nothing is going to happen to her, I’ll be good. Too bad that the good moment we’re having right now isn’t going to last long.
Renee
Even though I was left alone the last two weeks, I knew that Shadow and Dylan weren’t going to handle my kidnapping very well. Dylan still has days that he worries about me coming home and acts out. Shadow, he’s not going to know what to do. I see a lot of repairs in the near future being made. My hope is that they got a hold of Melissa so that she could help out with our son while my man was out doing his thing. The two of them haven’t left my head a single second that I’ve been here. I wonder what they’re doing, how they’re doing, and how soon it will be before I get to see them again.
The one thing that I’ve never done is lose hope that Shadow and the club will come for me. I can imagine Shadow out day and night trying to find out where I am. It’s gotta be tearing him up inside to know that somehow, they managed to get to me and take me away from our family. My only regret is that I didn’t tell Shadow and Dylan that I love them enough times. That I pushed Shadow away and we lost a year because I let my past overrule my heart.
Thank God Tommy was able to figure everything out, so he could let Kim know where we were. I didn’t think he was going to help me, until a week ago. Gwen came in and let me know that Tommy was working on final arrangements before he told Kim anything. I can’t blame him, but I wish he would’ve given her some sort of hint before now.
Gwen and I got to talk a lot during the last two weeks. She’s brought my food to me, made sure I had plenty of things to drink, and even got my medicine. I’m not sure what it will cost her for helping me, but I’ll do what I can to help her. Even if that means she moves in with Shadow and I. She’s a good girl, only nineteen years old. Gwen suffers the same fate as I do; she’s going to be sold to the highest bidder. Her mom was involved with the Senator and turns out that Gwen is the product of that affair. Since he can’t let anything tarnish his reputation, Gwen can be given away. Sold like nothing more than a piece of cattle. How fucking sick is that?
Shadow is still holding on to me as Gage pulls up to the clubhouse. Just before he passes through the fence, there’s a horrible explosion. The entire front of the clubhouse collapses to the ground as the rest of the building follows suit. Gage stomps on the breaks and the guys get out.
“Stay in the SUV and don’t get out. I don’t give a fuck what you see, you two are not to move,” Shadow demands, slamming the door shut and running after Gage and Steel.
Gwen climbs up in the front seat as we watch in horror. She grabs my hand when I try to get out of the SUV. My son is in that building. Along with countless others.
“Dylan!” I scream out, trying to get out of Gwen’s vice-like grip.
“He’ll be okay. Shadow will get him and bring him to you as soon as he can. Let them do their thing without the extra fear of you being out there.
Gwen tries to console me as we watch the scene unfold around us. As the rest of the guys begin to pour back into the clubhouse parking lot, I can hear sirens in the distance coming at us. I look out to the side and see a lone figure standing in the woods. Looking closer, I see that it looks like Trenton is standing there with an evil smile on his face. What the fuck? Is he behind this?
I climb over Gwen and open the door so that a small opening is there. If the guy looks over at us, he won’t notice what I’m doing. As the last motorcycle pulls in, I nudge the door open a little further to get his attention. It’s Slim, I see when he stops completely.
“There’s a guy in the woods. He’s over there watching what’s happening. It looks like Trenton. Dylan’s dad,” I say, keeping my voice calm as I tell him about the man.
Slim looks past me and I see him nod his head slightly. Instead of parking his bike and heading toward the rest of the guys, he takes off. It looks like he’s leaving the clubhouse all together. But, in a few minutes, I hear a bike roaring closer from the opposite direction. Turning my head, I watch as Slim pulls right into the woods and drives straight for the guy. The guy looks at him at the very last second. It’s too late for him to run though. Slim jumps from his bike and I watch is slide to the ground while he tackles the guy to the ground. After that, my attention is turned toward the wreckage in front of us. Shadow is running for the SUV with Dylan in his arms.
I want to jump out of the SUV and run to them. But there’s enough chaos going on with the men of the clubs trying to make sure everyone got out, the fire department trying to put the fire out, and everyone else crying because of the damage. This is all my fault. I’m the one that brought Trenton here. He blew up the clubhouse because of me. They’re never going to forgive me for this.
“Doc, get him to the hospital. Ambulances are on the way, but it’s goin’ to be a bit,” Shadow says, placing Dylan on the backseat as I climb into the driver’s seat. “I gotta get back and make sure everyone’s out.”
As soon as the door slams shut, I haul ass to the hospital. Gwen is in the back with Dylan and I’m telling her things to check while I drive as fast as possible to the emergency
room. From the quick glance that I had of Dylan, I didn’t see any marks on his body. I can smell the smoke permeating the air from his body and clothes. But I think he’ll be okay. It’s a good idea to have him checked out though. Other than Dylan, my only hope is that everyone else is okay. Please, they need to be okay.
Dylan’s been checked out and now we’re waiting in the waiting room to see what’s going on with everyone else that has been brought in. I didn’t even know that my sister was here, but I should’ve known Shadow would’ve called her to come help him out. She just got released after being checked out. Shadow and the guys come and go. They’re trying to work with the fire department and see what’s going on. Shadow was here long enough to make sure that Dylan was okay.
Harley, Riley, and Darcy are out shopping so that they can get everything we’re gonna need. It’s gonna be a tight fit for the time being because I’m guessing that the other two clubs are going to be staying for a while. At least some of them will be here in the hospital with injuries. Wood happens to be one of them. He ran into the building and a beam fell on him. His leg is hurt and they’re going to keep him in the hospital overnight to make sure that the smoke didn’t do more damage to him.
“Renee, can you help out for a little bit?” Liz asks, walking into the waiting room looking haggard from running around.
I look to my sister who nods before standing up and making my way to the back. Every single person is running around for something. Patients that aren’t as injured or sick as others line the hallway. I’ve never seen anything like it in the entire time I’ve worked here. Doctor Montgomery asks me to help with the patient on his way in. He’s been badly burned, and they don’t know the extent of his injuries. But he has coded twice so far. My heart drops into my stomach as I go in the only empty room to start getting things ready. I pull out as much as I can to get ready and make sure that the room is clear, so we can switch the patient from the stretcher to the gurney in the room. I’m sure the EMTs are going to have to go back again. It seems to be a revolving door around here today.