Before he even made contact, the bang of a gunshot sounded and the glass in the door shattered. We both took cover and waited for more to come, but they never did. Instead, we heard the bike at the front of the house start up.
Hawk went to the front of the house, but I stayed put. He came back after a few seconds and shrugged. The guy must have taken off.
We went inside and moved through the house slowly. This reeked of a trap, but there was no time to wait for back-up, not if Isabel was here.
Hawk went toward the bedrooms while I headed for the basement door. I went down the stairs quickly, not caring that I was being reckless. My eyes swept the cellar and landed where the only light was. Beneath it was Isabel.
“Call them. Get the doc and the van,” I shouted as I rushed to her. She was on her back and her hair covered her face. “Isabel.” She didn’t move as I checked her pulse and found it steady and strong. They must have knocked her out. I took her into my arms and tried to caress her awake.
I found a cut on her neck and a bruise on her face but no other serious injuries. At least, none that I could see.
I took her upstairs and I set her down on the carpet, removing my cut to put beneath her head.
“How long?” I barked at Hawk.
“Five minutes.”
I stroked her face. “Isabel, can you hear me?”
She still didn’t respond. I decided the best thing was just to hold her until the doctor arrived. In those long minutes, I swore never to let her out of my sight again. I swore to stop killing if she would just wake up.
I was ready to take vows of celibacy by the time the van arrived with the doc, Greyson, and Jordan.
The young MD was on the club’s payroll for situations just like this. He came over and knelt next to Isabel. He asked that I lay her flat, which I did reluctantly. He felt her pulse and checked her eyes. Next, his gloved hands went into her hair. “I feel a lump back here. She was hit with something, but I don’t think the intention was to kill her,” he said.
“Will she be okay?” I asked.
“Head injuries can be tricky. If I can get her to wake up, then I’ll be able to make a more accurate assessment.” He went to his bag and pulled out smelling salts. “What is her name?”
“Isabel.”
He waved the salts beneath her nose, and she twitched. Then there was a groan.
“Isabel. Can you hear me?” he said.
“What?” she whispered.
“Can you open your eyes?”
Her eyes opened into slits, and then she blinked several times before opening them wide.
“Jacob.” She looked at me, and her lips trembled. I could see panic in her eyes so I cupped her cheek while gripping her hand, gazing down at her.
“You’re all right. I’m here. The doc is just checking you over,” I said softly, trying to comfort her. She didn’t look relieved though.
“Let’s sit you up and then I’m going to ask you a few questions,” the man said.
I lifted her to sit against the wall, and she squeezed my hand as the doctor spoke to her. She answered his questions calmly but didn’t stop crying.
“Rem,” Greyson said and motioned me over.
“Babe, I’ll be right over there.” I stood and walked into the kitchen of the crappy house where Hawk and Greyson were standing. Jordan must be outside keeping watch. “What is it?”
“Hawk was just telling us how things went down,” he said, crossing his arms.
I rubbed my hand over my face and then through my hair. “I know. It was too simple. They wanted us to find her,” I responded.
Hawk nodded in agreement.
“Any guesses why?” Greyson asked, rubbing his chin.
I just shook my head and turned back toward Isabel. I would think about it later, after I was sure she was all right.
Chapter Forty
Isabel
Rem held me in the van as we made our way back to the clubhouse. I kept my eyes closed and my nose tucked into his neck. He smelled so good. After weeks of sleeping in the same bed with him, he smelled like home. I was happy to be going back and yet I dreaded it. When we got there, they would question me and my lies would begin.
I cuddled closer to him, wanting to stay in the moments when I didn’t have to deceive him. He only held me tighter. I felt my heart ache at the coming pain. It was as if the deception had already begun. I started to cry again.
“She’ll be okay,” I heard Greyson say from the front. “She is probably coming out of shock. Her mind is processing, so just let her cry.”
I felt Rem nod against my head.
I was grateful to Greyson for giving me an excuse to keep crying. But at the same time it made my betrayal ten times worse.
Rem took me straight to our room and set me on the bed so I could lean against the headboard. He pulled over his desk chair and sat close enough to take my hands.
“The doctor said you should stay awake for a little while in case there was a concussion. Why don’t you tell me what happened so you can get it over with? Okay?”
Here we go.
“Um, I’m pretty sure I was knocked out for most of it but when I woke up I was in a basement. There were two men. Both of them wore Snake cuts. They asked me about your runs, the schedules and what you were hauling. I couldn’t tell them anything, so one of them hit me. They also asked about Uncle Lionel, and I told them that I hadn’t heard from him. At some point, they must have knocked me out again. Then I only remember you.”
He nodded. “Are you sure that’s it?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling the ache in my chest grow. He looked at me intently, as if searching for something. “What else are you looking for?”
He breathed out as if controlling his anger. “Did they touch you?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “No, not at all.”
When I opened them he was still staring at me. “You don’t have to lie if they did—”
“Rem, I promise. They did not touch me while I was awake. And I think I would feel it now if they tried something while I was passed out.”
He still looked unconvinced. “Are you sure you would feel it?”
“Pretty sure.” I laughed a little, completely uncomfortable with his questions. “I always feel it after you and I have sex.”
He had a little knowing smirk on his face. I could tell he wanted to say something about his size compared to my maybe-rapists, but I held up a hand. “Shut up.”
The levity seemed to help persuade him. “All right. I’m going to find one of the girls to come and sit with you while I talk to the boys.”
“Okay.”
He squeezed my hand and stood up to kiss me on the forehead. “I’ll be back.”
“Good.”
He left the room but kept the door slightly open. I slowly planted my feet on the floor and stood up, making sure I was steady. I made my way to the bathroom and quickly took the tracker out of my pocket and put it in my makeup bag. Not exactly a vault but I hoped the tampons would act as a male repellant.
“Hi.”
I jumped with my hand still in the bag.
Amy leaned against the doorframe. “Should you be up?”
“Um.” I looked down at the bag and pulled out my pills. “I didn’t want to forget my birth control in all the drama.”
“Oh, yeah. Want help back to the bed?”
“No, I just got a bump on the head, but the doc wants me to be cautious.”
I went back to the bed, and she sat on the edge. “So anything interesting happen while I was gone?”
“Nope. Everyone was too busy looking for you.” She put on a bitchy face and said in a high pitch, “Why does everything have to be about Isabel?”
I laughed. “Is that what Tracy said?”
“I left out the swear words.” Amy smiled.
I tried to smile back, but I knew my heart wasn’t in it. I was sad that Tracy was right about me all along. I wasn’t strong enough to be an
old lady.
“How about I make some popcorn and we finish House of Cards?”
I didn’t want to talk anymore. I was afraid that if I talked too much the truth would come stumbling out at the last minute.
I made the popcorn, and we settled in.
Chapter Forty-One
Rem
“What’d she say?” Greyson asked as I sat down at the club table.
“She said that she was passed out most of the time. From what she does remember, they asked her questions about our business and her uncle, but she had nothing to tell. They were also wearing Snake patches.”
“It doesn’t make sense.” Max was looking down at the table. “Why go through the effort of stealing her just to abandon her so quickly? You said there was only one guy there when you arrived?”
Hawk nodded. “And he did not put up a fight. Just ran in the opposite direction.”
“Was he a prospect?” Jordan asked.
“We didn’t even get a look at him.” I responded.
“It is possible that you simply got lucky,” Max speculated. “Maybe the guy was waiting for others to arrive and you got there first.”
Greyson crossed his arms and let out a loud breath. “We can take guesses all day, but the question is who would have the most to gain from taking her? The men could have easily worn cuts to make her believe they were the Snakes.”
The room was quiet for a few moments, and then Jordan said, “I think we have all assumed she would be used as leverage against her father and uncle. But I think we have forgotten that she could be used for leverage against someone else.” His eyes were on me.
“You think they stole her to get at me?” I said, trying to stay calm.
“I’m just saying, it might be the Snakes, but you did just kill a man recently that had connections with the Feds.”
I was pissed at the accusation, but he might be right. Even though Breaker’s information had yet to be confirmed, I couldn’t dismiss it completely. I stole a man trying to get information about my father. Who was to say my enemies wouldn’t do the same to find out about the club?
“Let’s table this for now,” Greyson said. “We need more information before we do anything else.” He knocked the gavel, and we all stood up.
Outside the door, Greyson stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. He let the others go by before he said, “Have you told Isabel about your father?”
I was thrown by his question. He knew we don’t share that stuff with the old ladies. “No,” I said hesitantly.
“Maybe you should.”
“What? Why?”
“She should know if there is more than one threat to her life.”
He had a point, but I wasn’t sure. “Don’t we keep things from the women to protect them?” I argued.
“She already knows you tortured and killed a man,” he said bluntly. “Don’t give her all the specifics, just enough that she understands the situation.”
“Okay,” I said. My stomach hurt at the thought of discussing my father, but Greyson was right. She should know.
Chapter Forty-Two
Isabel
I must have fallen asleep because I woke up when Rem opened the door.
“Where is Amy? You weren’t supposed to fall asleep,” he said, his hands up, outwardly annoyed. I looked around to see the TV was still on but no Amy.
I pushed myself up to lean against the headboard. “I’m okay.”
He sat next to me on the bed and cupped my forehead. Then he moved his hand to my cheek and brushed my lip with his thumb. The look in his eyes told me that he was thinking about when I was gone. He must have been scared, and I imagine that it was a foreign feeling to him.
I brought my hand up to touch his and closed my eyes. I wanted to soak in his strength and love, before it was gone.
I opened my eyes when he pulled away from my face and gripped my hand instead. “We never really got a chance to talk about what happened in the warehouse.”
“You don’t have to, Rem.” I felt bad enough. I really didn’t want to talk about how I got a man killed.
“No, I need to explain.” He squeezed my hand. “I can’t give you all the details, but I’ll tell you the basics.”
It was clear that it was important to him, so I said, “Okay.”
He looked down into my lap as he began. “About twenty years ago, three of the Aces members were sent to jail: Greyson, Stump, and Lenny. It turned out that another member turned against them. The man in the warehouse, it was him. His name was David Neltwith, but he was Breaker to us.”
“If you knew it was him then why were you questioning him?”
His eyes rose to meet mine. “Breaker disappeared on the same night my father did.”
Rem was silent, letting me connect the dots. I felt my mouth drop open in surprise. “So you think your father turned against the club, too?”
He licked his lips. “During the investigation, it became clear that it was more than just Breaker. They knew things only another officer would be privy to.”
I nodded and then shook my head. “I still don’t understand why you would be questioning him now.”
“Breaker had been in witness protection. A friend of the club came across his new identity and was nice enough to let me know.”
“What were you hoping to find out?”
“I need to know where my dad is so I can kill him.”
I pulled my hand from his. “What?”
“He betrayed the club, my mother, and me. We haven’t verified it, but Breaker said he was a federal agent. I can’t let him live.”
I could see the anger in his face and his hands were clenched, as if he was thinking about choking someone. I bit my lip. “I know you feel betrayed and abandoned. But it’s over, why put yourself through the pain?”
He just shook his head and smirked like I wouldn’t understand. “He has to pay.”
“But what if he was put into an impossible situation where that was the only out?” The question came out before I could stop it.
He looked back at me. “What are you talking about?”
“I mean, I find it hard to believe that your father would just betray his family and friends without reason. He must have been coerced in some way.” I bit my lip, hoping Rem could see reason.
“No, it is more complicated than that based on what Breaker told us.”
“But—”
He waved a hand. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I told you why that man was here, and that’s all you need to know.”
I nodded and bit the inside of my cheek. I should just tell him. What was the likelihood of the Snakes finding out? Could I take that risk?
He cupped my chin and lifted my head. His blue eyes were gentle again as he looked at me. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better.” I forced a smile.
“Good.” The word came out as a growl, and then Rem had his mouth on mine. I kissed him back, wanting any kind of connection to this man that didn’t lead to heartache.
I could feel the call in my body, his hands and mouth drawing out the shivers. But something wasn’t right, and I knew what it was. I was lying to him. I felt dirty and unworthy of him. He deserved someone better, someone who was brave enough to tell him everything.
He pulled back when he felt me stiffen. “What’s wrong, babe?”
“Nothing. Maybe I’m just still tired.”
“That’s not it. There is something you’re not telling me.”
And here I thought I was doing a good job at pretending.
“Are you mad at me?” he asked.
“What?”
His eyes wouldn’t meet mine. “For not protecting you.”
“Rem, no. God, no. That’s not it.” I cupped his face. “The only time I feel safe is when I’m with you. My life has so many uncertainties right now, and you are the only thing I am certain about.” I kissed him, and I felt like crying. I loved him so much. “I’m sorry I’m not acting like my
self. Maybe the whole experience has left me a little shaken? But never doubt that I trust you with my life.”
He leaned his head against mine and closed his eyes.
“Hey, there was going to come a time in our relationship when I simply wasn’t in the mood.” I giggled.
“But I see that as a challenge. My woman should always be in the mood,” he said with a serious face but quickly broke into a smile after a few seconds.
There was a sudden knock on the door.
“What?” Rem barked at the door.
“We need to prep for tomorrow. Did you forget?” Duncan said from the other side.
“Fuck.” He sat up. “Listen, I have some stuff to do, but I’ll be back later. I also have to leave early tomorrow so I might not wake you before I leave. I’ll only be gone a day this time.”
“Okay.” This was the meeting that my uncle was talking about. I looked at the bathroom for a moment, thinking about how I could get the stupid thing on Rem’s bike before he left tomorrow.
“Get your rest. When I get back you know what’s going to happen.”
I bit my lip and nodded. Something about these “runs” turned Rem into a beast afterward. The danger must turn to lust in his veins. I found myself looking forward to it before I realized that I’d probably never make love to Rem again.
He gave me a kiss that was all tongue and then left the room. I thought I would have a few more days to make my decision, but here it was.
I curled back into the bed and tried to decide between my lover and my father.
Chapter Forty-Three
Rem
I didn’t want to leave Isabel, but I still had a job to do.
We were headed toward the border with Duncan and me on our bikes while Hawk drove the truck with the camper a couple miles behind us. It was stocked with all the paraphernalia of a boys’ fishing trip. I didn’t even like to fish, but it was a good cover when you were heading toward the Canadian border.
About a half mile away from the campground, we spotted a cop that was clocking for speeders. I didn’t think it was a reason to abort so I gave the signal to keep going, but we slowed a bit to see if the cop would follow. He didn’t.
Reign Over Me (The Covenant Book 1) Page 20