by Tia Siren
I wasn’t needy.
So I dialed her work number instead.
The phone rang for so long, I thought I would get her voice mail there, too. I was just about to slam down the receiver when someone answered.
“You’ve reached the accounts department at CadFin. This is Miss Starr’s phone. You’re speaking to Miranda Finley. How may I help you?”
“Yeah, I need to talk to Alexa, please.”
“She’s not in today,” Finley said.
“What?”
“Miss Starr called in sick this morning.”
I was suddenly furious. What the fuck was going on here?
“There has got to be a mistake,” I said. “Alexa went to work this morning.”
There was a pause on the line. “I’m sorry, sir, but she didn’t come in today. Can I take a message?”
I hung up the phone without gracing her with an answer. I was getting pissed off. Alexa knew it was dangerous out there. She’d been threatened with that note and she now knew that I followed her around for God’s sake. How much louder did the message need to be for her to know she was in shit? Now she’d disappeared and I had no fucking clue how I was going to find her.
Where the hell was she?
If it was after hours and two days prior, I would have made a beeline to Blush, hoping to find her there.
But that was a thing of the past. She wouldn’t be there now without me, and there was no way she was there during working hours. Something was wrong. It had better be wrong, or I was going to lose my shit with her. She couldn’t do this to me.
I left the office without even thinking about finishing my work day. I had to get to her apartment. I floored it all the way there, speeding tickets be damned. Her car was in her usual parking spot. That was a good sign.
I reached her door and knocked.
“Lex?” I called out. “Alexa?”
She didn’t answer. I tried the door, and it was locked. I walked to the window next to the door and cupped my hands so I could look in. There was no sign of a struggle, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Something was very wrong.
I was officially worried. Alexa was missing, and I had no idea where to start looking. Dalton had asked me to look after her. I’d followed her around and fucked her, but I’d still failed to keep her safe. She was gone. Someone had her, and I was willing to bet it was a bunch of Mavericks.
God, if they touched one hair on her body, I was going to fucking murder every single one of them. Something very primitive woke up inside me. Alexa was mine, and I wanted her back.
Which was all fucking dandy, having a hero complex, but I still didn’t know where to go. How the hell did you save the damsel in distress when you had no idea where to race to?
Maybe I had to call Mom. Maybe Alexa had told her something that she hadn’t told me. I pulled out my phone, ready to dial the number, when I stopped myself.
Mrs. Starr had been through enough. I didn’t know for sure that Alexa was in danger, yet. With Dalton death’s still so fresh, worrying her over what could be nothing wasn’t only unfair; it was cruel.
I pocketed my phone and groaned in frustration. I was so fucking pissed off, and I couldn’t do anything. That just made me angrier. All that rage built up inside me. I pulled back and punched the wall.
Pain exploded in my fist, shooting up my arm, and I cursed, shaking my hand, trying to get rid of the pain.
Now that I’d had a run-in with the wall and lost, it was time to get my shit together.
I had a damsel to locate.
There was only one place I could think of that might turn up a lead. The Samurai controlled a club called Rat & Parrot close to the harbor. Dalton had spent a lot of time there, and I’d picked him up from there a time or two when his bike wasn’t in working order or he was too trashed to ride it.
I drove to the Rat & Parrot and parked. The place had been a diner once, but it looked more like a hole-in-the-wall now. There were barely any cars in the parking lot. Bikes populated the place, parked in rows with shiny chrome and polished leather.
The building had peeling paint and a wooden sign that was so weathered, it was hard to read the name of the place. I took a deep breath and walked toward the front door. I was about to walk right into hell, but I was past the point where I gave a shit about my own safety. I had to get Alexa back, and that was going to happen one way or another.
When I pushed through the doors, everyone turned around and looked at me. Metal music blared from hidden speakers. One of them had blown, creating a crackling sound. Smoke hung close to the ceiling like an artificial sky. Bikers sat around tables and at the bar, wearing leather and jeans with shitkicker boots, and they looked menacing as fuck. I was in the belly of the beast, and it was ugly.
“You’re a bit far from home, aren’t you, son?” Mason asked, coming from a door to the side.
“I don’t want trouble,” I said. “I’m just looking for Alexa.”
Mason shook his head. “We don’t need to bother my men with this kind of small talk. Come on, let’s have a smoke together outside.”
Everyone was smoking inside. He wanted me alone. Fine by me. He walked toward the door and beckoned for me to follow. I could breathe easier when I was outside again. Mason pulled a cigarette out of a pack and offered me one. I shook my head.
“Don’t smoke,” I said.
Mason shrugged and lit up his cigarette. The cherry glowed red when he inhaled, and he blew a cloud of smoke out of his nose. God, I couldn’t imagine that being pleasant.
“This place could use some new paint,” Mason said. “You don’t notice how shit your joint looks until a stranger walks in and you look at it through new eyes.”
“Where is she?” I asked. I didn’t have time to make small talk.
“Who were you asking for again?” Mason asked. He looked clueless, as if he had no idea who I was talking about.
“Alexa Starr.”
I said her surname on purpose. Loyalty wasn’t what I was betting on. It was every man for himself out here. It was a risk I was taking. If she wasn’t on a hit list yet, she could be soon. With the same surname as Dalton, I had hoped to get his attention if nothing more, but I had a feeling he already knew where she was. He was tight with the VP of the Mavericks after all.
“I wish I could tell you I knew what you’re talking about, but I don’t.”
He looked at me, and his face was serious, his eyes trained on mine.
“You see, when you walked into my club here, I thought you had brought me some information about Sam. But now it turns out that you’ve been wasting my time.”
I shook my head. “I’m just here to take back what’s mine.”
Mason laughed, and it wasn’t a good laugh. It was a little manic. His eyes were full of evil promises.
“What is yours,” he said through his laughter. “That’s funny.”
“I’m going to ask you one last time—”
“Now, be very careful,” Mason said before I could finish my sentence. “You sound an awful lot like you’re threatening me.”
I glared at Mason, and he glared right back.
“I have something urgent to attend to,” I said, turning around. I was showing Mason my back. I wasn’t scared of him. Maybe I should have been, but right now, the only thing I wanted was to get Alexa back, no matter what. If he wouldn’t tell me what I needed to know, I had to look for it somewhere else.
“You never should have started digging around, Luke,” Mason said. “You’re only making everything worse for everyone around you.”
I hesitated and considered turning around, but I didn’t. I kept walking away from the bastard who had lied to my face about not knowing where Alexa was.
I’d been correct to come here. Maybe he hadn’t been involved in Alexa’s kidnapping—I was willing to bet that was what it was—but he knew something. He had to.
I got into my car and left the parking lot. Mason was still outside, watchin
g me leave. I glanced at him in my rearview mirror as I turned onto the road. He would stay out there until I was gone. Then he would walk back inside and make a phone call to whoever had her, telling them I was sniffing around.
Shit.
What if I’d put her in danger? What if I had just signed off on her death sentence? No, I couldn’t think like that. Maybe I had to go to the police, get them to step in and help me.
God, I was starting to sound like her. That was what happened when you spent that much time with someone. But what if going to the police did exactly what I’d told her it would do and made things even worse than they already were?
What now?
Chapter 24
Alexa
When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was my aching head. A sharp pain pulsed in my temple, and when I turned my head, it felt like the world tipped on it axis. Where was I? My mind was fuzzy. Something was wrong, but the knowledge was somewhere at the back of my mind where I couldn’t reach it. Something important had happened. Something was wrong. Did I have a concussion?
Slowly, the memories flooded back to me. I had been on my way to meet Sherry. Someone had grabbed me, pulled a bag over my head—a bag that had smelled terrible. The bag was gone at least.
I opened my eyes. It was dark around me, I could barely see anything.
Fear crept in and I started trembling. I wanted to cry. I’d been kidnapped and I had no idea where I was or what was going to happen to me. My breath came in shallow gasps. I closed my eyes and focused on slowing my breathing down. I had to get a hold of myself. I couldn’t freak out now.
When I opened my eyes, I had it under control a bit better but I was still shivering.
I was cold. I lay on a concrete floor and I shivered. My hands were still tied behind my back, and by the consistent pain around my wrists, I was sure it was still that damn zip tie. Let’s not make a prisoner comfortable.
My legs were still free. Whoever had hit me in the head hadn’t thought to tie up my legs after I’d gotten a kick in. Thank God for that.
I tried to sit up. It was a hell of a lot harder to sit up when your hands were tied. Moving around made me feel sick. My head felt like it was going to explode and I considered just lying on the floor, but that would be giving up and I wasn’t going to give up.
I tried again, getting my legs under me, and finally, I managed to sit up.
I looked around. I was in a smallish room that was naked and bare. There was no furniture, no carpeting, and no wallpaper. The raw brick walls did nothing for the cold. The only light came from a small window near the ceiling, telling me I was in a basement.
I managed to get onto my knees and then on my feet. I could walk. I made my way to a door that was in desperate need of paint. I turned around and tried to get to the handle, pushing myself into the corner to grip it with my tied hands. It hurt my wrists to tug and pull against the restraint, but eventually I got a hold of the handle and maneuvered it down. But the door was locked.
Of course.
A lump rose in my throat, and I did nothing to stop it. Hot tears ran down my cheeks, and I walked back to the far side of the room where I’d woken up. I sank to the ground, crying, feeling miserable. My head ached and I felt like I was going to throw up.
I didn’t know how much time had passed before I heard the lock turn in the door. I wiped my face on my arms, trying to get rid of the signs that I had cried. Whoever had caught me couldn’t know that I was terrified.
The door slowly opened with a terrible creak.
“God, someone should oil this thing,” a woman said in a disgusted voice. Long auburn hair hung over her face as she looked down, so I couldn’t see her face. But it was a woman. That was a good sign, right? Women had compassion. Maybe I could get her to help me.
When she closed the door, she turned to me and flicked her hair back and out of her face, and I recognized the dark eyes, the pixie-like face, and the resting bitch face.
“Sherry?” I asked. It had been forever since I’d seen her, but it was impossible to forget her. She hadn’t changed a bit either. She still looked preppy.
“Oh, you’re awake,” she said in a bored tone. “They told me to check on you.”
I frowned. “They?”
She smiled and nodded. If we weren’t talking about my kidnappers and we weren’t stuck in a basement with my hands tied behind my back, the smile would have seemed friendly.
It didn’t have quite the same effect now.
“Did you do this?” I asked. Sherry wasn’t a prisoner, which meant she had to be on the other side.
Sherry smiled and nodded, looking pleased with herself. It was hard to think we were almost the same age. She acted like a teenager.
“Yeah, I did,” she said. “I had to tell Koby that you were snooping around.”
“Who says I was snooping?” I asked. “I just wanted to talk.”
Sherry rolled her eyes. “Come on, Alexa. It’s not like we’re friends. There’s no reason for us to chat unless you want to know something, and after everything that happened to Dalton and you knowing I’m with Koby, it couldn’t be anything other than snooping.”
“Who’s Koby?” I asked.
Sherry laughed, and it was a shrill laugh, a mocking laugh.
“You’re so naïve. Koby Mason is the president of the Samurai, duh. Do you honestly think I would be with any of the other goons? God, I have standards.”
I doubted it, but I didn’t say so. If I’d known she was dating the president, I would have reconsidered meeting her. Well, it was too late now, wasn’t it?
“Anyway, I told Koby you were snooping and he arranged for you to get taken and now you’re here.”
She smiled sweetly at me. I wished my hands weren’t tied. I wanted to scratch her eyes out. What a little bitch.
She walked to the corner where a crate stood on its side. She tipped it down and dusted it with her bare hand, looking at her palm and pulling a face when it got dirty.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Keeping an eye on you. I’m supposed to watch you for a while so that you don’t try anything stupid.”
What was I going to try? I couldn’t do anything. My hands were tied, the window was too high, and unless Sherry was in here—though I wished she would leave again—the door was locked. I was hardly a danger to anyone.
“What have you been doing lately?” Sherry asked after we were together in silence for a while.
I frowned at her.
“What?” she asked. “I’m bored and we haven’t exactly kept in touch. The last time I saw you, we were still studying and I was dreaming about that hottie brother of yours.”
When she mentioned Dalton, my blood ran cold. I didn’t want to talk about him, especially not with the woman who had kidnapped me, the one who was no doubt fucking the president of the gang he’d belonged to.
“Oh, come on, Alexa. Don’t be such a pain. I’m just making small talk.”
I didn’t answer her. She shrugged and leaned against the wall. For a moment, we were silent again, but Sherry apparently lacked the ability to stop talking.
“What was it that you wanted to ask me, anyway?” Sherry asked. “You can tell me, you know.”
“And then you’ll run to Koby and tell him everything I said?” I asked.
Sherry shrugged. “Well, yeah, but that’s because I said I would. It’s nothing personal.”
I believed her. It wasn’t personal for her.
“It’s because I’m Dalton’s sister, isn’t it?” I asked.
Sherry sighed. “I can’t tell you that.” She crossed one leg over the other and hugged herself.
“It’s cold down here. God, I should have brought a jacket. I don’t know how you’re fine with just that shirt on.”
Well, I wasn’t, was I? I was shivering. They’d sent the right person down to torture me, that was for sure. Her incessant yapping was irritating. I wanted her to go away.
“Did you
kill Sam?” I blurted out.
Sherry blinked at me. She laughed, and it skipped around the bare room.
“I would never do that. I don’t like getting blood on my hands. Pun intended.” She laughed at her own joke.
“I don’t mean you,” I said. Dumb bitch. “I mean the Samurai.”
“It’s cute how you think I’m going to tell you what’s going on. Not all the villains monologue about their evil plans, you know.”
It was worth a shot. Sherry was a talker. Maybe if I pushed her…
“What about Dalton?” I asked. “Did you kill him?”
She laughed again, but it turned into a sigh.
“I don’t even know why I’m holding it all back. You’re probably never going to get out of here, so I might as well tell you.”
Blood drained from my face and my head throbbed more aggressively. They were going to kill me, too, weren’t they? I was going to die. Maybe not today, but soon. Then Mom would have lost two kids, and Luke would never forgive himself. I should have told him what I was doing. He would only start missing me at the end of the day, and by then it would be too late.
“And the answer is yes,” Sherry said. I snapped my head up, my self-pity forgotten. “We did kill Dalton. Well, not ‘we.’ I mean them.”
My throat swelled shut and I couldn’t breathe.
“What?” I asked.
Sherry shrugged. “It’s what happens when you talk to the wrong people. I don’t make the rules. They caught him talking to someone he shouldn’t have talked to and brought him here. Not down here, of course, but to this house.”
I didn’t want to hear the rest of it.
“Okay,” I said.
Sherry laughed. “Okay? That’s it? That’s all you wanted to know?”
I nodded. I wanted her to stop. This hurt too much.
“Come on, I was just getting started. You see, usually when someone snitches, they just get shot, but Koby needed to know what Dalton said and Dalton wouldn’t tell him. So Koby had to beat it out of him. I have to tell you, your brother could take quite a licking.”