Chapter Nineteen
“I don’t trust it,” Daisy said.
“Trust what?”
“The fact they allowed us to sleep in this morning. Something is wrong.” This very morning, she and Anthony stayed in bed until after nine. They hadn’t slept in for over two months. She didn’t trust it.
“Come on, it’s fine,” Luke said.
Angel had sent her to the supermarket, to pick up a very long shopping list of groceries. For company, she got Luke. It wasn’t ideal, but everyone else was still sleeping, even after twelve, or running errands. It left her available.
Anthony was with his dad. She had a feeling Lash was doing everything he could to train Anthony, to prepare him for taking over the Skulls. She didn’t see that happening anytime soon, but she knew Anthony would want to be ready when it did happen.
There was still so much for them to learn, and so far, her plan had failed. Admittedly, it had only been one night, but wouldn’t the Monster Dogs have been desperate to seek revenge?
“It’s not fine. You’ve only been at the club two months. I promise you, it is not a good thing to trust. Something is going on, and it is scary, terrifying, and you should be afraid.”
He laughed. It was a good sound. She wasn’t about to point it out. Whenever Luke was told he seemed to be happy or having a good time, he went into instant withdrawal mode.
“Right, grab a cart, we have some mega baking supplies to pick up, along with different cuts of meat.”
“This is a pretty big list. Do you know why she is doing this?” Luke asked.
“It’s Angel, and feeding the Skulls is what she loves to do, and I’m not going to question what she loves to do. She makes the best food. Always has.” She wrinkled her nose, thinking of her own mother’s cooking. Lacey was a nightmare in the kitchen, and had burned the family kitchen down, not once, not twice, but at least three times. Daisy didn’t even know how she was able to do it. It was like fire was attracted to the woman.
“Well, I’m not going to argue,” Luke said. “Do you want to split up?”
“And have two carts?” She wrinkled her nose. “Besides, if we get this done, it means we don’t have to get back to the clubhouse to prove I am right and shit is about to hit the fan.”
“You have absolutely no confidence in anything, do you?”
“I have confidence in a lot of things, but not this. Not when for the last two months, we’ve gone to hell and back. Everyone is tired. Rachel can’t even be bothered to do her hair and makeup, and now you know that is scary.”
Luke laughed again. She was glad he was finally starting to find his feet.
“Do you think Lash is ever going to trust me to become a full-fledged member?” Luke asked, taking her by surprise with his question.
“Why do you think he won’t?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I was a Monster Dog for so long. I mean, I wouldn’t even trust me.”
“There are guys at the club. My own dad was a Lion, for instance, he wasn’t always a member of the Skulls, but he built up the trust, and now look at him. Killer was another one. There have been a few, a couple have been killed, but I know it can happen. If you remember, the Skulls’ primary objective is family.”
“Family?”
“Yeah, family and loyalty. You’re loyal to the club, you’re loyal to the family, and you don’t need to worry about everything in between. You just have to belong to the Skulls and have no ties to your old club. That is really all it takes.”
He nodded. She didn’t know what else to say to him.
“So, let’s get this stuff, huh?” she asked him with a smile.
They got through the main groceries, the vegetables, the meat, and finally landed at the bakery section.
They filled the cart, the whole experience taking well over an hour. Once at the checkout, Daisy was more than ready to head home. She liked food shopping, but this just seemed a little strange for Angel. More than she would have anticipated.
She stood by Luke’s side, and they made their way out to the car. They started filling the trunk with all the packages, and the space wasn’t big enough. Daisy put bags into the back seat, and then she looked over at Luke. “What do you say we grab a burger on the way back to the clubhouse?”
“I thought you were a vegan?”
“I’m not a complete vegan. I still eat meat from time to time.” She had tried to be a vegan, but there were times she felt so exhausted. She ate a predominately vegetable diet, but every now and then she ate some meat. She just hadn’t been able to keep it up, unlike her mother. Lacey loved the diet, and thankfully, she hadn’t held it against her, which was a welcome relief.
“So, burger or not?” Daisy asked.
“Burger. You’re right, I am hungry.”
She chuckled, closed the car door, and took the cart from him, wheeling it back to the bay. On her way back, she stopped and looked around.
That feeling, the one that told her something was wrong, came back. She glanced around, but no one was near or watching. Why did she feel that way?
Her arms suddenly covered in goose bumps, and she felt so nervous.
She quickly made her way back to the car, grabbing the handle. Only, she didn’t get to open the door as she was suddenly thrown against the car, her head smashing against the window. The glass didn’t break, and the last thing she saw was Luke being dragged from the car, before everything went dark.
****
A nthony looked around at the abandoned warehouse, and then glanced over toward his father. Lash was getting angrier with every passing hour.
Daisy’s plan hadn’t worked, and now there were four kids missing. All of them matched or were similar to the ones from the old list. The Billionaires had already forwarded the details, and according to his father, they were using their expertise to narrow down the search to find the girls. So far, nothing.
Whizz was doing what he could.
The guys were patrolling, and the sheriff was getting pushy as the hours went on, and the missing girls count went up. It was making his father angry.
He waited as Lash put his hands on his hips. “Where the fuck could they be?” Lash asked.
They had already checked the old Monster Dogs MC clubhouse. Nothing. There was no hope, anywhere.
He stayed perfectly still, knowing his father needed time to think.
Anthony had drawn a blank. He even looked at the map of Fort Wills, and there was nothing.
“They’re not at any of the hotels or rundown motels. They have not been spotted on cameras. Where the fuck could they have gone? The locals aren’t saying squat, but where would they take four girls?”
He gritted his teeth. His father was not happy. He looked at his father and waited.
And then, Lash’s cell phone rang. The look on his face was not pleasant. He had a feeling his father didn’t want to be disturbed.
“What?” Lash asked.
The look on his face changed and his gaze went to him, and Anthony just knew it was Daisy. Otherwise, his father would not have looked at him like that.
“When? I’m on my way,” Lash said, hanging up.
“It’s Daisy?”
“Whizz just saw her on the security footage. Angel called him, said she sent Daisy and Luke out four hours ago and they haven’t returned home. Luke’s dad attacked them. He saw them knock Daisy unconscious.”
“But they fucking took her?” Anthony asked.
“And Luke.”
“I don’t give a fuck about Luke. They took Daisy.” He paced, putting his hands on the back of his head. This was not good. Daisy was at risk. Her life was on the line. He had to think.
“Did Whizz follow them?” Anthony asked.
“They vanished. Went out of line of the camera.”
The door to the warehouse opened and in walked Miles, Blaise, John, and Constance. They had been doing recon on other properties, trying to find a weakness.
“We heard,” Miles said. “Whizz sent out an alert to everyone.”
Nash and Murphy stepped inside the warehouse.
Anthony continued to pace as his father started to organize.
Something was missing.
Fort Wills was heavily protected and guarded. His dad never wanted their enemies to get the upper hand. How were they able to steal not one but two people in broad daylight, and four girls in the dead of night?
He paced.
“Hey, man, are you okay?” Miles asked.
He ignored him.
Daisy, where the fuck are you? Where would they take you?
They would hurt his woman. They would kill her, rape her. He didn’t fucking trust them. They were pieces of shit. He had to get to Daisy. Hours had already been wasted. He should have gone with her.
Where would they have fucking taken her?
And then, like a lightbulb moment, he looked toward his father. “I know where they are.”
“Where?” Lash asked.
“They have to be somewhere they can’t be heard. Where they can sneak off into the night, where cameras don’t follow.” He looked toward Lash, and he just knew. It was the only place he hadn’t thought of, until they took Daisy. “Daisy’s parents’ house. It’s in the middle of the woods. No one bought it. They didn’t even own it, and it has been running into the ground all these years. That’s where they are.”
Daisy would never go back there. He wouldn’t take her there. But it was the only place they could be.
Lash looked at him. “Are you sure?”
“I never burned the place to the ground,” Anthony said. “I was tempted to but I never did. There was no reason to. It’s the only place that makes sense.”
“Then we better ride, because they have been taken for three hours so far.”
Anthony was already out the door. He didn’t have a weapon, didn’t need one.
He was going to get his woman.