51. Theo
FIFTY-ONE
THEO
Was it wrong that I couldn’t quit smiling as I made rounds at the motel? Spirit lighter than it’d ever been as I swept the perimeter. Boots thudding on the pavement and sinking into the snow as I whistled like some kind of cheesy motherfucker under my breath.
Knowing that Alicia and Lucy were finally truly safe, and they’d be leaving soon for their new home.
The threat that had been lurking resolved.
Buried six feet underground—exactly where it belonged.
Though I wouldn’t try to lie to myself and say that was it.
Deny that this joy had everything to do with the sweet energy that radiated from Unit B.
From Finn and Nelly who I left there twenty minutes ago, Finn hugging my leg and beaming up at me as he’d said, “My Feo come right back?” which I had, in fact, promised him I would.
From Piper who was across town with my family, weaving her way into the flock, though the rhythm of my heart promised that she was already there.
From this new sense of purpose that had struck inside me.
This lo?—
Old wounds tried to snatch the thought from my mind. Taint it in my regret.
I refused it and continued on my typical path, sweeping my flashlight from left to right to ensure nothing was out of order.
After what happened with Pierce Renfry, Jonah had been taken to Dr. Reynolds and patched up. The cut had been pretty superficial, like he claimed, and he was already back to work at Kane’s since we no longer required the additional security here.
My regular guard was posted near the main building of the motel, and he’d make his own rounds throughout the night.
I trudged to the end of the lane near my cabin before I turned, anxious to get back to Unit B.
Finn’s precious face burning at the backs of my eyes.
All of it was amplified by the fact that Piper was bound to show soon.
The last texts we shared still had my guts coiled in need. Couldn’t wait to get her into my arms.
I was halfway back across the main parking lot when my phone rang from my pocket. I dug it out, and a slight smile rode to my lips when I saw who it was. “Silas, hey, man, you finally get that car finished?”
“Theo, listen, I’ve got info.” Urgency filled his tone.
My heart rate increased, that ancient need for retribution pushing to the surface. “What did you hear? You uncover that motherfucker?”
“More than uncovered him, man. Archer heard from his informant in LA. Toga is here. In Moonlit Ridge.”
A boulder of dread sank to the pit of my stomach.
How? Fucking how?
I’d been hunting that piece of shit for almost ten years. Coward always in hiding. Knowing exactly what was coming for him once I caught up to him.
But he was here.
I should be fucking ecstatic.
Vengeance at hand.
But something prompted me toward disorder. Awareness washing like the rise of a slow, tumultuous tide.
“What do you mean, he’s here?” I gritted.
“Word is he is here to take care of some unfinished business before he steps out as Iron Owls’ president next week.
He made a claim that he was gonna prove that he was always meant to be their president.
Figured that had a direct relation to you, your brothers, and the rest of the guys in Redemption Hills.
Probably my crew, too. Anyone who used to wear an Owls patch and no longer pledges their allegiance. ”
Fury toiled in my stomach, and I started jogging across the lot, apprehension seeping into my bloodstream.
Wouldn’t let that fucker get near anyone I cared about. Never again.
“I’m the one who’s been hunting him. If he’s got unfinished business, then I’m pretty sure he’s got it with me,” I growled as I darted into the thicket of trees that separated the main lot from the two cabins on the other side, taking the shortcut to get me there quicker.
“Either way, I have my men on high alert. Everyone is watching their backs in case this scum thinks he’s going to roll in here and try to make an example out of all of us.”
“Good. This motherfucker is capable of anything.”
Rage and hate twined with the grief.
“It’s finally your time, brother,” Silas said. “If you need backup, just say. You know we consider you family.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it and the intel. I’ll keep you updated.”
“I’ll do the same.”
The line went dead, and I darted through the trees, tapping out a message as I went.
Me
Hey, baby. Need you to stay at the bar with the rest of the girls until me or one of the guys gets there. Stick close together.
Didn’t want to freak her out, but I wasn’t taking any chances. Not when I was sure Toga wanted to hurt me every bit as badly as I wanted to hurt him.
I broke out on the other side of the trees, and I ran for Unit B, just needing to get Finn into my arms.
I gave a quick knock at the door, though I didn’t wait for Nelly to open it. I tapped my keycard against the reader and pushed inside.
Nelly’s head popped up from where she was in the kitchen. Surprised air rushed from her lungs. “Criminy, you just about scared the pants off of me, and that is a sight I promise that you don’t want to see.”
Her smile was easy before it drained when she noticed the rage on my face. “What’s going on?”
“My Feo !” Finn popped up from where he was on his belly on the floor scribbling in a coloring book. His little legs carried him in my direction.
I glanced between him and the worry that was etched on Nelly. I snatched him up, breathing in his calming scent, close to the cherries like his mom, though it was mixed with a dose of innocence.
I hugged him tight, allowing the frenzy roiling inside me to abate with him in my arms.
Wrath ran through my blood, but it’d taken a new shape. The truth that the only thing I really wanted to do was protect the ones I loved.
It struck me the second I thought it.
What this was.
The full truth of it.
My arms quivered with the perfect weight of Finn in them, and he babbled and bobbed, “My Feo get back? We get food and a moovie ?”
I smoothed my hand down the back of his head and pressed a kiss to his temple. “I might have to go back to work for a little bit, but I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
“Mommy?”
“Mommy will be back really soon, too.”
I set him onto his feet as Nelly slowly wound around the counter.
“What’s going on, Theo?” she asked.
“Don’t want to worry you, but there might be some trouble in town. Going to send the security guard over here to keep an extra eye, and I want you to sit tight and make sure the doors stay locked. You hear anything out of the ordinary, you call me.”
“Did he…find her?” The question heaved out of her.
Disquiet gripped me in an instant. Didn’t know what it was.
This was about Toga.
Still, I lifted my phone, checking for a response from the text I sent Piper.
Nothing.
Anxiety buzzed through my senses.
“I don’t exactly know who that is, Nelly.”
There was a spurring to it.
The foul, grim feeling worming through me telling me I needed to know.
Right then.
Uncertainty passed through her features.
“If she didn’t tell you…” She wavered before she rushed, “She kept thinking that he might have found us. Thinking she felt something the way she did when he caught up to us a few years ago. But then she said that it was someone else here at the motel who was in trouble.”
Her throat bobbed heavily as she swallowed. “I told her she needed to tell you everything. That you would hold it. She needs you, Theo. We all need you. And I don’t know what’s going on, but I have this feeling right here.”
She gathered the tips of her fingers over her heart.
Without waiting for more, I dialed Piper’s number, fucking itching while it rang and rang before it went to voicemail.
A crush of fear hit me, and I dialed Emery. She answered on the second ring.
“Well, hello there, Theo,” she drew out on a giggle. A ton of noise echoed around her.
Thank fuck. They were still at the bar.
“Need to talk to Piper,” I grated. “She isn’t answering her phone.”
The giggle died on her tongue. “Theo…she’s not here. She left here a while ago to go home to talk to you.”
Dread spread like a disease.
Infiltrating.
Invading.
“What?” I choked.
“She’s not here.”
“How long has she been gone?”
A sudden frenzy blazed from the other end of the line. “I don’t know…at least thirty minutes. We’ve had another round of drinks since then. I…I saw her Volvo drive by the front of the bar heading north. I thought she was going home.”
“Fuck. You’re sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure it was her. I’m positive it was her in the driver’s seat.”
Terror erupted, and I curled my hand tighter around my phone.
“Who’s with you?” I forced out.
“Charleigh and Raven.”
“Call Kane and tell him to get over there. Do not leave that bar. None of you. Stay put.”
“Theo.” Fear leached into her voice.
“She’ll be fine. She’ll be fine.” She had to be. I wouldn’t allow anything else.
I ended the call and dialed Piper again. When the voicemail answered, I rushed, “Need you to call me, Piper. Need to know you’re okay.”
I spun in a circle, not knowing what the fuck to do. Where to start. I just knew I had to find her.
I dialed Kane. It only rang once before he snapped, “What the fuck is happening?”
“Piper isn’t answering her phone. And fuck, man, Toga is here,” I grated, voice held low as I turned around in the living room.
“Toga? What the hell?”
They all knew how desperately I wanted to find him. Knew there were rumors of him reviving the Owls.
“I think he’s been here for a couple weeks. I think…” It scratched like sandpaper before I rushed, “I think he might have been the one in the SUV. Hunting me. Tracking. Looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. If he has Piper…”
I couldn’t bring myself to say it. To even think it.
“It’s okay, brother. We’ll find her. I’m heading to the bar now. I have Otto and Cash en route and on standby. River has the kids.”
“Thank fuck. Have everyone span out and look for Piper’s white Volvo. I’m going to see if Silas has a tracker on it. I’ll be back in touch.”
“Be safe,” he said.