Chapter Four
Kytten
I wasn’t sure why I was hanging around Diamond Creek. Sypher and Pippen were here. Danika was safe. She didn’t need me anymore. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave. It was like something else was keeping me here. Something I couldn’t understand or grab onto.
I had followed Dr. Jefferson here and was surprised when she pulled up to the Silver Shadows’ clubhouse. I tried to figure out her connection to the bikers. What led her here?
When I approached her at the diner in Las Vegas, she was wary.
Val hadn’t told me the specifics of why Dr. Jefferson had her granddaughter, so I didn’t know why she had left Oklahoma City.
Seeing her pull up to a motorcycle club, and this one in particular, knowing who else lived in this town, had me calling Val immediately.
“Val, Dr. Jefferson is in Diamond Creek.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know. I can’t get close to the clubhouse without giving away who I am. I don’t know how much they know about either of them.”
Did Dr. Jefferson know about Val’s daughter living at the clubhouse? Did she know the little girl she was taking care of was Amber’s niece?
“Kytten, I need to know why she left Oklahoma City with Dante’s daughter.”
“Sypher still doesn’t remember anything?”
Val sighed on the other end of the line. I knew this was tearing her up. Sypher worked with us, helping women and children find a new life away from their abusers.
Getting them out was the easy part. That was what the Nyght Nymphs did. Keeping them from being found again was the hardest, most important part.
Sypher did that. He gave them new identities. Solid backgrounds that would keep even the smartest assholes from finding their victims. Without him, we wouldn’t be able to effectively do what we did.
“No, and they left. No one knows where they are.”
“Left? Why?”
“I don’t know. Something happened. They both disappeared without a trace.”
That seemed strange. If Sypher didn’t remember who he was or what he could do, then who helped them?
“How?”
“I don’t know.” The loudspeaker at the hospital mumbled something in the background. “Kytten, I have to go. Do what you can to get that information.”
“I’ll do my best. But if any of the women recognize me, I can’t guarantee the results.”
Val was counting on me. My skin began to itch. The familiar racing of my heart was a second behind. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the knife I carried. Flicking it open, I ran the flat side against my leg. The sun caught on the metal, almost as if the blade were mocking me.
“Just do what you can.”
The phone disconnected, and I slipped it into my pocket, preventing me from replacing the knife into its former location.
I stared at the blade. One tiny nick. That’s all it would take to calm my racing heart and take away the itch that crawled under my skin like a centipede with its hundreds of tiny legs.
My nails scratched at my leg. Sliding beneath the frayed tear in the denim. Adding more pressure with every passing second. I thought about Val. Letting her down was not an option.
Just one tiny puncture, then I could carry on.
I slid the blade over my exposed skin. The burn was immediate. The crimson line appeared, a thin stroke of blood between the tattoos that covered the surface.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Closing the knife, I slid it into the front pocket of my jeans. Then, swiping a finger over the delicate cut, I smeared the blood into the colorful ink.
I revved the bike beneath me. Riding through town, I let the memory wash over me. With so many bikes, it would be easy to go unnoticed. Except, my pink hair and tiny stature made me stand out more.
At least that was why I did it. I wanted to be noticed. I didn’t want to blend into the crowds. My brother would never find me that way. So I did what I needed to do in order to stand out.
A few days after arriving in Diamond Creek, I found this little path that led up the mountain. It was narrow but wide enough for my bike. There were a few branches that spread out and if you weren’t careful, they would catch on your clothes. Scratching any exposed skin they came in contact with.
It was a way for me to hide. A way to feel the pain and justify that I wasn’t doing it to myself.
I rode up here daily, allowing the brush to caress over me, leaving small scratches similar to the one I left on my leg that day. I told myself it was cathartic. Like therapy.
I lied.
When I reached the top, I wasn’t alone. A man crouched by the edge. He stood when I cut the engine, and when he turned toward me, his eyes widened in surprise.
I saw something in his eyes. Something familiar. Only I didn’t have the words to describe what it was.
“Your mother know you’re out here alone?” he asked.
“My mother left me when I was ten years old. So no, she doesn’t know where the fuck I am.”
“Sorry.”
“Fuck off, Boomer,” I snarked, narrowing my eyes at him. Normally I was cheerful, happy. It was part of the costume. But there were times I hated being mistaken for a child.
“I ain’t no fucking Boomer, kid,” he sneered, taking a step toward me.
“And I ain’t no fucking kid.”
His phone rang, and when he looked at it, I saw it again. Something familiar. Pain... no, loneliness, maybe.
“Yea?”
I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but he never took his eyes off me as he spoke. And I never took my eyes off him. I studied him. His dark hair was shaggy, like he’d missed too many haircuts. Though his beard was trimmed and well maintained. It was a contradiction, but it worked.
He was handsome. He probably knew it too. I’d noticed the cut. You couldn’t miss the way it hugged his chest. I licked my lips without thinking and the flare of his eyes was so small and quick, I would have missed it had I not been staring at him.
“Yeah,” he answered.
I glared back at him. Something about the way he looked at me made me angry. Like he could see inside me. Like he somehow noticed all the parts I tried so desperately to keep hidden.
“Have I ever fucking missed it before?” he barked out at whoever was on the other end. “Then don’t fucking question me.”
He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing. Just been a shit day.”
He turned away from me then, and I couldn’t help but feel for him. I understood having a shit day better than most. But he had something I didn’t. Someone he could share those days with. Share those feelings.
I didn’t have that. Not without my brother. I could share with him. He would understand. I couldn’t share them with Val. She had enough shit to deal with; she didn’t need mine.
I suddenly wondered if he had an old lady. Was that who he sniped at? No, it wasn’t her. I mean, he might have one, but he wouldn’t yell at her, not like that. He might be able to see inside me, but I could also see inside him.
Like saw like.
“Yea.” He swung a leg over and sat on his bike. Though, he didn’t start it up right away. He just sat there, the phone to his ear as the other person spoke to him. I wanted to know what they were saying that made him look so defeated.
He slid his phone into his cut, and I shocked myself by asking, “You in that club in town?” My feet had moved on their own and I found myself standing closer, not wanting him to leave.
His eyes trailed over my body, heating me with his obvious perusal.
“Yea,” he said, twisting the key. The bike roared to life, drowning out anything else I might have said. He left me standing there alone, feeling stupid.
He was older than me, probably by a lot. In his eyes, I was a kid. Why that bothered me, I didn’t want to think about.
I walked to where he had been when I got here. Looking out over the edge, I waited until I saw him enter the road from the hidden path. He never looked back. And I wasn’t sure why that bothered me as much as it did.
Shaking my head, I fisted my hands. My nails dug into my palms. It was starting again. I needed to move. If I stayed here, I would add to the lines already scarred over.
I clenched my hands tighter, praying it would tide me over. Hoping it was enough to stop the thoughts that raced through my mind. In an attempt to convince myself I wouldn’t still do the inevitable, I trudged to my bike. My hands trembled as I started her up.
I closed my eyes and let the vibrations course through me. I rode down the path, closer to the edge of the brush than I’d been when I rode up.
The feel of the branches hitting my arms was a balm to my soul. I felt them slap against my shoulders and knees, then stick and pull at the sleeves that covered my arms.
When I reached the bottom, I rode toward the clubhouse. I told myself it was to watch over the women and child that were living there. The truth was, I wanted to see him again.
I wanted to ask him about his day. What had made it go to shit? How would he fix it?
As I rode toward the clubhouse, a black SUV drove behind me. I looked over my shoulder and when I saw who was in the vehicle, my bike stuttered beneath me.
He didn’t belong here.
I pulled off to the side before turning down the road that led to the clubhouse, allowing the SUV to pass by me. My helmet kept him from seeing my face, and neither the driver nor his passenger paid me any mind as they drove past.
Climbing off my bike, I removed my helmet and set it on the seat. Then, I dug a pair of binoculars out of my saddlebag and watched the vehicle as it pulled into the parking lot. The two men climbed out and walked inside.
Pulling my phone out, I quickly dialed Val’s number.
“Come on, Val, answer the phone.”
My hand went to the back of my head and I scratched at my scalp. The feeling of bugs crawling under my skin was unbearable.
“Pick up the phone, Val. Please.” I pleaded with the one person I never wanted to let down, knowing she couldn’t hear me.
The call finally connected and before she could say hello, I breathed, “Val, Sin is here.”
“What?” she cried out. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I was riding toward the clubhouse when they pulled up behind me. I pulled over and let them pass, but I can see the clubhouse from where I am. Sinclair and Rowen went inside.”
I held the phone in one hand and dug my fingernail into my neck. The helpless feeling was worse than the sadness. Worse than the shame.
Picking up my binoculars, I focused on keeping my hands busy. It made it harder to concentrate, but Val needed me right now.
“Kytten, I need to know what is going on.”
“I can’t get into the clubhouse without him seeing me. Without them all knowing who I am. Do you want me to tell them who I am and why I’m there?”
“No, not yet. Not unless we have to.”
I peered through the lenses as the door opened. “Someone’s coming out.” I closed my eyes against the sight before me. I didn’t want to tell Val what I was seeing.
“Kytten, what’s happening? Is he leaving?”
“Yes. But, Val—” I paused. Tears formed in my eyes. The thought of breaking Val’s heart, of causing her pain, made me sick to my stomach. Bile rose in my throat as the tears dried up.
I dropped the binoculars, my hand going to my back pocket. The knife was open and slicing into my skin before I even realized what I was doing. Blood trickled down my leg, giving me the strength I needed to say the words that she needed to hear.
“What, Kytten?” Val yelled into the phone.
“Sin took Dante.”