Chapter Twelve
King had torn us new ones when we got back to the compound. He’d taken War and I into his office and let rip about how disappointed he was, how we needed to follow orders and how everything could have gone to shit because we were going rogue.
War argued back and at one point, I thought they were going to come to blows but they’d both backed down and King admitted that despite us being a pair of stubborn uncontrollable dicks, we managed to do some good. But he was still worried about their officer being killed.
I’d felt seventeen years old all over again, that was the ticking off we used to get. It only made War angrier, he didn’t like being treated that way and made sure King knew about it. He’d stormed off after asking if King was done. He’d waved him off.
I didn’t know until I went looking for him that he’d took off from the entire compound. I text him, standing at the bar, it wasn’t safe to be riding around alone. He replied with two words. ‘at Connors,’ no further explanation needed.
Sitting in the bar for a while by myself and drinking some whiskey didn’t ease my mind.
We kept hitting brick walls, following one lead that got us no closer, then on to another, just to come to the exact same outcome.
War had been periodically texting Mace through the night but never got a response.
Maybe he figured at some point the guy would reach breaking point and answer. I doubted it though.
When I went up to my room, knowing I needed sleep again, I’d dug through an old box in my bureau and found a torn, yellowing envelope. I hadn’t looked at those photographs for years but now, I was drawn to them. Some of them were of my mom, dad in a lot of them but I skipped over those ones.
One of them was a picture of me and her in the fairy garden she’d created in the back yard. She used to tell me she was convinced I was going to be a girl which was why she created the little space. She always followed it up by telling me I was so much better than what she had expected.
My mom loved big and she tried so hard even when she was sick, not to let me know how bad things were getting for her. Right up until the end, when she could barely eat or get out of bed, she would ask me to come to her room so she could read to me before bed.
I finally came to what I was looking for.
A photograph of Waverley and I on her eighteenth birthday.
We were in Atlantic City, the first time King had let us go off on our own.
We’d had separate rooms, because even though War accepted our relationship, he didn’t like having it rubbed in his face. He knew I’d sneak in there though.
This photograph was one of us lying on the bed in that hotel room. She was wearing my wife beater and panties and I was shirtless. Her cheeks were rosy and her smile huge. I was holding my phone camera up so the angle wasn’t great but that smile always got me. I’d loved her so much back then.
I closed my eyes thinking about how we’d fucked up so spectacularly. I’d only just got her back, and she was taken from me. I vowed right there that once she was home, I wouldn’t be letting her go. Fuck North Carolina. She was mine and nothing would take her away from me again.
I needed a shower, I needed a clear head. I needed her.
Grabbing an ashtray off the table I turned and threw it at the wall. It was ceramic so it easily smashed, shattering to pieces all over the floor. No one came running, because it wasn’t unusual to hear things breaking around here. It did little to alleviate the stress and pain I was feeling.
I stomped over to the window and pulled it open as wide as it would go, letting in the noise of the compound.
I heaved in a few deep breaths, trying to get air into my lungs.
King’s warnings about the repercussions of killing Nytro’s officer echoed in my head.
I couldn’t stand to think that something we did could be putting her in even more danger.
I couldn’t stop imagining the things they could do.
Throughout all of this, I heard Reinhart had been arrested, but I think he might have been released on bail. Either way, he was on the cops radar for the things he’d done. I wanted to kill him too. So many people had hurt her over the years, she didn’t deserve any of it.
My phone started to ring behind me. For a moment I thought about leaving it, but it could be news about Waverley. I grabbed it off the bed, didn’t recognize the number but answered.
“Yeah?”
“Hudson.”
My heart stopped. I pulled the phone from my ear and checked the number again. Then hurriedly put it back. “Wave?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“What…where the hell are you?”
“I’m safe. I got away. Someone helped me. It doesn’t matter. I need you to come get me.”
I started hurrying towards my door. I was shocked, scared, elated, all of the feelings warring inside of me, I couldn’t believe I was talking to her. “Of course, tell me where and we’ll come.” I grabbed the door handle.
“Hudson, you need to come alone.”
I stopped, my hand on the door, my brows dipping. “Is someone there with you?” I asked quietly. “Threatening you.”
“It’s not what you think, I promise. Shit, Hudson do you seriously think I would let you walk into a God damn trap. Do you even know me?”
I almost grinned at the snap to her tone. Only Waverley would be calling for help and start giving me shit over it.
“I’d sooner die than let that happen.”
“Don’t say shit like that,” I told her. I shook my head, barely able to believe we were arguing.
“Hudson,” her voice went soft and it was my undoing. “Please, promise me. I’ll explain everything when you get here but I’m safe, I’m away from them and… I need you.”
I’d been drinking but this phone call had sobered me up instantly. I’d catch hell for this. I should go tell King, he’d spent an hour drumming into us that we couldn’t go off on our own trying to fix this. I should be loyal to him, to my President.
“I hear your brain ticking,” she said. “Hudson. I just need to talk to you. There are things you don’t know and I’m scared. Before I go to dad, I need you to tell me that I’m not losing my mind.”
When she sobbed softly I squeezed my eyes shut. All I wanted for the last few days was to find her and she was begging me to come get her. I didn’t understand what she meant about there being things I didn’t know.
“Okay, I’ll come alone. Where are you?”
She gave me an address. It was close to Parsippany.
I left my room and stayed on the line with her as I hurried downstairs.
People looked at me as I went through the bar but no one stopped me.
I tried not to make it look as if I was hurrying somewhere.
They’d figure soon enough I was leaving so I had to make it look convincing.
“Wave,” I said when I got outside and made sure no one was around. “I’m on my way, okay. You promise you’re safe.”
“Hudson, how many times.”
I laughed. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
“But you love me.”
I stopped as I reached my bike, swallowed hard, it was a figure of speech and I didn’t know whether she meant it as anything else. But I did. I’d loved her most of my life. “I do.”
“Hudson…” her voice was soft.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just stay safe.”
I hung up before she could say anything else. I couldn’t fucking believe I just did that. I didn’t even say it right, and I did it over the phone, while she’s in some sleazy motel, scared and alone. Fucking hell. Only I could have done it like that.
“Hey, Shady,” I called out to one of the guys who was standing by the bikes smoking a joint. He tipped his chin and moved towards me. “I gotta go out. War called me, he’s fucked up but doesn’t want King to know.”
“Riding alone ain’t allowed right now Hustle.”
“I know that, which is why I’m telling you that I’m going to Connor’s place to check on our VP.”
I stared at him. He was a few years older than me, and he had long hair that reached past his shoulders, he had it tied up in a bun at the back of his head.
He was stocky and scary as shit but I’d known him most of my life.
He would have my back, if I could convince him.
He’d been a prospect at the same time as Connor.
I didn’t think there was anyone in the MC who disliked Connor, but I knew Shady had been good friends with him.
“He okay? Stitch, I mean. Someone said he woke up?”
“Yeah, he’s not out of the woods but he is awake. They can’t fucking take us down. Definitely not him.” Although I didn’t know how much more Connor’s body could take.
“They need people to go see him?” he asked me. “I meant to ask but I know we’re all supposed to stick around here.”
“Speak to Ballistic, Rosa is down there with him, I’m sure he’d be glad to know there are more brothers with her, looking out for her.”
“Okay. Yeah,” he frowned and glanced towards the gate. “I saw War leave before. Alone, you guys are fucking idiots, but sure. Go, anyone asks I’ll let them know where you are.”
“Appreciate it,” I said, even though I wanted to punch his face for calling us idiots.
There were more important things to worry about. I hopped on my bike and headed towards the gate. We weren’t taking on new prospects right now and had strengthened the protection at the gate. It took some finessing, but I got past them too, then hit the road hard.
I’d been driving all over the damn state the last three days but this journey, this was the one I’d been desperate for. This was the one taking me back to her.
When I finally pulled up to the motel she’d given me the address for, I rode inside, ignoring the office and the couple who were falling about as they laughed and made their way to one of the rooms.