Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kyra opened the back passenger door of her Kia and leaned in to unbuckle Ledger from his car seat.
She only had a couple of hours before she needed to report to her current nursing assignment.
In the meantime, she still had to unload and put away a trunk full of groceries, get ready for work, then drop him off with Zeke at the clubhouse.
No matter how many times she told Zeke that he didn’t need to watch Ledger every time she had to work a shift, that her parents or her brother were willing to help out, he ignored that and insisted Ledger be with him.
At least he was taking this parenting stuff seriously.
Ledger also really enjoyed spending time with not only his father, but Zeke’s parents, too. She swore Zeke was all he talked about. He was either chattering on about what they did together or what Zeke planned on doing with him.
Those two were now two peas in a pod. If Ledger wasn’t with her, he was with Zeke.
It both warmed her heart and worried her. Every day she feared that Zeke would get tired of being a father and stop spending so much time with him. Or he’d do something stupid and go back to prison. The man was on parole and it wouldn’t take much for him to violate it.
Either scenario would devastate Ledger.
Honestly, it would devastate her, too.
When Zeke wasn’t busy with his club brothers, he was hanging at her house, whether invited or not. He also insisted on helping her pack for the move to the farm that was scheduled for the upcoming weekend.
She was actually getting excited about the move.
Vi had taken her through the cabin—with the current tenant’s permission, of course—and because it had been completely renovated more recently, it was so much nicer than her current rental.
Add in the fact she didn’t have to pay rent and that Vi would be close by and the decision to move had become a no-brainer.
Plus, her neighbors on the farm would be so much better than her current ones.
“Okay, buddy. Are you going to help me bring in the groceries?”
Ledger nodded. “When’s Daddy comin’?”
She helped him climb out of the car. “I’ll drop you off on my way to work.”
Ledger gave her a blinding smile and clapped his hands. “Yay!”
She frowned when his smile disappeared and a confused look filled his face.
“What’s wr—”
She shrieked when a black fabric hood was pulled over her head and hands restrained her arms. Holy shit! What was happening? “Ledger!”
“Mommy?” he cried out.
She kicked out furiously, trying to make contact with the shins or crotch of whoever held her. “Let me go!” She jerked hard in an attempt to free herself, but whoever it was was clearly stronger.
“Can’t do that,” said a male voice. “Stay calm and everything will be okay.”
Stay calm and just let someone abduct them?
Hell to the no!
By catching her abductor off guard, she managed to jerk one arm free, curled her fingers into claws and swiped wildly at the bastard. She made contact with the man, making him yell, “Fucking bitch!”
A different male voice said, “We’re not going to hurt you, but if you hurt us, that might change. Get him out of here.”
“Don’t take my son!” she yelled, panic practically choking her.
“Don’t worry about him.”
Don’t worry? Were they crazy? Of course she was going to worry! “Fuck you. You’re going to regret this!” While she hated to curse around her son, it was warranted in this messed up situation.
Being kidnapped would certainly be more detrimental to her three-year-old than a freaking F bomb.
“That remains to be seen. Now…for our safety and yours, we’ll have to bind your wrists. It didn’t have to be this way.”
How many different men were there?
“Help!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs. “Call 911!” Maybe a neighbor was home. Hopefully someone would call the police. Or at least be a witness.
“Hurry up and let’s get her out of here before she draws too much attention.”
“Where are you taking me?” she screamed while struggling to try to break free. She shouted for help again.
“Figlio di puttana, this chick’s got a set of pipes on her. Maybe we need to duct tape her mouth,” another said as she felt the zip-tie biting into the skin of her wrists as it was tightened.
Oh shit.
Wait. What language did he use? Who were these men? Why did they want her? And Ledger?
It couldn’t be a rival MC. With few exceptions, bikers weren’t known to be bilingual unless you counted cursing.
Before she could figure it out, she was being jerked around and stuffed into a vehicle. She toppled over into what seemed to be the back seat of a large SUV and someone shoved her to the other side of the vehicle before climbing in after her.
“Who are you?” Of course she got no answer. “What do you want with us?”
Her heart was trying to jump out of her chest and her thoughts were spinning at warp speed. She swallowed her next scream because she didn’t want to freak out Ledger any more than he probably already was. Instead, she called out to him as gently as she could. “Ledger?”
“Stay calm, mamma. Your boy is fine. He’s in another vehicle.”
Oh sure, sure, no problem. She’d stay calm because it was perfectly normal to have her head covered in some black hood, have her wrists bound, and be shoved into an unknown vehicle by unknown men for unknown reasons.
She couldn’t wrap her mind around what was happening and why. “Where are you taking us?”
The only answer she heard was road noise.
“Why are you taking us? My son is only three. Please don’t hurt him.”
“We’re not going to hurt him, mamma.”
She sure hoped they weren’t lying.
This. This right here had to be why Zeke wanted her to move to the farm. Because of the risk of being tied to the DAMC.
This was the kind of shit the previous generations of Angels had to deal with when it came to the Warriors.
This was the proof of why she never should’ve gotten involved with Zeke again.
“Please drop him off so his father can get him. Just take me.”
“We’re not dropping him off. We’re dropping you off.”
None of what he said made any sense. They were dropping her off? Where? Why?
The vehicle came to an abrupt stop, causing her to roll forward. She was only saved from hitting the floorboards by a large hand hooking her elbow.
A door opened and someone else grabbed her, pulling her from the vehicle and setting her on her feet.
They hadn’t even driven that far from her apartment. At most, the ride had taken five minutes.
Though, being visually impaired and scared out of her mind had made keeping track of time a bit difficult.
“About to cut you free. Don’t do anything stupida.”
She might not understand whatever language they kept using, but she definitely understood that last word. Between the slight accent and the foreign words, she was beginning to believe they might be Italian.
She knew of no local Italian motorcycle clubs.
Maybe this had nothing to do with Zeke or the DAMC?
The second the zip-tie was cut, a piece of paper was pushed into her hand.
“Give that to your old man,” came the order.
Her old man?
“If any of you try anything stupid…don’t forget we have your boy.”
While that was not something she’d forget, their point was taken.
Seconds after hearing the slam of car doors, the engine roared and the vehicle raced down the street.
With her heart in her throat, she ripped the black hood off her head. The static electricity from the fabric not only made her hair snap and crackle, it made it stand on end.
But that was the least of her worries as she looked in the direction she’d heard the car speeding off. “Ledger!” she screamed.
She quickly checked her pockets for her phone. Of course, it was nowhere to be found. She either dropped it when they grabbed her or it had been left in her car.
She glanced at the piece of paper clutched in her fingers next.
It contained an address and a message.
Holy shit!
She took in her surroundings, only to discover she was only a single block from the DAMC clubhouse.
None of this made freaking sense! Why would the people kidnapping her son drop her close to there? It couldn’t be coincidence.
Whether it was intentional or not, she began to run, pushing her legs and lungs as hard as they could.
She ran. And ran.
Her mind spun. Her heart pounded. Her lungs burned. Her breathing wheezed.
Then she saw it.
The Iron Horse Roadhouse!
Thankfully, the bar was open since she had no idea if the back gate was unlocked. She wasn’t wasting time to find out.
If he wasn’t in the bar, Zeke would be in the clubhouse waiting for her to drop off Ledger. He could get a hold of Vi and her Shadows to track down whoever was holding their son.
That option might be faster and better than contacting the police.
Yanking open the door, she burst through it and didn’t slow down. No matter how much her body was screaming for mercy.
“Zeke!”
Someone called out, “Kyra?”
She ignored Coop and kept going. She had no time to waste.
“Fuck!” she heard him shout as she slammed both palms against the swinging door that led into the kitchen that divided the public bar from the private club. She hit it so hard it smacked into the wall, but she didn’t slow down. She kept running, hoping she didn’t trip and fall. Or pass out.
“Zeke!”
Ignoring the startled cooks, she burst through the swinging door that deposited her into the MC’s common area.
“Babe, why the fuck is your hair—”
“Zeke!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs when she spotted him standing by a pool table, cue stick in hand.
Despite zeroing in on Zeke, she could sense everyone else freezing in place and take a collective breath.
His expression changed in a flash. From amused to downright scary.
She didn’t stop running until she slammed into him. And when she did, he took the impact with ease, enveloping her in his arms, squeezing her tight, and shoving his face into her hair.
“What the fuck happened?” he growled.
She pulled in what air she could so she could answer, even though his embrace was so tight he was crushing her.
“They took Ledger!” Good thing he had a tight hold on her since her knees chose that moment to give out.
He got a more solid grip to keep her on her feet. “Who?”
“I don’t know! Some men pulled a hood over my head, bound my wrists, and took us from the driveway of my apartment.”
He went wired. “What the fuck? They got my fuckin’ boy?”
Despite keeping her attention focused on Zeke, she could feel the tension in the room ramp up and faceless bodies began to surround them. She ignored the curses, murmurs, and questions being lobbed at her, as well as the fury making the air crackle and pop the same as her hair.
Zeke’s blue eyes searched her face, then he set her away from him to check the rest of her from head to toe. “Are you okay?”
“No, Zeke, I’m not okay! They fucking took Ledger!” And he would always be more important than her.
The threat of death and destruction filled his face. “Whoever took him’s gonna fuckin’ pay.”
As a hiccup-sob finally worked its way free, she shoved the paper crushed in her hand at him. “They told me to give you this.”