Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lottie tried keeping up with Razor as they walked up the tree-lined path to a row of houseboats. When she told him her concerns over Sway missing their lunch date, she had no idea they’d end up at the home of Sway’s boyfriend.
She should have asked Dawson to help her find Sway. But he would have told her she was overreacting, except she wasn’t. Sway was reliable, and she hadn’t shown up for their lunch date. Her apartment was empty, and her truck was in the driveway. The shop hadn’t been opened, which had employees calling Lottie. It all added up to her being missing. The police said she was an adult and could have just walked off, wanting a new life. Bullshit is what Lottie thought.
She hoped Sway was with Vicious and had simply taken a much-needed day off, but Lottie needed someone to believe her, and that had led her to Razor. He was the one person she tried to avoid, even at work. Biting the bullet, she followed Razor, taking the last few steps to the front door .
She’d heard rumours about what went with men like Vicious. Any other time, she’d be intrigued, but for now, she stuffed that interest down.
A quick rap on the door had her stomach doing summersaults. Vicious, along with some of the other patch holders she’d met at the clinic, made her nervous. Not in the creepy way that some men did, but in the way she knew they could kill her without a second thought.
Lottie watched as the door opened, revealing a half-naked Vicious. His shaggy, dark-blonde hair hung haphazardly over impenetrating green eyes. He towered over her, making her feel small and delicate. Stepping back to the safety of Razor, her eyes darted over Vicious. If she was honest, the man wasn’t a bad sight to see. Lottie could understand Sway’s interest in the man.
“Vicious.”
“Razor?” Vicious looked past his club brother, spotting Sway’s best friend. He went on alert. “Lottie? What’s wrong?”
Lottie chanced a look past Vicious, praying silently Sway would appear. When she didn’t, Lottie looked back at Vicious. This was a hardened man, a man she wasn’t used to dealing with.
Vicious appeared to be a hardcore, badass, trigger-pulling, ask questions later kind of guy. This was a man who women thought they wanted. The kind that movies and books made them dream about. He was the real deal, a dangerous motherfucker.
Looking into his intoxicating eyes, her stomach knotted up. With a shaky voice, Lottie told him why they were there. “It’s Sway. She’s missing. I’m hoping she’s with you.”
“What do you mean she’s missing? She left this morning.” Turning around, he rushed back inside, grabbing his shirt from his laundry room. Pulling it on, he heard Lottie talking about Sway not showing up for lunch, nor had she opened the shop. That sent off alarm bells. Sway would never not show up at work. She felt too responsible for the well-being of her employees. His heart started beating in his chest so hard, he could feel it in his throat.
Scooping up his keys, he noticed the note Sway had left for him. Picking it up, he held it toward Lottie and Razor, who had come in behind him. “The note says she was heading home,” he said off-handedly.
“I’m telling you, something is wrong,” Lottie said frantically.
“She didn’t wake me when she left. I’ve been working graveyard shifts this week.”
“Sounds like Sway not wanting to bother you.” Lottie tried not to cry, but she was freaking the fuck out.
As he listened to Sway’s friend start to cry, Vicious looked at Razor, who was already on the phone. Pulling Lottie in for a hug, his mind tried to find a rational reason why Sway wouldn’t have opened the auto shop. The night before, she had decided to put Tesh’s death behind her. Maybe she went to the cemetery. Maybe she went to talk to him.
Glancing at Razor, he saw the hard stare the brother gave him and let go of Lottie. Vicious gave Razor a questionable look, wondering if he was reading the signs correctly and the brother was hot for Sway’s friend.
Razor put the phone call on speaker. “Razor. How can I help you today? That hellcat giving you problems?” Sherlock chuckled at the thought of the pretty nurse giving Razor shit. Sherlock had witnessed Lottie’s fiery attitude toward his club brother firsthand, and it was comical to think about.
Cutting off Sherlock’s comments before he said too much in front of the current company, Razor let the brother know why he was calling. “Sherlock, Sway’s missing. She left Vicious’s house early this morning. Can you pull up any and all surveillance video from the general area?”
All joking went out the window when Razor said Sway was missing. “I’ll start digging into traffic cams. You should ask the neighbours if they have ring cameras or any type of cameras that might show Sway leaving.”
“Consider it done. We’ll meet you at the clubhouse within the hour.”
“Do you want me to call the brothers?”
“Yes.” Hanging up, Razor told Lottie to stay inside while he and Vicious went to knock on doors. The entire time they spoke with his neighbours, Vicious was unsettled as he worried about Sway.
Sway lay on the thin foam pad on the floor. The small room she’d been thrown into was barely lit by a low-voltage light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Her tailbone hurt like hell from being on the floor of the van. When Jerome grabbed her from the other guy, he slapped her and slammed her against the side of the damn thing. She had hit the car so hard, she fell and landed on her tailbone. Twisting her hands, she tried to loosen the ropes that had her bound to a large eyehook in the wall. Multiple raised voices told her she wasn’t alone.
Sway couldn’t wrap her head around Jerome kidnapping her. What could she possibly have that he wanted? The only thing that made sense to her was that she was getting close to finding out what had happened to her brother the night he died. Did her kidnapping mean Jerome had a hand in Tesh’s death? If he killed her brother, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.
Closing her eyes, Sway prayed Vicious would find her. Even if she didn’t survive, she hoped someone would find her body and bury her with Tesh. Footsteps alerted her to someone approaching the room. She refused to show fear. There was no way she would cower to them.
Jerome opened the door, glaring at Sway. “You’ve caused me more trouble than you’re worth.
“Then let me go, Jerome.”
“Nah, the boys wanna have some fun with you. They’re gonna see how much pain you can handle before they fuck you to death.” Sway’s chest tightened hearing his words. Then, he hit the light switch and closed the door, leaving her in total darkness.