Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
GRAYSON
Walking out into the bar area, I jerk my chin toward my men, but it’s Orion who speaks before anyone can say anything else.
“In the conference room,” he barks.
Every single man in the room wearing a leather cut immediately walks toward a black-painted door without saying a single word.
Whatever the fuck they were doing doesn’t matter any longer.
This is the most important thing at the moment.
They make their way to the door, which has an insignia that matches the one on the back of their vests and jackets.
I’m not sure what lies behind that door, but I watch as they all move into the room, one by one.
Orion stops at the door, then jerks his chin toward me.
“Come on, boys, this one time only, you can enter our space.”
I guess this is a sacred space, which to be fair, I can understand, especially if they’re talking about shit they don’t want anyone else to know about.
They don’t have a lot of strangers hanging around here, but I believe in the old saying that walls have ears.
Wordlessly, we all follow them into the room.
I’m a bit surprised at the sight that greets me.
Most of the men have taken a seat around a long conference table.
The others stand around, their backs against the walls.
The head of the table is empty, and the walls are full of what I can only guess is memorabilia that means something to them.
It’s actually very tastefully decorated.
I assumed that a room like this would be a fucking mess.
When you think of bikers, you do not think of them as decorators or sentimental.
But that’s exactly what they seem to be—decorating sentiments.
Orion clears his throat, and his gaze cuts to mine, but this isn’t my show—at least not this part of it.
Vaughn is the one who clears his throat and takes half a step forward.
It doesn’t surprise me that he already has some information on what the fuck is going on, because he always seems to have the inside scoop of all the happenings.
“I’ve been trying to piece together what the fuck is going on here. Clearly, Landon Tate is at the helm of all of this, even though he isn’t the one who was at the construction yard with Nadine. But she’s not the only one missing, either. So I started digging into Brody.”
A few of the men are making rumbling noises, but if Vaughn is concerned, he doesn’t show it.
Instead, he continues.
“I couldn’t find much, to be honest. You guys cover your tracks really fucking well, which is good. But then something caught my attention in my searching. Which included a CCTV facial recognition program of the camera outside of Brody’s house in town.”
“House in town?” Orion asks.
Vaughn jerks his chin.
“His home is on Fourth Street.”
“He doesn’t own a home on Fourth Street,” one of the guys announces.
“He lives here full time. Some of the guys have houses in town, but Prez doesn’t.”
Vaughn rocks back on his heels, his eyes scanning the room, and I realize that there are more than just a few secrets going on here simultaneously.
I’m not sure what the fuck to believe here anymore.
All I know is that I want Nadine back—now.
I honestly don’t give a fuck how it happens, either, and at this point, if Tate dies during the rescue, better for fucking me.
“I’ll let you talk to him about that, but what I discovered was that Landon was lying in wait for him there. He shoved him into a rented black sedan at gunpoint, and they drove off.”
The room is bathed in silence.
So much so that you could hear a fucking pin drop.
My own shock resonates throughout my entire body.
It should not surprise me, not in the fucking slightest, but something is happening with Brody that not even his closest men know, and that is shocking.
Just like when we all found out Vaughn was a fucking hit man for hire during his days off.
“I’ve been able to hunt down the rented car, and it was rented by Landon Tate. But I don’t know where they went after leaving Brody’s place.”
Orion is the first of the men to speak after we all let that information sink in.
“Did you check to see if Landon owned any property in Nights?”
Silence.
“He doesn’t live in Nights. Never has,” I state.
Orion snorts.
“He doesn’t, and hasn’t, you’re correct. But Landon Tate’s ties to Nights are fucking personal. He’s without a doubt known that Nadine has been here since the moment she came into town. He allowed her to stay for whatever fucking reason he has. Likely to fuck with her head. No clue how a fucking dickwad like that thinks. But Nadine and Brody are from here, there are connections, and he likely has been working on whatever this plan is for a while.”
“Like he was working on their parents’ case?” I ask.
Orion jerks his chin toward me.
“You know about all that?” he asks.
“Nadine told us.” I lift my hand to motion to my brothers.
Orion clears his throat.
“He watched them for years, a predator to say the least. He waited and made them an offer he knew they wouldn’t refuse. Not that those assholes would refuse much as long as it kept their asses out of hot water.”
“Then I need to look into his property holdings,” Vaughn mutters.
A man stands and knocks on the table.
We all swing our attention over to him.
“I’m Broker,” he states.
“I already looked up his real estate holdings while we were talking. He owns a commercial property, a warehouse where I assume he’s doing something illegal. But what is most interesting is a single-family home that he has in town.”
“You’re shitting me?” I ask.
“Let’s fucking go.”
Broker smirks.
“You guys need firepower?” he asks.
“We got it.”
He snorts, then clears his throat.
“I assume yours is registered with legible serial numbers?”
I hadn’t thought of that.
Shit.
NADINE
As much as I want to focus on Brody and make sure that he’s okay, I can’t any longer.
Right now, it’s time for self-preservation.
The moment Landon is finished reveling in my parents’ deaths, he lifts his gaze to mine and focuses intently on me.
It’s my turn.
And he won’t kill me, at least not right now.
He’s going to make me suffer for leaving him, for stealing from him—a lot.
“Landon,” I whimper.
My facade is broken.
There is no more strength inside of me.
Just him looking at me this way breaks a part of me.
I’m stuck.
There is no way out.
I feel eighteen all over again, and I never wanted to feel this way, ever.
I wanted to forget this sensation ever flowed through me, but it’s back and stronger than ever.
He hums.
“When I’m done with you here, you’ll be nothing but a little broken doll. My broken doll. It’s time to come home, Nadine.”
I shake my head, trying to say the words that are desperately screaming inside my head and begging to be released, but nothing comes out.
My throat is completely closed.
I can’t even swallow the saliva that’s gathered in my mouth.
“Don’t bother responding. There is nothing for you to say. It’s time for you to be quiet now,” he coos, his voice fake soothing, saccharine, and aching, before he continues.
“I allowed you your false sense of freedom. That is over now. I only wish that Grayson Calloway were here for this. To see this for himself.”
He stops, almost as if a thought enters his head, and he makes a split decision.
Slowly, his lips curve up into a diabolical smile, and I know that something did appear in his tiny asshole brain.
Something scary.
He takes his phone out of his pocket.
His smile doesn’t even falter a tiny bit.
He is actually giddy, which means he’s going to cause me not only physical pain but mental anguish as well.
He touches the screen, and then a noise fills the small living room.
It’s the sound of the FaceTime ring.
My eyes widen, and then I hear his voice, and my whole body turns to ice.
“What the actual fuck?” Grayson’s voice booms.
Landon laughs.
The sound sends a chill down my spine, as if I didn’t already feel like a complete block of ice.
Goose bumps break out over my entire body, and I know that something really bad is coming.
I pinch my eyes closed in hopes that it doesn’t happen, but I know it’s coming.
“I thought since she was here, I would invite you as well,” Landon states.
Holding my breath, I watch as he walks over to the fireplace mantle and positions the phone so that Grayson can see the room.
“It’s clear that you thought you could keep my toy. That you would be able to have some sort of control over me. Or blackmail me. I know you’ve been trying to track me down. You failed, though— epically .”
I can’t take my eyes off Landon, mainly because I know that he’s about to hurt me.
He’s going to morph into this monster from my past.
I hate this part of him, this creature he is.
He’s the fucking devil, and now he’s about to focus all his attention on me.
His nostrils flare as he takes a step toward me.
I watch as he slides his belt off through the hoops, making that swooshing sound, then a snap.
My knees bend, then slam onto the floor with a crack—an uncontrollable reflex.
When his pants drop, my mouth opens.
I hear my brother moan in the background somewhere, but I’m a robot.
Trained by Landon Tate.
Owned by him, controlled by him.
I’m not sure why I thought I could erase his dominance over me.
I can’t.