Chapter Thirty
King
I paced the room, my hands fisted at my sides. My brothers hovered around me warily. Cash and Gunner waited for me to lose my shit. I wasn’t that man anymore. Not since Nebraska.
Not since Grace.
I was their leader, their president. It was my job to keep my cool. To be level-headed in a time of adversity. Except there was nothing I could do. No amount of planning and strategy would bring Grace back to me. I didn’t know where she was or how to fucking find her!
What I really wanted to do was kill everyone in my fucking path to get to her. I didn’t care if they were friend or foe.
I peered over my shoulder. Big Ben, Ace, and Jonah stood in front of the doors. I studied the men, weighing up my options. I couldn’t stay in this room. I could feel the walls closing in on me as I thought about what that fat fuck could be doing to Grace.
Cash moved closer toward Sypher, and I looked around the room. Every man in here would give their life for Grace. I knew that. But there was something in the air. Something deceptive. None of them looked me in the eye. They looked everywhere but at me.
Ravage moved fast, grabbing Sypher and pushing him against the wall. I turned to Nav. He hadn’t moved. He didn’t react, didn’t even look up. And he didn’t reach out to Ravage trying to calm the rage.
That was a huge fucking red flag. These men, the five of them—Nav, Ravage, Eros, Indigo, and Firestride—had a bond. I’d seen it with Nav and Eros, and Nav and Ravage. The fact that Nav was not trying to save Sypher meant he didn’t want to be in Ravage’s crosshairs.
“Tell me,” Ravage growled at Sypher, but the kid didn’t flinch. He shook his head—no, and I knew then, whatever they weren’t saying was fucking bad.
Ravage sat in the chair, leaning forward he held his head in his hands as the roar of a pained lion tore from his chest. We’d been at this for hours.
There was nothing to go on. Nav and Sypher had been through every street camera, and every camera attached to a building in town, but they’d disappeared.
They could be anywhere, enduring anything.
I knew what Karlyn had been through. How she’d survived I didn’t know.
And I didn’t know how Grace would survive something like that.
I took a step toward Ravage. He was my brother. We were in this shit together. But Cash stepped in front of me.
“What do you know?” I asked.
“She’s alive, King,” Cash resolutely said.
“That’s all you need to know.” Cash’s words weren’t the reprieve he’d meant them to be.
He’d meant to give me hope, faith in the fact she was still alive.
But I didn’t want her to just be alive. I wanted her to be fucking whole.
I wanted the Grace I knew and loved back.
I’d give anything right now to have her standing in front of me chewing my ass out.
I’d even take a kick to the balls if it meant she was safe.
But she wasn’t here. She wasn’t safe. And if I didn’t find her fast.. .
This was my fault. I was an asshole. I hadn’t told her everything. I didn’t take the time to make her understand just how dangerous it was for her.
I didn’t protect her.
I’d left with Maureen with no thought of Grace. Trusting that she wouldn’t leave. Not after what we’d had. What we’d finally shared.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Cash shook his head and was about to elaborate when my phone rang. I shoved him away and answered, putting the phone on speaker and setting it down. I braced my hands on the table when I heard the maniacal laugh.
“Lose something, asshole?”
“Fuck you, Skinner. Where are they?” I growled, trying desperately to hide the tremor of fear.
“Tell me, King, didn’t Steele teach you anything?” Skinner’s voice rasped, dripping with malice. “Patience. How to play the long game. Or perhaps”—he chuckled, a dry, brittle sound—“he taught you the value of things you can’t possibly afford to lose.”
“I’m going to rip off your head and shit down your throat.
” It wasn’t a threat, but a promise. He’d fucked with the wrong man.
I knew the rumors, knew the Federation believed we’d gone soft.
I wasn’t fucking soft, and when I got my hands on that fat bastard, he’d see exactly what I’d learned from Steele.
“Tell me something. How much is she worth to you?” Skinner’s voice lowered. “Because your precious Grace is about to become a very valuable commodity.”
My phone pinged, and I stiffened. I heard my brothers’ feet shuffling in their discomfort, but my eyes were focused on my phone. “King,” Cash whispered beside me. His hand lay on the table beside mine. He’d leaned in where only I could hear him. “Don’t fucking look at it.”
But I did look. I couldn’t not look. This was Grace. I needed to know what had happened. What they had done to her.
With shaky fingers, I opened the attachment and froze. Ravage stood next to me as I scanned the grainy image of Grace naked, beaten and bound, her eyes wide with a terror she should never have known.
My heart broke. The burn of tears made the image blurry. I took a deep breath. This wasn’t about the war anymore. This was fucking personal. This was a test. Skinner had laid down the gauntlet and there was only one way this would end.
“This one’s got spunk, doesn’t she?” another voice, slick and oily, slithered from the speaker as another text appeared. “Almost made me forget the mess her father made. Almost.”
Ravage stood beside me as we looked at a similar image of Karlyn. Tied down, beaten, most likely raped. I could feel the fury rolling off my brother. I turned to look at the men once more standing in front of the doors. Blocking my path to Grace.
But I had to be strong. I had to be in control. Heavy was the head that wore the crown or some bullshit. I was the king of this motherfucking castle. My word was law. If I ordered them to move, they would.
If they didn’t, they’d be dead. Big Ben knew.
Ace knew. They’d both moved here from Arkansas with us.
They knew what I was capable of. Jonah was fresh, barely nineteen.
He was big; I’d give him that. He’d even spent time in the Death Dogs’ clubhouse, on my orders.
But Skinner wasn’t stupid enough to take them there.
And if I was right, the second voice I’d heard was the one actually calling the shots. Skinner was a fucking lackey.
I turned to look at Sypher. His head dropped and his fingers flew over the keyboard as he hacked into my phone and traced the call.
“You’ve got until dawn. Meet me at the falls in Wyoming. And bring the fucking bitch!”
“JACKSON!”
“KINGSTON!”
The sound of her scream broke something in me. I no longer cared about the club, and what my role was. My only concern was getting to her. Finding her, saving her. Bringing her back to me, so I could finally love her the way she was meant to be fucking loved.
I knew where I was going, and when I turned, Ben, Ace and Jonah moved without hesitation.
Ravage and I tore out of church, running for our bikes.
There was no time to plan an assault. Gone was the level-headed president, replaced by a man whose only purpose was the woman he loved. The woman he cherished.
The roar of the motorcycles behind us wasn’t a shock; it wasn’t a surprise of loyalty. It was a certainty. A bond bought and paid for in blood and oil. When one fell, the others were there to hold them up. To fight alongside them.
Brothers!
I looked over at Ravage—Jackson. My brother. A man I’d come to love simply because we shared a link through a woman neither of us had the chance to meet. Now we shared something else. A desperate journey to save our old ladies. A promise to protect them and fight side by side.
I’m coming, baby!
Wait for me!
The miles dragged on, the roar of the bikes behind us. I looked over my shoulder. Not just the Silver Shadows, but the Gods of Mayhem. Zeus and his men were at our backs. I didn’t know if I could trust the man, but right now, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt.
We were riding into a trap. I knew that. Ravage knew that. My men and Zeus’ men knew that. The Death Dogs were a large club; they outnumbered us three to one.
I looked over at my brother. His face mirrored my own. Determination. We’d only just found each other, and tonight we might die together. But I was proud to have him by my side. I could only hope that if we made it through this shit, we could stand side by side forever.
I loved Declan, and I called him brother, but it was different now. He wasn’t my brother; he was my uncle. Sal was his brother. They had a bond that neither wanted to acknowledge.
But I’d seen it.
I’d hated it.
I was jealous. Something fractured between Dec and I when Sal came to town and I’d learned the truth.
I’d felt alone.
Orphaned.
Now I had Jackson.
My brother.
Lights ahead shined like a beacon. Motorcycles stood at the ready as we passed by without much thought. I looked over my shoulder to see them pull into the formation and that was when I saw him.
Morpheus.
The roar of their engines announced their presence, as Morpheus sped forward, cutting in front of us. And while Jackson might not want to admit it, I saw it for what it was.
A father protecting his son the only way he could. The only way Jackson would allow. And I knew, if my own father were here, he would do the same. And I would let him. Because Grace meant everything to me. She was my peace. My place to rest. I couldn’t live this life without her, not anymore.
The sun had barely begun to peek out of the darkness as we reached the falls. We climbed to the top, not caring if they heard our approach. They knew we were coming. They thought they would win.
I saw her standing by the edge, Skinner’s hand wrapped tightly around her arm. I saw him scanning the bikes, and his face turned angry when he didn’t see what he wanted.
Who he wanted.
I slowed my bike, not bothering with the key. I launched myself off, letting it drive on without me until it fell. My legs burned as I ran toward Grace.
I heard my brother scream, “KARLYN!” as Vulture pushed her over the edge. I raised my gun; one shot was all I needed.
“GRACE!”
Skinner paled, then he shoved her over the side of the waterfall and reached for his gun, but the bullet had already left the chamber and embedded into his neck. I tossed the gun aside, as bullets flew around me. My brothers fighting to take out as many men as they could.
My only thought was Grace. My legs burned, my shoulders tight as I wrestled with my cut, dropping it to the ground as I dove over the side after her.