Chapter Eleven
March
The roar of voices and the clink of beer bottles filled the club’s air. The mayor and Robert Lewis mess was over, and Knave was back home. Needless to say, my brothers were eager to shift focus. Plans for runs, community rides, charity events -- they were all laid out.
“All right, let’s button this up. Next order --”
I interrupted Hatter, as I stood abruptly. Scanning the room, I realized not only was Violet not beside me, but I didn’t see her anywhere in the room. “Where’s Vi?”
She should’ve been here, by my side where it was safe. My gut twisted, instinct telling me something was off. No matter where I looked, she wasn’t here. This didn’t seem like something she’d want to miss. Had she just gone back to our room?
“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath. “Spread out. Check every corner of this place.”
My brothers scattered, everyone looking for Violet. She wasn’t in the community bathroom. Kitchen was empty. Same for our room. Someone checked the garage and out back of the clubhouse. “Someone get on the phone, call her cell. Now!”
They knew what Vi meant to me, to us -- she was family, and the Underland MC protected its own. I’d go through our room again. Maybe she’d left a note and just stepped out? But that didn’t seem likely.
“Check the parking lot. Anywhere she might’ve stepped out for air,” I ordered, pushing through the throng, my heart slamming against my ribs.
I went to our bedroom and searched the space. I didn’t see anything out of place. Same for the rest of the clubhouse. I eyed the back door. Had someone been brave enough to slip inside here and snatch her out from under our noses? I knew our security needed to be beefed up, but it was easier said than done. It would take time and a lot of money. But after this, I’d make damn sure every fucking exterior door in this place had a camera watching it.
One after another, they all reported back. No one could find her. What the hell? I’d been in a meeting with Cheshire and Hatter before we’d called in the rest of the club. How had I not realized she was missing before now? I’d just assumed she’d be with Jo and Eliza. The three of them had gotten close rather quickly. It wasn’t until I found them in the crowd I realized Vi wasn’t with them, and she sure the fuck hadn’t been beside me.
“Find her,” I said. My voice was steady, even though I felt like I might erupt at any moment. Every second she was missing, the danger multiplied. Every moment of uncertainty was a knife-edge against my throat. Who the hell could have taken her? Had the sheriff’s department missed someone aligned with the mayor? Had they taken Violet for revenge? Or did it not have to do with that at all?
“Anything? Any sign?” I pressed, watching as heads shook, frustration mounting.
“Her car’s still here,” someone called out from the doorway, a sliver of information that was both reassuring and terrifying. She hadn’t left willingly. No way she’d have gone far on foot.
“Keep looking!” I barked, my muscles coiled, ready to tear apart the earth to find her. Fear clawed at me, a feral thing, but I stamped it down. There was no room for fear, not when Vi needed me.
“March, we’ll find her,” Tweedle said, his hand on my shoulder.
“Move faster!” I snarled, already dialing contacts who owed me favors, anyone who could give me a lead. “She’s out there somewhere, scared and alone…”
No way Violet would have left without a word. No, the only conclusion I could come to was that she’d been taken. I had no idea who would do such a thing. Unless… She’d been worried about the men who had hurt her. Could they have possibly tracked her here? For what purpose?
I wouldn’t rest until Violet was back, safe within the walls of the clubhouse, back within my reach where I could shield her from the world’s cruelties.
“Vi,” I whispered, a prayer tossed into the chaos. “Hang on. I’m coming for you.”
I stormed through the clubhouse, my boots thudding against the floor. Heart pounding, I made a beeline for Absolem. He was our eyes and ears, the man who could find a ghost millions of miles away.
“Absolem!” My voice cut through the clamor of the main room, razor-sharp with urgency. He looked up, his eyes zeroing in on mine.
“Already got my computer,” he said, motioning to the machine in front of him.
“Track her phone,” I ordered, my words wrapped in steel. “Now.”
“Already on it,” he replied without missing a beat, fingers flying over the keyboard. The screens flickered with lines of code.
“Anything, you let me know. Immediately.” There was no mistaking the command in my voice. I wasn’t just looking for my other half. I was the club’s Sergeant-at-Arms.
“Got it, March,” he responded, his focus unbreakable as he delved into the virtual abyss searching for Vi.
Turning away, I surveyed the room -- my brothers, faces etched with concern and determination. One of our own was out there, alone, and every second counted.
“Listen up!” I bellowed, and the room fell silent. “We’re splitting up. Informants, local hangouts, anyone who might’ve seen something, anything. I want boots on the ground, eyes everywhere.”
“Mock, Carpenter, hit the bars and gas stations. Someone had to see something.” They nodded, already grabbing their jackets.
“Rabbit start calling around. Anyone owes us favors, cash them in. We need information.” My orders were terse, met with immediate action.
“Knave, since you’re still out of commission, I want you here. Coordinate the search, keep everyone in line. You can handle that from a chair.” His nod was solemn.
“Move, move, move!” The clubhouse erupted into activity.
“Find her,” I whispered under my breath, a command to the universe. Fear nipped at my heels, but I couldn’t let it take hold. Not when Vi needed me to be the rock she could cling to in the storm.
As they dispersed, I clenched my fists. Every second was a step closer to bringing her back to where she belonged -- with me, with us. I had to believe that.
“Stay strong, Vi,” I murmured.
My phone rang and I pressed it to my ear as I answered. “Talk to me.”
“I’ve got wind of something. A new player in town. Word is they snatched a girl,” Mock said. “The clerk at the gas station said we could see their camera footage. I’m hoping we catch a break.”
“If anything changes, you let me know.” I ended the call, adrenaline surging through my veins. It wasn’t a guaranteed lead, but it was more than I’d had moments ago.
Absolem growled and slammed his fist onto the table. “Damnit! Her phone is here. There has to be something else.”
“She has one of those fancy watches. The kind that tracks your steps, monitors your heartbeat. Maybe it has a GPS?” Jo asked.
“On it,” Absolem said.
Mock called back. He started talking the moment the line connected. “I can’t tell for sure if this is our guy, but there’s definitely someone shady and it seems like he has a woman in his car. Can’t get a good look at her to know if it’s Violet.”
“Where did they go?” I asked.
“East side of town.”
I sighed. “Get there now. Even if it’s nothing, we need to check it out.”
“Got a lead?” Cheshire asked.
“Yeah. East side of town. Mock is on his way there now.”
“Go,” Hatter said. “You won’t rest until you know if it’s her. I’ll stay here with the women and Knave.”
I gave him a brief nod before pulling my keys from my pocket. I hoped like hell it really was her. If not, then it meant we still had no fucking clue where she was or what happened to her.
* * *
Mock and I descended on the warehouse where he’d tracked down the man from the gas station footage. This place had seen better days, but tonight, it was an arena, and we were going to battle. We slipped through the darkness, clinging to the shadows.
I took point, pressing my back against the cold metal siding of the warehouse. Vi’s face flashed in my mind -- her eyes haunted, pleading for rescue.
My hand closed around the handle of the door. It turned with a creak of protest, opening onto a void. The darkness inside felt alive, pulsing with unseen threats. I stepped into the abyss with Mock right on my heels. My eyes adjusted slowly, shapes emerging from the gloom -- pallets stacked high, chains dangling from the ceiling, shadows within shadows. A maze.
I crept forward, every sense straining. I moved deeper, navigating the labyrinth of crates and machinery. Every corner turned brought us closer to our goal, or so I hoped.
The warehouse seemed to tighten around us, a noose drawing closed. Each step felt heavier, each breath laced with the tang of impending violence. She was here, somewhere amidst the steel and stone. She had to be. I refused to accept any other truth.
“Vi,” I whispered. “We’re coming.”
And we pushed deeper into the belly of the beast, ready to tear the world apart to bring one of our own back home, I started to think we’d entered an empty building. Then I saw it.
“Tripwire,” I whispered, my hand shooting out to stop my brother in his tracks. His nod was tight, a silent thanks as we stepped over the gleaming wire, barely visible against the concrete floor.
We moved like ghosts. Two silhouettes detached from the darkness ahead, guns raised. Our response was swift and brutal. We neutralized the threat without a sound, our presence still cloaked by the shadows.
A door loomed at the end of the corridor, out of place in its solidity against the dilapidated surroundings. Fucking thing was locked. Whatever was behind it, no one wanted anyone discovering their little treasure. Could Violet be behind the door?
“Stand back.” One well-placed kick near the lock, and the door groaned, the barrier splintering under the force of my boots.
The room beyond was a stark contrast to the chaos outside -- pristine, sterile almost, but for one glaring anomaly. The woman in the center of the room. Bound to a chair, her head drooping forward, a gag stifling her cries.
“Vi!” I rushed forward, my hands gentle yet quick as they worked to free her. The tape fell away from her mouth, her breath coming in ragged sobs as she gulped down air.
Then she looked up at me, and I realized I’d been wrong. This woman may have needed to be rescued, but she wasn’t my Violet.
“Shh, you’re safe now. We got you.” I cut through the ropes binding her wrists, my fingers brushing against the marks they’d left. It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t my woman. She was clearly here against her will, so we’d free her and make sure she was safe. “Can you walk?”
“Y-yeah.” She licked her lips. “Thank you for saving me.”
“All right, lean on me.” She wrapped an arm around my waist, her body trembling against mine as we made our way back out of the warehouse. When we reached the outside, I handed her over to Mock. “Take her to the ER. She needs to be checked out.”
Mock nodded. “I’ll meet you back at the clubhouse when I’m done.”
I got on my bike and went back home. Maybe Absolem would have something for me. I needed to find her, and it needed to be soon. The longer she was gone, the more likely they’d hurt her. Or worse.
When I got back to the clubhouse, Absolem was huddled over his laptop. His glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose, the glow from the screen casting eerie shadows across his face. He looked up when I came in, his piercing blue eyes scanning my body for any sign of injury.
“Find anything?” My voice was a harsh rasp, fatigue creeping around the edges.
Absolem nodded and gestured me over. “There’s another warehouse location, not too far from the one you searched tonight. It’s registered under the same company name.”
I shook my head. “No. If this one was a bust, then whoever abducted that woman didn’t have anything to do with Violet being gone. It’s just a coincidence. I already chased one wrong lead. I can’t afford to do it again. My gut is telling me this is unrelated.”
“Thought you didn’t believe in those,” he said.
“Usually, I don’t. But this time is different. What about what Jo suggested? Any luck tracking Violet’s watch?”
Absolem shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll try again. Even then, it’s not going to be a precise location. But it should get you close.”
“That’s all I need.”
Absolem nodded and got back to work. While everyone tried to help me find Violet, there wasn’t much I could do except worry and pace the damn floor. Whenever I found the person responsible for taking Violet, I was going to make them wish they were dead… and then I might actually fulfill that wish.
Wouldn’t be the first time I’d killed someone. I’d hoped that part of my life was over, but if I had to get my hands bloody, then so be it. I’d do anything for Violet.