Tyrant Chapter 9
It felt nice to sleep in. I tried to do it on the weekends, but most of the time, I still woke up as early as ever.
Last night, we all left the common room after midnight.
I’d come home to find River had left, and Lakelyn was in bed.
I was disappointed that she still hadn’t been awake.
I liked seeing her before she went to bed.
And if she was willing, we could’ve talked for a bit.
I’d turned out the lights and gone to my room.
I had paused outside her door. The urge to go inside and check on her was massive, but I resisted and went to my room, where, after a shower, I gave myself another hand job to thoughts of her.
I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to stand it without approaching her.
It had become clear, even though overall it had been a very short period that I’d known her, that Lakelyn was unlike any other woman I knew.
They didn’t tempt me to do more than maybe fuck them and walk away.
I didn’t even do that if they weren’t part of our world.
The sluts I fucked more than a few times, but it meant nothing.
It was their job. With Lakelyn, I wanted to spend time with her and not just have sex, though God knows I wanted that, too.
I was trying to hold myself back. If she’d been someone I didn’t give a damn about or was in our biker world, I would go straight to her and tell her I wanted her in my bed.
But it was more than that. I longed to have her on the back of my bike.
And that was something no woman had ever remotely stirred in me.
I might not have many rules, but that spot was for the one I made my old lady.
Before Lakelyn, I doubted that would ever happen.
I’d been tempted to take her on my bike more than once.
If that happened, it was a done deal. I couldn’t do that to her without her consent.
She had no clue what the rules of my world were.
I wouldn’t trick her into it. I had more morals than to do that.
Once claimed and on my bike, it was a permanent claim.
I’d have her name tattooed on my skin and mine on hers—the only thing to separate us after that was death.
I didn’t know if all my brothers thought that way, but I did.
The only thing was, I had to be sure she agreed.
Forcing someone to be with you or to stay with you against their will was abhorrent to me.
Those relationships ended in disaster, pain, and sometimes death.
It was after eight o’clock, and there hadn’t been a peep out of Lakelyn’s room.
She must’ve been super tired last night.
Usually, she was an early riser, like me.
I’d made coffee and already had one cup.
I was thinking about another cup when there was an abrupt knock on my front door.
It opened, and then footsteps were headed my way.
I went to see who it was. Cobra was striding down the hallway.
“Where’s Lakelyn?” he asked abruptly.
“In her room. Why? What’s wrong? Where’s River?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. Are you sure she’s in there?” he asked.
He was scowling, which caused my gut to tighten. Swinging around, without saying a word, I headed for her room at a sprint. Cobra was right behind me. When I reached the door, I paused long enough to knock and call out loudly.
“Lakelyn, it’s Cobra and me. We’re coming in. Cover yourself,” I announced.
If she happened to sleep naked and he saw her, I’d probably have to kill him. In case she was and didn’t have time to cover herself, I ordered over my shoulder, “Keep your eyes closed until I say open them.”
I took his grunt as confirmation that he would. I turned the handle. It was unlocked. Opening the door, I found the bed empty and made. Not allowing myself to panic yet, I turned to the bathroom door. When I saw it open and dark, my heart began to pound.
“Can I look yet?” he asked.
“Yes.”
We were scanning the room, although it was clear she wasn’t there.
“Son of a bitch, she’s gone too. Check the closet, and I’ll look in the dresser,” he stated.
I was already headed there. When I opened it, I saw there were empty hangers. I slammed the door and stomped into the bathroom. Her bodywash, shampoo, and conditioner were gone, as were a few other care items, such as her hairbrush, deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrush. I spun around to face him.
“River is gone, clearly. We need Crypto. He’s got to be able to tell us when they left.” I already had my phone out, making the call.
A sleepy Crypto answered. “Morning, Pres, what can I do for you?” he asked. He yawned.
“Cobra and I are coming over. We need you to find out when Lakelyn and River left this compound.” I got straight to the point.
“Fuck, give me five minutes, and I’ll meet you in my office,” he muttered. He sounded more alert, and I heard rustling sounds.
“We’ll bring the coffee. See you in five,” I said before disconnecting.
“Did you get all that?” I asked my VP.
“I did. Let’s get the coffee and go.”
As we went to the kitchen, I asked, “Did you see River when you got home last night?”
He shook his head. “No. I thought he was asleep. His door was closed. It wasn’t until I got up and he didn’t that I found out.
Once it was well past his usual time, I went to see if he was alright.
When he didn’t answer, I went in and found the same thing we did in Lakelyn’s room.
Based on the state of the beds, I think they left sometime after we sent them back here.
They’ve got a good eight to ten hours lead. ”
“Motherfucker! Why would they leave? I thought they were happy here. She hasn’t mentioned wanting to leave for two weeks. Has he?”
“No, and he seemed to be the same. He asked questions about the lifestyle and didn’t appear turned off. I didn’t tell him the dirt, but he knew we weren’t guys in white hats. Do you think they were lulling us into letting our guard down the whole time?”
I shied away from the thought. My anger was beginning to push away the concern. No one made a fool of me and got away with it. I filled a tumbler with coffee and then slapped the lid on it.
“Let’s go see Crypto. He’ll be able to find them,” I told him.
“If they ran, do we want to find them?”
“Goddamn right, we do. I won’t let anyone make fools of us without answering for it. It’s time they learned who we truly are.”
I seethed the whole way there. When I entered the clubhouse, I was in one of the foulest moods ever.
It was a good thing we came in the back entrance.
The door was open to Crypto’s office. He was behind the desk.
His hair was uncombed, and he was only wearing shorts and flip-flops.
He gave us a chin lift when he saw us. I returned it and handed him his coffee.
“Thanks,” he said before taking a long drink. Even as he did, he was typing one-handed on his keyboard. We sat in chairs on the other side of his desk.
“Any idea when they might’ve left?” Crypto asked.
“Their beds aren’t slept in, so after they went to the house and before an hour ago. Though if they snuck out after we got home, I would’ve heard it. So try from nine-thirty to twelve-thirty last night,” I told him.
“Got it. Any idea why they left?” he asked.
“Not a fucking one,” I muttered.
It was quiet except for Crypto’s tapping away for a good ten minutes. I was about to ask why it was taking so long when he stopped, frowned, and typed more.
“What is it?”
“Give me another five minutes,” he mumbled. It was all I could do not to tell him no. Finally, he looked up at us.
“According to the cameras and the security log that tracks any time a door is used in the clubhouse or the gates, a hallway door was opened last night after the Jacquots arrived. Not long afterward, it was again accessed.”
“It could be one of the sluts coming and going. They were told to stay away, but they might not have listened,” Cobra stated.
“No, it wasn’t them, or Drax would’ve said. They were all sent off the compound. The interior cameras show it was Lakelyn,” Crypto told us.
“Why would she come in when we told them we had a meeting and needed to be alone?” I asked.
“She went into the pantry and then was in the kitchen. She left pretty fast. I don’t have the interior of the compound or your homes monitored. However, exactly twenty-one minutes later, the side gate was opened. The camera back there showed her and River leaving. They were running, Tyrant.”
“What the fuck?” Cobra questioned.
“Do you think she heard what you were talking about to the Jacquots, and it made them run?” Crypto asked.
“I don’t see why it would. They’ve seen and heard enough to know we’re into illegal stuff, even if we didn’t directly talk about what we do. Selling guns is hardly that horrible in the scheme of things. It’s nothing like what a lot of others do or even the Depraved Sinners MC,” I protested.
“If they were planning to leave, why come to the clubhouse first and then take twenty minutes to leave? If they had been scheming to do it, why not just run?” Cobra asked.
“I’m sorry, Tyrant. I was monitoring the live feed in the common room and the exterior cameras along the front and up the road from us, where cars would have to come from to get to us.
The cameras that caught them outside the wall were the ones on the actual wall that show the immediate area around them. ”
Crypto had his hands buried in his hair, tugging on it. I knew by the expression he wore that he was kicking himself. I wasn’t about to blame him.
“Hey, Crypto, no one is blaming you. You were doing what I asked you to do. You can’t constantly have an alarm or alerts for every door. It would drive you insane,” I told him.
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t help. I can’t prove the motherfucking Jacquots are our enemy or not, and now this. I would swear they liked it here. I’ve been wondering if they’d stay for good. And if Lakelyn…” his words faded away.