Chapter 16
Three hours later, Honey still sat hunched on the couch with Beatrice. Shadows gathered in the corners as the sun lowered on the horizon. Razor hadn’t shown up.
“Did he decide I was too much work?” Honey asked herself for the seventeenth time as she sat in the growing darkness. She’d done the right thing. Even Razor understood this was for the best. Tears poured down her cheeks into Beatrice’s wet fur.
A few minutes later, a heavy pounding sounded on her door. Honey stared at the wooden barrier. Did she imagine it or did it flex under the assault? Her heart instantly ramped into overdrive, thumping frantically.
“Honey! It’s Scythe! Are you in there? Is Razor with you?” She could hear the strain and urgency in his voice.
Honey jumped to her feet, and pain jolted through her ankle. She hopped to the door on one foot and fumbled with the locks. Throwing the door open, she stumbled back against the wall as Scythe burst inside. He grabbed her to keep her from falling.
“Shit, Honey. I’m sorry. We’re trying to find Razor.”
“He’s not here. I left him,” she admitted.
Scythe didn’t pause at her statement. “Razor is missing. He must have been headed for you. You should be at the compound with the other Littles. Come on. I’ll take you there.”
“No, Scythe. I’m not returning. I’m not with any of the Devil Daddies MC. I don’t belong there.”
“You’re going if I have to strap you on my bike with duct tape.”
She stared at him in horror. “Really?”
“Razor claimed you as his Little girl. Until he tells me otherwise, I’ll protect you as I would Caroline or my Little, Winnie.”
She shook her head, not able to process his words. “Why all this panic over Razor? He’s probably mad that I left and is cooling off somewhere.”
“Do you know your Daddy? He was headed here. We found these by the side of the road several highway exits away.” Scythe reached into his vest and pulled out two mangled phones. Honey recognized her horribly shattered cover decorated with bees. It hadn’t protected her phone.
“That’s mine,” she said, reaching for the device.
“It was yours. And this is Razor’s. We found his smashed on the road and yours in his cut where it lay draped over his wrecked bike.”
“He had an accident? Is he in the hospital?”
“We don’t know where he is, Honey,” Scythe reminded her. He took her hand to urge her forward.
Honey resisted. “He took off his Devil Daddies vest? That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do that?”
“Razor wouldn’t,” Scythe said. “We suspect it was left as a message. Someone had shot out his tire as he sped down the exit.”
“A message? I don’t understand,” Honey said, trying to put all these pieces together. Her powerful Daddy seemed indestructible to her. He had to be okay. A cold chill settled in her bones.
Scythe rubbed her shaking hands. “He’s missing. Lucien sent me here in hopes he’d found his way to you.”
“I…. I haven’t seen him.” Had she caused this? Honey would never forgive herself.
“Okay. What do you need? Grab your stuffie and that bag?” Scythe suggested, pointing at the still stuffed pillowcase sitting on the couch next to the bee.
Knowing she’d slow him down, Honey rushed to tell him, “I can’t ride on your motorcycle, Scythe. I’ll be fine. I’ll lock the door when you leave.”
“Not happening, Little girl. Can you drive, and I’ll follow you?”
One look at the biker’s expression, Honey knew she was wasting time.
Scythe needed to take her to the compound so he could return to the search.
Turning toward her stuffie on the couch, Honey stepped forward to pick up Beatrice, and a hiss of pain gushed from her mouth.
She’d reinjured her ankle. She shook her head, cursing herself.
“I don’t think I can press the gas pedal or the brake. ”
Scythe walked forward for her and gently picked up the precious plushie. “Cute. With a name like Honey, you had to have a bee.”
“I did.” Honey swallowed hard and added, “Thank you for not making fun of me for having a stuffie.”
“That’s never going to happen from anyone in the Devil Daddies. If it does, tell me, and I’ll handle any negative reaction permanently.”
That didn’t sound ominous at all. Honey nodded quickly and whispered, “Thank you,” as Scythe passed Beatrice to her.
“I’m going to pick you up, Honey, and carry you to your car. What do you need? For your protection, you may be there for a while.”
“I could hop.”
“You’re not hopping to the car,” Scythe said, vetoing her offer. “Do you need that bag?”
She followed his gaze to the improvised sack holding her things. “Yes, please.”
Scythe handed her the bag and then whisked her off her feet with ease.
His heavily muscled arms handled her weight as if she were as light as a feather.
In a few minutes, he had her tucked into the passenger seat and her door relocked.
He grabbed his helmet from the bike seat and tossed it into the rear seat before sliding behind the steering wheel.
As he backed out, she asked, “What about your bike?”
“I’ll have someone bring me back to pick it up.”
Silence filled the car as Scythe steered the vehicle back toward the compound.
She wished she knew the biker beside her better.
Her hands fidgeted in her lap as she worried.
Honey replayed what he’d told her. Razor had crashed.
He was missing. Someone had stripped off his vest and left it as a message.
Honey battled the nausea that grew inside her. Her vision dimmed around the edges as she worried. Cursing her illness, Honey rubbed her eyes, feeling completely worthless. She’d never forgive herself if something bad had happened to Razor.
“Should I call the hospital and see if Razor is there?” she blurted when the tension inside her reached a breaking point. She needed to do something.
“Lucien has them watching for Razor. They’ll notify him if someone comes in matching his description.”
Reading between the lines, Honey figured out the leader of the MC didn’t believe Razor would be capable of alerting them himself or even stating his name.
Her heart ached. Razor would have been safe if she hadn’t left.
Honey’s blurry eyes filled with tears. She blinked furiously, trying not to cry in front of Scythe.
He reached over and patted her hand. “We’ll find him, Honey. Think good thoughts.”
“Why would someone take Razor? It doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“Razor patches all of us up. He keeps us from having to go to the ER where they’d start asking questions. The Ravagers are trying to strike a blow. It’s not going to work. Razor isn’t just a doctor. He’s as much of a Devil Daddy as the rest of the MC. That man is tough.”
“He’s going to be okay?”
“He’ll be fine, Honey. Razor has the best reason of all to escape.”
“What’s that?”
“He has a Little girl to come home to,” Scythe said.
She could hear Scythe’s confidence in his statement. Warmth kindled in her chest as hope that Razor would be okay lodged in her heart. Please, Daddy. Come home. Honey sent her love and positive vibrations into the world, praying they would find Razor somewhere and give him strength.
The rest of the trip passed in silence. Scythe seemed as absorbed in his thoughts as Honey. The gate rising drew her focus. “We’re home.”
“We are.” Scythe stopped by the gatehouse and ordered, “I need a ride to get my bike. Have someone come to Razor’s cabin ASAP.”
“On it!” Vex promised.
Scythe drove quickly through the compound and parked in front of Razor’s house. He looked up for a garage opener and then scanned the interior.
“I left it in the driveway for him,” Honey admitted.
Scythe shook his head. “No problem. I can get in.”
His chickens ran to him as he walked to the controller on the outside wall. Scythe scooped them up and held them out of the way as he pressed in a code to raise the garage. Like magic, it moved upward.
Scythe unscrewed a small jar and scooped up a handful of something. He carried the chickens to the front lawn and set them down before scattering the small particles around them. Instantly, the creatures pecked at the treat.
After brushing his hand off on his jean-covered thigh, Scythe walked to the car and opened her door. “That will keep them busy.”
“They come to visit often,” Honey reported as he lifted her in his arms.
“Razor likes to feed them. They’re old. I don’t know how much longer they’ll be around,” he said as he carried her inside.
In a few seconds, Honey, Beatrice, and her stuff were settled back on the couch. She grabbed the blanket from the floor and hugged it tight. If only she’d stayed here. Razor would be okay.
Scythe glanced out the window at the sound of a motorcycle rumbling in the driveway.
“Fucking Vex. Razor’s going to chew a new hole in him for riding that bike,” he muttered before meeting her gaze.
“I’m going to grab your knee scooter and a bottle of water for you. Do you need anything else? Food?”
“I’m okay, Scythe. Go.”
“Razor would flay me alive for not getting you set up for the day. Thirty seconds won’t make a difference. I’ll bring you water and some of those protein snacks Razor likes.”
“Could I have a frozen candy bar instead?” she asked. Her suddenly famished stomach rumbled at the idea.
“He must want to keep you. Razor doesn’t share that stash with anyone but you, obviously.”
He took off quickly, closing the kitchen door and putting down the garage door.
Honey sat up straight to peer out the front window.
Scythe shook his head at Vex as they talked.
Obviously, whatever Vex said or the urgency of the situation convinced Scythe.
He strapped his helmet on and climbed on behind the bearded biker.
Slumping on the couch when the throbbing motor faded into the distance, Honey hugged Beatrice tighter. “He has to be okay. He just has to!” Reassuring herself was much tougher. Alone with her thoughts, she could only imagine Razor’s injuries and how the Ravagers would treat him.
“Please come home, Daddy. I need you.”