Chapter 55
CHAPTER
FIFTY-FIVE
DARE
“I still can’t believe you got married,” Officer Lee mutters as he pulls away from the gas station. “Thought for sure you’d be living like a bachelor for life.”
“You and me both,” I grunt. “And now here I am with a wife and a baby on the way,” I announce.
Lee clears his throat, shifting in his chair uncomfortably. I don’t blame him. This shit is uncomfortable. I don’t tell him the whole story. It’s none of his business, and aside from that, we’re here.
He pulls into the parking garage and drives slowly until he reaches the spot where her car was left. It’s still there. “Keep going,” I urge, sinking down in the seat. He does, driving around so we can park a few rows over and still have eyes on the car.
“You guys in some trouble with the club?” he asks once the car is parked and we’re facing Chassis’s ride.
I wonder how much detail I need to give this guy. Sure, he’s my contact, and I would consider him a friend of sorts, more than an acquaintance but less than a brother in the club.
So I guess… a friend.
“The club’s not necessarily in immediate danger, but I think he could cause some problems for us. I was going to be proactive…”
“But now your wife is missing.”
Yeah. My fucking wife is missing. I sink down in the seat as a man and a woman walk into the garage. I recognize him immediately. I’ve studied his picture—it’s Samuil.
“Did you forget to tell me something?” Lee asks in a whisper.
“Did I?” I ask, my attention following them.
He moves straight for her car, and they start to try to open the door. “Yeah,” Lee hisses. “You forget to tell me that he’s part of the Perov Bratva? Are you getting involved with them?”
“Is that a problem?” I ask.
He snorts. “It’s a fucking problem, but mainly because I want to keep my head. And I want you to keep your head.”
Keeping my attention on the two of them, I realize that the woman isn’t just some woman. It’s Rocky. What the actual fuck is going on here?
“I’m in deep with them. Really fucking deep. My wife is pregnant with this guy’s baby.”
The silence in the car is deafening. Then Lee lets out a low whistle.
I didn’t want to go into any of this with him, but here I am.
“Her dad is the president of the original chapter in Arizona. He came to us, asked a favor. Protection for his pregnant daughter, who was manipulated by this asshole. He was trying to get an in with the club, force their hand to work with them. Except I’m pretty sure he was doing it all behind his own leader’s back. ”
Officer Lee whistles again. “And this girl?” he asks, lifting his index finger slightly to point at Rocky, who is trying to break into my woman’s trunk.
“That’s Rocky. She was one of our girls. I kicked her out on her ass, and it looks like she found a way to fuck us over.”
“Well, shit,” he groans. “Fucking hell, Dare. What happens now?”
I don’t know.
Narrowing my eyes on the couple, I take them in. They don’t break into the car. But I can tell that Samuil isn’t happy about it being there. He takes his phone out of his pocket and pokes his finger against the screen, then holds it to his ear.
Rocky takes the time to look around the parking garage. She’s a fucking cunt. A dead one walking. If Lee weren’t sitting next to me, I’d have already killed her. I don’t do that, though. I’m going to get her. It won’t be in a parking garage with possible surveillance equipment.
Samuil ends the call and shoves his phone back in his pocket, then walks away, Rocky rushing behind him.
He climbs into a black SUV that’s parked in a dark corner of the garage, and she jumps into the passenger seat.
I have no idea what they’re doing, but they don’t have Chassis or Gauge with them. That much is clear.
They leave. The SUV’s tires squeal and echo all around the garage. I don’t ask Lee to follow them. They don’t have her, and judging by their body language, they don’t know where she is, either.
Following them would be fruitless.
I want to know where my woman is, not where they’re going to sneak off and fuck one another or whatever bullshit plans they have. I’ll stop them when they need to be stopped, but for now, my goal is to find my old lady and bring her to safety.
I’m not sure how long we sit and stare at the car.
I somehow expect Chassis and Gauge to appear, climb in, and drive away, but they don’t.
Instead, a tow truck pulls up. He doesn’t hesitate to jump out and hook up her car.
I make a note in my phone of the company name so that when this is over, I can get her car back.
“What now?” Lee asks.
“I don’t know,” I confess. “She’s not here, but her car is. I don’t know what I thought.”
I was hoping that Lee could help me get her back if she was being held hostage, but clearly, that’s not what’s happening here. So now I’m at a loss. My heart begins to slam against my ribs, and my blood begins to pump wildly through my body and roars in my ears.
“Dare,” Lee barks. My back stiffens. Swinging my gaze over to meet his, I lift my brows. “Your phone’s buzzing.”
I glance down at my hand. Sure enough, there is a phone call. An unknown caller. Sliding my thumb across the screen, I hold the device to my ear before I speak. I’m not going to offer my name or any other information. I don’t know who the fuck is on the other end.
“Talk.”
“It’s Gauge,” he states. “We’re safe.”
Thank fuck.