Chapter Twenty-Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
RYDER
T he early morning light cast a pale glow over the streets as I rode toward Delilah’s house. It had been two days since I’d last seen her, and the silence was eating at me. For someone who never hesitated to speak her mind, the lack of contact felt ominous. Something was wrong—I could feel it in my gut.
The engine’s rumble echoed down the quiet road as her house came into view. At first glance, everything seemed normal, but as I pulled into the driveway, my stomach twisted. The front door was ajar, swinging slightly in the breeze.
I killed the engine and dismounted, my boots crunching against the gravel as I approached. “Delilah?” I called out, my voice sharp in the stillness. No answer. My pulse quickened as I pushed the door open wider, stepping inside. The house was eerily quiet, the faint scent of her perfume lingering in the air. A half-empty glass of water sat on the counter, and the couch looked recently vacated, a blanket tossed haphazardly across the cushions.
“Delilah?” I called again, louder this time, but the silence pressed back against me. My eyes scanned the room, searching for any sign of her. The house wasn’t in disarray—no signs of a struggle—but something felt off. My gaze landed on a small box on the floor; its contents spilled out as if it had been dropped in a hurry. Photographs were scattered across the floor, one of them face up. It was of her parents, standing in front of this very house.
I crouched down, picked up the photo, and stared at it for a moment. Then I set it back in the box, my jaw tightening. Something had happened. She wouldn’t just leave without a word, not now, not after everything.
I turned on my heel and strode back out to my bike. If she wasn’t here, there was only one place to go for answers: the Black Vipers’ clubhouse. Axel.
The Black Vipers’ clubhouse was a fortress tucked away behind a chain-link fence and a wall of hostility. As I pulled up, a couple of Vipers lounging near the gate straightened, their postures shifting from relaxed to defensive. One of them stepped forward, his hand resting on the butt of his pistol.
“What the hell are you doing here, Kane?” he sneered, his tone dripping with venom.
I ignored him, keeping my focus on the gate. “Where’s Cruz?” I demanded.
“Not your business,” the man shot back, his eyes narrowing. “Turn around before this gets ugly.”
I stepped off my bike, my movements deliberate. “I’m not leaving until I talk to him. So either you get him, or I go through you.”
The second man exchanged a glance with his buddy before pulling out a radio. A tense moment passed before the gate creaked open, and I walked inside, my steps steady and purposeful. The clubhouse was just as I remembered it—dimly lit, the stench of stale beer and cigarettes hanging heavy in the air. Vipers lounged around the main room, their conversations halting as I entered. The air crackled with tension.
Axel emerged from a back room, his expression darkening the moment he saw me. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he growled, crossing the room to meet me.
“Where’s Delilah?” I asked, cutting straight to the point.
His brows furrowed, genuine confusion flickering across his face. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s not at her house,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “The door was open, and she’s gone. So don’t play dumb with me, Axel. Where is she?”
His jaw tightened, and he took a step closer, the space between us crackling with animosity. “You think I’d let something happen to my sister? You think I’d let her disappear without doing something about it?”
“I think you’re more concerned about your club than you are about her,” I shot back. “So tell me, Axel. Who do you have watching her? Who’s keeping tabs on her for you?”
Axel’s eyes flashed with anger, but there was something else there too—worry. “I don’t know where she is,” he said, his voice tight. “And if she’s gone, it’s not because of me.”
“Then who?” I demanded, my fists clenching at my sides.
He didn’t answer immediately, his gaze shifting past me as if piecing something together. “You think this is about the Reapers?” he asked finally, his tone skeptical.
“You tell me,” I replied, my voice like steel. “You’ve got enemies everywhere, Axel. And so do I. But Delilah’s caught in the middle of it all, and I’m not going to stand here and wait for you to figure it out. So unless you’ve got something useful to say, get the fuck out of my way.”
For a moment, neither of us moved, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. The murmurs of the other Vipers in the room were like background noise, blending with the heavy silence between Axel and me.
“Wait,” Axel muttered, his gaze sharpening as something clicked in his mind. He stepped back and motioned for one of his men to come over. “You said the door was open. No sign of a fight?”
“None,” I said, my jaw tightening. “She’s just gone.”
The man Axel called over leaned in, speaking in hushed tones. I caught the words “last week” and “Iron Serpents.” My stomach turned, and I stepped closer, glaring at Axel. “What the hell’s going on?”
Axel turned back to me, his expression darker than I’d ever seen it. “We had intel a few days ago that the Serpents were sniffing around. Didn’t think they’d pull something like this, but…”
“You didn’t think it was important to tell me?” I snapped, my voice rising. “This is exactly the kind of shit that happens when your club keeps secrets.”
“Don’t fucking lecture me,” Axel shot back. “We didn’t know it was connected to her. Hell, we didn’t even know they’d make a move this bold. But if it’s the Serpents, they’re escalating. They’re desperate.”
My fists clenched, rage bubbling under the surface. “Desperate enough to take her. They know exactly who she is and who she’s connected to. This isn’t random.”
Axel nodded reluctantly, his jaw tight. “Agreed. But we’re not going in blind. Let me put my guys on this. If they’ve got her, we’ll find out where.”
“You’d better move fast,” I said, stepping closer, the tension between us ready to snap. “Because if they hurt her, I’ll burn them all down. And then you."
Axel’s expression didn’t falter. “You’re not the only one with something to lose here, Kane. She’s my sister.”
“Then start acting like it,” I growled before turning on my heel and storming out of the clubhouse.
As I rode away from the Vipers’ clubhouse, my mind raced. Axel’s reaction had been genuine—at least, I was pretty sure it was. But as I turned his words over in my mind, a sickening thought began to take shape. The Iron Serpents. They had motives, resources, and no reason to hold back. Their alliance with neither the Vipers nor the Reapers made them dangerous to both of us.
Delilah was out there, and if the Serpents had her, I’d burn their entire operation to the ground to get her back. But I wasn’t going to do it alone. This had to be handled smartly—strategically. And that started with my club.
By the time I pulled into the Crimson Reapers’ compound, the sun was just starting to rise, casting the place in long shadows. The gate creaked open as one of the prospects waved me through, his expression tightening when he saw the look on my face. Wordlessly, I parked my bike and headed straight for the clubhouse.
Inside, the air was thick with the scent of grease, smoke, and tension. A few of the brothers looked up as I entered, their casual conversations dying off as they caught sight of me. They could tell something was wrong.
“Call church,” I ordered, my voice clipped. Chains, the club’s sergeant-at-arms, nodded and stood, moving to round everyone up. Within minutes, the table in the back room was full, the Reapers sitting in tense silence as they waited for me to speak.
I stood at the head of the table, gripping the back of my chair. “Delilah’s missing,” I began, my voice steady but cold. A ripple of murmurs ran through the group, but I raised a hand to silence them. “I went to her house this morning. The door was open, but she wasn’t there. No signs of a fight, but she’s gone. And I think I know who took her.”
Grim, our President, leaned forward, his sharp eyes locked on mine. “Who?”
“The Iron Serpents,” I said, the name landing like a bomb in the room.
Before Grim could respond, the roar of approaching engines cut through the tense atmosphere. Chains exchanged a glance with me, and we both stood. “Who the hell is that?” he muttered.
The group moved toward the front of the clubhouse as the sound grew louder. A line of Black Vipers rolled into the compound, their presence sparking immediate tension among the Reapers. Axel was at the front, his expression as stormy as the clouds overhead.
“What the fuck are they doing here?” Torch growled, his hand instinctively moving toward his weapon.
“Hold it,” I barked. “If Cruz is here, it’s not to start a fight. Not right now.”
The Vipers dismounted their bikes, their postures guarded but not overtly hostile. Axel strode forward, his gaze locking onto mine as he stopped a few feet away. “We need to talk,” he said flatly.
“You’re on our turf, Cruz,” Grim said, his tone icy. “You’d better have a damn good reason.”
Axel’s jaw tightened, but he held his ground. “The Serpents have Delilah. We have intel, but if we’re going after them, we’re going to need numbers. Whether you like it or not, this is our fight, too.”
The tension between the two groups was palpable, but Grim’s sharp gaze flicked to me, silently asking for confirmation. “He’s right,” I said reluctantly. “The Serpents made this about both clubs. Taking Delilah hits the Reapers and the Vipers. They want us divided. If we don’t work together, they’ll win.”
Grim’s expression was unreadable for a long moment before he finally nodded. “Fine. But we do this on our terms.” He turned to Axel. “Your men follow our lead. No rogue moves. Agreed?”
Axel’s lips curled into a faint sneer, but he nodded. “Agreed.”
Back in the meeting room, the tension was still thick as both groups gathered around the table. Maps were spread out, marked with potential locations where the Serpents could be holding Delilah. The room felt suffocating, the air thick with mistrust and urgency as the Reapers and Vipers exchanged tense glances.
Axel’s lieutenant leaned over, pointing to a warehouse on the outskirts of town. “This one’s the most likely. It’s heavily guarded, and they’ve been moving supplies in and out all week. We’ve been keeping tabs on it for days, and if they’re holding anyone important, it’ll be there.”
Grim leaned forward, his sharp eyes narrowing. “And the others?” he asked, gesturing to the secondary marks on the map.
“Could be decoys or storage facilities,” Axel said. “They’ve been known to use multiple locations to throw people off. Either way, we’ll hit those after the main one.”
“Yes,” I said firmly, my voice cutting through the low murmurs. “We’re not splitting forces. If Delilah’s at the warehouse, that’s where all our firepower needs to be. We hit hard, and we hit fast.”
Torch’s skeptical tone cut in. “And if she’s not there? What then? We’ll have tipped them off, and they’ll scatter like cockroaches.”
I met his gaze, my voice hard as steel. “Then we burn it to the ground and move to the next target. We’re not leaving anything standing. The Serpents want to play games? Fine. But we’re ending this tonight.”
Axel’s lips curled into a faint smirk, his expression equal parts approval and challenge. “For once, we agree on some things, Kane.”
Grim’s deep voice silenced the room. “Alright. We’ll move out night fall. Vipers, you’ll ride with us. If this goes south, we’re all in it together.”
The weight of his words hung heavy in the air, a fragile truce solidifying between the two clubs. Axel nodded, his tone sharp. “Fine by me. But let’s be clear—if anything happens to my sister, this truce is over.”
My jaw tightened, and I met his eyes without flinching. “Understood. But nothing’s going to happen to her. Not on my watch.”
The planning stretched on for hours, every detail scrutinized and debated. The Reapers and Vipers gathered intel from every possible source, piecing together the Serpents’ movements like a deadly puzzle. Axel’s lieutenant highlighted the routes to the warehouse, explaining the best entry points and where guards were likely to be stationed.
“The front entrance is a no-go,” he said, tracing a line on the map. “Too exposed. They’ll have spotters and snipers positioned here and here.” He tapped the perimeter of the warehouse. “We’ll need to come in from the south. There’s a gap in their coverage, but it’s tight. One mistake, and they’ll know we’re coming.”
“What about reinforcements?” Grim asked, his tone sharp. “The Serpents never operate alone. If we hit the warehouse, we’ll have to be ready for backup to roll in.”
Axel leaned back, his expression grim. “They’ve been stretched thin lately. Their alliances are falling apart, and their resources are spread across too many fronts. If we hit hard enough, they won’t have time to organize a proper response.”
“Still,” Chains interjected, “we’ll need someone watching the perimeter. If reinforcements show up, we can’t afford to be caught off guard.”
I nodded. “Snake and Knox, you’ll handle the perimeter with a small team. Stay out of sight and report any movement. The rest of us will hit the main target.”
The room buzzed with tension as the plan came together. Blades were sharpened, guns were cleaned, and ammo was counted. The weight of the coming battle pressed down on everyone, the knowledge that failure wasn’t an option hanging heavy in the air.
As the meeting wound down, Axel leaned across the table, his voice low but firm. “If Delilah’s in there, we get her out first. No distractions, no side missions. Agreed?”
I met his gaze, my voice steady. “Agreed. But if she’s not there, we’re not stopping until we find her.”
Grim’s voice cut through the room. “This isn’t just about Delilah. This is about sending a message. The Serpents think they can take what they want and get away with it. Tonight, we show them they’re wrong.”
The brothers nodded, their resolve solidifying. The Vipers, though tense, mirrored the sentiment. For the first time, two rival clubs stood united against a common enemy.
As the room emptied, I stayed behind, staring at the map spread out in front of me. My fingers traced the mark on the warehouse, my thoughts racing. Every second Delilah was out there, the stakes grew higher. The image of her face—strong, defiant, and always too stubborn for her own good—burned in my mind.
Axel lingered at the edge of the room, his expression unreadable. Finally, he spoke. “You’d better not fuck this up, Kane.”
I didn’t bother looking up. “I’m not the one you should be worried about.”
He huffed a humorless laugh. “If anything happens to her, I’ll kill you myself.”
I stood, meeting his gaze with a cold intensity. “Get in line.”
The silence stretched between us before he finally turned and walked out. I exhaled slowly, the tension coiling tighter in my chest. The clock was ticking, and failure wasn’t an option.
Delilah was out there. And no matter what it took, I was going to bring her home.