Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
WRAITH
Ijolt awake, immediately squinting my eyes against the harsh sunlight. When I move my head, a sharp pain races down my left shoulder, making me groan. I try stretching my legs, only to realize I’m hunched over in the front seat of my car. The fuck?
The more I wake up, the clearer my memory becomes of last night.
The auction. The stomach-knotting, vile acts about to take place, frustration with Shadow…
and then her. My goddess. Visions of her threatening those Sons of Destruction members flash across my mind, and then chasing after her into the night.
I followed her for as long as I could, though I took a few wrong turns that ultimately led to my woman slipping away.
Fortunately, I caught a glimpse of someone getting into a car several hundred yards up the road.
I took a picture of the vehicle, at first thinking it might have something to do with the people running the auction.
Upon further inspection, I realized who it was.
More importantly, I got a good shot of the licence plate so I could find my pretty little runaway goddess.
After running the license plate through the databases we have access to, Rogue was able to hack into a traffic light cam. The footage caught my woman getting out of the car and checking into a motel held together by decades of stale cigarette smoke and tobacco spit.
I was sitting outside in one of the club’s cars within a matter of minutes.
No way in hell was I going to leave her there by herself.
Every single part of me screamed to kick down her door, toss her over my shoulder, and take her back to my house.
However, she had been through so much already.
She deserved to clean up and get some rest.
Besides, I don’t think I would have gotten very far with her if I showed up to her room in the dead of night and told her she belonged to me now. Considering the night she had and the weapon I assume she’s still carrying, she might have shot me if I approached.
Reluctantly, I decided to watch over her instead of kidnapping her.
Apparently, I failed in my endeavor by falling asleep at some point.
Fuck, I hope she’s still here. She deserves so much better than this shit hole, and soon, I’m going to provide it for her.
I’ll give my precious girl a life she doesn’t want to run away from.
My phone dings with a text, immediately followed by a phone call from Rogue.
“Yeah,” I answer, my voice scratchy and filled with exhaustion. I’m sure I sound intoxicated, though I haven’t had a drop of alcohol for a few days.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I mumble again, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
“Did you get the text from Prez? He’s calling church. Get to the club ASAP.”
That text must have been what woke me up in the first place. I groan at the thought of moving, let alone leaving without the curvy goddess by my side.
“Yeah,” I say with a cough.
“Do you have any more words other than yeah?”
“Fuck off,” I grunt.
Rogue laughs. “That’s more like it. See you soon.”
“I’ll be there. Just gotta do something real quick.”
“Prez doesn’t like waiting,” he warns.
“I’ll be there,” I repeat.
“Okay, got it. You’re so grumpy in the morning,” he mutters.
I roll my eyes and hang up on him, though I chuckle a bit at our conversation. We annoy the shit out of each other sometimes, but we’re MC brothers at the end of the day. I trust him with my life.
Wiping a hand down my face, I massage my eyes and temples, then take a deep breath. I need to check on my woman before I dip out for church.
I slink out of the car and across the parking lot, peering into the window of room ten. My heart drops to discover it empty, but my curiosity is piqued when I see a note on the edge of the neatly made bed. The piece of paper is folded in half, with a message on the front flap: To my stalker.
A smirk pulls at my lips, and I shake my head. Of course, she saw me. She’s a badass warrior who isn’t going to make this easy on me.
I pick the lock of the flimsy door in no time and let myself into the tiny room, beelining toward the note. Opening the paper, I read the two-word message my feisty little goddess left for me:
FUCK. OFF.
The font is bubbly and cheery, with hearts decorating the page. She must have enjoyed her little joke, which makes me want her all the more. She’s not going to give in so easily, but neither am I.
Looking around the room, I try to pick up on any clues as to who she is or where she’s headed.
I’m about to give up when I see a few scraps of paper in a trash can next to the sink.
I pluck them out and spread the torn pieces out on the bed like a puzzle.
Luckily, it doesn’t take me too long to put it back together.
I’m staring at a black and white printed picture of Jackson Marcus, the President of the Sons of Destruction. Why the hell would she have this? It’s a poor quality picture that’s printed in black and white at the top of a sheet of printer paper, but I can still make out his ugly mug.
Below Jackson’s picture, his full name, date of birth, and home address are listed.
There are several handwritten notes that are harder to read.
One of them looks like a pros and cons list. “Con: I’ve never met him and don’t know how he’d react.
Pro: He never knew I existed, so maybe he’ll be happy to meet me.
Con: He’s on the other side of the country.
Pro: He’s on the other side of the country. ”
Could this be his daughter? There was a rumor going around that Jackson recently became a dad, but I thought it was a newborn. It makes more sense that he has an adult daughter who came to find him.
If he’s her father, why the fuck did she end up at the auction house last night?
Surely a father wouldn’t sell his own daughter.
As soon as I think the words, I know they’re inaccurate.
Jackson is a nasty, greedy, violent son of a bitch who only cares about drugs, money, and his club, in that order.
Jesus Christ. My girl has been through so much more shit than I realized.
While heartbreaking, this information is exactly what I need to track her down. I dig my phone out of my pocket, poised to call an old military buddy who now works in private security. When I look at my screen, I see two missed calls from Rogue and a text from Reaper. Fuck, I need to get to church.
I snap a photo of the pieced together paper with Jackson’s info and send it off to Kai with a brief text explaining I need to track down his daughter.
He texts back a question mark, and I reply, letting him know I’ll explain later.
Most people would need more of an explanation before investigating, but Kai knows me.
I wouldn’t ask him to use his resources as a PI or security officer if it wasn’t important.
An hour later, I’m finally out of the all-club meeting with the blessing of the Prez to go after my girl. Once I explained who she is, Reaper agreed we need her on our side. I don’t just want to pump her for information, though. I want to keep her forever and pump her full of…
Calm down, dickhead, I chastise myself. I can’t be getting hard for her when I don’t even know her name. My cock disagrees.
My phone rings right on time.
“Kai,” I greet. “Whatcha got for me?”
“Won’t lie, not a lot. Who is this woman?”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d tell me,” I deadpan.
“Ha-ha,” he replies flatly. “Her name is Athena Todt, originally from West Virginia. Not sure when her parents got together, but she grew up with her mom and what seems like a string of shitty men in and out of jail for petty crimes.”
West Virginia? She really did travel across the country to meet her dad. What a giant disappointment that must have been.
“Do you have a picture of her?” Do I sound like a creep? Maybe. Do I care? Not when it comes to Athena. My literal warrior goddess. I knew it.
“Got her ID. I'm going to text you right now. Is she in trouble?”
“She’s mine, is what she is,” I grumble.
“It’s like that, huh?” my old friend teases. “Never thought I’d see the day. Wraith chasing down a woman who doesn’t want to be caught. She musta’ gotten to you pretty good if you’re willing to do all of this for a woman whose name you don’t know.”
“Sure, I do. It’s Athena.”
“What’s her last name? No cheating and looking at the picture I just sent.”
“It doesn’t matter. She’ll have my last name soon enough.”
“Damn, you’re serious?”
“Nah, this was all one big prank,” I say sarcastically. “Of course, I’m serious.”
“Keep me updated and let me know if you need backup. I know you have your club, but if there’s anything my men and I can do at Aegis Security, you know we’re at your disposal.”
“Thank you, Kai,” I tell him sincerely. “I will.”
We hang up, and I check the text. Athena’s green eyes stare back at me, her long brown hair flowing down her shoulders. Along with the ID, Kai sent her last known location - a town not too far from here. It’s enough to point me in the right direction.
I hop on my bike and rev the engine before saying a little prayer to a god I don’t believe in. I can use all the help I can get to find my woman, including calling upon deities. Armed with my girl’s name and location, I set out to bring her home, right where she belongs.