Chapter 15
BLITZ
Iwas buried in a pile of prospect paperwork with Kane, Edge, Apex, Raze—our club lawyer—and Nitro, sorting through a stack of criminal background checks and references, when Tripp stormed into Kane’s office, slamming the door behind him so hard the whole room rattled.
Every brother tensed, our gazes snapping up and bodies bracing for whatever fallout was coming.
Prospects never interrupted club business unless they were actively courting death, and from the wild look in Tripp’s eyes, he might’ve just punched his ticket.
“Blitz,” he ground out, his voice edged with something that twisted my gut into an instant knot, “Aubrey’s been taken.”
My entire world ground to a halt, and everything narrowed to Tripp’s haunted stare. A molten surge of violence quickly followed, begging for release.
Aubrey gone wasn’t just trouble—it was a declaration of war.
I refused to let my fury explode yet. “Who took her?”
“Ronnie Hanks.” His jaw clenched tight as he paced forward, his eyes fixed solely on me. “I got a call from the sick fuck claiming responsibility. He didn’t want money. Didn’t make any demands. Just wanted me to know exactly who’d taken her.”
Dread mixed in with my already simmering rage. “You know him?”
Tripp nodded, and bitterness coated his words. “From an old case. He was supposed to rot in prison until the end of fucking time. Vicious, violent bastard—I never forgot his name. He carved it into every nightmare I had for months.”
Ice began to trickle through my veins as worst-case scenarios flooded my mind.
But I shut them out and focused on what Raze said when he leaned forward, his brow furrowed in recognition.
“I remember that son of a bitch. Got off recently, some slick-ass lawyer found a loophole. Technicality shit, had the whole sentence overturned.”
Tripp’s eyes widened with shock, frustration twisting his expression as realization hit hard. “Fuck. I’ve been undercover. I didn’t know he’d gotten out.”
His words hung in the air for a stunned half second before all hell broke loose around us.
Chairs scraped back, the tense silence shattering into chaos as every brother except Kane, Edge, Jax, and me realized what Tripp had just admitted.
Anger erupted in a cacophony of curses and shouted accusations, and even a few drawn weapons, but Kane’s voice cut through the noise with ruthless authority that made every man fall silent immediately.
“Shut the fuck up and listen,” Kane barked, fury banked but unmistakable in his eyes. “We handle Blitz’s woman first. Once she’s safe, we deal with everything else. Got it?”
Grunts of reluctant agreement filled the room, but nobody argued. Edge smirked, amusement glinting dangerously in his gaze. “Fucking knew this was about a woman.”
I flipped him off, ignoring his smug chuckle as I moved to stand over Jax’s shoulder. He already had his tablet out, his fingers flying over the screen with calm precision, digging into every digital crevice available.
My voice was tight with urgency as I asked, “Tripp, you got anything useful from that old case?”
“Maybe, but everything’s outdated. His crew, properties, patterns—they might all have changed by now.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Jax never lifted his eyes from his screen. “Give me everything.”
“Gonna need a computer,” Tripp requested.
“And it’ll have to be secure to access the FBI database.” Jax shot a look at Kane. “But at least I won’t need to waste time hacking it.”
Kane grabbed a clean laptop with no access to anything club related from one of the drawers at the bottom of a massive bookshelf behind his desk. He handed it to Tripp, who logged in fast, his fingers tapping furiously as he navigated the federal database.
A few minutes later, files flashed onto Jax’s tablet.
Sharing even the smallest amount of that information was enough to put Tripp in federal prison, but he didn’t hesitate.
I filed that away in the back of my mind, knowing Tripp either didn’t give a shit or was genuinely desperate to help save his sister.
The files contained known associates, old properties, hideouts, family connections, and more. Jax absorbed it all without comment, the quiet hum of his focus radiating calm that somehow steadied the frantic edge tearing at my nerves.
Kane jerked his chin toward me, his eyes hard and unyielding. “Blitz, take Edge and Nitro. Get to the armory. Start prepping gear for extraction as soon as Jax gives us a target.”
I moved without hesitation, every muscle humming with anticipation.
Edge stood smoothly, flicking his knife open and closed as he followed.
Nitro fell into step behind us, already muttering quietly about charges and tactical gear.
My blood thrummed with lethal purpose, adrenaline burning through my veins as I mentally ran through the armory inventory.
Whoever took Aubrey had signed his own death warrant, and I was already imagining exactly how I’d make him pay.
I was still sorting through weapons and checking ammo when Kane, Jax, and Tripp entered the armory. A few other brothers filed in behind them, ready to do whatever it took to bring Aubrey back.
Jax moved directly toward me, his tablet in one hand, and his face set like granite. My chest tightened immediately at the grim look in his eyes.
“We found her car. It was left abandoned at that convenience store near the edge of town, a few miles from here. She was probably heading to the compound.”
I nodded, my jaw clenching as a fresh surge of rage pulsed in my veins.
Jax hesitated for a second, his gaze darting toward Tripp, and something dark flared behind his eyes. “Purchase was pretty fucking telling. Makeup wipes, tissues, mascara, lip balm. Shit women buy when they’ve been crying but still want to look put together. Right?”
Tripp visibly flinched at the implied accusation, his guilt written plain as day across his face.
“She called me before she headed out. Told me about you two. I said some shit I shouldn’t have.
That you were probably using her, and she was blind if she couldn’t see it. We argued, and she hung up on me.”
My fists clenched as the urge to drive my knuckles straight into Tripp’s fucking face almost overwhelmed me. Only the knowledge that every second wasted was another Aubrey spent alone, frightened and hurting, kept me rooted in place.
I had to shove the fury down deep, burying it beneath the ache of knowing that right now, Aubrey probably thought I’d betrayed her. I’d been too damn much of a coward to tell her the truth. To admit how much she meant to me. That I fucking loved her.
But I wasn’t losing her. Not today. Not ever.
I’d put Ronnie Hanks six feet under, get Aubrey safely back into my arms, and spend the rest of my fucking life proving she owned every part of me.
The air was thick with tension as we strapped on vests, loaded magazines, and checked our tactical gear, but I stayed quiet, my eyes locked forward. When we were done, I forced myself to finally face Tripp directly. “I’ll let you know when we find her.”
I started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm, his grip tight enough to stop me in my tracks. “I’m coming with you.”
I ripped my arm free and spun, slamming Tripp back against the wall, the dull thud of his shoulders hitting concrete echoing in the sudden silence. My voice vibrated with barely contained violence. “No the fuck you’re not.”
His jaw tightened, his eyes blazing defiantly as he shoved back against my grip. “She’s my sister.”
“I know exactly who she is,” I ground out, leaning into him until we were nose to nose, my voice edged in brutal honesty. “And I know exactly who you are, motherfucker. Your federal ass stays here because there’s no version of how this ends without blood on my hands, and I don’t fucking trust you.”
Brothers shifting minutely, their eyes narrowed as they waited to see who’d break first. Tripp didn’t flinch or deny a thing. He stared straight into my eyes, his voice full of grim certainty. “If you don’t take me with you, I’ll go after him myself.”
Kane shifted like he was ready to step in, but Tripp kept going, his eyes burning with an intensity I’d never seen in him before.
“The system failed. It always fucking fails. Monsters slip through loopholes and innocent people pay the price. Maybe your kind of justice is exactly what the world fucking needs right now.”
My fists relaxed just a little, but I didn’t back away as I studied the fierce conviction etched deeply into every feature of Tripp’s face.
Aubrey’s voice echoed in my head, telling me about how he’d sacrificed everything for her, how his own agency punished him for choosing right over easy, morals over procedures.
He wasn’t the enemy anymore, no matter how much I wanted to hate him.
“Besides,” Tripp added darkly, his eyes flickering toward Kane, “if I’m part of this…we’ve got mutual destruction and all that shit.”
Kane’s mouth twitched into a faint smirk, amusement flickering briefly in his eyes before his gaze settled on me, waiting.
He lifted his chin slightly, giving me a silent order.
I cursed under my breath, grunted in frustration, but ultimately nodded in agreement.
Not just because my prez had given me an order, but because Aubrey would never forgive me if something happened to Tripp because I let him go rogue.
I wasn’t about to let that guilt live between us.
“Fine,” I growled, stepping back reluctantly. “You stay on my fucking heels, and you do exactly what I say.”
Tripp nodded, the relief and determination clear in his eyes. We might not fully trust each other, but right now our goal is the same. Bring Aubrey home safe and make Ronnie Hanks wish he’d never breathed free air again.
The armory emptied back into Kane’s office, and the waiting started. Which I fucking hated.