Chapter Fifty-Three
WE WERE JUST gettin’ ready to roll when the sound of tires screamin’ across gravel tore through the lot.
Every head snapped toward it at once.
Briar’s car came in hot, skiddin’ sideways like she’d lost control or didn’t care if she did.
Dust and stone exploded up under the tires as she wrenched the wheel hard and killed the engine.
The door flew open before the car had fully settled, and she stumbled out, blood streaked across her shirt, eyes too wide, chest heavin’ like she’d outrun somethin’ mean and hungry that still hadn’t quite let her go.
Engines cut off one by one. Men were off their bikes before the echoes faded, boots hittin’ gravel, hands already curlin’ into fists.
I don’t remember decidin’ to move. One second I was straddlin’ my bike, the next I was crossin’ the lot at a run, heart slammin’ so hard it hurt behind my ribs, every instinct I had screamin’ wrong, wrong, wrong.
“They took her!” Briar screamed, the words rippin’ outta her raw and broken. “That asshole set her up. He fuckin’ set her up!”
The world narrowed down to her face and the blood on her shirt.
Daddy reached her first, hands comin’ up to grip her jaw, forcin’ her eyes to his. His voice dropped into that dangerous calm I’d grown up knowin’ meant somebody wasn’t leavin’ this upright. “Who hit you, baby?”
“I’m fine,” she snapped, shovin’ him off even though her hands were shakin’ so bad she could barely steady herself. “I got him back.”
“Where’s Lark?” I demanded.
It came out rougher than I meant it to, sharp-edged and ugly, like it had scraped its way up outta my chest. I barely recognized my own voice.
Briar turned toward me, and the look on her face twisted, guilt and fear tanglin’ together until my stomach dropped out. “They took her, Calder.”
The words landed heavy. Final.
Right there in the middle of the lot, surrounded by brothers and engines and noise, somethin’ inside me gave way. It felt like my chest caved inward, breath knockin’ loose as if I’d taken a fist straight to the gut.
Briar dragged in a breath and started talkin’, fast and breathless, like if she slowed down she might fall apart. “Zach called her. Said it was about Sable and the kids. Said it was important. We had a plan. I hid in the backseat. Thought we were bein’ smart about it.”
Her voice wobbled, but she forced herself through it.
“We pulled up to the house and he came out smilin’ like nothin’ was wrong. Like he hadn’t just sold her out.” Her jaw clenched. “Then another man stepped out from behind the house. She called him Jasper. Him and a couple others.”
My hands curled without me tellin’ them to, nails bitin’ into my palms hard enough to sting.
“He grabbed her,” Briar said, swallowin’ thick. “Zach held her there like he was helpin’. Like he was savin’ her from somethin’ worse. I told her not to trust that lyin’ piece of shit after he tried to force that kiss on her at the motel.”
A sound tore outta me, low and feral, before I could stop it.
“Then one of those bastards spotted me, dragged me clear outta the car, and pinned me. Had his hand over my mouth, arm locked tight around my throat.”
Daddy went rigid beside me, his face goin’ dead calm in that way I’d learned to fear young.
“I stabbed the one holdin’ me,” Briar said, turnin’ to him. “Used that pocketknife you never let me forget to carry. Right in his side. That’s how I got loose.”
Daddy closed his eyes for half a heartbeat, then pulled her into him, crushin’ her tight against his chest. “Good girl,” he muttered, fierce and proud. “That’s my girl.”
“I ran,” Briar continued, pullin’ back, fire sparkin’ in her eyes now. “Straight into the woods. Hid and watched ’em. Watched them drag Lark to a black SUV and shove her inside like she was nothin’.”
My stomach twisted hard enough I had to swallow it back down.
“They disabled my car,” she added. “Pulled the starter cable. Didn’t realize I knew how to hook it back up.”
Ash let out a low whistle. “Jesus. You’re somethin’ else.”
Briar flicked him a look, quick and hard, appreciation flashin’ for half a second.
A low growl sounded behind me.
I turned just enough to see Gearhead glarin’ holes through Ash, jaw tight, hands flexin’ like he was one word away from violence. I didn’t have time to think about why, but I clocked it. Filed it away.
“I tried followin’ them,” she said, voice calmer now. “But I didn’t know which road they took. That place didn’t have cell service. That’s what screwed our plan.”
“Where’d they take her?” I asked, already knowin’ I wasn’t gonna like the answer. “You hear anythin’? Any clue at all?”
I hated how bare it sounded. How close to beggin’.
“I don’t know,” Briar said quietly. “But that Jasper guy… he was real damn happy to get her back.”
She looked at me then, really looked, and the next words hit deeper than the rest. “And she was scared, Calder. Like terrified, even though she tried not to show it.”
Of course she was.
That sadistic bastard had already broken her once. Burned her. Owned her.
And I hadn’t protected her.
I dragged a hand down my face, heat and guilt collidin’ until it felt like my skin might split. “Where would he take her?” I demanded, turnin’ to Ash. “Where the hell would Jasper hide her?”
Before he could answer, Mystic’s voice rolled out low and ugly. “Maybe this one can tell us.”
I turned just in time to see Spinner and Bolt haulin’ Jacob across the lot, his boots skiddin’, his face drained of all color.
“Get him to the roundhouse,” Devil ordered.
Daddy stepped in front of Briar, his body blockin’ her view. “Inside,” he ordered. “Now. Your mama’s worried sick. You don’t leave this clubhouse.”
“I’m not a kid,” she started.
“You’re my daughter,” he said flat. “And I’ll handle the men who laid hands on you.”
That was it. Former Sergeant at Arms Bull had just clocked back in, and the old man was ready for one more ride.
As Briar turned away, she stopped and looked back at me. “She saw you with Sugar, Calder.”
The words hit hard and deep. I didn’t turn. Didn’t trust myself to.
Of course she had. She’d walked in on the worst moment, taken one look, and filled in the blanks the way anyone would.
She already thought I’d written her off as a cheater, and I’d stood there lookin’ guilty as hell.
Her only crime had been silence. Mine was lettin’ hurt turn me into somethin’ I never meant to be.
Even if I hadn’t touched Sugar, I didn’t know how I’d ever convince her of that now, or if she’d even listen long enough to try.
I said nothin’. Just fell into step beside Daddy as we headed for the roundhouse, every other thought burnin’ away until only one remained.
Gettin’ Lark back was all that mattered.
Not my pride, not my anger, not the explanations stackin’ up in my head.
She was in danger, and if anythin’ happened to her because I hadn’t trusted better, chased harder, or protected faster, that weight would follow me for the rest of my life.
***
THE ROUNDHOUSE SMELLED like fear that had soaked too deep into the walls to ever really leave. Old fear layered with fresh, the kind that clung to your skin whether you earned it or not.
Jacob sat chained to a chair in the center of the room, wrists cuffed to the arms, ankles bolted straight through the concrete.
His face was pale, eyes darting nonstop, trackin’ every shift of weight, every creak of leather, every scrape of boots against the floor.
He already knew what this place was meant for.
That was the thing about men like him. Once they understood the stakes, they didn’t last long.
Devil stood a few feet away, calm as still water, hands loose at his sides like this was just another meetin’. Mystic leaned against the wall behind him, arms crossed, expression carved into stone. A few others lined the edges of the room, silent and watchful.
I stayed back.
Didn’t trust myself any closer.
Devil let the silence stretch until it pressed down hard enough to make Jacob’s breath go shallow and ragged. When he finally spoke, his voice stayed level, unhurried.
“You know why you’re here.”
Jacob nodded too fast. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
“Good,” Devil said. “Then we aren’t waisting time.”
“I’ll tell you everythin’,” Jacob blurted. “I swear, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I thought it was over.”
Mystic pushed off the wall. “Start at the beginnin’.”
Jacob’s gaze flicked to him, guilt flashin’ harsh and ugly. “Chelsea.”
The room shifted. Mystic went still.
My jaw locked.
“You were feeding her information,” Devil said. Not a question.
Jacob nodded, words tumblin’ now that the dam had broke. “She came to me a week after Zeynep showed up. Said she was scared. Said she needed help, needed protection while she got out from under Mystic. I thought it was about keepin’ herself safe. About the divorce.”
Mystic’s voice dropped, quiet and lethal. “You gotta be the dumbest son of a bitch I ever trusted.”
I took a step forward before I realized I’d moved. “Forget Chelsea. Forget Gabrial. Right now, I wanna know what you were feedin’ Jasper.”
Jacob flinched at my tone. “Names,” he said quick. “Movements. Who was askin’ questions. You and Lark, he was real interested in that. I didn’t think—”
“You didn’t think,” Devil echoed flat. “Instead, you turned rat.”
“I didn’t know Gabrial was watchin’,” Jacob said desperate like he didn’t hear what I said getting to Jasper. “I swear it. Somehow he found out about me and Chelsea. Caught me. Told me if I didn’t keep feedin’ him what he wanted, he’d send everythin’ straight to you.”
Mystic’s hands curled into fists.
“He had proof,” Jacob rushed on. “Messages. Videos. Times. Said I was already dead, just didn’t know it yet.”
Devil’s eyes narrowed. “And when Gabrial died?”
Jacob let out a shaky breath. “I thought it was over. Honest to God.”
“But it wasn’t,” Devil said.
Jacob’s gaze slid to me, fear sharp enough to taste. “No. ‘Cause Jasper knew.”
Something cold slid straight down my spine.
“He came to me not long after,” Jacob said. “Said Gabrial kept records. Said if I didn’t keep doin’ what he wanted, he’d finish what Gabrial started.”
Devil didn’t move. “What’d he want?”
“Access,” Jacob said. “To the grounds. Safe routes. Places nobody checked anymore. Old structures he could hide in.”
My pulse thudded in my ears, memories clickin’ into place. Every strange feelin’. Every time I’d sworn someone was watchin’.
“And Lark?” Devil asked quiet.
Jacob flinched hard. “She was always the endgame. Jasper never stopped talkin’ about her. Never stopped sayin’ she belonged to him.”
My lungs forgot how to work.
“Where’re they takin’ her?” I asked, my hand flexin’ like it already knew where my gun sat. “Don’t you sugarcoat a damn thing.”
Jacob hesitated.
Mystic took one slow step forward.
The chair creaked as Jacob jerked against the chains. “Okay! Okay, I’ll tell you!”
Devil lifted a hand, stoppin’ Mystic without even lookin’ at him.
Jacob swallowed hard. “There’s a bunker.”
The room went dead quiet.
“Underground,” he continued, voice shakin’. “Old. Built decades ago. Hidden under one of Gabrial’s properties. Nobody uses it. Nobody even knows it’s still there unless you’ve been shown.”
“Where,” Devil said.
“Out past the river,” Jacob said. “By Gabrial’s place. Past the old quarry. There’s a collapsed shed sittin’ on top of it. Looks like nothin’. Entrance is under the floor. You’d walk right over it and never know.”
My hands curled tight.
“They keep people there when they don’t want ’em found,” Jacob whispered. “No windows. No signal. Concrete and steel. That’s where Jasper takes the ones he wants to break without the council knowin’. I heard some of those women never come back out.”
Something feral tore loose in my chest.
Devil studied him a long moment. “You sure.”
Jacob nodded frantically. “I’ve seen it. I’ve been there. That’s where they’re takin’ her.”
Silence crashed down around us.
Then Devil turned his head just enough to look at me. “Chain.”
I lifted my eyes.
“We move,” he said. “Now.”
Relief and rage collided so hard my vision blurred.
As the room came alive, weapons gettin’ checked, plans snappin’ into place, I took one last look at Jacob shakin’ in that chair.
“You did this,” I said quiet.
“I’m sorry,” he sobbed.
“You will be,” I told him, my voice gone cold. “You best pray I find her safe, or your sufferin’ won’t be quick.”
Because sorry didn’t mean a damn thing. Not when Lark was underground. Not while Jasper was still breathin’. Not with the clock already runnin’.
And I was done waitin’.