Chapter 2
JACK
I failed her.
I fucking failed her.
That’s the one all-consuming thought that fills me as the club members I trust the most file into my office so we can try to figure out what the fuck happened to Camile.
I’ve only experienced such guilt and regret like this once before, and I’d have walked through the fires of hell to never have to sit with this sick fucking twisted feeling in my belly again.
Maybe I’m not fit to lead this club or fit to be the kind of man women fall for, the way Camile clearly has. I failed my wife, and now I’ve failed Camile.
Thank God my daughter has her three men, because if she had to rely on me for her safety, I’d probably fail her, too, one day. The fact that I keep repeating this pattern is something I need to deal with at some point, but right now I must focus on Camile and getting her back safe and sound.
What has happened to her is entirely my fault. She could have been in her dorm room right now, reading her books, or sitting drinking coffee with her friends. But no, I insisted I was the safest bet for her. After what happened to my wife, why the hell did I think such a stupid thing?
Camile had begged me to let her go back to the college, and I convinced her not to.
In fact, I hadn’t just convinced her, I’d insisted the compound was the safest place for her.
That I would keep her safe. But I was wrong.
Someone has come onto my territory and taken her.
Besides my daughter, Vani, Camile is the most important person in my life, and I’ve been stupidly late to understanding the way I feel.
Whoever took her are audacious bastards, and they’ve not only committed a crime against this club but me personally.
And I will make them pay. If it’s the last thing I do, I will destroy them. They don’t know who they’ve fucked with, and I will make them regret so much as learning Camile’s name.
My mind keeps flicking to the worst possible thought. Are we too late? Is she already dead? Has she been raped and murdered by some sons of bitches? The possibility sickens me right down to my soul.
I’ve always felt like a strong man. Practically fucking immortal.
But in recent years, events have knocked that foundation right out from under me.
I thought things were terrible enough when I lost my wife to a tragic accident.
I never thought I could feel that way again, never thought that level of grief could affect me in my life.
I had, for a long time, believed myself to be numb.
It was a lie because the moment a petite girl with dark hair and flashing eyes came into my life, I fell hard.
I denied it, though, because I was too much of a coward to face reality.
Yet this has made me feel as though I’ve forgotten how to even breathe.
My head is spinning, and I need to grab the edge of my desk just to remember how to stay on my feet.
Someone knows who has taken her. I’ll find out who and make them speak.
I’ll enjoy it, too. Hearing those bastards scream will be the highlight of my life.
I couldn’t take out my anger at my wife’s death on anyone, as it was an accident, so I turned the blame inward.
But this is no accident. The rage I’ve been feeling for years, burning deep inside my gut, that I pushed down every single day, is finally bubbling its way out. I’m like a volcano about to blow.
They took what was mine. And I will burn the world and them and everything they love to ashes to bring her back.
This has to be connected to what happened to her family back home. It’s the only thing that makes sense. But while I know motorcycle clubs, I don’t know the cartel—and I don’t want to admit it, but I feel like I’m way out of my fucking depth.
From the grim expressions on my club members’ faces, they feel the same way.
My closest allies take seats in the office, dropping their large frames into chairs.
A bleak atmosphere settles over us. They already know why they’re here; I sent word around as soon as I knew.
Ghost, Ace, Saul, our club lawyer, Normie, and one of the senior members, Becker. The rest of the club is not invited.
My gaze focuses on Ace. He’s lost his usual bouncy demeanor. Instead, he sits with his legs spread, his elbows on his knees, and his face in his hands.
“You were the last one to see her,” I address him. “How did she seem?”
Ace clears his throat and looks up. “I wasn’t the last one to see her—or at least, I wasn’t the only one. Rook was there, too.”
I grind my teeth so hard I think I might crack a molar. “Why was Rook there?”
Ace clears his throat again, dragging a hand through his mop of unruly curls. “We, um… did what you said.” His cheeks flush pink. “We helped her feel better.”
We have CCTV from the house—footage I didn’t even know existed until this morning.
But I haven’t gone far back enough into it yet to see what happened earlier in the day, before Camile went to bed and was snatched in the night.
I realize exactly what it will show—my Camile with Ace and Rook making her feel better, just like I’d instructed.
I drag a hand down my face, over the coarse hair of my beard.
Fuck. I can’t decide if I can’t bear to watch it or if I want to pull it up right now and go through every second.
Ghost must have seen it, too, but he’s kept that part quiet.
No wonder. I shoot my club enforcer a look, but he doesn’t meet my eye.
Yeah, the fucker watched it. What was he doing while it streamed live?
I can guess. Probably the same thing I’m thinking about now, my cock hardening in my jeans, despite the terrible situation.
I tear my thoughts away from the filth and refocus.
None of that matters now. Besides, I was the one who encouraged Ace to go and be with Camile.
Still, I’m jealous—irrationally jealous.
Bright green fury blooms inside me, threatening to burn everything down.
They got to touch her, kiss her, be inside her, hear the little sounds she makes when she comes.
Okay… maybe I’ve done some of that myself. Even so, I let the thought trail off, realizing I’m heading down that path again when I need to focus. I must put my feelings to one side. I can deal with my men later.
“Rook,” I bark, “get the fuck in here.”
Expecting my shout, the young prospect pokes his head around the door.
I’d told him to wait outside in case we needed anything.
As he’s not fully patched in yet, he’s kind of the gofer.
He doesn’t have a place in this meeting, but since he was with her, too, he needs to be involved.
As much as it pains me to bring in someone outside of this tightknit circle, because we clearly have traitors in our midst, my gut tells me I can trust Rook.
He might be young and na?ve, but he’s not the kind of man to turn on those he’s loyal to.
Hell, he went to prison for a stretch when he could have easily walked away if he’d talked.
“Sit down,” I tell him, and he obeys instantly, dropping into an empty chair. I look between Ace and Rook. “You two were the last ones to see her.” I ask the question again. “How did she seem?”
The two men exchange a glance, and Rook anxiously pulls his lower lip between his teeth.
“Um…” Rook stares at the floor.
It’s clear they’re not sure how to answer. What would they say? Orgasmic? In a post-coital haze?
I growl, “Outside of the sex, I mean.”
“Uh… fine,” Ace says. “I mean… the same as she always seems.”
I look to Rook. He nods in agreement. “Yeah, it was all good. Nothing that gave us any concerns.”
They clearly weren’t very fucking observant.
“I saw the messages on her phone,” I tell them. “She was checking in with her mom, saying she was going to make her way to the safehouse. So even while she was screwing around with the two of you, she must have been thinking about leaving.”
I don’t think I imagine the flash of pain crossing the younger men’s faces.
Had they thought they’d meant something to her?
That their magic fucking dicks somehow convinced her that she’d be better off with us than with her family?
Maybe I’d hoped for the same thing. For her to want to stay here, for me, even though I’d done everything I could to push her away.
Something else occurs to me. Ivani. Shit.
My daughter doesn’t know that her friend is missing.
She’s going to blame herself, too. I remember that terrible argument in the clubhouse, the ugly things Vani said to Camile.
Ironically, I’d thought that pushing Camile into Ace’s arms would keep her safe, but it’s done the opposite.
A muscle ticks in Ace’s jaw. “She never mentioned anything. She seemed happy.”
“What about the property?” I press. “Did you see anyone lurking around?”
Again, the two younger members glance at each other.
Ace shakes his head. “No. Nothing.”
“We should’ve stayed,” Rook says, punching his fist into his palm. “We should never have left her.”
“Stop,” Ace says softly—more breath than word.
He means don’t beat yourself up. Don’t punish yourself. But every single one of us in this room is doing exactly that, asking what we could have done differently.
Ghost is probably wondering why he didn’t stay up all night glued to the cameras, watching her sleep, so he could’ve seen immediately if strangers entered the house. Ace and Rook clearly think they should have stayed to protect her.
And as for me… I wish I’d done everything differently. Every single fucking word out of my mouth was wrong. I let her down.
So now I’m left here, torturing myself with thoughts of what she’s going through, and trying to figure out how to put it right.
“I’ve already contacted my chapter from back home,” I inform them, “and they’re sending men to help.
They should be here mid-afternoon. You’ll notice that there’s only a few of you here today, and that’s because you’re the people I trust.” I send Rook a pointed glance and hope he realizes just how privileged he is to be included amongst the number here in this room.
“We can’t get away from the fact that the compound has been compromised, and the only way for that to have happened is from the inside.
Fencing was cut and security cameras disabled.
Someone has betrayed us and allowed outsiders to come onto our territory and steal our girl.
” I realize what I’ve said and correct myself. “Steal Camile, I mean.”
Is that how I think of her? As our girl? I shouldn’t. I have no claim on her, and nothing has changed as far as not wanting Camile and me destroying my relationship with my daughter.
My gaze rakes over my men, in particular Ace and Rook, and finally landing on Ghost. My club enforcer has been the cagiest out of all of them.
He’s always been a bit of a dark horse, but I’d believed I could trust him with my life.
Now I’ve found out he’s known about those cameras in the house where Camile has been staying for as long as she’s been there.
He’s been watching her and never said a word about it, until now.
Has he watched her getting changed? Coming out of the shower, naked and wet?
Has he been observing her while she pleasures herself before falling asleep?
The idea makes me burn, and the fact he didn’t tell me sends red flags flying, even if I hate feeling that way about him.
It doesn’t make sense that I’m more upset about Ghost watching her than I am about Rook and Ace actually screwing her, but it goes against what I thought I knew of the man.
Then again, maybe he doesn’t know himself.
He’s quieter than ever this morning, and he’s looked like shit for days.
Perhaps he’s surprised himself with his stalkerish tendencies as much as he has me.
Can I trust Ghost?
Ace jumps to his feet. “I know who it was.”
My mind is still on Ghost and those cameras. “What?”
“Who betrayed us. It was those fucking Numbnuts. They must have been the ones who cut the fencing and disabled the cameras.” The bouncy puppy is no longer with us and has morphed into an attack dog. “Those fuckers.”
He turns to Ghost, jabbing his forefinger in the other man’s face. All his fear is gone now, and his respect for my Sergeant at Arms has ebbed away in the face of his raging fury.
“I told you,” he seethes. “I tried to tell you so many times about those idiots. But no one listens to me. Do they? I’m just stupid Ace, the one who makes people laugh.
But I see people, and I observe. I knew in my gut they were wrong.
Maybe if they’d been dealt with before now, for all the other stupid shit they’ve pulled, they wouldn’t have done this. ”
I’ve seen Ace get so enraged, and those on the other end of his anger don’t normally fare too well.
“Ace, take a—” I start, but he’s already gone, storming out of the office, the door slamming shut behind him.
I lock my hands in my hair. “Fuck.”