Chapter 10
TEN
Three Weeks Later
Shae
The sound of the clubhouse starting to get busy woke me from my slumber. I reached over, but Dempsey’s side was cold to the touch. My eyes shot open and I looked up and around me to see if he was in the bathroom.
Nothing.
I pulled myself up and got dressed, pulling my cut on and sweeping my hair up into a braid before I stepped outside and went looking for him.
It wasn’t like him to wake up before me, nor was it like him to leave without a text or note.
I saw the bar was busy with club members all lounging around or starting the party night already.
I was finally cleared for work again, and I couldn’t fucking wait to get back to the shop.
“Where’s Demps?” I asked Maree who was behind the bar.
She looked around as if she wasn’t sure and shrugged. “No idea, sugar. He must already be out and about. You could ask Bear.”
I nodded and headed out to see where Bear was. He usually hung out close by Orla’s ink shop near the garage in the compound, never far from her. I liked that. He was such a miserable prick half the time and yet when it came to that blast of wild energy, he was a puppy dog.
Opening the door, I saw Orla was already deep in a massive tattoo on Viper’s leg. Bear sat by the back wall, reading the paper. I motioned for him to follow me out and he did without hesitation. Orla didn’t even look up. She loved her artwork.
“What’s up?” Bear asked once we were outside. He immediately pulled a cigarette out from his pack and lit up.
“Did you send Dempsey out? He hasn’t left me a message.”
“He on a leash or something?” Bear asked me. His expression was blank, and much like always, I never knew how to take him. He was a man of very little words. Usually I liked that, but not when I needed to find shit out.
“No…he just usually tells me what’s up.”
He sighed. “Tierney called him for help with something earlier. He took off to go and help her with a package or something. He’ll be back later.”
I nodded and let out the breath I didn’t realise I was holding. “Right, I guess I’m just still getting my bearings since my injury.”
Bear kept his eyes on me, the smoke enveloping his face as he breathed out. How the hell didn’t he choke on the smoke?
“What are your plans now that the shit with Demps is done?”
I shrugged. “We haven’t discussed it yet.”
“I have an idea, but I’d rather discuss it with you both. We’ll have drinks tonight, yeah?”
I nodded. “Sure. I might head to the shop if you don’t need me around here. Keep myself busy. If he comes back, tell him to meet me there.”
“You got it.”
I moved off toward my bike, pulling my key out of my pocket and jumping on. Kicking my stand up, I took off toward the town centre where our shop was. I wondered what our future looked like. All I knew was wherever Dempsey went, I would follow.
There was no way in hell he was going to leave again.
He wasn’t allowed.
I realised as I pulled in to the shop that I’d left my phone at the clubhouse.
Fuck. Pulling back into the traffic, I tore down the roads toward the clubhouse.
I could probably get away with not having it, but knowing my luck, they’d try and get in touch with me and I couldn’t answer.
I pulled in and ran down to the clubhouse.
Bear was sitting at one of the booths with Hawk and Savage when I ran back in.
Bear’s eyebrows furrowed in response.
“Forgot my phone.”
I heard jeering from the boys as I headed back into the room I was sharing with Dempsey. Grabbing my phone, I saw a missed call from Tierney about twenty minutes ago. Weird.
A commotion dragged my attention to yelling outside. I ran for the bar only to see a frantic Tierney looking over at me, fear in her eyes.
“T? What’s wrong?”
“Is he here?”
“What’s happened?” Bear asked, moving in front of her. “Where’s Dempsey?”
“Fuck,” she cussed. “He was meant to come and help me with something but I just woke up on a kitchen chair, bound, and he was nowhere to be seen.”
“What?”
“I found a way to wiggle free, but I don’t remember him coming over.”
“He’s been gone since he got your message,” Bear added. “What do you remember?”
“Uhh, well, there was a knock and I assumed it was him,” she said. My heart was beating erratically as I listened, unable to move, unable to act. “But it wasn’t him. God, I can’t remember who it was. I don’t know if I knew him, but he had a cut on.”
“Did you see the patches?”
“That’s just it, there were no patches on the front, just a name I think.”
“Outlaws,” Hawk said. “They don’t have additional patches because they don’t need them. Do you remember what name you saw?”
“It was a short name, maybe like Pete or something.”
“Pit,” Bear corrected her. “The Outlaws have Dempsey and we have no idea how to find him.”
“What do you mean?“ Tierney screamed. Maree ran from behind the bar and comforted her. Shouldn’t I have done that?
My phone vibrated in my hand and I looked down at it while the clubhouse turned into chaos.
WOLF
I know where Viking is. It’s a rite, a way for him to prove himself.
You can come but come alone.
You can’t interfere.
I looked down at the map he sent after the message. My head was a mess. I didn’t know what to believe. I didn’t know what to do. Dempsey was with his club, and yet, it didn’t sound good. Why would they tie up Tierney and kidnap him?
Something wasn’t right here.
Yet, I knew the boys trusted Wolf. He wouldn’t lead me astray. Bear was beside me, forcing me to look up at him.
“What is it?”
I could hide it, excuse myself and go to find Dempsey but I didn’t want to mislead the boys. They put a lot of faith into me. They trusted me to patch in, when it was unheard of for a woman to do that in the Rebels. They were my family.
I held my phone out to him and showed him the message. His eyes went wide briefly before he looked up at me.
“It’s your play. He’s yours. Tell me what you want to do.”
The amount of faith he was putting in me had my heart swelling. I was right, this club was my family, I would do anything for them and I knew they would let me go alone if I asked, but I also knew they would drop what they were doing for me.
“You and Rebel, come with me. The rest stay here.”
“Done,” Bear said and he put a plan in motion. I pocketed my phone and moved over to Tierney. She hugged me tight and I returned it.
“I’m getting him back,” I said into her hair. “Don’t worry. I got this.”
“I know you do,” she said with a smile. “Go get our boy back.”
I moved out of the clubhouse and joined Bear and Rebel on the bikes. Bear rumbled out of the compound first, followed by me and Rebel beside me.
Hold on, babe, I’m coming for you.
Gods forgive whoever hurt you or keeps me from you. I’ll mow down anyone who tries, and they’ll soon see why they called me Valkyrie.
Dempsey
The sound of clanking woke me from whatever sleep I’d been in. My muscles ached, and whatever I was on felt hard. My eyes opened, and an ache worse than any hangover known to man passed behind my eyes forcing me to close them again in pain.
“There he is,” I heard a familiar and unwelcoming voice say from somewhere close by. “Come on, man, it’s time to rise and shine.”
I braced myself and sat up, opening my eyes once again and looking up at the owner of the voice.
“Bullet.”
He squatted beside me on the ground. I looked around to see I was in some kind of warehouse.
“What the fuck?”
“You knew we’d come back, didn’t you? You took the same vow as we all did. Now, it’s time for you to pay for your sins.”
“What are you rattling on about, Bull? You know the other MC’s are done.”
“Yes, they are, but we’re still pissed.”
“You said it was all good, right?”
“Nope, we listened, we spoke to your brother,” Bullet said and I tensed.
I never told them Alex was my brother. “Oh, don’t be so coy, did you really think we wouldn’t find out?
We’re the Outlaws, a notorious brotherhood from way back.
Look, I like you Viking, but you need to pay something for what you did.
Spill a little blood, cop a few uppercuts and you’re done. Free to go about your life.”
I looked up at him then, realising what he was telling me. My only way to live was to be tossed out and to do that, I had to earn my freedom.
I’d seen an Outlaw be excommunicated before. He had to fight in the ring, and it hadn’t been gentle. He’d left barely alive.
I looked around and there, amongst crates and all manner of things from an abandoned warehouse I saw a makeshift ring, complete with barbed wire around the edge for maximum pain.
“Who am I fighting?” I asked, knowing it was futile to resist.
“Oh, that’ll be revealed later,” Bullet said. “Think they’re still deciding to be fair. Don’t worry. You’ll have Wolf in your corner. He’s been your champion this whole time, so the guys know not to cross him. You’re lucky, kid, without him, you’d be on your ass on the side of a highway somewhere.”
I’d be dead is what he meant and we both knew it.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know. Wolf doesn’t exactly leave clues as to where he is and what he’s doing. Don’t worry, he wouldn’t miss the fight for anything. Come on. We gotta get you ready.”
I accepted Bullet’s hand to pull me up, everything hurt. There was no way I could survive a fight in this condition.
“What the fuck happened? Why am I aching as if I’d already gone ten rounds?”
Bullet chuckled. “Yeah, Pit got a little annoyed when your sister punched him square in the jaw to stop you from being taken. He took it out on you instead.”
Tierney.
I’d gone to help her with a piece of furniture she’d had delivered.
“Is she?”
“She’s fine, brother,” Bullet said. “We aren’t in the business of hurting women, you know that. She’ll probably feel a little woozy, but other than that, she’ll be fine.”
He led me to a room with a cot in it, a tub full of ice and a bathroom. A small bar fridge sat on a counter as well as a box full of snack food.