29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ORA
No one needs to tell me how stupid I am—I already know.
When I saw the front gate unmanned, I didn’t hesitate. I ran. But in my rush to escape, I forgot one crucial detail—the clubhouse isn’t anywhere near town. I barely made it down the road before a van screeched to a stop. Four men jumped out, and before I could react, they were on me. I kicked, screamed, fought like hell, but it didn’t matter. They dragged me into the van.
Now, I’m tied up, my mouth sealed with duct tape, locked in some godforsaken room with no way out.
There’s only a single bed in the baren area, and no one has spoken to me since they threw me in here. Three of the men who abducted me were the men who came into the bakery that day.
Isle of Insanity MC.
The damn name fits.
I don’t know where we are, but I know we only drove for about thirty minutes before we arrived and that I’m in an older-style log cabin. But that’s all I know.
The door opens, and their president strides in. He’s the one who did all the talking the first time I met him.
“Sorry you had to get involved in this, Ora,” he murmurs, but his wink tells me he’s not sorry at all. “But once the Serpents give us what we want, we will send you back to them.”
“Unharmed?” I ask, wincing.
The bastard smirks. “We will see.”
Great.
“What do you want from them?” I ask in a small voice.
He leans back against the wall. “I want them to hand over Rome. I crave to control the drug running in this town, and I want more territory.”
“Why do you want Rome?” I ask, brow furrowing.
“To kill him. He took something that belonged to me,” he replies, his hands clenching to fists. “And now I have his precious little girl. He will give his life for yours. Kate died because he didn’t protect her, so I can’t imagine it happening twice.”
Wow.
Okay, I didn’t know if he knew I was Rome’s daughter or just took me because I was War’s woman, but that answers that.
And this Kate person really made some waves. I try to think back to what I was told about her. Sarah’s mother. She got shot with a bullet meant for Rome.
“Who shot her?” I ask, trying to put the puzzle pieces together.
His face goes stone cold, and he pushes off the wall. “One of the men will bring you some water. You better hope they give me what I want, or I’ll start cutting off fingers and sending them one by one to Rome.”
He slams the door, my question obviously setting him off.
One of my kidnappers, a man they call Wyatt, comes in with a bottle of water. Somehow, he appears less evil than the rest of his crew with his dirty blond hair and pretty blue eyes, his demeanor seems passive in comparison to the others.
“Water?”
“Yes, please.”
He cracks the bottle open and tips it into my mouth.
“Thank you.”
An hour passes before the prez steps back inside this cold, dank room. He pulls me up by my arm, the pressure causing an instant bruise, and walks me to the door. “They’ve agreed to a meeting spot. You just need to stay quiet, and I will trade you for Rome. You got me?”
I nod. “Okay.”
The Serpents better have a plan because I’m not letting my dad die when I’ve only just met him, even if he is an damn asshole.
We drive to a spot in the middle of nowhere. There are a few abandoned warehouses around and not much else. We arrive first, with at least twenty of the Insanity MC brothers. They station themselves all around, while four of them stay with me, including their prez and Wyatt.
“It was you who tried to shoot Rome but shot Kate, wasn’t it?” I blurt out.
I don’t see his hand, but I sure do feel it. He backhands me, sending me to the ground. It hurts like a bitch, but it also shows me I’m right. Maybe he was in love with Kate, or she was his ex. Maybe he’s Sarah’s dad—the two of them seem pretty similar in personality.
I’m still on the dusty ground when the motorcycles start rumbling in. There must be at least thirty bikes and a few cars that I can hear. Wyatt pulls me up off the ground and holds me in front of him in some sort of protective measure for himself.
Rome, War, and Angel step in front, the twins coming up behind them.
War quickly checks me over with his eyes, a muscle working in his jaw when he sees my face and what feels like a cut on my lip. “Are you okay?” he asks me, and I nod. My emotions are all over the place. I’m still angry at him, I’m scared, and I am also so sorry I brought this bullshit upon them.
“Hand her over, John,” Rome demands, cracking his knuckles. So that’s the jerk’s name .
Guns are pulled on both sides, and I wonder how they thought this was going to go.
A shitload of bikers with loaded weapons? Yeah, not everyone is leaving this place alive today.
“Walk over here alone, Rome. We aren’t releasing her until you’re in our truck,” John calls back, pointing his gun at my head.
Fear like I’ve never seen before flashes in War’s dark eyes. They stare right into my soul, pleading with me. For what, I don’t know. Rome puts his hands in the air, his eyes darting to me before walking to John. I feel like everyone is trying to tell me something, but I have no idea what.
The men grab Rome and cuff his hands behind his back.
War steps forward. “Now give us Ora.”
John smiles and buries his face in my neck. “You know what, I think I might keep this one. If any of you shoot or come after us, we will kill her.”
“We thought you might say that,” War mutters, fingers twitching by his sides.
Suddenly, a shot rings out.
I close my eyes, unable to watch, bracing to be hit.
But it’s John who falls to the ground. Dead.
And he was right next to me.
After that, pandemonium strikes. Weapons are drawn. Bullets are firing.
War runs for me, throwing me over his shoulder as the men create a wall to block me in. War keeps running, throwing me into a truck with a waiting driver. Suddenly, he barks out a curse, the impact making him stumble, and I know he’s been hit with a bullet. “Get her out of here!” he yells to Danger, who puts his foot on the gas and speeds off.
I scream War’s name, but he’s gone.
“He was shot!” I yell, trying to find War through the window. “We need to take him with us.”
“He’ll be okay,” Danger replies, but he doesn’t sound so sure. “I’m not taking you back there. This whole thing was to get you out.”
“Who shot their president?” I ask, tears in my eyes when I think of who I might lose today because of my jealousy and recklessness.
“Sniper,” he replies.
“Where are my friends?”
“Back at the clubhouse,” he assures me, pulling off to the side of the road to help me cut off the zip ties around my wrists.
“Thank you. Do you think they will be okay?” I ask, the first tear falling.
Does he think War will be okay?
He took a bullet for me.
And his first thought was to get me out of there.
“I don’t know,” he replies, his throat working as he swallows. “Lore stayed behind to look after the women and children. He wasn’t happy. He was worried about you.”
I cover my face with my hands. “We can’t just go back to the clubhouse. We need to do something.”
“War and Rome will kill me if I take you back there, Ora. Not happening,” he replies, his hands tightening on the steering wheel.
“This is all my fault .”
“No, it’s not,” he assures me, reaching over and touching my hand. “This has been a long time coming. They just used you as bait to finally make it happen.”
If any of them die, I won’t be able to forgive myself.
But if War doesn’t walk back through those clubroom doors, I don’t know what I’m going to do.