CRANK
Something was wrong.I arrived at the cabin to find Poppy’s car sitting in the gravel drive and the front door wide open. A bag full of sheets and towels sat on the porch, but there was no sign of her. I didn’t want to call out and scare her, so I walked around the cabin, widening my search until I was positive she wasn’t just checking on something in the nearby woods.
She was gone.
Fear tightened my throat and nearly cut off my ability to breathe. I walked back to my bike and pulled out my phone along the way. That’s when I saw the tracks. Someone on a bike had been here recently—a big bike based on the marks left in the dirt by the side of the drive.
The wind rustled the trees overhead. Damn, I didn’t have a signal. That could happen sometimes at the base of the mountain, especially on a windy day. I was restless, so eager to go after her, but without a clue as to where she might be. The tracks in the dirt didn’t lead anywhere thanks to the layer of gravel spread over the drive. My only option was to get to an area where I had service and send an alert out to my MC brothers, though I doubted anyone had seen her.
I wasn’t a pessimist, but in this situation, I expected the worst. Deep down, in the marrow of my bones, I knew she was in danger. If only I’d stood my ground when Atlas told me to get the Lonestar Riders set up this morning. I would have followed her. Nothing would have happened to her under my watch.
With only myself to blame, I got back on my bike. I wouldn’t rest until I found her. And god forbid something happened to her. I’d spend the rest of my days making sure whoever was responsible paid for their mistake.
I was about to fire up the engine when Hades came racing down the drive. His tongue lolled out of his mouth like he’d been running for a while. He stopped a few feet away, then turned around and faced the other direction like he wanted me to follow.
I’d heard about the wolf helping some of my MC brothers over the past few months. Hoping he was trying to tell me something, I eased on the gas and slowly rolled down the drive, away from the cabin.
Hades looked back then increased his pace. After a few miles of following the road, he turned into the woods and stopped. I killed the engine and checked my phone for a signal. With one bar showing, I might have a chance to get a message through. I typed up a text and hit send. Then I raced after the wolf, hoping with all my heart he was leading me to Poppy.
After a half hour of climbing through the deep woods, Hades stopped at the edge of a small clearing. Both of us were out of breath, but I didn’t feel a thing. My entire body was numb. All the way up the hill, horrific images had played through my head, like finding Poppy gasping for air in a pool of her own blood. I still didn’t know for sure if the Savage Bones were involved, but when something bad happened in Mustang Mountain, there was a ninety-nine-point-nine-percent chance they were the ones responsible.
I caught up to Hades and scanned the area ahead. We were at the edge of a rundown property. If I remembered correctly, it belonged to one of Atlas’s ex-Army buddies, but no one had been on site for years. Counting a dozen bikes, an SUV, and three trucks, I knew I was completely outnumbered by whoever was inside the structure in front of me. It looked like a large metal outbuilding that had seen better days. If Poppy was inside, I’d unleash hell on the motherfuckers who’d taken her.
Hades glanced back and forth between the building and me.
“Is she in there?” I whispered, half expecting him to answer. There weren’t any windows on the side of the building facing us. My best bet would be to walk around the perimeter to see if there was a way to get a glimpse of what was happening inside.
With Hades at my heels, I crouched down and crept through the woods until I was on the other side. Not only were there no windows, there wasn’t even a fucking door. That meant the only entrance, and exit, was on the final side. The tree coverage thinned as I made my way around the corner. A large garage door sat halfway open. I motioned for Hades to stay put, then ran to the edge of the building and ducked down to peer inside.
“Get her the fuck out of here.” A guy with a grizzled gray beard stepped outside, just a few feet away. I hit the ground and pressed my body into the dirt.
“You sure about this, Malice?” Another guy followed. I’d seen him around town and knew he was one of the Savage Bones. Whatever they were doing, they were up to no good.
I eased my phone out of my pocket and opened my camera. Focusing on the guy with the beard, I snapped a few pics. I hadn’t seen him before or heard his name mentioned, though he looked like he was the one in charge.
With my camera still pointed at Malice, I barely registered the other two men until they made it all the way into the clearing. They were holding something between them. My phonefell from my fingers and thudded into the dirt. Not something—they were holding someone.
She had on a blindfold, but I’d recognize Poppy anywhere. But her hair… what the fuck had they done to her beautiful hair? Short tufts of strawberry-blonde fuzz stuck up from her scalp. All the blood drained from my face, leaving my cheeks numb.
“Get her in the truck and take her back to where you picked her up.” Malice pointed at the two men holding Poppy by the arms.
Seeing their hands on her ignited a rage in me that could have burned down the entire fucking forest. I got to my feet, my hands curling into fists, ready to take on a whole army of those motherfuckers. Hades tackled me to the ground as the men shoved Poppy into the truck. Before I had a chance to fight him off, the truck pulled away.
I wanted to take them on and teach them what would happen when they messed with my woman. Instead, I rounded the building and headed through the woods. If they were taking her back to where they’d picked her up, I needed to be there when they got there.
Hades and I crashed through the trees, making our way down the hill in less than half the time it took to climb up. He raced ahead, and I lost sight of him as I finally reached my bike and headed toward the cabin. I cut the engine and pulled it off to the side of the road as I got close.
When I reached the cabin, the truck sat in the drive, and the two men who’d muscled Poppy into the vehicle were carrying her toward the porch. Her hands were tied behind her back and the blindfold still covered her eyes. I warred with myself, flip flopping back and forth between betting the hell out of them or staying out of sight until they left so I could go straight to Poppy.
“Stay there, bitch.” The guy they’d called Meat dropped her onto the porch. “If you’re lucky, someone will find you before the bears or wolves get to you.”
“Fuck you!” Poppy lashed out with her feet, landing a solid kick to the guy’s shin.
Meat lifted his hand, and I snapped. I rushed him, knocking him on his ass before he had a chance to touch her. My fist connected with his face over and over again. Blood spurted from his broken nose as the other guy tried to yank me off him. Satisfied he wouldn’t be able to move, I turned my attention to the next guy.
He swung at me, his fist connecting with my jaw. I didn’t feel a thing as I took him down. His head hit the porch, and I landed a few sharp kicks to his ribs.
“Who’s there?” Poppy yelled.
