I nodded and left the room, mind racing trying to figure out where Viv would go.
Raven stood on the other side of the door, arms crossed, attitude in full force. “There you are.”
“What do you want, Raven?”
She blinked. “What did I do?”
“Went out of your fucking way to make sure Viv felt unwelcome here.”
She shrugged. “How is that my fault? She’s the one—”
“She was fucking innocent in all of this!” My voice thundered in the hallway, so loud the conversation in the rest ofthe building stopped. “None of this was her fault and you made sure she couldn’t stay.”
Raven sucked in a breath, eyes wide and then guilty. “How was I supposed to know?” She was in defense mode now, but that shit wasn’t going to fly. Not today.
“It doesn’t matter, Raven. She was here under our protection, and this building? It belongs to the MC, not you. You’re a guest here as much as she is.”
“I’m your sister.”
“She is the woman I love. She is TJ’s mother.” I kissed my son and handed him to his aunt. “You’re going to watch TJ. Keep him happy and fed until I get back with Viv. You better hope I find her,” I warned and stomped off.
Anger rolled off my body, hot and all-consuming. I had no fucking place to put it right now because I needed to find Diesel and Rocky and let them know. They were in the office, talking quietly in one corner while Slate worked on his computer, headphones on.
“She’s gone,” I said without warning. “Viv left. Again.”
Slate pulled off his headphones. Rocky and Diesel looked at me with matching worried expressions. “Viv?”
My jaw clenched and I nodded. “Yeah.” I handed Diesel the letter, his eyes tracked down the page as Rocky peered over his shoulder.
“I have to find her.”
They nodded their understanding because they’d been through this shit before. “Any idea where she might go?”
I shook my head. “She doesn’t have any family. I don’t even know how she got away.”
“I can help with that,” Slate offered. “I took her to her car a few weeks ago.” He was already typing as he spoke. “I can follow her from the parking garage and worst case, give you a clue what direction she’s headed.”
I nodded. “Thanks, man.”
“Anything we can help with?” Rocky asked.
“Yeah, tell the women that it wasn’t Viv who brought this shit to our door. She didn’t kill Alexei and because of all this shit I missed out on years with my kid.”
They both nodded. “We’ll spread it around.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t know if it would help with Vivian, but I had to try. At this point I would try everything I could, use every tool and every trick I could think of to convince her to come back.
To let me love her.
She was my family, dammit. And come hell or high water, I would chase her down and bring her back home where she belonged.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Vivian
Ididn’t realize how far I’d driven until the GPS pinged and the sign declaring the Nevada–California border was just a mile away. The sun hung low in the sky, gold bleeding into pink and orange. My eyes burned from too many tears and too little sleep. I should’ve felt free. Instead, it felt like every mile between me and Steel City carved another piece out of my heart.
TJ’s sweet laughter still echoed in my mind. The way his tiny arms wrapped around my neck when he was sleepy, holding me with so much love and trust. The way Falcon looked at us this morning, like he couldn’t believe his luck. I was the one who didn’t deserve them. I already missed them.
