He’s a bad guy. He’s a bad guy. He’s-
“Run!” Flir growled at me.
I hesitated. I couldn’t leave him. Couldn’t leave Strike. Norman. The others.
“Go!”
Turning, I stumbled to my feet and ran. My hand was on the door handle when someone grabbed me from behind. I fought, sinking my teeth into his arm, as I struggled in his hold.
His swearing was like music to my ears, but that didn’t stop him from dragging me to a vehicle, tying my hands with rope, and bodily tossing me into the trunk of the car. The landing knocked the breath out of me and I couldn’t even make a sound as he slammed the lid shut. I was just gaining the ability to breathe again when the trunk opened and they tossed my brother in on top of me.
Wheezing, I wiggled out from under him. He was shifting, trying to get to the bottom of the trunk so he wasn’t crushing me, but neither of us had the use of our hands or feet. That made it difficult.
“Oh my God, Ryan, are you okay?”
He eyeballed me and said something that was completely muffled behind the gag.
“Right. Sorry.”
The car started up and we both fell silent as it pulled away from the clubhouse.
I hoped like hell that Strike and Flir were okay. That Code, and especially Mercy, were hiding somewhere and hadn’t been found. That nothing bad had happened to my dog during that fight. I hated the idea that The Collective was taking me to use as bait, but I didn’t want anyone else to be used either. Sighing, I settled in for the ride to wherever we were going. I would use the time to ready myself to fight again. I’d never stop. Not until we were free, or dead.
OD’s smile flashed through my mind and I had to mentally shove it to the side so that I didn’t get distracted. Thinking about him finding my dead body made the breath clog up inside my lungs. I didn’t want to die. Not when I finally had something to live for.Someoneto live for. I never even worked up the courage to tell him I loved him.
I’d get that chance. It was a promise I planned to keep.
CHAPTER 25
Overdrive
“Maybe you should stay with the cages,” Kilo suggested, grinning over at Relay.
“The day I stay behind with the vehicles is the day I shove my foot up your-” Relay broke off the threat when his brother clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“Too fucking loud,” Bolo growled.
“We sure this is the right place?” Drifter asked as we all looked up at the side entrance of the meat packing plant.
“Glitch thinks so,” I said with a shrug.
That was good enough for the rest of us. Glitch was never wrong.
“Let’s go take a look around,” Ruck said.
The sun had been down for a couple hours already. Most of the crew who worked at this plant should be gone for the day. Which was probably why Glitch had footage of Carrick’s men going into this building.
I picked the lock on the side doors and we strolled in as though we belonged there.
“Stinks in here,” Hype said.
“That would be from the animals,” Merc told him with a roll of his eyes. He pointed over to where cows were milling around in pens.
“Jesus,” I muttered. “I like steak as much as the next guy but I don’t think I want to see this.”
There were pens marked with which animals had been examined by veterinarians and which hadn’t.
Ruck spared the animals a pitying glance, then continued moving into another area. There were machines in here whirring so loudly my ears ached.
