It’s a blustery ride out into the desert.
Harsh wind whips me in the face, a new wave of nausea crashing over me each time as I realize just how fucking much I’ve let Otis down.
The journey to the clubhouse is a series of bumps and turns. The bike soars into the air and comes crashing down, just like my hopes and dreams of getting Otis back.
Maybe it will be possible to get him back. But with Conrad O’Neill, there are costs. And this one is going to be a big one.
My life.
That’s what he originally wanted.
Carter pulls up at the club before I can freak myself out anymore. Adrenaline is doing laps around my bloodstream, so I jump off the bike as soon as it stops moving and burst into the clubhouse, causing even more of a scene than the one happening in front of me.
Two words. Vex and Skipper.
One more. Chaos.
I run into their arms and that’s when the uncontrollable sobbing starts.
Skipper discards the burner in his hand, the device crashing to the ground as he brings me into his arms. “We’re gonna sort this.”
But everything is just words.
Another hand joins the embrace, rubbing light circles over my shoulder blade. I peek over Skipper’s shoulder and see Vex. And for the first time in history, he actually looks like a human being. His thick brows part to reveal sadness in his eyes, something I haven’t seen before.
Skipper steals a laptop from someone. “Give me that.” He hoists a foot up onto the bench, balancing the computer on his knee as he types.
Now somewhat able to brave the earth without a pair of biker arms strapped to me, I take off and loiter behind Skipper, watching the screen. “What are you doing?”
“Since the O’Neills don’t know how to pick up their cellphones, I’m trying something else instead.”
I take a look at the detailed map that means absolutely nothing to me. “You’re trying to find them?”
“Yeah.”
And just like that, the burner on the ground starts to buzz.
Vex squats down and answers it in a heartbeat.
All it takes is one Irish hello for the world to flip upside down.
“Conrad,” Vex says, putting the phone on speaker, drawing everybody else’s attention.
Other bikers in the main room pause what they’re doing to listen in. I didn’t know they cared.
“Carter is one lucky man.”
Conrad isn’t gonna make this easy for us. Instead of simply telling Vex where he’s keeping Otis, he first has to explain—in detail—what he heard earlier.
Vex’s hands crunch into fists. It’s a good thing there are more important matters to take care of. If there weren’t, I’m sure Vex would already be striking Carter to the ground for jumping into bed with me. Alone.
Because leaving others out of the bedroom seems to be the biggest crime you can commit in the outlaw world.
“You didn’t hear a peep,” Conrad taunts. He pops the secondpand it makes me break out in a cold sweat. “What kind of mother leaves their infant son downstairs, unattended, to go off and have sex? I’ll answer that question for you, Carmen—since you’re probably in the room with Vex listing in on this conversation, just like you’re always with your bikers, and never with your son.”
I finally understand why people get the urge to kill. Words encourage violence. Especially when Conrad opens his mouth.
I start toward Vex, ready to rip the phone from his hands and smash it under my boot—the next best thing since Conrad’s not here in the room for me to castrate.
