We set off for safety once again. My whole body’s shaking as I put one foot in front of the other and grip Ash’s hand tightly. Please let us get out of here.
“Fuck,” Ash suddenly yells and buckles at the left knee.
“Brooks,” I scream, and he turns to look at us from a few meters away.
A red spot forms on Ash’s jeans, and he presses his hand against it. “Goddamn.”
Brooks appears beside us. “Can you stand on it?”
With a pained expression, he tries and succeeds. “Grazed,” he says in a raspy voice.
“Come on.” Brooks puts his arm around his brother’s shoulders, and Ash puts his around Brooks’s neck. Without hesitation, we continue with Ash hopping between us.
Small cabins sit at the harbor’s edge, where Brooks pushes us behind along with Ash. “Wait here,” he mutters.
“No,” I say resolutely.
I know what he’s planning, but Jen isn’t here. But I can’t tell him here why she isn’t, because he’ll lose it, and it’s not safe here. What if his grief leads him into a situation he can’t escape? Then I’ll be the one who has to tell Brandon that both his parents are dead.
“We’re not waiting here,” I whisper as Brooks turns to me in disbelief. “We have to get out of here. If things go wrong and they catch us… Brooks, we have to get out of here, please.”
His gaze flickers between me and the still-turbulent harbor, a look of torment on his face.
“I swear on everything I am and got that Jen isn’t at the harbor. Please come with me, and I’ll tell you what happened to her. Please, Brooks, not here,” I beg him.
His gaze rakes over my face, and the tightening of his features makes me fear he’s already guessed the truth. He nods, grabs Norah’s hand, and says, “Follow me. Ash, you bring up the rear.” He bows his head and mutters into a walkie-talkie: “Withdraw. Package secured. Withdraw.” Then he starts running with Norah behind him, and we follow.
As soon as Kyler appears on my side of the truck, I throw myself into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist. I bury my face in his neck, and as his arms slide around me, my shoulders start to shake. Everything I’ve been holding down comes rushing out. The fear, the anger, everything.
“God, Laynie.” He kisses me on the forehead.
Behind me, the truck doors open and he puts me in the back seat. Then he slides next to me on the bench.
“Call the police for those other women. I’ll see you at the club,” Brooks mutters, then disappears.
“What’s he going to do?” I sob into Kyler’s shirt.
“They’re on bikes. It’s okay, girl.” He holds me tight against him. Meanwhile, Paxton starts the engine and a few seconds later we drive away from the harbor, away from those bastards, away from a life as a sex slave or whatever those lunatics had in store for us.
“Where’s Jen, Layne? He said he had all of you.” His eyes wander around the truck, to Norah next to me and Isobel in the passenger seat.
“I need to talk to him first, Ky,” I whisper, clutching his shirt in my fists.
“Where’s Jen? Is she here?” Kyler lifts my chin and looks me straight in the eye, but I can’t get the words out. Kyler isn’t the first person who needs to hear what happened to Jen, that’s Brooks. When I shake my head, a worried look appears in his eyes and he lets go of my chin. I immediately bury my face back into his chest.
“I want to make an anonymous tip. There’s an attempt to traffic women through the port. A container has been breached.” Then Pax ends the call. “It’s up to the police now,” he breathes.
We arrive at the MC’s compound far too quickly. I’m not ready to let go of Kyler, to tell Brooks that his wife is dead.
Kyler jumps out of the truck, turns around, and lifts me out. “Rebel will be so happy to see you.”
My heart skips a beat when I hear my daughter’s name. Being here, finally able to go to her, feels unreal after I’d almost given up hope of ever seeing her again. I take a shaky breath and when he tries to lead me with him, I shake my head. “I need to talk to Brooks first,” I whisper.
Kyler tilts his head. “Layne, Rebel…”
“I want nothing more than to see Rebel, Kyler, but Brooks… When I’m with her, I won’t be able to tear myself away to talk to him, and Rebel doesn’t need to hear what I have to say to him.” Just as the roar of the engines becomes audible, he nods.
Brooks’ motorcycle barely stops before he shuts it off, kicks out the stand, and jumps off. With a few steps, he’s standing in front of me. “Laylay, where is she?”
