“She’s not here,” I snap.
“Who?” asks Lexi.
Axel rolls his eyes. “Remi.” He brings his eyes to me, shrugging. “She’s not chained to the bar, Shadow. Maybe she fancied a walk.”
My fists curl. “It’s midnight.”
“Then maybe she fancied a late-night walk.” His smirk deepens. “Christ, brother, you’re worse than a jealous husband. You want me to put a tracker on her?”
“It’s not funny,” I growl. “She’s sleeping rough.”
That wipes the grin off, at least for a second. Axel leans back in his chair, expression cooling. “And how the fuck do you know that?”
“Kade saw her this morning, curled up outside the church. Told me himself. You think he’d make that shit up?”
Lexi straightens from where she’s perched on the arm of Axel’s chair, eyes soft but sharp. “If that’s true, she shouldn’t be out there alone. You know what can happen to a girl on the streets.”
“Exactly,” I bite out, grateful someone finally sees it. “She needs help. A roof. Something.”
Axel drags a hand down his face, groaning like we’re giving him a headache. “We run a club, not a bloody shelter.”
“She’s working behind our bar,” I shoot back. “That makes her our responsibility.”
“Our responsibility ends at paying her wages,” he says flatly. “I don’t know what she’s running from, but I’m not dragging the club into someone else’s mess.”
“She doesn’t have anyone,” Lexi cuts in, her voice firm now. “And before you say it, I know we shouldn’t take just anyone in. But she’s here, Axel. She’s on our doorstep. Pretending it’s not our problem doesn’t make it true.”
I look at him, pleading with my eyes in a way I don’t for anyone. “Pres, she won’t ask. She’ll run herself into the groundbefore she does. But if we don’t step in, something’s gonna happen to her. You know it. I know it.”
For a long moment, Axel says nothing. His gaze flicks between us, from me, tense and tight, to Lexi, calm but insistent. Then he leans forward, elbows on his knees.
“What’s she mixed up in?” he asks quietly. “Because nobody gets that desperate without baggage. And baggage has a way of landing on my table.”
I don’t answer because I don’t know. All I know is the thought of her curled up on cold concrete while I’m in here with four walls and a roof makes my chest ache like a fresh bruise.
“She’s hiding something,” Axel says finally. “Until I know what, I’m not giving her more than shifts and a bed.” I grin. “In your room,” he adds, arching a brow. “She’s your responsibility, Shadow. She don’t piss without you knowing. Got it?” I swallow the argument down. There are plenty of spare rooms. He’s only doing this to show me that he ain’t happy and the only reason he’s agreeing is because Lexi’s here. I nod.
“I’m gonna go look for her,” I say, heading out.
Chapter Eight
Shadow
The rain makes it almost impossible to see the road in front of me. I should turn around and take the bike back, but I’ve been riding for a few hours now, and if I go back, it feels like I’m giving up on her. Just the thought of her sitting out in this makes me keep going.
Water lashes my face, stinging like needles where it slips past my visor. The streets are empty except for the odd set of headlights cutting through the downpour. I check every doorway, every bus shelter, like she might just be there, shivering with that stubborn chin lifted high, pretending she’s fine.
I’ve got no address. No plan. Just gut instinct and the kind of sick pull I can’t shake.
I swing past the church again. Kade said that’s where he saw her last, but again, there’s no sign of her. My stomach twists in knots.
Next, I circle the square, engine echoing off wet brick, eyes sweeping for a flash of white dress or that tumble of dark hair.Nothing.
By the third pass, my nerves are frayed raw. I hate this. Hate that she’s under my skin enough to have me chasing shadows through the rain. Hate that every minute I don’t find her, the worst-case scenarios get louder in my head.
I stop under a streetlight and kill the engine. Silence surrounds me, except for rain hammering the tarmac. My chest heaves.
“Where the fuck are you, Remi?” I mutter into the night.
