“Stop that,” Looking her right in the eyes. “You had no idea what was going on and couldn’t have known. Understand?” She nods and wipes her tears.
“What can we do to help?” Marley asks, straightening her shoulders and looking as if she’s ready to go to war.
“I need you to go back to the clubhouse and stay there until I call you.” My voice comes out more commanding than I mean it to, but I can’t have her fighting me on this.
“But—” Marley starts to protest; I shake my head.
“No buts, babe. I can’t do what I need to do if I don’t know you’re safe.” I can tell she wants to tell me off and jump into this headfirst, but her eyes soften, and she nods silently.
“Okay, but I need you to keep me updated, and if there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to call me.” She reaches up on her tiptoes and crashes her lips to mine. Our tongues explore each other as if it might be our last kiss. My gorgeous girl is so perfect and understanding. I stare into her large brown eyes and wonder how I got so lucky. Marley leans back and gives a single nod, steeling herself. I call out to Spider, who’s already at my side.
“Can you make sure the girls get back to the compound and take a few men with you to keep them safe?” I ask, already stepping into the VP role I know so well.
“Absolutely, Blaze. With my life.” Spider nods and heads to Marley to lead them outside. All the women start to follow her toward the doors, and I turn to see Prince, Jax, and Cal checking their weapons. A chime sounds around the room, and Prince quickly answers the call, putting it on speaker for us to hear. I look around the room, realizing we’re still in the middle of the wedding venue, but everyone is already gone. The only people left are my brothers.
“What do you got for us, Bear?” Prince hollers.
“Just spotted Shiny and Axel’s bike at his garage. Jenna’s car is parked near the back entrance. We just parked, heading in now. Oh fuck—” Bear stops, and then a heavy sigh comes through the phone.
“Shiny’s dead,” he states. I hear the click of him turning the safety off his gun.
“Fuck!” Cal bellows from our side.
“Do you see Axel or Jenna? Anyone else there?” Prince asks. There’s rustling on the other side of the line, and then someone in the background yells.
“Axel’s here!” My heart thunders in my chest as I wait with bated breath to hear if he’s alive.
“He’s breathing, but it looks like they knocked him out cold,” Tank says in the background.
“Is Jenna there?” Cal asks. I know he and Jenna have developed a strong bond since the fallout with Axel. The look on his face has panic written all over it.
“She’s not here,” Bear replies.
I shake my head. “They had to have taken her. We’re lucky they fucking left Axel alive.” I stand straight and eye the men around me. “We’re coming there now. Stay where you are, and I’ll call Doc to meet you.” I say, already halfway out the door.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
axel
A sharp stingpinches my inner elbow, sending my fist involuntarily flying through the air. My fist connects with something solid, and my eyes shoot open just in time to see Doc staring down at me, holding his jaw.
“Fucking hell, Axel. Stay still,” he says, grimacing. A needle hangs from my arm as a set of heavy hands pin me to the ground. I thrash my body, trying to get free and figure out what the hell is going on, but a deep throb of pain radiates from my head down through my body. The more I move, the worse the pain gets. I close my eyes and give in to whatever shit Doc is running through my veins.
“Axel, can you hear me?” a voice overhead says. My eyes stay closed, but I recognize the bite in his words—it’s Blaze. His hands shake my chest lightly, like he’s trying to wake me up.
“I can hear you, fucker. Quit shaking me,” I groan, every word sending pulsing pain to the back of my head. Blaze chuckles above me.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine.”
I raise my free arm to rub my temples, trying to find some relief, only to be slammed in the face with reality. I startthrashing again, trying to pull out the IV from my arm and free myself from their hold.
“Shit, Ax. Stop!” Doc protests, but I can’t stay here. They can’t focus on me.Where the fuck is Jenna?
“Where is she?” I turn to Blaze, and by the look on his face, he knows exactly who I’m talking about. He takes a deep breath and lays a hand on my shoulder. My heart stops in my chest. Absolute terror and unfiltered rage surge through me.
“We don’t know. Can you tell us what the hell happened? How did you end up here?” The sympathy in his voice pisses me off. I don’t need his worry—I need him to fucking help me find my woman.
“Her car died, and she was towed here.” I close my eyes, racking my brain for every detail I can remember, but the only thing I see is the look of terror on her face as Death held her up by her hair in front of me. I shouldn’t have brought her into this. I shouldn’t have let her become part of my life and put her in this situation. But I know I would never have been able to let her go, to live this life without her.
