“I hope so, sir,” Nathan replied.
“Same goes for me, none of that formal crap. I’m Pop and she’s Gram. We are family after all,” he declared, eliciting a shy smile from Nathan.
We made our way over to the tent housing the reception. I didn’t participate in the wedding planning—other than handing over my credit card—so I wasn’t expecting to see something that rivaled a damn hotel ballroom on the inside of a canvas tent in the middle of a field beside a motorcycle club’s clubhouse.
The girls had gone all out. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but the smiles on Annabelle’s and Ember’s faces made it worth it.
By the time the reception was over, everyone was either exhausted or drunk. Even Gram was on the far side of tipsy. Luckily, no one had to drive to get anywhere. My house was on the property. Gram, Pop, and Nathan were staying with me and Annabelle. Ember and Dash were going back to their house, but they had a limo taking them. Everyone else was staying at the clubhouse.
Nathan had to leave for the airport at 6am the following morning. He insisted upon driving himself so his mother didn’t have to get up and do it. Since we had to take Ember and Dash later that afternoon to catch their flight for their honeymoon, we could pick up the car Nathan drove then. With that settled, we all went to bed.
***
My phone woke me at 8am the next morning. I had a bad feeling. No one would be calling me at this hour the day after my daughter’s wedding unless something was wrong. Not even bothering to look at the phone, I answered, “Phoenix.”
“Prez! Get to the clubhouse right now! He’s gone!” Duke yelled down the line.
I shot up straight in bed. “Who?”
“Octavius!”
“Fuck! I’ll be right there!” I disconnected and turned to wake Annabelle. Unfortunately, she was already awake and had obviously heard everything Duke said. She was on her feet and shaking, white as a ghost.
“I thought he was dead!” she shrieked.
“He is on paper. I can’t explain right now. I’ve got to find him. I need you to get Gram and Pop over to the clubhouse. Can you do that for me?” I asked, taking a step toward her.
She took a step back from me. Fuck, I didn’t have time to reassure her, even though I wanted to. “Please, Annabelle,” I pleaded, begging her with my eyes to understand the urgency of the situation.
“Fine,” she huffed and stomped out of the room. Good, anger was better than sadness or fear.
I dressed quickly and ran the entire way to the clubhouse. Pushing through the front doors, I bellowed, “Somebody tell me what in the fuck is going on!”
Badger stepped forward. “Duke went down to take him his breakfast. He noticed the basement door wasn’t locked, but went on down anyway. When he got down there, Octavius’s cell was wide open and he’s nowhere to be found.”
“Byte, does he still have that tracker?” I asked.
“As far as I know, Prez. Already on it,” he said, typing away on his laptop. “Got him! Looks like he’s at a warehouse up near the Disciples of Death’s territory.”
Before I could comment, Pop, Gram, and Annabelle came through the front doors. “What’s going on, Phoenix?” Pop asked.
“I can’t explain right now, Pop. I need you to stay here and look after Gram and Annabelle for me.”
“Whatever you need, my boy,” Pop answered.
“Move this into Church, now!” I ordered.
Once we were behind closed doors, I shared my thoughts. “I don’t think this requires much planning, brothers. I say we just drive out there and get him.”
The boys started discussing whether or not we should do just that when my phone beeped in my pocket. I pulled it out to see I had a video message from an unknown number. I was pretty sure I could guess who the message was from.
I flipped my phone open and gaped at the image on the screen. Hesitantly pressing play, I watched in horror as Nathan, tied to a chair, was hit in the face repeatedly by someone’s fist. A voice I didn’t recognize began speaking, “If you want him back, you’ll have to pay. I want $250,000 in cash. No cops, no brothers, no bullshit. You have four hours to gather the money and be ready. I’ll text the instructions for drop off then.”
I tossed my phone on the table and dropped my head into my hands. Who the fuck was talking in the video? How did they get Nathan? Where was Octavius? Was he a part of this or was it something separate? I couldn’t think. I was losing it when I needed to keep it together the most.
Badger stood and clapped his hands together once. “Okay, brothers, this changes the game. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Nathan, who is Octavius’s biological son, was kidnapped the same day Octavius escaped. Looked to me like the background in the video was that of a warehouse. I’m guessing that’s where Nathan is. What I don’t know is who the other person in that video is…”
Badger trailed off when we heard a commotion on the other side of the door. Duke yanked the door open to see what was going on. Annabelle had Crystal on the ground and was laying into her with a ferocity I didn’t know she was capable of. “I’ve already told you, you filthy cum dumpster, he is my man. MINE!” she screamed while landing punch after punch to Crystal’s face.
