“That’s if I don’t get them first,” Dex says, cracking his knuckles, like he’s ready for a fight.
“Bet I can take out more than you,” Pete says over his shoulder with a smile.
“Deal,” Dex smiles back.
“We don’t even know if she’s there, or has been harmed,” I say, my fingers digging into the steering wheel.
We’re all quiet as we drive through the streets of Colorado Springs and onto the quieter outskirts. The lights of the bar up ahead make it stand out as there’s nothing else around. There’s a bunch of motorcycles out front, and I find a place away from them to park.
“Don’t start anything until we know where she is, understand?” I ask, turning in my seat to face all three of them.
“Yes, Dad,” Pete says with a roll of his eyes, before opening his door and hopping out.
Silently, we cross the parking lot, only the loud music and voices from inside penetrating the night. When we step inside, I immediately clock that it’s entirely bikers, all decked out in black leathers. Not a place we want to linger.
I step up to the bar, and the bartender moves my way. “What can I get you?”
“I’m looking for a woman with long black hair.”
His eyes dart nervously to a man sitting at the bar before he tries to hide his reaction, letting out a small laugh. “We serve alcohol here, not girls.”
“Have you seen her?” I ask again, leaning toward him and trying hard not to slit his throat right here. Too bad I don’t have a knife yet.
“No, now do you boys want a drink or not?”
“No,” I say, instantly turning to the man he had eyed earlier and yanking the knife from where it’s strapped to his side and holding it to his throat. “What about you? You going to lie to me, too?”
I hear the bar grow silent, other than a few chairs scraping as my comrades fan out around me, protecting my back.
“There ain’t no girl here,” he grits out, anger filling his eyes.
“That’s a double negative, which means she is.”
“What? No! She’s not here anymore.”
I drop the knife and step back. “Anymore? Who did she leave with?” I ask, my temperature rising with my rage.
He shakes his head, looking a little scared, and I growl.
The bartender, maybe feeling safer with the wooden bar top between us, says, “Look, she left with the boss, just forget about her, he’ll have claimed her by now.”
“You son of a—” I place my hand on Pete's chest, stopping him from leaping over the bar and slitting his throat.
“Not now, time is of the essence.”
He nods, gritting his teeth before we run from the building. Thanks to the guy at the motel, I know exactly where the bikers live. I give Pete the coordinates, since we don’t have an actual address to program, and he uses the cell to direct me there.
It only takes ten minutes, but it feels like the longest ten minutes of my life, wondering what we’ll find there.Is it even her? Has he hurt her?
When we find the compound, I’m surprised by the lack of security. I park at a safe distance, so they won’t hear us coming and switch off the engine.
“Plan?” Pete asks as we stalk toward the front door.
“Get Wren, and get out,” I tell him, not feeling like coming up with any sort of plan right now; my rage fueling me forward.
“And kill anyone who gets in our way,” Dex adds with a nod.
When we reach the door, I gently try it, but find it’s locked. “Move, I’ll get it,” Dex says, takinga few steps back, as if he means to ram it. A feminine scream pierces the air from inside, and dread pools in my stomach. Dex charges, busting the door wide open on his first attempt.
