When Ravage and I came out of church, my focus had been on Maureen. I hadn’t even realized the girls were gone. I should have checked. I should have looked for her and told her myself what was happening.
I’d fucked up so many things with her, I didn’t know if she’d ever forgive me.
I watched Karlyn reach over and put her hand on Grace’s. Whatever they talked about was serious. Then, Karlyn sat back, pulling her hand away. She looked upset about whatever Grace had said.
“Is there any fucking sound?” Ravage growled beside me.
“No, Trudy wouldn’t let us do sound. She said people came in there to talk things out with her, or others, and it would be an invasion of privacy.”
“Fuck that. I want sound on every fucking camera we have in town.”
“King—”
“Did I fucking stutter?” I snapped.
“No, Prez.” Nav sighed. I knew I was being irrational, but I wanted to know what Grace had said to Karlyn that had made her upset. If the two of them didn’t get along, I knew I’d never see Ravage again.
Johnny answered his phone, and by the look on his face, I knew that was when Beck called to tell him about Maureen. He spoke to the girls, then Grace went to pay, and I saw Trudy wave her off. She turned around, and that was when the glass shattered, and Johnny went down, Indigo right after him.
Chapter Thirty
King
I paced the room, my hands fisted at my sides. My brothers hovered around me warily. Cash and Gunner waited for me to lose my shit. I wasn’t that man anymore. Not since Nebraska.
Not since Grace.
I was their leader, their president. It was my job to keep my cool. To be level-headed in a time of adversity. Except there was nothing I could do. No amount of planning and strategy would bring Grace back to me. I didn’t know where she was or how to fucking find her!
What I really wanted to do was kill everyone in my fucking path to get to her. I didn’t care if they were friend or foe.
I peered over my shoulder. Big Ben, Ace, and Jonah stood in front of the doors. I studied the men, weighing up my options. I couldn’t stay in this room. I could feel the walls closing in on me as I thought about what that fat fuck could be doing to Grace.
Cash moved closer toward Sypher, and I looked around the room. Every man in here would give their life for Grace. I knew that. But there was something in the air. Something deceptive. None of them looked me in the eye. They looked everywhere but at me.
Ravage moved fast, grabbing Sypher and pushing him against the wall. I turned to Nav. He hadn’t moved. He didn’t react, didn’t even look up. And he didn’t reach out to Ravage trying to calm the rage.
That was a huge fucking red flag. These men, the five of them—Nav, Ravage, Eros, Indigo, and Firestride—had a bond. I’d seen it with Nav and Eros, and Nav and Ravage. The fact that Nav was not trying to save Sypher meant he didn’t want to be in Ravage’s crosshairs.
“Tell me,” Ravage growled at Sypher, but the kid didn’t flinch. He shook his head—no, and I knew then, whatever they weren’t saying was fucking bad.
Ravage sat in the chair, leaning forward he held his head in his hands as the roar of a pained lion tore from his chest. We’d been at this for hours. There was nothing to go on. Nav and Sypher had been through every street camera, and every camera attached to a building in town, but they’d disappeared. They could be anywhere, enduring anything. I knew what Karlyn had been through. How she’d survived I didn’t know. And I didn’t know how Grace would survive something like that.
I took a step toward Ravage. He was my brother. We were in this shit together. But Cash stepped in front of me.
“What do you know?” I asked.
“She’s alive, King,” Cash resolutely said. “That’s all you need to know.” Cash’s words weren’t the reprieve he’d meant them to be. He’d meant to give me hope, faith in the fact she was still alive. But I didn’t want her to just be alive. I wanted her to be fucking whole. I wanted the Grace I knew and loved back. I’d give anything right now to have her standing in front of me chewing my ass out. I’d even take a kick to the balls if it meant she was safe. But she wasn’t here. She wasn’t safe. And if I didn’t find her fast...
This was my fault. I was an asshole. I hadn’t told her everything. I didn’t take the time to make her understand just how dangerous it was for her.
I didn’t protect her.
I’d left with Maureen with no thought of Grace. Trusting that she wouldn’t leave. Not after what we’d had. What we’d finally shared.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Cash shook his head and was about to elaborate when my phone rang. I shoved him away and answered, putting the phone on speaker and setting it down. I braced my hands on the table when I heard the maniacal laugh.
