Marlaina would answer.She always answers.
Something is wrong.I know it.I feel it.By the time we hit the edge of town, my chest feels like it’s going to explode.Tucker doesn’t stop at my house.Doesn’t even slow.We go straight to the clubhouse.
And that’s when I know.This isn’t just concern.This is something bigger.
The lot is already filling.
Bikes.
Men.
Movement.
Chux is there.Riot.Gainz.Stunt.Looney.Dodge.Dice.Fresh.All these men I just met all coming together.
Faces I’m studying to recognize, all sharp and focused and already in motion.Tucker kills the engine and I’m off the bike before it fully stops.
“What’s happening?”I demand rushing over to Chux knowing he’s the club President.
Saged pulls in from the opposite side, his bike skidding slightly as he cuts it too fast.“She’s not answering,” he shares, already moving.“Doors locked.Curtains drawn.”
My stomach drops.“No.”
Chux steps forward.“Mount up.”
That’s all he says.No questions.No hesitation.And suddenly the entire Freedom Falls chapter is moving.Engines roar to life.Men swing onto bikes.
And I am right there in the middle of it, heart in my throat, hands shaking as Tucker pulls me back onto his bike.
“I need to see her,” I state, my voice breaking.“I need to see Quinn.”
“You will,” he says, and I can hear the steel in his voice now.“I’ve got you.”
The ride to Marlaina’s house is fast.
Too fast.Not fast enough.Every second stretches.Every turn feels wrong.Until—We pull up.
And everything stops.
Because the front door is open.Not wide.Just enough to be wrong.
So wrong.Saged is off his bike practically before it fully stops, barely dropping his kickstand running for the house.
Tucker grabs me before I can follow.
“Wait—”
“I’m not waiting!”
“Lucy,” I tear out of his grip and run.Up the steps.Through the door.
And then—I stop.
Because the house, it’s a mess and everything about it is wrong.
Chairs knocked over.A lamp shattered on the floor.A picture frame cracked against the wall.There are marks.Scuffs.Signs of a struggle.
My vision tunnels.“No,” I whisper.“No, no, no?—”
