But now, we were back, and Orla was still very much part of the club. My feelings hadn’t changed for her, even if hers had for me, but she didn’t harbour any ill will anymore. In fact, she was playful, always pushing my limits, knowing I wouldn’t bite back.
How could I?
I enjoyed her taunting.
I enjoyed her attention, even if it meant I’d never have her in my bed, I wanted her close by.
To protect.
And now, she was gone.
I’d failed.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and by the squeeze, I knew it was Ace. I didn’t dare turn around.
“We’ll find her.”
“You can’t promise me that,” I bit back. “They never should have gone in the first place. The best place for them, for any of our women is here with us.”
“I need you,” he said. “Bear, I need the man that would tear the entire country apart for the club. I need you to help me find them.”
Slowly, I nodded, realising he was losing his woman too. He was hurting as well, but he couldn’t break. He was the damn president and he had to be tough as nails, no matter how badly things got.
“Butch will be in charge when we go,” Ace said. “Hawk is booking our flights. No cuts. We’re going international, and I don’t want to start a war that we don’t need right now.”
I nodded, and he left. Slowly, I pulled myself up and headed back to the clubhouse. We had a job to do.
Come hell or highwater, I would find her.
And when I did? God help those who laid a fucking finger on her.
TWO
Orla
Footsteps under my door had my body tensing, fear lacing through me. I’d shown everyone who dared look in my direction how tough I was, but I wasn’t really. I had my breaking point, and it had been pushed days ago.
I’d not seen Sheridan or Wolf in days. It had felt longer, but the idiots who had captured us had left windows in our rooms. I couldn’t see out of it, it was too far up but I could see how many times the sun rose and went down.
The lock clicked and the door opened to reveal the man who had taken us. Well, he hadn’t, he was a loser who hadhis cronies do the hard work. His face was handsome, but he had a devilish glean in his eye that told me to fear him.
I didn’t like him.
“Now, now,” he said, his voice soft, and almost comforting. If I didn’t know any better, I would trust him by the sound of his voice. “You don’t need to fear me. I don’t want to hurt you.”
I scoffed, a sound that had come out of me unwittingly. His sick smile turned up on his lips and I felt myself shrink back.
“My men tell me you aren’t eating,” he said, looking over at the plate of food he’d left for me. “You need to keep up your strength.”
I looked away, not wanting to admit how much I craved food. The smell from the plate alone had made my hunger worse, and waves of nausea hit me hard.
His fingers moved over my skin and a harsh clack of his tongue forced my head back to look at him. “Why would you mar such a beautiful body with all this ink?”
The way he had said it made my skin crawl. His eyes raked over my body as I pulled back from him as far as I could.
“Why did you take us?” I asked him, surprised at how level my voice was. “Who are you?”
“You were an unfortunate victim of chance,” he said, his leering eye gone as he stood back up from the bed. “But, I see no need in keeping you if you won’t tell me what I want to know.”
