“I don’t have time for your shit when my girl’s in trouble,” Banger snarled, “but Iwillbeat your ass when this is all done, boy. Let’s get moving.”
The brothers listened as Hawk gave instructions, and Jerry took some time to rein in his anger; he knew sloppy mistakes were made when emotions ruled. He had to be cold and calculating, especially when he gutted the bastard who had his woman.
“Kylie went to work this morning. Axe, you’ve been trailing her for the past couple of months. Did you see anyone else around her?” Banger leaned against the wall, his shoulders slumped.
“Just that punk, Marcus Westman, and you took care of that. I never spotted anyone else. Someone should go see if she’s at work. She’s been going to the Empire Building, room 317 for the past week. Maybe her boss knows something.”
Banger nodded. “Let’s get over there. The sooner we handle this shit, the faster we find her. As I remember, Tug’s kid was all kinds of messed up. Once when Tug brought his family to visit me and Grace, I caught the bastard hurting Gracie’s cat, Sparky. I blew my top and told Tug about it. He went ballistic and started to beat the shit outta the kid. I had to stop him before he killed him. The kid’s mom just stood there watching, never once saying a word. I couldn’t believe how fucked up they all were. Gracie was pregnant with Kylie at the time, and she was so freaked out by them that I told Tug he could come any time since he was a brother, but he’d have to leave the family drama behind.
“Then I heard years later that Mark had joined the Demon Riders, and Tug was pissed as shit at him. He saw it as a betrayal.” Banger wiped the sweat off his brow. “And then Tug went along with Dustin and Shack and ended up joining the Demon Riders and became their goddamn mole. Tug came into our club as nothing more than a fuckin’ snitch. I still can’t get over he stabbed me and the brotherhood in the back like that. He was an Insurgent for over twenty years. Fuck. Chigger must’ve told Mark we killed his dad.” Banger clenched his fists. “His dad knew the risk of being a goddamned snitch, and now his son’s out for blood, and he’s using my Kylie to get it. What a fuckin’ coward. Damnit!”
“I’ll head over to the Empire Building and see what I can find out. I’ll call you and let you know.” Axe moved to the door.
“Jax and Rags, you go with Axe. Let’s track this bastard down.” Banger pushed himself away from the wall.
They filed out of the clubhouse, their jaws clenched and their gazes steely; the seriousness of the situation was not lost on the brotherhood. The plan was for Jerry to go with Hawk and Rock, but he wanted to be the one to kick the fucker in the balls, so he told them he’d follow with his truck. He tried not to think about how scared Kylie must be; he didn’t dare risk losing his cool, not yet. Jerry couldn’t let himself feel the worst of his rage until he had blood he could spill, and that meant he had to find Kylie in time. He just couldn’t lose her.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Her stalker shovedKylie on the worn-out mattress in the living room. He’d taken her to a dilapidated cabin, and judging by some of the dusty personal items on the mantel, she suspected it belonged to him, or at least to someone in his family.
“Are you going to tell me your name?” Kylie crossed her legs, furtively searching for a possible means of escape.
He had been staring at her since they’d come in, the hunger in his gaze making her shudder. Slowly, he inched over to her then sat next to her, the mattress sagging under his weight, a blond wig discarded on the floor. In the sunlight, she saw him clearly—black hair down to his collar, flat brown eyes, a strong jaw, and some acne scars around his cheeks. He looked to be about twenty-nine years old, medium build, taller than she was but not quite as tall as most of the men she knew.
She jumped when his fingers skimmed over her forearm. “You’re so beautiful. I knew your skin would be soft. I pictured it that way many times.” He curled his arm around her shoulders and forced her close to him. “I want to feel your lips.”
“No, please,” she protested, but he made her turn her head. He pressed his mouth against hers, pillaging it with his thick tongue.
She gagged and twisted from him, wiping him from her lips with her palm.
He raised an incredulous brow. “You’d rather have your fuckin’ Insurgent on your mouth? You know, when I first saw you at the university, you were like a glowing angel, so pure and innocent. I didn’t think you’d turn out to be such a slut. Fucking Ricky and Jerry.” He brought his face inches from hers. “Well, cunt, I want what you’ve been giving out so freely.” With a fierce grip, the black-haired man yanked her head to his and kissed her. “Fuck!” He raised his hand and wiped the blood where she’d bit him, then backhanded her hard. “You like playing rough? I can definitely accommodate you.”
Kylie scooted away from him but he grabbed her, forcing her down on the bed. Hovering over her, he put his mouth on hers again. She drew up her knee and slammed it right into his balls. He cried out and rolled off her, and she leapt up and made a dash for the door. She heard him rush behind her, and she whirled around and ducked when his fist came up to smash her face. She sprang up and kicked high, her foot landing against his jaw with a crack. The unexpected blow stunned him and he fell to his knees. Wildly, she tried to open the door, but there were too many damn locks. Picking up a lamp on an end table, she smashed the window with the base, the glass shattering.
But as she began to haul herself out the window, something hard plummeted against her skull, and blackness reigned.
***
Jerry answered hisphone as he followed Hawk’s SUV in his truck, headed away from Pinewood Springs.
“What do you got?” he asked Axe, his eyes fixed on the vehicle ahead of him.
“The whole job was a fuckin’ scam. Shit. I shoulda investigated it, but it looked legit with a secretary and all.”
Jerry’s blood ran cold. “Did you talk to the secretary?”
“No one was there. It was dark. We had the super open the door and the office was empty. I bribed him to show me the lease, and it was rented for a month only by a guy named Steven Austin. We know that was a fake name. The asshole went to a lot of trouble for this. I shoulda looked deeper into it. But Kylie was going to so many interviews, and all the others were legit. Shit.”
“Don’t blame yourself. Banger didn’t suspect anything funny about it, either. Who would? Did you ever locate Johnnie?”
“Yeah. He was in his usual place outside Banger’s. He got out of his car because he heard low music from the bushes. He went to see what it was and found a CD player buried nearby. That’s the last thing he remembers before waking up with a big knot in his head. I was just able to get a hold of him a few minutes ago. Seems like the fucker ambushed him. Johnnie feels like hell for having this happen on his watch.”
Jerry breathed out. “I can’t let anything happen to her. I gotta find this guy and kill him. If he hurts Kylie, my life will never be the same.”
“I know, bro. Kylie is special to us all, but for you, it’s worse. When Baylee had that psycho after her, it turned me into a madman. I couldn’t stand the thought of something bad happening to her.”
“Yeah. I gotta get to Kylie before it’s too late, man.”
