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The sound of metal clanging in the background makes my pulse spike. “Yeah. The cooks are hiding me, but you’ve got to hurry.”
“We are, Vi. We’re coming right now. We just need to know the name of the restaurant.”
“Hold on,” she says and I hear whispering in the background. “It’s called Patrick’s.”
I nod and glance over at Chance. “Okay. We’re on our way, Vi. Just hang on.”
“Hurry, please,” she whispers into the phone before hanging up and my shoulders sag as I press my hands to the table and hang my head. After sucking in a breath, I look up.
“All right, let’s go.”
Chance shakes his head. “No way in hell, Princess.”
“You are not going to stop me,” I tell him, my voice firm. He has zero chance of getting me to wait here while he goes to save my sister. It’s not going to happen.
“We ready to go?” Ali asks and I nod.
“I don’t think so, Kitten,” Logan growls and Ali turns, leveling a glare at him.
“Try and stop me.”
The whole scene would be comical if my sister wasn’t hiding in a kitchen, waiting for us right now.
“We don’t have time for this,” Blaze snaps, storming out of the office with Kodiak on his heels. “Everyone is going.”
Ali and I nod before storming outside and leaving our men behind with gaping jaws. They catch up to us after a moment and I peek over at Chance, but I can’t tell if his stern expression is because I wouldn’t listen or because of what we’re about to walk into. Probably both.
I hop into the truck and Chance slips behind the wheel as the sound of engines fill the air. Most of the guys are on their bikes but Smith and Storm are driving the big white van Ali’s riding in. We pull out of the parking lot in a single file line and my knee bounces as I set the GPS and check to see how far away we are.
Three miles.
It could be worse, I suppose. Hopefully, the traffic is light and we can get there quickly. Those guards won’t wait much longer if they haven’t already gone to check on her and I don’t know how long the cooks can hide her. God, what will Julian do to her if we don’t get to her in time? And how far are these cooks willing to go to protect her? Chance’s hand lands on my knee and I glance over at him.
“It’s going to be okay. We’re bringing her home today.”
I nod, tears of relief filling my eyes. I know it’s not over yet but we’re so close that I can taste it.
“We’re bringing her home,” I whisper. Time ticks by slowly and the three miles to the restaurant feel like a hundred as I scan the streets. I don’t even know what the hell I’m looking for, but it feels like the right thing to do in this situation. When we finally pull up in front of the restaurant, I jump out, ignoring the screams from Chance in the truck. A door slams and footsteps echo behind me but before I can reach the door, an arm hooks around my waist. Chance spins me around and I glance up at him as his nostrils flare.
“Wait,” he grounds out, his expression making it clear I shouldn’t argue. This is probably the only time he’ll win this fight. Blaze walks over to us with Storm and Kodiak trailing behind him.
“Carly, you need to go get her, but we’ll be right behind you. Don’t worry about the guards, we’ll cover them. If they haven’t already called Julian, they will as soon as we leave.”
I nod. “Okay.”
Chance takes my hand and nods to me, giving me the kick in the ass I need to move forward. We walk into the restaurant, Chance and I in front with Blaze, Storm, and Kodiak behind us. As I stop at the front counter, they fan out behind us, blocking Chance and I from the dining room where three large men sit at a table, watching us closely.
The waitress’s eyes widen as she comes out from the kitchen and approaches us. I glance down at her nametag as she takes us all in. “Can I help y’all?”
“I’m here for my sister, Alice. She’s hiding in your kitchen,” I say softly, glancing at the guards in the dining room before focusing back on her. She nods.
“Of course, follow me.”
“We’ll hang out here,” Kodiak says, his gaze locked onto the three guards who are now standing.
Chance nods. “Thanks.”
I suck in a breath and we follow Alice back to the kitchen, where two big burly men stop and stare at us.