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  I get a bit of a nap in. Who knows for how long, but when I wake up, it’s not as bright. My head is still pounding, though. There’s a lamp on the side table on. It gives off a soft light, lighting the room up just enough. The room is small, smaller than the rooms back at the clubhouse. There’s nothing in here but the bed and the side table with the lamp. There’s one window and one door. I hear movement outside the door and close my eyes, trying to pretend to still be sleeping. I hear the door open and footsteps walk close to the bed.

  “Oh, my sweet Savannah. I know you’re not sleeping.” Brody. I snap my eyes open. He looks different than the last time I saw him. I instantly notice he’s wearing a cut and it has the name Ghost on it. I never would have guessed that he was part of any MC.

  His hair is longer and he has the start of a beard growing. There’s something off about his eyes. He has a crazed look in them. It’s worse than before. Like something inside him finally snapped. He’s not the same man I dated in Arizona. Even when he became abusive, he didn’t have that crazy look in his eyes.

  “I told you that you couldn’t hide from me, baby.” I cringe at him calling me baby. He notices and scowls. “You were with that Savage trash for far too long. You and I will get acquainted here soon. Don’t you worry.”

  He moves to sit on the bed next to me. He runs a finger down the side of my face. My body shudders and he looks disgusted. He pulls out a knife and I freeze, scared of what he plans to do with it. He chuckles.

  “We won’t be playing today,” he says as he moves to cut the rope around my ankles. “Don’t even think of trying to escape. The window is painted shut, and someone will be outside that door twenty-four seven. You wouldn’t get far anyway. This place is locked down tight.”

  He cuts the rope away from my wrists. There are red lines around them from where the rope sat. I rub at them, trying to ease the soreness as I sit up. He cups my face with his hand, brushing his thumb against my cheek. I can’t help but cringe. Ghost huffs out in anger before bringing his hand up and backhanding me across my face. I fall to my side, holding my cheek.

  “You are mine, Savannah. You will learn to appreciate my gentleness or I may grow tired of you and decide to kill you. Either way, you’ll never see your fucking club ever again,” he growls out. “Now, get up. I’m going to escort you to the bathroom before I need to leave.”

  I slowly climb off the bed. He’s wrong about one thing. I will see the club again. Pops will burn this state down looking for me, and I know Raze will be right by his side. I just need to stay strong until they get here. Ghost grabs my upper arm, practically dragging me out of the room. Right across the hall is a full-size bathroom. I walk in but he doesn’t shut the door.

  “Can I not have a minute of privacy to pee?” I ask him.

  “Go pee or don’t. This door isn’t closing.”

  I do my business as quickly as possible. Ghost watches with an evil grin spread across his face. What a sick fuck. The bathroom is empty. Soap and toilet paper are all that it’s stocked with, and there’s no window. It’s not like I could escape if he left me in here alone. I barely get my hands washed before he’s dragging me back to the room. I did see a guy sitting outside the bedroom door this time. He’s pretty bulky. I walk to the bed, keeping my back toward Ghost.

  “Try not to miss me too much while I’m gone,” he says and closes the door.

  I lie down and let out a deep breath, then send a prayer to the gods, Please let Raze find me soon. I close my eyes and soon enough, I’m drifting off to dreamland again.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Raze

  As soon as Prez climbed off his bike, he was calling for Church. Now here we all are. Ace is the only Nomad in the room. We aren’t sure if we can trust the other two, and Zombie is missing. He’s probably with the Iron Lords. Fucking traitor. He’ll be dealt with as soon as we find him and that whore Candy. Tech is working away at his computer, trying to find answers. Buster and the guys had to stay in the main room since they technically aren’t a part of the club.

  “Let’s go over everything,” Prez says to the room. “Our lead was a bust. A fucking set up to get us away from the clubhouse.”

  “Minx, along with Zombie and Candy, were gone when Saint and I got back,” I tell the brothers. “Also, Chains, Rivet, Bear, and Trix were all drugged to make them pass out. There was a burner phone left behind. It had a picture of Minx, knocked out, with Ghost from the Iron Lords.”

  “Ghost has been ID’ed as Brody by Rivet and the guys from Arizona,” Saint adds. There’s a knock at the door. Prez nods to Buzz who is sitting at the opposite end of the table. Buzz gets up and opens the door. Mouse is standing there, holding someone’s cell phone.

  “Prez, sorry to interrupt, but you keep getting calls from Grim,” Mouse tells him. Grim is the Prez of the Iron Lords. Kind of strange that he’s calling.

  “Bring it here,” Prez orders. Mouse hurries into the room, hands Prez his phone and leaves, closing the door behind him. He’s a good kid. He’ll no doubt be patched in soon. Prez’s phone starts ringing again and he answers it, putting it on speaker.

  “Talk.”

  “Bull, I know we have our issues, but I think we have a common enemy currently fucking with both of our clubs,” Grim says.

  “And who the fuck would that be?” Prez questions.

  “We need to meet in a neutral location. Both our phones could be tapped right now. Know the place I’m thinking?”

  “Yeah, I know it. Meet in an hour.”

  “Deal,” Grim says and they hang up. Prez hands his phone to Ranger and he takes it back out of the room. As soon as Ranger is back in his seat, Prez tells us the plan.

  “Back when the Menaces and the Lords were allies, Grim and I had meetings once a month at a neutral location. We each bring four of our own men. Ranger will stay behind and will be in charge while I’m gone. Get your families here, and get this place on lockdown. Raze, Ratchet, Buster, and Shade will be coming with me. Buster and Shade may not be officially part of the club, but this is as much their fight as it is ours. Does anyone have any issues with this?”

  A round of no’s and some head shakes, and it’s settled. Prez brings his gavel down, dismissing church.

  “We’ll ride out in fifteen minutes,” he adds before everyone leaves the room. “Raze, bring Buster and Shade in here.”

  I leave the room to grab them. Making sure they leave their phones in the basket. Ratchet is still in the room when we walk in. I close the door behind me and take a seat.

  “The Iron Lords clubhouse is in a town on the Northeast side of Austin. We’ll ride into Austin and meet them at a hole in the wall bar called the Brickyard. Before we ride out, each of our phones will need to be turned off. I’ll have a burner with me in case of an emergency, but that’s it. Buster and Shade, you’re joining us because you are family to my daughter and because you are familiar with Ghost. I’m sure you’d like to take him out as much as the rest of us.”

  “Yes, sir. We’ll do whatever you ask of us. Same goes for Diesel and Clutch,” Buster replies.

  “Right, let’s load up,” Prez orders.

  We pull up to the Brickyard and the Iron Lords are already here. Two of their guys are standing outside on watch. We park our bikes while Buster parks his car. There isn’t any parking for cages close by so it takes him a minute. We wait for him and Shade to walk up, and then climb off our bikes.

  “Ratchet and Shade, I want y’all out here. Keep your eyes open,” Prez tells them. Then he signals for Buster and me to follow him. We walk inside and are blasted with the smell of cigarettes. Not many places allow smoking inside these days.

  The first thing I notice is a small stage with a karaoke set up. It’s barely big enough to hold a DJ, but I’m sure it does on the weekends. Just to the right of the stage is a jukebox, and further to the right is the bar and some tables.

  The left side of the room has four pool tables and another little room. From a distan
ce, it looks like there are some beer pong tables. We head to a table in the back of the bar area where Grim is sitting with his two goons standing behind him. Prez takes a seat while Buster and I stand on either side of him.

  “Bull, it’s been a while. I see you brought an outsider.” Grim sounds concerned. Prez nods. It’s weird hearing someone call him by his actual road name. Everyone at the clubhouse calls him Prez all the time.

  “He and his crew are allies to our club. Our current problem is their problem too. Now, what’s this about a mutual enemy?” That’s Prez— always one to cut straight to the point.

  “I’ve had some brothers in Arizona on some business on and off for almost five years. Turns out, one met your daughter and took a liking to her,” Grim starts off.

  “Ghost,” Prez growls out. Grim nods. I clench my fists, trying to keep calm.

  “When one of my guys told me who the girl was, I told Ghost to stand down. Fucker didn’t listen. He kept who he really is from her and made up some bullshit story about himself. He knew if she knew he was part of the Iron Lords, she wouldn’t have given him the time of day. He was one of my tech guys, and damn good at that shit. Always was good at creating false identities.

  “Then, the next thing I knew, my guys were telling me she broke things off with him, and Ghost went rogue. He’s been fucking with all of our drug deals and the routes we use. Got a couple of brothers locked up because of it. Now he and a couple of other guys that went rogue with him are nowhere to be found.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Prez curses. “Do you have any idea where he could be?”

  Grim shakes his head. “No, but my other techie is on the job. Non-stop searching for him. Ghost took money and product from us. We’re ready to find this fucker.”

  “He recruited one of our Nomads and a cut bunny. He has my daughter. I want that piece of shit to fucking pay with his life.”

  “And he will. No matter which of us find him first, you will be the ones to take his life. We just want to give him a good beat down and get our shit back.”

  Forty-five minutes later, Prez and Grim have decided on a truce between MCs and a plan for finding Ghost.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Savannah

  I’m standing outside the clubhouse. It’s a beautiful day and everyone is laughing and enjoying themselves. Some of the brothers decide we need to BBQ, so they’re setting up the grills and some yard games. Raze is ordering some prospects to get some wood ready for a bonfire for later. He turns around, and a smile breaks out when he sees me. His smile so contagious, I can’t help but smile back. We start walking toward each other. As soon as I’m close enough, I throw my arms around his neck and jump into his arms.

  “I missed you,” I whisper against his lips before giving him a quick peck. He gives me a light chuckle.

  “Everything okay? I just saw you ten minutes ago, Kitty.” Has it really only been that long? I brush off his comment and kiss him again. Deeper this time, and I lightly run my nails against the back of his head. “Mmm, save some of that for later.” He kisses the tip of my nose and winks before setting me on my feet again.

  “Get a room lovebirds!” Rivet laughs out. She walks up beside me and links her arm with mine. “Mind if I steal her away?”

  “As long as she’s okay with it, I am.” I look into his eyes and see so much love in them. I want to say those three little words, but can’t seem to find the courage to. Instead, I reach up on my tiptoes and steal one more quick kiss. I could kiss Raze forever.

  “I’ll be by the grill if you need anything.” He winks at me and walks away.

  “You two make me want to gag,” Rivet says, sticking a finger in her mouth and pretending to gag. I laugh at her.

  “Oh, I’m sure you and Saint will be on our level soon.” I wink at her and her eyes bug out.

  “You have officially lost your mind,” she replies, making me laugh again.

  “Minx!” I turn around and see . . . Hawk?

  “Hawk? What are you doing here?”

  “What do you mean, sis? I live here too ya know.” This has me so confused. Hawk died. How is he here?

  “Hey, look at me,” he says, grabbing me by my shoulders. “I need you to remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

  “What?” I look at him, completely confused. That’s a Disney quote I had on a poster in my room growing up. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Just promise me you’ll remember. You got this, sis. Be strong.” And just like that, he’s gone. I clenched my eyes closed. This is too fucking weird right now. I rub my hands down my face.

  When I open my eyes, I’m back in the hell hole of a room I’ve been a prisoner of. Only now, my arms and legs are stretched out. I look to my left and my hand is tied to the bed frame. I look to my other hand and my feet, and they’re all tied up. I notice that my pants are gone, but at least he left my panties on.

  I lay my head back down and try to conserve my energy. I’ve been here for days. I’ve honestly stopped counting but I’m guessing at least a week. One of Ghost’s goons only brings me one meal a day. He wants me to be weak. If I’m prepared, I’ll fight him off and he knows that. He’s trying to slowly break me. The bedroom door opens but I don’t look to see who it is.

  “Ah, yes. You’re awake.” Ghost. “How do you like your new restraints?” I ignore him and look to the wall. He grabs my face harshly and forces me to look at him.

  “Look at me when I’m talking to you,” he growls out. “I think I’ve waited long enough to have my fun with you. What do you think?”

  I glare at him and still don’t respond. He lets out a laugh. “That’s okay. You don’t need to talk for what I’m about to do. Though, I look forward to hearing your beautiful screams.”

  He leaves the room for what feels like hours. When he comes back, he’s not empty-handed. He’s carrying a black box. There’s nothing on the outside that could give away what it holds. He sets it on the side table, close to my head. I look up at the ceiling, not wanting to see what it holds. He lifts the lid and drops it to the floor. Then he takes something out. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him turn his body to face me and see him holding something shiny.

  “Aren’t you the least bit curious about what I’m about to do?” I don’t respond. I don’t even look at him. I keep my eyes on the ceiling. It may have only been a dream, but I keep replaying what Hawk said to me. “Oh well, let’s get started.”

  He moves down to the end of the bed by my feet. Using whatever it is he took from that box, he lightly traces a line from my ankle all the way up to my thigh. He holds it up in front of my face and I see that it’s a smaller hunting knife of some sort. I try to keep my expressions at bay, but inside I’m freaking out.

  You are braver than you believe.

  “Should we start with the real fun now?” He’s more so asking himself since he knows I’m not going to respond to him. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.”

  He is standing perpendicular to my hip. He presses the spine of the blade against the inside of my thigh. It’s cold, but doesn’t bother me. He’s messing with my head right now. I’m not going to let him get to me.

  Stronger than you seem.

  He does it again, only this time it stings. He used the blade. I feel a trickle of blood on my thigh. Then without any warning, I feel his tongue against the cut. He licks the blood away. I have to fight down the bile trying to escape my throat.

  I clench my teeth, stopping myself from making any sound as he makes another cut parallel to the first. Then he moves to my other leg. The more cuts he makes, the more it burns. With each cut, he follows up with licking up the blood.

  Smarter than you think.

  He lifts the knife to his mouth and licks the blood off of it. He eyes the knife, and then looks back to me, giving me a deranged smile. My skin breaks out in goosebumps. The look in his eyes is the look a sociopath would give. He climbs on t
he bed and straddles me. He stares at me, making my stomach churn. He uses the knife to cut my shirt, right down the middle. Next, cutting my bra.

  You got this.

  He moves the fabric to the side so he has a full view of my boobs. With his hand not occupied by the knife, he grabs a handful and squeezes hard. I try not to wince and fail. He smiles, knowing he got a reaction out of me. He lightly runs his fingers down my stomach, stopping at the edge of my panties. He cuts them off before climbing off the bed. He takes his jeans and boxers off in one move. I look up at the ceiling. I know what’s coming.

  Be strong.

  “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, baby. I know you missed this.” Ghost says as he climbs back over me. He pushes into me in one thrust. I gasp out in pain. I’m not wet and it feels like sandpaper.

  He grunts and groans with every thrust. Each one is a little more painful than the next. I clench my eyes shut and try to escape to a safe place in my mind. It works briefly. Tears escape my eyes, sliding down the side of my face. I feel his breath on my face right before he licks my tears off of my skin. A couple more thrusts and his teeth clamp down on my boob with his release. I scream out in pain, not able to help myself.

  With my eyes still closed, I feel his weight lift off of me. I feel his cum dripping out of me, leaving me feeling disgusting, dirty, and used. He undoes my restraints and I instantly curl into the fetal position, facing the wall.

  I feel broken. I hear him pull his pants on and leave the room. I stay lying in the same position— too sore to even think about moving. I think back to the dream I had. It had felt so real. Hawk told me to be strong. I feel anything but strong. I start sobbing and don’t stop until I fall asleep.

  Chapter Thirty-Six