The clubhouse was five miles from my father’s house, just on the outskirts of town. By mile three, I’d broken one of my heels, and I cursed the delay as I had to stop and kick them both off. I barely noticed the gravel and God only knew what else that sliced through my socks, tearing the bottoms of my feet to shreds.
It was at mile four that my heart nearly stopped. I could smell smoke in the distance. I froze, unable to run, barely able to stand as Royce’s words came back to haunt me.
The sheriff said there was nothing but bones left when he got there.
No!
“Rory!”
My head shot around at the sound of my name being called. No one but Matt and his family and friends called me Rory, but it was the name I had given myself the night I met Matt Reid for the first time three years ago. I saw a black SUV stopped on the other side of the road, heading away from the clubhouse. I recognized the brunette behind the wheel almost immediately. Willa Masterson waved her hand out the window, and I rushed across the road to get to her.
“Is he okay?” I sobbed, taking in her tearstained face and swollen, bloodshot eyes. “Tell me he’s okay.”
Willa’s hands covered mine as they gripped the window. “There was a bomb in Matt’s truck.” The bile was rising again, and I nearly bent in half as it threatened to erupt, but thankfully, it stayed down. “Tanner and Warden were in it, and…and…” She broke off as a sob escaped her. “They’re both gone.”
Warring emotions flooded through me. Relief that she hadn’t said Matt made my knees weak, and I sagged against her vehicle as the tears poured down my face faster.
Tanner, oh God, not Tanner!
My heart hurt all over again, and all I could think about was getting to Matt. Of holding him and telling him how much I loved him.
“Where is he now?” I whispered as I lifted my head again.
“He’s back at the clubhouse. Bash and James had to lock him in his room. He was tearing the place apart and scaring all the kids. I was actually on my way to get you.” She grimaced. “I figured it was better if I showed up at your house rather than Raven. As torn up as she is right now, she was liable to punch your father in the balls and get arrested.”
“I just heard my dad talking to the DA. They were fucking laughing about it.” It had been the final straw for me. That he could laugh at the loss of a life—any life—like that sickened me. That it could have been Matt tore apart something vital in my heart. My father said he hated the MC because they were criminals and evil, but to me, he was the evil one.
“Get in. We have to get back to the clubhouse. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, and if James finds me gone, there will be an even more dangerous explosion.”
I didn’t have to be told twice. I limped around the front of the SUV and climbed into the front passenger seat. Willa didn’t waste time, making a sharp U-turn then and there, causing a driver in a passing truck to blare his horn at her. She shot him the middle finger out her window and punched her foot down on the gas.
“What happened?” I whispered.
“I don’t know, sweetie,” she said as she sniffed and scrubbed a hand over her still damp cheeks. “I heard James and Bash mention the Italians, but that’s all I caught. They like playing with explosives, and Lord knows things have only gotten tenser between them lately.”
She might as well have been speaking another language because I didn’t understand a single thing she was talking about. I didn’t know who the Italians were or why there would be tension between them and the MC, but right then, I wanted them dead. Vaguely, I remembered Royce saying something about some guy named Santino and then a senator, but my brain couldn’t connect the dots at the moment.
The clubhouse came into view, a
nd the smell of smoke was nearly choking as Willa slowed down so she could make the turn into the clubhouse parking lot. First, she had to wait for someone to open the gates. The clubhouse was a refurbished old warehouse that had been there for as long as I could remember. The entire property was fenced in, making it look more like a compound than an MC clubhouse.
As soon as she drove through, I had my door open and was running toward the front door.
To my right, I could see a few firemen standing around the burned shell of what had once been Matt’s truck. The sheriff was also standing there, but when he spotted me, he stiffened, and I saw him lift his phone to his ear. I knew he was calling my father, but there wasn’t shit either of them could do about me being there. Unlike three years before, I wasn’t a minor, and they couldn’t force me to leave.
Inside, there were people everywhere, and I stopped in the middle of what was the living area. All the women were crying openly, the few children staying close to their mothers, making little whimpering sounds that tore at my heart. The men all had MC cuts on, their faces pale and drawn, but their eyes were haunted and full of a rage that scared the hell out of me.
“Where’s Matt?” I demanded of anyone willing to answer me.
Raven, beautiful even though her face was streaked with ash and tears, appeared out of the chaos of people crowded into the room. She took my hands in hers, and I felt how chilled her fingers were. “Rory, thanks for coming.”
“I would have been here sooner if I’d known what happened. I’m so sorry, Raven.”
“He’s—” She broke off and shook her blond head. “No one can reason with him, and we understand that. But he’s going to end up hurting himself or someone else. I didn’t know what to do except get you in hopes you can reach him.”
“Where is he?”
Still holding on to one of my hands, she pulled me through the crowd and down the hall to the bedrooms. I knew which one was his without Spider standing in front of the door. As we neared it, I could hear Matt screaming and something heavy crashing against a wall.