A few seconds later I could hear Ilara’s voice. “What is it, Bear?”
“He has my daughter! Todd Hamilton kidnapped my fucking daughter,” he whispered.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Bear. Oh God, it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t involved you, if I hadn’t stayed here, none of this would have happened. I should have gone with him that day in the courtyard. He’s doing this to punish you for protecting me,” she sobbed.
“Tell us what you’re planning to do, Outlaw. Any idea where he took her?” Bear asked brokenly.
“No, but I’m going to head back to the compound and tap into some of the cameras around town to see if I can find out. Bear, I know you want to handle this, but you need to let me. Ilara and Hope need you there. I’ll find her. As soon as I know something, I’ll call you.”
Ilara said, “No, you go and find her. We’ll be fine here with Tiger and Thorn. Tarin needs you more. You have to find her. Before he…” she broke off sobbing again. She had to be remembering him raping her. I fought not to throw up. He could be doing the same thing to Tarin.
“Baby, we won’t stop until we find her. I promise. Outlaw, you get back to the compound. I’ll be there soon.”
I told him a quick goodbye then hung up. I swung on my bike and raced back to the compound. I had to find her. And when I did, it would be a race to see who killed Todd Hamilton first, me or Bear.
Tarin:
My head was killing me. As I cracked open my eyes to see what time it was, everything started to come back to me. I had been woken up from a dead sleep by the door of my hotel room coming open. At first, I thought I was merely dreaming, because I had the safety bar hooked. By the time I realized I was wrong, a dark shadow had already slipped into my bedroom. I couldn’t see who it was, but from the size of the shadow, I knew it had to be a man.
I scrambled to get out of bed and into the bathroom where I could lock the door, but I never made it. Before I was halfway across the room, I was tackled from behind. I hit the floor hard, which knocked the breath out of me. I gasped, trying to pull air into my lungs. As I felt the prick of something sharp going into my arm, I heard a male voice laugh. “Let’s see what he does now that I have you.” I remember getting woozy and then that’s it.
I looked around now to see if I knew where I was. The cold told me I wasn’t in my hotel room. The light around the edge of the old curtains told me it was now daylight. The room looked like an old living room. There was an old, moth-eaten couch in one corner and a broken-down chair across from it. The faded floral print was from another decade. I tried to turn and realized I was tied to a wooden chair sitting in the middle of the room. The walls had peeling wallpaper on them and the floor had cracked and broken linoleum. A musty smell permeated the whole room. Where the hell was I?
Suddenly, the door off to the right opened and in walked a man I’d never seen before. He was around six feet tall, with a paunchy middle. His hair was graying and thinning. I would guess him to be in his forties. When he saw that I was awake, he came over to stand in front of me. He had a smile on his face that made my skin crawl. If I could have moved, I would have stepped away from him.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Sleeping Beauty. I was wondering if you’d ever wake up. I was afraid I might have given you too much. That would have been a pity. Do you have any idea who I am?” He sounded like he expected me to know.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t. Why am I here? Who are you?”
A slightly angry look came over his face. He narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t lie. I know they had to have told you about me.”
“Who are they? Listen, I think you have me confused with someone else.”
“They… Ilara and that biker she’s sleeping with! Don’t pretend like they didn’t tell you about me.”
“They didn’t. Again, who are you? Why should I know you?”
I could tell me not recognizing him was pissing him off. He paced around in front of me. “I’m Todd Hamilton. I’m Ilara’s boyfriend and Hope’s father.”
Ilara’s boyfriend? I hadn’t heard anything about an old boyfriend or Hope’s father. If he was telling the truth, something told me, I didn’t want to know him. Even if he hadn’t knocked me out with some drug and kidnapped me in the middle of the damn night. I tried to picture Ilara with this man. I wasn’t seeing it.
“Ilara’s boyfriend? I think you’re confused. Ilara’s boyfriend is Bear. He’s part of the Archangel’s Warriors MC. If I were you, I’d let me go and then get the hell out of town. When Bear and his club brothers find you, they’re going to kill you,” I warned him. I was trying to see if I could get my wrists loose. It didn’t feel like it. He had them tied pretty tight.
“Bear! I’m not afraid of Bear! As soon as I call and tell him that I have you, he’ll give me Ilara and Hope. There’s no way he’ll keep them. You’re his daughter.” He laughed. It made him sound insane. Shit, he knew Bear was my dad. I’d hoped he wouldn’t have known and just grabbed me because he’d seen me with them. I needed to convince him Bear wouldn’t trade me for them.
“Bear is my father, but I just met him. He’s not going to trade them for me. He barely knows me. He has no feelings for me. He loves them.” I tried to convince him, which I wasn’t sure what I was saying was a lie. Bear had said he wanted me in his life, but he didn’t say he cared for me. However, if it came down to me with this nutcase or Ilara and little Hope, I’d take my chances. No way would I let him get his hands on them, especially Hope. I’d die before letting a monster like this near that little girl.
Suddenly, he was in my face. His eyes were crazed as he screamed at me. Spit sprayed my face. “He will! He will! If he doesn’t, he’ll get you back in pieces. Though, he’s not going to get you back the way he thinks, even if he does make the trade. He has to pay for daring to touch what’s mine. I’ll send you to him in pieces anyway.” He laughed.
I tried not to let him see the fear on my face. I was staring at death and something told me, he’d do more than kill me. I swallowed down the bile that was creeping up the back of my throat and remained silent. A slap across my face took me by surprise. “Listen to me, bitch! Did you hear what I said? I’m sending you back in pieces, but not before we have some fun. You’re so beautiful. I need a little taste of you first.”
His hand squeezed my right breast. I fought not to struggle, vomit, or scream. I hated his hands anywhere on my body. He squeezed the other one and then cupped his hands between my legs. He pressed against me and rubbed. When he moved away, he had a satisfied look on his face.
“You’ll have to wait until I come back for us to have some fun. First, I need to go to town and place a call. I need to let Daddy know I have his little girl and if he doesn’t give my daughter and her mother back, he won’t get you back. Jokes on him, I don’t intend to keep my end of the deal.” He laughed like the insane person he was, as he adjusted himself in his pants and then walked out of the room.
What the hell could I do? He would be back. I was tied securely, and he was going to rape and then kill me, even if Bear said he’d make a trade. I jerked and fought against the restraints. There was no give in them. I still felt out of it from whatever drug he gave me. I wasn’t even sure I could walk if I did get loose. I hung my head and let the tears fall. This was how my life was going to end. I prayed, at least don’t let them even think of giving them up for me. I wanted my dad to be happy and Ilara and Hope would give him that. No one needed me.