I want to scream. I want to plead. I want every biker in here to tear him, my uncle, and even my father apart, limb from limb.
But I can’t do that. I don’t want anything bad to befall this club. The people that have only showed me kindness. The place that houses the men that Blaze calls his brothers. I remember all the other girls. The threats against them too, how Tara and so many others were rescued.
I never expected something as good as Blaze to happen to me. Maybe it’s not meant to be more than just the one night we shared. If my pain keeps everyone else here’s happiness going? It’s a small sacrifice.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
Victor laughs. He yanks me down off the stool, and urges me toward the door. Uncle Jericho is incredibly pleased with himself, and my father is too drunk to even know what’s going on.
I’m terrified of what this man has in store for me. If what he wants to do with me is even legal. For as much posturing he does as a lawyer, it’s pretty clear he doesn’t give a fuck about the law.
All I can think of as I’m marched out is Blaze.
I’m so sorry, Blaze. I'm so unbelievably sorry.
13
BLAZE
“They took Baylee.”
Scar’s words don’t seem real. I didn’t want to believe them. It sounds like a sick joke, but Scar is too practical to be a joker.
“The fuck do you mean, Scar?” I’m quiet, breathing deeply. Edge and I had gotten done at the garage, coming back to the club only to find the bar closed and our club president sitting at a table deep in thought.
“Her asshole uncle and dad showed up with some lawyer. He spouted a bunch of legal threats that sounded real and would destroy Wildfire. We were about to jump him anyway, but Baylee agreed to go with him.”
I pick up a chair. I throw it. It crashes against the wall, splintering. “Why didn’t you act faster? I trusted you with her.”
“We should have, Blaze. But you know me. I always think before I act. It’s both a strength and a weakness.”
Edge crosses his arms. “No point in letting Blaze destroy more furniture.” He’s infuriated right along with me, but Edge isn’t the one with a nickname synonymous with fire. Just like Scar, he can think things through.
“We’ll get her back, Blaze. That’s not a maybe, that’s a promise.”
“How did they even know she was here? Who’s the rat?”
Scar leans on his clenched hands. “She came back to the place they picked her up from last night. Doesn’t take a genius to guess where she went after a bunch of bikers showed up to ruin their fun.”
“Who told them she was here in the first place then? Baylee told me she came here to get away from them because she didn’t think they’d be able to find her here.”
“That’s... that’s a good question,” Scar nods.
I glare around the bar. Every member of the club is there. Hawk, Echo, Zebra, there’s not anyone missing, and I figure no one would be dumb enough to show his face here after betraying us all like this.
No. Wait, there is someone who isn’t here. “Where’s Capone?”
“The prospect? He was here a minute ago.”
“Just stepped out. Said he was going to take a ride to clear his thoughts,” Echo says.
Without another thought, I storm toward the club’s garage. Capone is there, helmet in hand, climbing on his bike. He doesn’t see me as I come and grab him by his pencil neck and slam him into the wall. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he pleads.
“Where’s Baylee?”
“I don’t know!”
“You told her prick of an uncle she was here yesterday, didn’t you?”
“What if I did?”
I clench his throat even tighter. “You’re still talking with your old gang, aren’t you? The one with connections to her uncle?”
He doesn’t respond verbally, just gags for air, but his eyes tell me that he knows the jig is up.
“You’re going to tell me where her uncle is now, or I’m going to keep squeezing your throat until you never need to breathe again.”
He nods so I ease up. “I will, I will, just let me down.”
I realize his feet aren’t even touching the ground, I had him jacked up against the wall so hard. I drop him, and he collapses into a mess. I look behind me and see Edge and Scar in wait, swinging the keys to their bikes. They were ready to ride with me as back-up, if I had any doubts.
I look down at our failed prospect as he coughs and gags for air. “You got two minutes to get us an address or I’m going back to strangling you, Capone.”
The address Capone came up with takes us to an apartment block in the shitty part of downtown. Just where you expect to find scum of the earth such as Jericho Adams.