“KeepTheDogsAtBay”—Seether
The sky was barely starting to lighten when we reached the Jacksonville clubhouse. Bone weary, I wanted a hot shower, a bed, and to call Laila. Not necessarily in that order.
A soon as I was shown to the room I’d be sharing with Phoenix, I pulled out my phone. Three times I called Laila, but it kept going to voicemail.
“What the fuck?” I asked, staring at my phone like it was a foreign object.
Phoenix walked in, kicking his boots off. I glanced up, and he looked as ass-dragging as I was.
“Hawk said you need to call Venom.”
My guts tightened. “Did he say why?”
“No, he called to give him the rundown, and as soon as he ended the call, he told me to tell you to contact Venom ASAP, so here I am.” He shrugged, then fell back on the bed. “No spooning tonight. I’m tired, and you’ll make me sweat.”
“Dick,” I said with a half-hearted chuckle as I was already calling Venom.
“Ghost,” Venom said when he answered.
“Yeah, what’s up, boss man?” As soon as I finished with whatever he wanted, I would ask if Laila was still sleeping.
“Before you lose your shit, she’s okay.”
“Saying something like that is guaranteed to make me lose my shit,” I practically growled. “What the fuck happened?”
With each word of his explanation, my blood boiled hotter. Evidently, Voodoo had a vision of Reya betraying us. After that, Venom had Facet monitoring her phone and laptop. He found out Reya had overheard us saying that Luis was Laila’s father, and after we kicked her out, she found a way to reach him. She offered him Laila’s whereabouts for a big chunk of money.
“You’re sure he’s dead?” I asked. Not because I doubted them, but because I was hoping I could send him to hell myself.
“Positive.”
“What about Reya?” My teeth were grinding.
“No sign of her. Facet says it’s like she vanished. So either Luis killed her or she took the money, got a new identity, and ran. My money is on Luis. I can’t see him giving up a bunch of cash. Especially to some bitch that had been kicked out of the MC because she couldn’t be trusted. If she’d turn on us for a dime, she’d turn on him. Nope, he probably got the info, then made her disappear.”
What a shitshow.
“Fuck,” I muttered, and that word held more emotion than I cared to admit. The thought of something happening to Laila at this point in our lives, when we’d finally found each other again, ripped my soul to shreds. I owed Blade and Squirrel a debt of gratitude.
“Like I said, she’s fine. I got her calmed down, and she’s sleeping soundly. Cookie has checked on her a few times.”
“Jesus, don’t have Cookie checking on her. Have Willow do it,” I said as I pulled the hairband out and ran a frustrated hand through my tangled hair. Though Laila said she didn’t have a problem with Cookie, I knew there was still some jealousy.
“Yes, boss,” he said snidely. Immediately, I was chagrined.
“Sorry, Pres. Please have Willow check on her instead of Cookie.”
He chuckled. “I’m just fucking with you. Okay, I’ve been up all damn night, and I want to hold my woman before Kristin wakes up. Let your woman sleep. I’ll have her call you when she gets up.”
His baby girl was beautiful, but they’d been having a hard time keeping her on a schedule. Thankfully, Venom’s gram lived in a little guest house behind theirs, so she helped out a lot.
“Thanks, bro.”
“That’s what family is for,” he said before he hung up.
I might as well not have lain down, because I didn’t really sleep much. Before I knew it, Phoenix’s alarm was going off, and we were getting ready to head to the airport.
Eliska was waiting with a small bag at a table in the corner when we entered the common area. Despite her ordeal, she seemed prim and proper as she sat with her hands folded, staring at them. Creed, Reaper, and a prospect sat at their bar.