Bodie lifted Savage and ran out the back door as I pulled Bess into my arms. “Is the blood from Savage?”
“I-I think so,” she stammered.
“Hey, I’ve got you. I’m gonna take care of this.” I stood up, holding her close against my side.
Bess was shivering and I knew she was about to lose it. “Jayce.”
“I know, baby. I swear to you. I’ll find Noah. I just need to get you safe first. Okay?”
She nodded but I wasn’t sure she understood my words. Scooping under her knees, I lifted my ol’ lady and hugged her close. A quick kiss on her forehead and then I was running outside and over to her house.
“We’re gonna take your SUV.”
“Okay.”
I sped all the way to the Crossroads and skidded into the lot once the prospects opened the damn gate. Bess was in no condition to walk and I carried her in, walking into the common room as it grew completely silent. I let her legs fall as I stood next to one of the leather couches. She was so frightened I knew I would enjoy killing the man bold enough to come after my family.
“Hey,” I growled, cupping her face gently. “I love Noah too. His big brown eyes. Silly smile. All those nonstop questions and curiosity. He’s a son to me. I don’t have to tell you what it takes for me to say those words aloud.” Swallowing hard, I had to fight back tears. “I’m gettin’ our boy back. You feel me, little mama?”
The fear in her eyes unleased my Reaper. He stayed just out of sight, not wanting to overwhelm and push away our woman. She’d been through enough. His revelation needed to happen but not when she was ready to completely lose her shit.
“Jayce,” she whimpered, clutching at the leather of my cut. “Noah’s all I’ve got. He’s my whole world.”
“No, he’s not.” I tilted her face up, searching her eyes in desperation. She had to know what she meant to me. What they both did. “You got me, baby. You fuckin’ have every single bit of me. We’re in this together.”
A flicker of hope danced in her eyes and I held onto it like a life preserver.
My lips crashed down on Bess’s mouth and I took from her savagely, trying my best to pull all the anxiety, terror, uncertainty, and fear away from the woman I’d fallen for. The one I needed to protect because she was mine. I would take every ounce of her pain if I could. Erase all the bad and replace it with good. Hell, I’d give up almost anything for a chance to be a family with my Bess and Noah.
“I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Coming from a woman who’d been abused for nearly a decade, that was saying something.
“I’ll bring him back to you. I swear it,” I promised, leaning back. Taking her hand, I led her over to Shadow and Toad. Those prospects would give their life to keep her safe in my absence. “Protect her. Not one hair on her head.”
Toad croaked his understanding at the same time Shadow nodded. “With our lives.”
“You’ll be safe here. I can’t stay. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
My lips pressed to hers one more time and I ran from the Crossroads, vaguely aware that half the club was waiting for me on their hogs.
“Where to?” Grim asked, his expression fierce.
“My house. I want to search both properties and see what we can find.”
Grim lifted a finger in the air and made a circle, signaling we were heading out. He led the way and I followed, speeding through the gate.
My head wasn’t in a great place. I was close to completely losing my shit. Flashbacks from Colter’s death kept trying to surface and I didn’t want those images in my head. I didn’t want to linger on the phone call that changed my life forever or the moment when I had to identify his body. That cold slab with his battered body from the accident still haunted my dreams.
I wasn’t losing another son. Never again.
Not my little squeaker.
Fury rose to the surface and my Reaper burst free, flames licked up the sides of my Harley and I knew I was one with the ruthless bastard who wanted revenge as much as I did. Snow melted as soon as the flakes hit my bike, sizzling in the cold air. Steam rose up off the metal and my body. My upper lip curled into a snarl.
“I’m coming for you, you sick fuck. You’re going straight to hell.”
The entire city seemed abandoned since the storm hit and that was perfect.