“Sure, we can go get the meat tomorrow morning. Have the Blossoms prepare some sides.”
“Shit, I haven’t got a kutte for Dakota.” I need to get her a kutte before some asshole thinks she’s easy pickings. Just thinking of any asshole touching her has my anger rising. There is no way she can be at that party if she hasn’t got my kutte on.
“I’ll make a call,” King states, which has me glancing over at him. “Also, I haven’t seen a car outside. Hasn’t she got one?”
“Not now,” I answer.
“She can drive one of the ones we use,” King suggests. “They already have a tracker and will help her feel more independent.” I nod. I was looking forward to taking her, and especially now knowing that her fucker of an ex is so close, I don’t want to let her out of my sight, but with everything going on, I need to concede.
“I’ll let her know,” I state.
“And, Hunter, she did really well with Fang. She will be a big asset to us,” King says, a tone of approval in his voice. It’s true; that is one thing we have always struggled with—none of us are medically inclined. When Dakota took over and started to help with Fang, I could see the approval in King’s and Gunner’s eyes. To say that I am proud of her would be an understatement, but it also makes me angry, because I know that a lot of that experience comes from her having to heal herself, and from what I’ve gathered, she had no one else to help her.
When we catch this guy, I will make him pay for what he did to her. The thought of any man being violent with a woman is abhorrent to me and to the others around me. Given half a chance, we would all string any guy up by his balls for mistreating a woman. That it was my mate makes it my duty and pleasure to mete out the punishment, and I know just what it will be.
“Okay, guys, let’s continue, or we will be here the whole night. You know the drill. Let’s go around the table and find out what’s happening with your cases, and then we can decide what we’re going to do with them.”
“After catching that crackhead last week, things have quietened down. There have been no signs of any movement in the area until now,” Dixon says.
“Goliath?” King asks.
“I nearly have Bruno where I want him. He’s starting to trust me, and I believe that soon, I will have the info we require to know who’s behind the abductions.” We believe that there is another party helping Hades MC abduct women, and Goliath has befriended a savoury character we are positive is involved in the abductions. We have been close to capturing them before but have never had someone on the inside who could give us details. We don’t want to just stop each abduction; we want to end it completely. Therefore, we need to know who the instigators are.
We continue around the table until everyone has reported, and then we decide on the way forward. Tomorrow is going to be the start of the war with Hades MC, but I have a feeling that they are not the only ones who will come out of this with casualties.
“I want you guys to be careful out there, more than normal. We all know this is just beginning, and we can’t afford to let our guard down,” King says before sending us all on our way. Walking out last, I look at all my brothers and wonder if we will still all be here at the end of this war.
DAKOTA 12
Making my way to work this morning has me on edge. I was given an SUV to drive to work after Hunter told me last night that Jason is near. All I want to do is continue driving and not look back, but just the thought has a vice closing around my heart. The thought of leaving Hunter chokes me, I don’t want Jason anywhere near here, but Hunter asked me to trust them that they would deal with him.
Parking the SUV, I look around. Now that I know he’s close, I won’t be able to concentrate. Every movement will have me jumping, worried that maybe he is there. I have been through this before, and even though Hunter says there are cameras watching the salon, and that they will be here within minutes, it still has my heart racing and my hands clammy.
“Hi, girl, how was your weekend?” Gloria asks as I walk in, her back to me as she stretches up to the shelf behind the counter.
“It was good. How about yours?” She brings down a gel and turns to me as she shakes her head.
“Oh no, don’t think I didn’t see the car you drove up in. Come on,” she says with a strained smile. I still think there was something between her and Hunter. There is just way too much stress between them when they meet. I try to blank out the thought, because just the idea of Hunter with another woman has me wanting to strangle her. Where does this come from? I’m not usually a violent person, but to think of Hunter kissing, holding, making love to another woman drives me crazy.
“Are you okay?” Gloria asks with a concerned look on her face when she sees my agitation.
“Well, to answer your first question, my weekend was good. I am now living at the Wolverine MC’s club.” I see her eyes widen in surprise. “But I must talk to you about something else now.” At my serious tone, Gloria frowns and nods her head. I can see her shoulders tense as she walks around the counter and comes to stand before me.
“What’s wrong, sugar?”
“Jason is close.”
Gloria looks at me intensely and then places a hand on my shoulder. “How do you know? Did he try to contact you somehow?”
“No, Hunter got one of the guys from the club to look into it, and he found that Jason is just a few miles away.”
“Oh dear, what are you going to do about it? Are you safe here?” Gloria steps around me and goes to look out the window at the still, quiet street.
“Yes, he still doesn’t know where I am, and Hunter said that they will sort it out and that I shouldn’t worry about it.”
“And aren’t you?” Gloria asks as she turns again to look at me. “Worried about it, that is?”
“I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t, but this weekend, I have met all the guys from the MC, and they are all willing to help me, and from what I have seen, they’re more than capable of handling Jason.”