I didn’t know, but I vowed I would find out.
I slid out of bed and hopped in the shower. When I got out, I got dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and my cut, slipping on my white high-tops. I slid my gun into my cut and went out into the bar. I was fixing myself a cup of coffee when Lorenzo poked his head into the bar room. “We’re at the table, Cole.”
I nodded in way of acknowledgement. I walked into the chapel with my cup of coffee in my hand. Everyone was silent, looking down at the table. “What’s going on?” I asked, immediately catching on to the bad mood.
“Amelia rode out last night,” Luke informed. “She didn’t say anything to anyone. She didn’t even leave a note. And her phone was left on the bar.”
I slammed my cup onto the table, breaking it with the force. Coffee spilt everywhere, but I didn’t give a fuck. “What do you mean she fucking rode out last night?!” I roared. “How in the hell did she leave? I fucked up her bike on purpose yesterday so that she couldn’t!”
“We’re not sure,” Mom said. “She’s smart, though. It probably wasn’t hard for her to figure out a way.”
It hit me. I knew exactly how she fixed her bike. Not only that, but she killed two birds with one stone. She was always smarter than anyone gave her credit for.
I jogged out of the clubhouse and over to the bikes. Sure enough, my bike was missing parts. I sighed and sat on the ground, running my fingers through my hair. She had obviously made her decision. I never regretted anything in my life until then. I regretted ever saying those fucking words to her last night. I should have never even given her the option of leaving.
Fuck, I said a lot of stupid shit when I was pissed.
I got up and stormed inside, sending the doors to the chapel crashing against the walls. “I want her found!” I roared. “We ride out in fifteen minutes. We’re checking all of the charters and hotel rooms around. When I find her, her ass ismine.”
* * *
Amelia
I opened my eyes,but it was dark all around me. I couldn’t make anything out. My wrists and ankles were bound together by rope.
Where in the hell was I?
The last thing I remembered was leaving my phone on the bar. I was about to walk out to the garage when everything suddenly went dark. I couldn’t remember anything after that. What in the hell was going on?
A door opened, and I cringed away from the sunlight that filled the once dark space around me. When my eyes adjusted to the bright light, I looked around me. I had been thrown into a trunk. There was a dead body lying beside me.
And when I realized who it was, a blood-curdling scream ripped itself from my throat.
Heather was lying still beside me, her body pale, and when I let my arm brush against hers, her skin was ice-cold against mine. Blood covered her clothes, and the lower part of her was naked. Tears pooled in my eyes, and I choked back a sob.
“You should have listened to us when we told you that you couldn’t leave town, dear. Did you think we wouldn’t catch you fixing your bike so you could ride out in the middle of the night?”
I glared up into the ATL president’s eyes. His cold, dark eyes glared right back at me. I felt the fear seeping into my bones, but I channeled all that fear into anger. He had killed Heather; he killed a woman of the club. She was only sixteen; she hadn’t even had a chance to live yet!
“You deserve to burn in hell,” I spat at him.
He leaned forward and put his face next to mine. I recoiled and gagged at the scent of his breath. It smelled like weed, cigarettes, alcohol, and pussy all mixed into one. “Darling, when I’m done with you, you’ll be burning in hell with me.”
I couldn’t stop the fear from chilling my bones that time.
7
Three fucking days. I’d been gone for three goddamn days. I knew my misery was coming to an end soon because of his three-day rule. After the third day, which was today, he would either decide to kill me, or he would rape me, beat me, and leave me somewhere for someone in the club to find me.
For three days now, I’d been stuck in a room with Heather’s body. It smelled horrible, but the guilt I felt was ten times worse than dealing with the smell. I wanted to shut it all the fuck off, but I couldn’t—not when the reminder of the shit I’d dragged her into was right fucking next to me.
I glared at the ATL president when he stepped into the room. Without a word, he walked over and kneeled in front of me. I struggled against the cuffs that held me against the pipe in the floor, desperately wanting to get away from him. “I don’t want to kill you yet, love, because I need your people to get my message.”
He trailed his hand down my naked body. Swallowing vomit, I bit back the scream that was practically begging for release. I couldn’t cry, wouldn’t scream. I couldn’t show him that what he was doing to me was affecting me.
Damaging me.
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to fall into the welcoming, blissful darkness to help myself.