“Where’s Thunder?”
In the chaos, I’d forgotten Diesel had left Georgia and rode here to meet him. He hadn’t been far behind. No more than half a day. Probably the amount of time I spent on the fucking floor unconscious.
Stumbling, I took a couple of steps in his direction. “Ani. Thunder.” Swallowing hard, I didn’t hide my pain or worry. “They’ve been taken.”
The look on his face—I’d never forget it.
Agony that rivaled my own. Sorrow. A brief flash of fear. Then anger. The rage that followed matched my own.
“We find them. Now.”
“We’re leavin’,” Grim announced, ticking his head at Diesel.
One strong, mighty pres to another, they exchanged a look that said far more than words. Each club would protect the other, would support and ride this through to the end.
Three days. Three fucking days we searched. Rode hard. Spread out across neighboring states to find Thunder and Ani.
Pausing at a hotel outside of Nashville, Tennessee, I knew we were following the right path. I could feel us growing closer, bridging the gap. Cigarette in hand, I smoked in the cool breeze, hoping to hear more from the Reaper. Exhaustion tried to press in, but I wouldn’t give in. Not until I found my ol’ lady and my son.
Closing my eyes, I felt the Reaper reaching out, extending a hand as we waited for Thunder.
“Dio?”
Darkness closed in, and I felt my body hit the ground. Grim’s voice. Diesel yelling. Everything faded . . .
Thunder. He was here. My Reaper brought us together. Mind. Spirit. We connected.
Relief blew through my body. My boy was alive.
“I got you, little guy. I got you.”
“Dio,” he sobbed. “Rape! He’s hurting her.”
No! My Reaper roared, his agony so real I shook with it. I took deep breaths, desperate to fill my lungs. I felt his terror and pain, knowing he’d been physically struck. My boy!
I wrapped my protection and love around him, pushing it through our link.
Inhale . . . Exhale . . .
We breathed together like we did the night he dreamed of a fire. The same fire that happened only a short time later destroyed a building and several lives. A prophetic dream.
Heat began to rise inside me, filling us both up, increasing in temperature without burning, growing bigger and brighter until it glowed with a golden aura. That light surrounded us.
Despite the horror of Thunder and Ani’s capture and the unknown, we both eased.
Much calmer, sensing his general location. I knew I’d find my boy. Not long now.“Pleasing you, eases me.”
“Hello, Diablo.”
Not Dio. He knew the difference between the Reaper and me. Such a smart kid.
My Reaper answered,“Thunder,”in a deep rumble. In his hand, connecting us all together, a golden rope glowed. Extending from his wrist like a vein, it pulsed with promise.“Remember the shower.”A pause.“Remember how we took breaths together.”
Inhale . . . Exhale . . .
Thunder remembered.“Yes.”
The light between us flickered.