Los Angeles a few months ago stepped up beside him. Submissive Vivian placed several steaming mugs of coffee on the bar under her Dominant’s watchful eye.
“Our hearts are breaking for what’s happened to Raine, Sirs,” Vivian offered. “If there’s anything Master Donald and I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Hammer forced a tender smile for the older couple. They were a genuinely warm-hearted pair whose children were grown and gone. Donald often took on the role of DM when Hammer found himself shorthanded, and Vivian watched over the unattached subs like a mother hen.
“Thank you. We appreciate that,” Liam replied.
“If you guys want to look for Raine, I can hold down the fort here,” Donald offered.
“Thanks, man.” Hammer slapped the older Dom on the shoulder. “Honestly, if I had a fucking clue where to look, I’d take you up on that.”
Hammer sucked in a deep breath, then took a sip of coffee. It tasted good…but it definitely wasn’t Raine’s. At the thought, he fought another wave of hopelessness that threatened to swallow him whole.
Suddenly, Dean poked his head around the corner. “O’Neill, your wife is here?”
Hammer heard more than a little steel in that question, as if the Dom wondered how Liam could be married but pursuing Raine.
Beside him, Liam groaned at Dean. “Ex-wife. I don’t want her here.”
But it was too late. Gwyneth struggled through the portal, rolling her suitcase and balancing the playpen on top with one hand. She schlepped Kyle awkwardly in the car seat with the other. A diaper bag weighed down her left shoulder, her purse the right. Hammer was fairly certain the bitch had never carried her own luggage in her life.
“Bloody fucking hell,” Liam groused as he stood.
Hammer also stood, narrowing his eyes on the viper as Liam took the car seat from her and made his way toward his stool, propping the baby up beside him. Gwyneth scurried over, looking flushed and anxious.
Instantly, Vivian smiled and began cooing at Kyle. The little tyke responded, kicking his feet as a wide, drooling grin spread across his cherubic face.
Gwyneth dropped the playpen, purse, and diaper bag on the floor, then leaned over her suitcase with a weary sigh. Liam gripped her elbow and hauled her to a quiet corner at the back of the bar. Hammer followed, his temper rising with each step.
“I don’t have time for you, Gwyneth,” Liam insisted. “As you can see, we’ve got a situation here…”
“I-I need to talk to you.” She darted a nervous glance at Hammer, then focused on Liam again. “It’s urgent. About Raine.”
She whispered as if trying to keep Hammer from hearing.
“What about Raine?” Liam sounded at the end of his rope.
Macen’s gut tightened. The concern she’d voiced before they’d passed out in Liam’s bed a few hours ago screamed through Hammer’s head. So she was just going to give up? She hijacked a baby, falsified birth records, came up with a whopper of a lie, and… I don’t see her quitting. It’s a huge fortune.
If Raine had been right, then it was possible Gwyneth had come to the club to play her last, desperate card. Since he couldn’t think of any active way to help Raine right now, Hammer had every intention of making Liam’s ex-wife tip her hand.
“Spill it,” Macen hissed.
“This is between Liam and me.” Gwyneth glared at him. “And I’m not speaking to you. I haven’t forgiven you for what you did to me earlier.”
“You mean what I didn’t do to you,” Hammer sneered.
“Can we talk somewhere privately?” Her haughty tone made Macen want to punch something, preferably her face. Ignoring him altogether, Gwyneth sent her ex-husband a pleading stare.
“Hammer’s office,” Liam barked.
Without waiting for her to reply, he turned and dragged her through the bar and down the hallway.
“Vivian.” Hammer glanced over his shoulder. “Would you please keep an eye on the baby? His name is Kyle.” At least I think it is.
“Really, Sir? Oh, I’d be happy to. I love babies.” She smiled before turning her attention back to the squealing boy, making ridiculous noises at him.
Too bad you weren’t in town when Pike was pulling out his hair.
Hammer watched Liam drag Gwyneth into the office. Stepping in behind them, Macen closed the door, blocking her only exit as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Tell me what you have to say,” Liam spat. “And be quick. I won’t tolerate any more of your games.” When she slanted Hammer a sideways glance, Liam added, “Anything you say to me about Raine, you can tell Hammer.”
Macen didn’t think he could feel much joy today, but if Liam put Gwyneth in her place, he’d sure try.
Her mouth opened, then closed like a landed trout. “I came to tell you something dreadful.”
“You’re pregnant with twins this time?” Hammer asked wryly.
Gwyneth shot him an icy glare, then pinned Liam with a look of anguish. “My father died just after lunchtime in London. I received the call shortly after we left the hospital this morning.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Liam replied without an ounce of emotion.
“Thank you, but that’s not the reason I came to see you. I’ve made a mistake.”
Liam sighed loudly, then drilled her with an angry gaze. “You’ve made many.”
Hammer nearly seized her and shook the words from her throat. “What does this have to do with Raine?”
“Bill Kendall has her,” she blurted out.
As soon as Gwyneth’s words registered in his brain, Hammer knew the bitch was involved. The ice freezing his veins since he’d discovered Raine missing now blazed like lava.
He pushed off the door and lunged at Gwyneth, but Liam already had her pinned against the wall. His face burned with rage, but his eyes looked absolutely arctic. “How do you know that? Did you have something to do with Raine’s disappearance?”
Hammer stormed closer, glaring hard. “You’d better start talking. Do you know where Bill has taken her?”
Gwyneth gave a little cry of fear. “I didn’t plan for things to turn out the way they have. You must believe me.”
Liam waved away her pleas. “Where is she?”
“After you humiliated me, I was outraged that you could me treat me so callously. I was your wife.” She swallowed. “So I tracked the man down and offered him money.”
“I hurt your feelings so you wanted Raine dead?” Liam looked shocked, as if he’d never hated anyone more in his life.
Hammer seconded that emotion. “Tell us where to find her!”
She gaped at Liam. “Dead? I merely asked him to keep her away from you for a few days until we could fly to Vegas and get remarried. But now that my father is gone, it’s all moot.” She wrung her hands. “I didn’t think Raine’s own father would really hurt her.”
“You heard me berating the man in the car park because he beat her as a child and tried to rape her,” Liam spat with incredulous fury. “Did you think he meant to play cards with her? Take her to a fucking movie?”
“I was angry. It was impulsive. I’m sorry,” she screamed. “I’ve spent all morning phoning Bill, trying to stop him. I left messages telling him to disregard the whole scheme.”
“You stupid whore! A message isn’t going to stop that motherfucker,” Hammer thundered as he fought the urge to wrap his hands around Gwyneth’s throat.
“Well, I reached him more than an hour ago and tried to convince him to release Raine. He slurred his words. I could barely understand him.”
“Because he’s a violent drunk,” Hammer snarled. “Did you catch anything he said?”
Remorse tightened Gwyneth’s face. “I came to you because I didn’t know how what else to do. I’ve already paid Kendall fifty thousand dollars. He threatened bodily harm if I didn’t pay him the other fifty, which he wasn’t supposed to get until we came back from Vegas.”
“Raine would have be
en dead before we even left L.A.,” Liam hissed. “There’s a good chance he’s already killed her.”
“I offered him double to let her go,” she cried. “But he said that since he had her now, he planned on having himself quite the party.” Gwyneth looked at him with pleading green eyes. “I tried to call you earlier and tell you, Liam. You didn’t answer. I left a message and rushed over here… I never meant any harm.”
Hammer roared, then punched a hole through the drywall. Powder and plaster rained down to the floor as he thrust his fist in Gwyneth’s hair, squeezing until she let out a cry. “Tell us where Raine is. Now.”
At his deadly tone, more tears spilled down Gwyneth’s cheeks. “I believe at a warehouse near the airport. He had me meet him there early yesterday evening.” She trembled in fear. “I’m sorry, Liam, I—”
“Shut up,” he commanded, his tone ice cold. “The address?”
“I-I wrote it on a scrap of paper. It’s in my purse by the bar.”
Hammer released her, then plucked out his cell phone. He fired off a text to Beck, instructing him and Seth to be ready to roll.
“I want it now.” Liam grabbed her by the arm and hauled her out of the office. “And if Bill has harmed one hair on Raine’s head, the fucking universe won’t be big enough for you to hide from me.”
Gwyneth sobbed with each step. Hammer didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for her, only seething rage.
When they reached the bar, Vivian and Donald had taken Kyle out of his car seat and were playing happily with him at the far end. Beck and Seth stood, waiting and tense. No one spared more than a glance for Gwyneth, who quietly fell apart as she dug through her purse.
The second she handed the paper to him, Liam punched the address into his phone. “Less than ten minutes away, maybe more with traffic.”
Still, they had a lead. Fresh hope rolled through Hammer. He leaned closer to Beck and Seth, careful to keep his voice down. “Gwyneth might know where to find Raine. If she’s there, let’s rescue her. You ready?”
“Y-you’re not going to tell the police?” Gwyneth asked.
“Not yet.” Liam knew he and Hammer both intended to silence Bill, once and for all. “And you’re coming along to show us exactly where he’s hiding Raine.”
“But it sounds dangerous.” She shuddered.
Beck sent her a mocking brow. “Oh, boo hoo.”
Seth held up his hands. “We need to leave someone behind to coordinate with the police in case they have questions or find anything.”
Hammer and Liam exchanged a glance, then looked Seth’s way. “Will you do it? And ask Vivian to watch the baby while we’re gone?”
“On it.” Seth nodded. “Go.”
“But…Kitty and George are expecting Kyle and me to meet them at the airport in two hours,” Gwyneth protested.
Hammer snatched paper and pen off the bar, then shoved them at Gwyneth. “Write down your sister’s cell number. Seth can call Kitty and tell her where to pick up the boy. You are coming with us. That’s nonnegotiable.”
Hammer watched her fingers tremble as she wrote. Every second they spent at Shadows left Raine at Bill’s nonexistent mercy.
When Gwyneth finished, she set the pad and paper down.
Hammer shoved the number at Seth. “We’re out.”
“What will you do about Bill if you find him?” Seth arched a brow.
“You know the answer to that,” Hammer snarled.
Seth sent him a long stare. “Liam, why don’t you and Beck take Gwyneth to the car?”
“We’ll load up in my SUV.” Liam dragged his ex-wife toward the door. “Come on. No more theatrics, do you understand me? Or I’ll turn you over to the police now. You’ll go to jail.”
“And you’ll be forced to eat pussy instead of cock for the rest of your life,” Beck snarked.
Gwyneth’s nostrils flared as she pressed her lips together.
Hammer tossed Beck his car keys. “Get your medical bag from my trunk and bring it.”
“You got it,” Beck assured, helping Liam shepherd Gwyneth out of the club.
Once alone again, Seth stared Hammer down. “Listen, I’ve been thinking about this. What you’re suggesting is called premeditated murder. When it comes time for sentencing, it’ll be labeled first-degree, and that puts all of you on death row. Or merely life in prison, if you’re lucky.”
“Only if witnesses talk.” Hammer gritted his teeth. “And if Raine is gone, I don’t care.”
Seth cursed. “Call me when it’s over. If you need a cover story, I’ll help you with one since I’ve been a cop. If possible, we need everyone to be copacetic with the final version before you call 911.”
Hammer clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks.”
Inhaling a deep breath, he ran down the hall and toward the exit, slipping past the detective who had interrogated him earlier. He jogged to Liam’s SUV, then climbed into the passenger’s seat. In the back, Beck glared at Gwyneth, who looked pale and chastened.
The reporters swarmed the vehicle as they tried to leave the club’s lot. Thankfully, the cops waved them on. Liam hit the gas.
As they pulled away, Hammer closed his eyes. An image of Juliet, lifeless and limp, flashed through his head. Her face morphed into Raine’s, and Hammer clenched his jaw to hold in his despair. She couldn’t be dead, too. He prayed they would reach the warehouse in time to save their precious Raine. If they didn’t…Hammer would be grateful to have Liam at his side this time. But he wasn’t sure he could get through the rest of this life without her.
* * *
“Wake up, slut.”
The voice penetrated Raine’s haze, but she couldn’t place it. A sharp pain to her ribs shot her up through layers of consciousness. Gasping to absorb the agony, she tried to roll away, protect her side.
Instead, Raine found herself pinned and unable to move.
Exhaustion weighed down every muscle. She groaned and forced her eyes open. A corrugated metal ceiling hung high above her, dark with rust. The dim lighting, strung from the iron crossbeams, cast an anemic beam over the yellowing walls. She shivered. Where was she? Why was it so cold? Why couldn’t she move?
“About time you came around,” slurred a voice Raine had hoped never to hear again.
She managed to turn her head and found Bill standing over her, clutching a bottle of gin. He drew his foot back menacingly as if he anticipated the chance to strike her ribs with his boot again.
When Raine saw his face, her blood ran cold. She struggled to sit up, get up—anything to flee him.
Her father took a swig from his bottle. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ve got you all spread out and ready. I even tied you down properly, just like Master Pervert. I’ve waited a long time for this.”
Glancing down her body, Raine took in her dirty clothes, the heavy metal-framed cot on which she lay a few inches from the ground, the thick, scratchy rope he’d used to bind her wrists and ankles to the corners.
Around her, the empty warehouse looked stark and lifeless. Past her feet, she could see Bill’s red truck. Beyond the vehicle, she spotted two doors. No windows, just a pair of skylights that filtered in an orangey hue and told her that dawn was breaking.
A plane flew overhead, its engines screaming in a deafening roar, as if it had just taken off nearby.
Oh, god… Where was she? Why had Bill brought her here? To repay her for thwarting him, for running away, for punching him—and any other reason he thought she deserved his wrath. And she didn’t have any illusions. He wouldn’t leave her alive to tell the police.
She wanted to hope that someone could find her, but if she had