Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
I open it, and what I see rocks me to my very core.
My entire world starts to spin as I flick through photos, text messages, documents, emails, all from two people I never would have imagined could be involved in this. No. It can’t be possible, it simply can’t be possible. I feel sick to my stomach. My phone buzzes beside me, and I glance down to see Kendric on the other line. I have to warn him. I have to warn them all. Oh, god. If these two people are involved, then Steven knows we’re onto him.
They would have told him.
He knows.
Oh god.
He knows.
I have to get out of here. I close down the file and stand upright, answering the phone as I rush around the desk, heart racing, body thrumming with fear and panic. “Kendric,” I breathe as I slam my laptop shut and try to frantically shove it into the bag it was in. I need to get out of here, now. Right now.
“What’s wrong?” Kendric asks, hearing the fear in my voice.
“Steven knows I’m looking into him. He knows. I’m at his house. I’m trying to get out now.”
“How do you know he knows? Did he hurt you? Did he say something?”
“I know because I know who the rat is. The person feeding all this information. I know who it is, oh god. I need to get out of here.”
“Who is? Zariah, talk to me.”
“It’s ...”
Before I can finish my sentence, something hard is slammed over the back of my head. I fall to the floor and my phone skitters out of my hand and across the room. I cry out in pain and turn, only to be hit again, this time harder. My world starts spinning and everything begins to black in and out. I vaguely see Blanche standing above me, something hard in his hand. He looks down at me and growls, “You should have kept your nose out of this, Zariah.”
Then he hits me again.
And my world goes black.
18
KENDRIC
“Zariah!” I bark into the phone, yelling her name over and over.
She doesn’t answer.
“Zariah, fuckin’ answer me. Are you there?”
Nothing.
A crackle on the other end of the line alerts me to the fact that someone has picked it up. I go to call her name again when a male voice fills the other end of the line. “You won’t be seeing her again. You should have kept out of it.”
Then the line goes dead.
I throw my phone across the room, roaring in rage. Alarick comes busting in followed by Cohen and, the moment they see me, Alarick demands answers.
“He’s got Zariah.”
“Who?”
“Fuckin’ Blanche.”
Alarick’s face tightens. “Tell me what you know.”
“She called me. Said he knew. I asked her how he knew and she said because she found out who the fuckin’ rat was, and she knows now that person would have given him information. Then, she was fuckin’ gone.”
“Who the fuck is feedin’ information?” Alarick barks, his fists clenched.
“She didn’t fuckin’ get to tell me. We gotta get over there, right fuckin’ now.”
“You got the address still?” Cohen asks, grabbing a gun from the cabinet and shoving it into his jeans.
“Yeah,” Alarick confirms, taking two guns. “Let’s ride.”
We move quickly, just the three of us. We’ve been together the longest—I trust these two with my life. They’re not rats, I’d bet my ass on it. Everyone else, though. They need to be left out of this until we can confirm who is fucking doing this to the club. To our fucking family.
My chest clenches as we get on our bikes.
I think about Zariah and where the fuck that dick is taking her. He could take her anywhere and we might not find her. The chances of something going wrong are very fucking high. These people don’t want the club involved, and I’m afraid they’ll go to great lengths to keep us away from it, even if it means taking us all out one by fucking one.
She doesn’t deserve this, though.
I fucking let her down. I let her think I used her. Let her think I didn’t care. Truth is, I do fucking care. I care more than even I’m willing to admit. She does something to me, brings something out in me, and that scares me. It scares me because she could make or break me. I’m afraid of that. I’m afraid of going down for the rest of my life for something I didn’t do.
Fuck.
I should have corrected her when she thought I was using her.
Little does she know, fucking her was the best damn thing I’ve had in my life in a good long time. The way she took to me, wild and free, made everything fucking worthwhile. I held back, out of anger, spite, maybe even a little fucking hurt. I can’t do anything about that now. I gotta fix this. One way or another, I gotta fix this for her.