Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
The driver peels away and I wiggle against his tight hold, slamming my foot into his leg.
“Control her,” the driver says.
“You’re a handful,” Warner says, right before placing a rag over my face.
Everything fades to black.
Chapter 10
Ruin
* * *
“Heard a commotion,” Felix says, walking by with a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth.
“Yeah, Dakota left. She’s upset because I won’t tell her my feelings or some shit.”
Felix offers me a cigarette. “Is it feelings? Or is it some shit?”
“Huh?” I light my cigarette and take a long pull, letting the nicotine fill my lungs.
“Was it because you wouldn’t share your feelings or something else?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter. She’s still gone all the same.”
He thinks about what I’ve said, flicking the ashes from his cigarette. “She doesn’t have to be gone.”
I roll my tense shoulders when I realize he’s not going to drop the subject. “She’s mad because I didn’t tell her about Warner. I can’t let her know that piece of shit killed my father and now I’m hunting him.”
Felix drops his cigarette to the ground and stamps it out with his steel-toe boot. “Maybe she’s the type of woman who is better not being left in the dark.”
I open my mouth to protest, but he holds up a hand. “Let me finish. There are some women in the world who are happy not knowing the inner workings of their men. They trust the man to make all the decisions. There are other women who want in on the decisions. They want to know everything.”
“Cause they don’t trust.”
“No, I’m not saying that. I’m not saying either woman is better than the other. Just different. And you need to adjust yourself accordingly.”
“I think she’s better off if she stays out of it. I don’t want her knowing about what we do. What I do.”
He narrows his eyes. “Why? You think she’d be ashamed?”
I shrug, stubbing out my cigarette. “I guess. I don’t know.”
Felix smiles, his bushy mustache hiking up at the ends. “You’re an idiot, then. That woman is already one-hundred percent in love with you.”
“I love her too,” I say, no longer afraid of the emotions.
“Then you better hop on your bike and go after her.”
He’s right.
“Thanks, man.” Before I walk away, my expression grows serious. “I found him.”
“Warner?”
“Yeah, can we get the guys together tomorrow to come up with a plan?”
“First thing. You’ve got my number. We’re always ready.”
I drop my hand on his shoulder. “Thanks. You’ve been a great friend. A great brother.”
He shrugs off my grip. “Go get your fucking girl and stop with all this mushy shit.”
I give him the finger as I walk over to my bike parked next to my cabin. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I fire up my Harley’s engine and peel out of the parking lot. I don’t even know what I’m going to say to her, but I know I need her so the words will come.
I’ve never needed anyone this badly in all my life. If she wants me to tell her everything, then I will. I don’t know why I didn’t in the first place.
I should be open with her.
If she needs this from me, then I can gladly deliver.
The dusty wind slaps my face as I speed down the dirt path. A sense of dread washes over me when I spot Dakota’s SUV on the side of the road.
Car trouble?
I slow and park my bike. It’s then I notice the smashed driver’s side window.
“Dakota,” I holler into the stillness, racing over to her vehicle. It’s empty.
There’s no sign of her anywhere. I search the perimeter, shouting her name, but nothing. Fuck. Panic seeps in my bones, and I snatch my phone from my back pocket, putting in a call to her. It rings and rings. My next call is to Felix. I relay the info about Dakota and head the mile or so back to the complex.
Someone abducted her and my gut says it is Warner. He saw how important she was to me at dinner. There’s no question in my mind he’s taken her.
I fly like the wind, pulling up to the same spot Felix and I were standing not more than twenty minutes ago.
Yet, this time the lot isn’t empty, it’s full of my brothers.
My friends.
The men who will help me get Dakota back and take down Warner once and for all.
“We need to find out where he’s taken her,” I say to the men as soon as I bring my bike to a stop. “Like right the fuck now.”
“Warner’s got a few new construction projects on the east side of town, we should start there,” Crank says.
“A few of you should check his rental house. The rest of us will head out to the job site.”
Crank nods, pointing to Buffalo and Hawk and the three of them ride off toward downtown.