Page 17 of Knuckles (Dragon Riders MC 4)
“I know,” I murmured.
“But you can’t do a damn thing without risking yourself without reinforcements. Sly and Ash are packing up as we speak. The front desk woman has confirmed an early morning check-in for them in exchange for paying double. They’ll be there in a couple of hours to—”
“That’s still not enough. I have to go after them. What if Ash can pull up the traffic camera—”
“Knuckles, you listen to me right now. Your head is clouded and so is your judgment. If you go galivanting off to try and save her, you’re going to get killed. End of story. Got it?”
I gnashed my teeth together. “You think so little of me, old friend.”
“I don’t think little of you. I just think more of Skeleton. We’ve underestimated him this entire way, so I think it’s time we take the cue. You go after him, I know damn good and well we’ll be finding your body as well as hers in a fucking ditch somewhere. All right?”
I closed my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I hear you.”
“Good. Now, like I said, Sly and Ash are due to check in in a couple of hours. Sly will be directly next to you, Ash on the other side of him. Once they get there, give Ash her phone. He can get into it and download everything she’s got on there so we can go through it. Maybe try to see what the hell’s been up her skirt all this time.”
I growled. “Don’t you talk about her like that.”
“And you stand down. That’s an order.”
I licked my lips. “Fine.”
“Good. Now, go outside and see if there’s anything else you can find. Particles, hair, more scuff marks. Anything that we can use to figure out the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of this all.”
“I already know who and why.”
“I mean who exactly and why exactly.”
“I know that, too.”
He paused. “Do I need to pull you from this operation?”
I shook my head. “Not a fat chance in hell.”
“Then, shut up and do as I’m asking you. Like I said, that’s a fucking. Order.”
I ground my teeth together. “Got it.”
“Mass copy all of us in the crew with anything else you find. In a text.”
I stood by the window. “Yep.”
“And don’t do anything stupid.”
I crossed my fingers behind my back. “You got it, Bowser.”
“Good.”
The second he hung up the phone, I gathered my things. I sure as hell wasn’t sitting around while Sly and Ash made their way here. The woman I loved wasn’t safe, and it was my fault. I wasn’t stern enough with her. I wasn’t direct enough. And I had slipped in just about every way possible trying to give her what she needed while on this damn trip. I only had myself to blame, which meant only I could be the one to fix it.
So, with my guns and my knives, and a few Dr. Peppers for the road, I disobeyed a direct over from my vice president.
I slung my leg over my bike, slid my helmet over my face, and said a small prayer before I tore out of that motel parking lot. Following the scuff marks on the road as they continued to pop up.
Hoping with every shred of dignity left in my body that I’d get to Simone before Death did.8SimoneI tried my best to keep the food down in my stomach as the car squealed around turns and took random exits off the highway. I had no idea where we were or how long we’d been in the car, but once I grabbed a look at the clock at the front of the car, I saw that it was damn near three in the morning. Holy shit, when the hell was I taken? I went to reach for my phone slowly, but when I slid my hand into my dress to search for it, my face paled.
My phone wasn’t there.
Damn it. Of course, it isn’t.
I was scared. Fearful for my life. And it took a lot to get me to that point. I was upset with myself, though, that I let myself get taken right outside that damn room. I still wasn't sure how I hadn’t heard their car approach. Just the closing of the door, then the car squealing to a stop before they tossed me into the back. I’d had a rough childhood growing up with JayJay and because of that, he taught me how to defend myself from a very young age. From the time I was seven until the time I was seventeen, JayJay taught me how to fight. How to wrestle. Even how to shoot a gun and wield a knife. And I’d kept up those classes all throughout community college. Hell, I even roped my best friend, Janie, into self-defense and martial arts classes with me!
So, for someone to get the jump on me and me not have enough time to react?
