Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 32646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
I barely remembered the drive back to the clubhouse. All I knew was that one moment, I was sliding into the truck, and the next, Shaw was leading me into the chapel. Blakely walked in and set a mug of coffee in front of me without a word. And when I sipped it, I coughed, surprised by the amount of Kahlua she’d poured into the drink.
“Drink it,” Arlo ordered, his tone gentle but forceful all at once. “You’re as white as a ghost, Cam.”
I lifted the mug to my lips again, downing the somewhat cooled coffee in three gulps. Jax snorted in amusement, leaning back in his chair, his bulky arms crossed over his chest. Konrad entered the room last, shutting the door behind him before taking his seat at the table.
“Anatoly is on the line,” Konrad announced, setting his burner phone on the table.
“Not like you to want anything to do with him,” I muttered. I was itching for a fight, and I was hoping Konrad would give it to me. He was the easiest to rile up these days, and all this pent-up energy needed to go somewhere. I needed a fucking outlet.
“This is bigger than my hatred of the man,” Konrad told me calmly. “Your woman is missing.”
I just kept my mouth shut. I could tell when Konrad was going to be an unmovable wall, and today was one of those days.
Because of fucking course, it was.
“We’re all here,” Shaw told Anatoly.
“I have men looking for any news of her as we speak,” Anatoly began, cutting straight to the chase. I tightened my hands around the empty mug, staring down into it as if it held the answers of Abbie’s whereabouts. “All I know so far is that she was sent out on a call with Trent to check out a suspicious vehicle—a white van with no plates and no markings.” My gut cramped. I was pretty sure I was about to be sick. Not much bothered me anymore, but knowing she was probably alone and scared somewhere, thinking no one was coming for her, fucking tore my insides to shreds.
“Vehicle is gone. Cruiser was left where it was parked. Partner was dumped three miles away from the vehicle, beaten unconscious. Spleen ruptured. Brain bleed. Two broken legs. Stab wounds in the back.”
Christ.
“That kind of beating is personal,” Jax spoke up. “There’s anger behind that.”
Beside me, Konrad nodded in agreement. “Multiple stab wounds? Breaking bones? Yeah, Jax is right—there’s a message in that,” Konrad rumbled in agreement.
I jerked back from my chair, the mug clattering to the floor when I yanked my hands away from it. It broke into two pieces. Everyone watched me, but I just paced back and forth on the side of the table I’d been sitting at, my mind spinning.
Multiple stab wounds. Broken legs—didn’t want him to wake up and run, obviously, which meant they wanted him found. But by who? And dumping him away from the cruiser—that meant he couldn’t call for help if he woke up.
“Did Trent have his radio on him?” I asked, stopping to stare at the phone.
“No,” Anatoly said after a moment. “Cell phone and radio were gone.”
“They didn’t want him calling for help if he woke up,” I said. “They wanted him to be found.” I looked at Shaw, then Konrad. “Do you think this is retaliation against us? If someone had eyes on me and Abbie, then they would’ve seen I was somewhat nice to Trent. Could even be considered friends if someone was just watching us.”
Ace looked up at me. “Makes sense.” He looked at Shaw, then at the phone. “Where exactly was Trent found at?”
“Out on Old Washington Road,” Anatoly said after a brief pause, more than likely checking his information.
I cursed, looking at Shaw. “I take that route from Arlo’s when I work on his books. I like the scenery. It’s quiet, peaceful.” My gut churned. Vomit rose in my throat. I barely managed to swallow it back down. “They were targeted because of me.” I gripped the back of my chair, my knuckles white, my nails biting into the leather. “Abbie was taken because of me.”
CHAPTER TEN
Abbie
My head was pounding so badly, nausea swirled in my gut. Vomit rose in my throat, and I just managed to turn my head to the side in time to throw up so I wouldn’t choke on my own sick. The table beneath me was cold and sterile, and shivers began to wrack through my body when air conditioning suddenly blasted over my—
Bare skin.
I was naked.
Why the fuck was I naked?
My heart slammed against my breastbone, fear swamping me so quickly, I drowned in it. I choked on my next breath of air, trying to move, trying to get the fuck off this table and get the hell away from wherever it was I was at, but it was hopeless.