CHAPTER ONE
– COLT –
My damn heart is racing and my lungs are screaming at me to stop acting as if I’m not out of breath. I definitely need to add more cardio to my workout. But I don’t plan to race around like the devil himself is chasing me all the time, that’s for sure.
“Hey, see Colt anywhere?” my VP, Roper, asks Ledger just as I sneak my way into the stables through the back door.
Ledger is about to reply but I make myself known as I step toward them, acting as if I was in the back the whole time.
“What’s up?” I casually ask, suppressing the need to gulp a few extra breaths of oxygen into my lungs.
Roper narrows his eyes. “What did you do?”
Observant asshole. I’m not ready for him to know about my plan yet. The only one who knows what the fuck I’ve been up to is Alfie. And he agreed we need to keep it between us for now.
I hold Roper’s stare and simply shrug. “Nothing. I’ve been in the back cleaning, while Ledger here took his time getting his horse ready. Oh, and I also rushed home to grab my phone, but that’s it…been right here the whole time. What’s going on?”
I’m lying straight through my teeth. I haven’t been here and I didn’t rush home to get my phone. What I did do was meet Kadence, my sister’s former roommate and friend, at the spot I told her to wait for me. Then I kidnapped her and took her to the underground bunker that’s connected to my cabin. I might also have spared a few minutes to gag her and cuff her to my bed.
I made sure no one saw me dumping the car at the junkyard the club owns, quickly throwing it through the car baler to get rid of it. And finally getting my ass back here as quickly as possible so no one knew I kidnapped the sister of the president of Deranged Hounds MC.
You can say this whole situation is complicated as fuck. And, really, it’s not like I had a choice. This is also the reason why I couldn’t spill any of my plans to my prez and VP. But I also won’t do anything behind my MC’s back, hence the reason Alfie knows what my intentions were before I put my plan into motion.
“Kay is missing,” Garrett states.
Yeah, Kadence is not so much missing but no one knows that little fact.
I act my part and snap, “What?” Ledger voices the same thing right along with me.
“Alfie is going over the parking lot footage right now. May’s car is missing too,” Roper states.
The car has passed the point of existing since I made it disappear at the junkyard. But my sister, Mayven, is Ledger’s old lady and I’m sure he’ll sacrifice his car if she needs one, or I’ll buy her another one. Whatever, the car needed to disappear.
And Alfie can watch the footage, we both know they won’t see anything else but Kadence driving off as if she’s leaving on her own free will.
We head for the main house which functions as our clubhouse with a large space for all of us and separate rooms in the back. I’m not a people person, therefore I have my own space at the edge of the ranch. A cabin I built years ago with an underground bunker and a small private stable and paddock where I keep my horse, Cavier.
Mayven rushes toward us. She’s still on crutches, recovering from a gunshot wound to the leg because of the shit Deranged Hounds MC was wrapped in. Was. Because those guys who attacked us–while Kadence was on the back of my bike, and Ledger had Mayven on his when they started shooting at us–are dead and gone.
But there’s still an issue at hand where Kadence’s brother promised his own sister to one of his men to smooth over the fact he didn’t pick the fucker to be the next VP. Now in my opinion, that’s more screwed up than having fuckers chase you while spitting out bullets. Seriously. Who the hell whores out his own blood?
I had no choice but to kidnap Kadence. I did ask my prez, Weston, to interfere before I put my plan into motion, but we can’t risk a war between MCs. We have kids, old ladies, and a ranch to handle and look after, along with a few other companies.
I completely understand it’s not our problem since this woman is not related or linked with our MC for any reason other than Kadence is my sister’s old roommate and her best friend. But fuck, the woman pulls on my every nerve ending and there’s just something about her.
I can’t stand to watch her cry or so much as see pain or discomfort on her face. I’m eight damn years older than her. She’s way too young for me; and yet I threw everything to the wind and kidnapped the woman for her own safety, and my sanity.
“Any news?” Mayven asks Roper but locks her eyes on me next. “What did you do? I know you said something before you left. She cried. She hardly ever cries. What did you say?”
“Get in May’s car, drive for a few miles and wait for me if you want to change your life.” That’s what I said before I left. She listened. I kidnapped. But it’s not something I can share with my sister, even if Kadence is her best friend and the reason the woman crawled underneath my fucking skin.
In this case it’s a good alibi; for the outside world it seems like we go head to head at every turn. Why would I have something to do with her disappearance when we obviously bump heads?
“I did, and said, shit,” I grumble. “She’s the one always running for the hills, so don’t look at me.”
Another thing making the part believable where she left on her own free will. Kadence ran from her brother’s MC weeks ago, and came here to see my sister. It’s working in our favor how she got in May’s car again and hit the road.
Alfie stalks out of church carrying a laptop in one hand. “She drove off. She just got into May’s car and drove off by herself.”
Yup. I did mention solid alibies all around, right?
“So, she’s not missing? Like I said…she runs. She did the exact same thing to her brother when she showed up here. Hell, she could have just headed home instead of waiting for her brother to show up. She knows there’s no way out of the deal Rowen made and she knows she can’t stay here.” I shrug. “Now, can we all get back to work?”
I turn and head for the door.
“Just hang the fuck on, Colt,” Weston snaps and I spin around to face him. “Are you sure you’re not involved? You didn’t tell her to run, or offer her a way out?”
I shrug, something I always do and it allows me to be indifferent or allows me time to either think about how to answer or not answer at all. In this case I need a few extra seconds to be aware of what words I offer him in reply.
Finally settling with, “I didn’t tell her to run. I did tell her if she stayed, I would fuck her in every hole her body possessed. Maybe that sent her running.”
Alfie barks out a laugh. “No shit? You really told her that?”
I shoot him a grin. “Sure did.”
And I remember all too vividly how a shiver went through her when I whispered those words right beside her ear a few days ago. Yeah, for sure it sent her running; straight into my arms. I thought it would scare her off but she launched herself at me instead.
In fact, it was me who did the running…I turned on my heel and left the room. I guess in the end she turned the tables on me, and I fucking loved that. And the thought of having her gagged and restrained–waiting for me–in my bed is driving me insane. I need to get back to her.