Page 13 of Rough Road

Kye glanced at him then away while the other men checked bodies, collected weapons and money from the men on the ground. “We’re going to find her.”

“What if it’s too late?” He hadn’t said the words out loud, hadn’t dared to let himself fall apart, but only his skin was holding him together and he could feel it splintering. He wanted to sink into himself and let go.

Kye squeezed his shoulder. “It won’t be. You have to believe that.”

Grier wanted to believe everything would be okay, but the sun came up every morning and went down every night and still, Fiona was out there going through God knew what. Every muscle and cell he had screamed in agony brought on by his mind, by the pain in his gut and the ache in his heart. Thinking of her out there, with… them, with Tyler Sedotal. His breath came in short bursts and he doubled over. Oh, God. He couldn’t do this. Not without her. Not without them.

Kye held him up. “Stop it. Don’t do this here. You keep your shit together until there aren’t twenty guys around watching you fall apart.” He shook Grier by the shoulders, but the words didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered; he’d failed her. Even if they found her now, she’d been through too much, would blame him, maybe as much as he blamed himself. Probably not. Either way, he deserved whatever she said or did to him. And they’d never be able to go back to the way they were as long as they both knew he’d failed her.

Kye gave him another shake. “Take a breath and rein it in. We’re going to get them back, and that’s all you need to think about right now, you hear me?” Grier didn’t answer and Kye shook him again. “We’re going to find her. Say it, Grier. Say it!”

“We’re going to find her.” But he didn’t believe it anymore.

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Fiona could smell Pine Hill. The air here was charged with something the coast didn’t have. He’d brought her back home. Dangerous and stupid for him. And she’d had enough. The baby cooed in her chair as the Escalade slowed and stopped. They’d forced her into the back, hadn’t let her up in the four or so hours since they’d stopped for a bathroom break. Her legs were cramped and her stomach sick, but her anger pushed her on. Anger and the desire to get back to Grier.

The back hatch opened, and Sedotal came around to help her out. She stood and it took her a minute to find her strength, for her muscles to cooperate and her knees to hold her up. He had her hands tied in front of her and she eyed the gun in his waistband. Soon. She would get it and blow him into the thousand little pieces of shit he was. And then she’d find a really good plastic surgeon and get this shit cut off her body. But first, she had work to do.

He bent to loosen the ties at her feet so she could walk. When she was free, he straightened and put his hands on her shoulders. “Sorry about all this, babe. As soon as you hold your end of the bargain and Grier’s dead, we won’t need all this anymore.”

She smiled. Her face still ached, and she was pretty sure her jaw was broken, and she still had a concussion, but no way would she surrender to the pain. She held onto her anger like a life raft. More than anything she wanted to know what happened to old Sewer Breath after he’d inflicted this pain. She turned her head as another black SUV pulled in. Two guys climbed out and yanked a third from the back seat. He couldn’t stand on his own, couldn’t even hold his head up.

Good. Not like she could’ve inflicted the pain she wanted to, the pain he deserved. Sedotal smiled. “I brought him back here for you.” He chuckled and wrapped both arms around her. “I thought you might like to do the honors yourself.” He kissed her forehead and winked when he pulled back. He picked up the baby seat. “Come to papa.”

This fucking psycho had some crazy fantasy about playing house with her and London. And she’d let him have it right up until the minute she put a bullet in his head. Having him hold London though made her stomach twist into a knot, but she swallowed back the animosity and pictured Grier. The only thing that kept her going through that entire drive back to Pine Hill from the plantation was imagining Grier riding in and swooping her and London back to safety. Not exactly a fairytale, but as close as a girl like Fiona would ever get.

Sedotal carried the baby seat in one hand and guided her into the back of a small block building. He hadn’t spoken to her at all since he’d returned, and she was dying to know what happened when Hamilton went to the monument. If he was okay. If any of her guys had been hurt. She sucked in a few breaths through her nose and willed the pain away as she opened her lips to speak. “Did you get the ledger?”

He shook his head and smiled. “No. But I think you knew I wouldn’t. I think you knew your boys and those Maniacs—” another club Hamilton or Grier must’ve called in, “—would be waiting.” He laughed. “It’s okay. I expected nothing less. I actually expected more. But it kept your boys busy enough for me to get into your clubhouse and get what I needed.”

It was all a set-up. She should’ve seen that coming. And now she felt stupid on top of the pain in her face. She could only nod expecting another backhand or something equally painful, but he walked beside her as peacefully as if he was leading his family home. When he drew his hand away to shove it into his pocket and pulled out her zip drive, her heart sank.

“I took your computer before I knew you had this. Pretty genius hiding place. If I hadn’t decided to let you sleep and change the baby myself, I would’ve never known. But even I knew diaper wipe boxes don’t rattle. Too bad, though. If you would’ve told me, I wouldn’t have had to shred your office.” He shrugged. “I always liked your chair though.” He popped the door open and guided her inside what looked like an old dance studio.

In front of her, a wall of mirrors projected her reflection and she almost vomited at the sight of herself. Or rather, at the sight of someone she assumed was her but was horribly misshapen and every shade of purple on the color wheel.

The floor was a high-polished light wood and a ballet bar was screwed into the wall opposite the mirrors. In the middle, he’d put her white leather desk chair and the furry rug she’d had in her office at the Demon clubhouse.

She stared at herself, even turning her head to see the still angry red welt on her neck, the brand he’d put there. As he moved further into the room, she closed her eyes, imagining shooting him in the heart and making him watch himself die in front of the mirrors. The thought gave her enough determination to walk further into the room.

“Sit.” He nodded to the chair then squatted to unlatch the baby from her chair and carry her to Fiona. “I took care of her for you. I had to give her formula, but she took it fine.”

He’d fed her baby? Formula? What the hell? She cocked her eyebrow, and he smoothed a hand over London’s head. “You couldn’t feed her, babe. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Fiona swallowed back a batch of angry tears and nodded. “Thank you.”

Every word hurt her face, but the pain kept her focused on her objective, made her remember the names on her list. Asshat. BO Boy, but he was already dead. Sewer Breath. Tyler Sedotal. “I’m going to get some ice for your face. Then, we need to talk.”

She nodded and he disappeared down a hallway. She could’ve tried to run, but there was no way she would make it out past him and however many guys he had outside guarding the building. She didn’t know for sure anyone was out there, but it was what she would’ve done, so she had to wait, bide her time, make a good plan.

Oh, who was she kidding? At this rate, she’d have to wait for a rescue, for Grier. Her eyes misted and this time, she couldn’t hold the tears back. One dripped off her chin and landed on the baby’s nose. Fiona wiped it away and cuddled London closer to her. “Daddy’ll be here soon. We just have to hang on.”

And for all her faith in Grier, she picked the wrong time to say it. Sedotal walked in, his eyes dark, dangerous, and angry. “Daddy, huh?” He threw the ice bag at her and she hunched to protect London. The ice hit her in the ear and the jaw. She cried out and he advanced. “I’m going to take everything you have, and I’m going to make you watch me kill him.”

Fiona closed her eyes, the pain bigger than she could manage, but she held onto London, wouldn’t let go again.

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