Chapter Thirteen
Chance
“Dude,” I say as soon as Storm walks into the clubhouse, a dumbass smile on his face. “You’re not even trying to hide how whipped you are anymore.”
“Shut the fuck up, Chance,” he growls, shoving me and I laugh but I’ve got to admit, I’m a little jealous of the asshole. All I want is what he seems to have found but I never know where I stand with Carly. One minute, she’s letting me see behind the façade and then a minute later, she’s closed off again and treating me like we’re nothing more than fuck buddies. Going into this, I knew it would be tough, but I also knew it would never be enough. I want all of her, all the time. Releasing a heavy sigh, I pull my phone out and check for a message from her. I haven’t heard from her since I bailed on our plans to take care of Camilla and Riley and my texts today have gone unanswered.
“Church,” Blaze barks from the doorway, looking pissed as hell, before turning and disappearing back into the room. Everyone looks around in shock for a moment before jumping up and following him. Storm glances in my direction, shooting me a questioning look and I shrug. I’m in the dark like everyone else. Blaze is seated at the head of the table and he looks impatient as we slowly file into the room and take our respective seats around the table. His expression is grim and a sense of foreboding washes over the room. When everyone is seated, he bangs the gavel on the table and clears his throat.
“First up, I got word from Camilla that she and Riley made it to Colorado safe and sound. We’ve got them set up with a friend of mine there who will look out for them while Camilla gets back on her feet and works on divorcing her husband.”
I nod, tapping my knuckles against the table. “That’s good news, Boss.”
He glances in my direction before turning back to everyone else. Is he mad at me for something?
“We’ve got two jobs coming up this week and they are both at the end of the week, so I want extra surveillance leading up to the transfer. We don’t need another Mitch situation. Storm’s eye is just starting to go back to normal.”
“Yeah, fuck you,” Storm shoots back, a smile teasing his lips and soft chuckles fill the air, but Blaze barely cracks a smile. So, it’s not just me. I shift in my seat, feeling the mounting tension in the room. We can all tell something is off and the longer Blaze takes to fill us in, the worse it gets.
“The plan right now is to take both of them over to Nix and Emma’s, so I want two of you to go out there tomorrow and beef up security. The last thing we need right now is trouble at their place.”
“What exactly are you wantin’ out there?” Smith asks.
“Lights, cameras, and motion detectors, at least. Maybe an electric fence along the front and sides, too.”
Smith’s eyebrows shoot up and he glances over at Storm, who shrugs and glances around the table before focusing back on Blaze.
“Thursday is the first job. Her name is Sammy and she’s Biche’s girl.”
“Shit,” I curse under my breath, my eyes growing wide and the men around the table echo my sentiments.
“As I’m sure you all remember, Biche is the piece of shit that got Henn locked up and while I’m sure you would like retribution, it cannot be at the expense of the poor girl who needs our help. Am I clear?”
“Yeah,” I say as several other guys mutter the same. Back in the day, Biche was a small-time dealer – annoying but not really dangerous. He made a major play though when he sold Henn out to the cops and took over his territory. Henn was sent to prison and when the club left all that shit behind, it allowed Biche the room to really make a name for himself. Henn lost everything because of that little snake and this isn’t the first time that the idea of seeking revenge has come up but with Henn getting out soon, we always decided to wait and let him do it himself.
“He’s a major player now and he has the money and power to make this rescue difficult. Our number one priority is getting the girl out of there safe and sound, which is going to be difficult enough without egos getting in the way. Sammy is one hundred percent on board and eager to leave but she doesn’t have access to a phone or computer so her best friend is the one who contacted us. We’ve got to figure out who’s watching her without being seen ourselves so we can develop a safe plan to get her out of there.”
“Understood, Prez,” Moose says, nodding at Blaze. Blaze just nods in response, looking down at the sheet of paper on the table in front of him.
“The other one is on Saturday. Her name is Nadia, and she’s got a three-month-old baby girl with her. Husband is a shrimper, so he’ll be gone all day, and it should be fairly easy.”
“You know better than to say that, Blaze,” Streak says, and Blaze sighs as he nods. His face falls even more as he looks down at the paper in front of him and runs his hand through his hair.
“This morning, I got a call from Kelly, the nurse that helped Dina out when she came into the ER.”
“She got a new girl that needs help?” Red asks from the back, crossing his arms over his chest as he leans back in his chair. Blaze shakes his head.
“Dina was brought back into the ER last night with a serious brain injury, five broken ribs, and a lot of internal bleeding. They were able to stop the bleeding but when they examined her, it became clear that there was no brain function, and her mother made the decision to turn off life support.”
A hush falls over the room and I stare up at Blaze, blinking like I somehow didn’t understand what he just said. There’s no way…
“We had a plan to get her to her parents safely but it’s unclear right now what happened. She may have gone back to him or he may have found her. All we know is that no one can find Mitch, but Rodriguez is looking for him.”
“She wouldn’t have gone back,” I proclaim, looking Blaze dead in the eye. There is no way in hell Dina would have gone back to him. It’s not even a possibility.
“You don’t know that, Chance. We’ve been doing this long enough to know better,” Blaze says.
My fist slams onto the table and everyone turns to look at me with wide eyes. “No. She wouldn’t have gone back. He was right there when we were picking her up. He begged her to come back, and if she didn’t fold then, she wouldn’t have gone back to him.”
“Look, Chance,” Fuzz says, slapping a hand on my shoulder, “we all want to believe that she wouldn’t put herself in that position again, but we just don’t know.”
Shaking my head, I tune them out, unable to believe she would give everything up and go back to that piece of shit. I know all about how many times a woman will turn around and take another beating for a man she thinks she loves but Dina was different. She was so happy in her new life and she was feeling stronger everyday. It just doesn’t make sense. Thinking back to the day we saved her, I wish I had put a bullet in the husband’s skull like I wanted to.
“Smith and Fuzz, I want you to take care of the security at Nix’s place. They’re waitin’ for you.” Blaze’s voice breaks through my thoughts and I look up.
“On it, Boss,” Fuzz says, shooting Blaze a mock salute while Smith nods in agreement. These two live for this shit. Emma and Nix’s place will be harder to get into than the White House by the time they get done. Blaze nods and bangs the gavel on the table, storming out of the room before anyone else can even stand.
I sink back into my seat and think over the last time I saw Dina, looking for any clue I might have missed but I come up with nothing. The room is mostly cleared out by the time I stand up and walk out into the common area. Kodiak is at the bar and as soon as he spots me, he gets up and walks over to me.
“You all right?” he asks, slapping me on the back and I nod my head.
“I gotta get out of here.”
“You sure? Why don’t you just head up to your room and chill for a bit?”
I glance toward the stairs that lead up to our rooms before shaking my head. There is only one thing in this world I want right now and I only have enough energy to convince her to let me in. “Naw. I’m good. Thanks, though.”
“Yeah, anytime, brother.” He slaps my back again, nodding and I slip outside, Carly dominating my thoughts as I jump on my bike and peel out of the parking lot. I fucking love the work we do here, I really do, but Jesus, sometimes it just takes so much out of me. It’s a little sad how quickly something can thrust me back in time to when I was a kid watching my mom get the shit kicked out of her. The miles between the clubhouse and Carly’s apartment fly by but my mind is filled with images of my mom, beaten and bruised. They urge me to go fast as anger simmers in my blood.
I need her.
By the time I whip my bike into a parking spot outside her building and flip the kickstand down, I’m so agitated I probably look insane but I’m way past the point of caring. The blinders are on and my only focus is getting to her. Anything gets in my way and I’ll knock it the fuck down. I stop in front of the elevator and smash the button with my thumb as I stare up at the dial. My hand taps against my thigh as I watch it slowly wind down and when it stops on the fifth floor, my patience runs out. Growling, I turn toward the stairwell and fling open the door before racing up the ten flights of stairs to her apartment.
Bursting through the door to her hallway, I barely resist the urge to run the length of it as my mind races with thoughts of Dina going back to her ex. When I get to her door, I slam my fist against the wood repeatedly, not giving a damn who I wake up or disturb.
“Jesus Christ, what?” she seethes, throwing her door open and her gaze hardens as soon as she sees me. Yeah, so she’s mad at me but that’s going to have to wait until later. Before she can throw any attitude in my direction, I grab her and pull her into my body, burying my face in her neck. The smell of her coconut shampoo wafts in my face and I breathe it in, feeling my heart rate slow as her body softens against mine.
“What’s wrong?” she whispers, running her fingers through the hair at the base of my neck and relief washes through me.
“Can I come in?” I whisper against her skin, mentally begging her to not turn me away tonight and she nods, pulling away and stepping back so I can walk past her. I walk over to the couch and sink into it.
“You want a beer or something?” she asks, laying her hand on my forearm and I shake my head, wrapping my fingers around her wrist.
“No. I just need you.”
With a tug, I pull her over the arm of the sofa and into my lap as she squeals before straddling my thighs and running her hands down my chest. With just one touch, I feel like I can breathe for the first time since Blaze broke the news to us and I wrap my hand around the back of her neck before pulling her to my lips. She tastes like wine and chocolate and all I can think about is losing myself in her for a few hours.
“What happened?” she asks softly against my lips, worry filling her gaze as she pulls back to meet my eyes. I slip my hand into her hair, loving the way she subtly leans into my touch as she waits for my reply.
“We lost one of our girls today.”
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“This woman we helped a few weeks ago. Her name is Dina… was Dina… and Blaze just told us she was murdered.”
“Oh, Chance, I’m so sorry,” she whispers, leaning in and pressing her lips to mine. I grip her hair, fighting back tears of my own.
“It just doesn’t make sense, you know? She was so strong, even when her husband was in her face and making every promise he could think of, she didn’t waver. He threatened her and she didn’t back down. She was a fighter, so I can’t see her going back to him.”
She nods, offering me a comforting look. “Maybe the world and all its possibilities scared her back to the devil she already knew.”
“I don’t want to think that. In my perfect world, she got away and she thrived, but the evidence says otherwise. I don’t know. I went to go see her at the hotel not that long ago and the bruises around her neck from where he tried to strangle her were almost gone and her smile was brighter. Does that seem like a woman who would turn around and go back?”
My question is met with silence and I glance up, shocked by the haunted look on Carly’s face.
“Princess?” I ask and she blinks at me, her mask slipping back into place right in front of my eyes.
“I don’t know, Chance. My Aunt Dottie always says people should trust their instincts more and I’ve learned to listen to her over the years.”
“What are you saying?” I ask and she looks away, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Nothing. Just that people lie, they lie all the time, and they manipulate the world around them to make people believe their lies.” She chews on her bottom lip and I can’t take my eyes off her. I’m getting another elusive glimpse under the mask and I’m mesmerized by the pain splashed across her face. “If you really believe she wouldn’t have gone back, maybe it’s worth looking into. At the very least, you’ll get closure.”
Something happened to her - something awful, something that haunts every aspect of her life. I was suspicious before but now I’m sure and all I want to do is fix it. Protectiveness wells up inside me as I think about someone hurting her and a deep rumble sounds in my chest. She looks back to me, her eyes wide.
“What happened to you, Princess?” I whisper, cupping her cheek as I search her gaze like it’ll tell me everything I need to know. Her wide eyes get even wider and a tear slips down her cheek before she can stop it. She jerks out of my arms and stumbles off my lap, shaking her head.
“Nothing. Nothing happened to me,” she mutters, still shaking her head and my fucking heart breaks in two in my chest. “You need to leave.”
Yeah, that’s not going to fucking happen.
Pushing off the couch, I go to her, catching her in my arms before she can run away, and hold her close. “Please don’t make me leave. I need you tonight and whether or not you want to admit it, I think you need me, too.”
The only sound is her labored breaths as I wait for her answer and I feel like she has the power to destroy me here. Finally, she nods. “Okay.”
Letting out a sigh, I pull her into my arms and my fingers dig into her hair as I kiss the top of her head. She pulls away and looks up at me, guarded but not completely closed off.
“One last thing, okay?”
When she nods, I give her the most reassuring smile I can. “I’m here for you, Carly. For as long as you’ll have me, I’m yours and you can tell me anything.”
She drops her head, her forehead pressing against my chest as she grips my shirt in a fist. Her heaving back and the wet spot forming on my t-shirt are the only indications I have she’s crying and it tears my fucking heart out. Leaning down, I scoop her up into my arms and carry her to bed, hoping that one day she’ll feel safe enough to let me in. I’ll wait as long as it takes because if I know one thing for sure, it’s that I am completely and totally in love with this woman.