Waiting rooms suck. I’ve spent way too much fucking time in them. This one is small with tan walls and some kind of art on them. There are about ten chairs and two are occupied by women on the other side of me. They seem to be together, but who knows.

Other than the occasional word between the women, the place is as quiet as a morgue.

The time is coming for me to leave Florida. I know it. She knows it. It’s been the elephant in the room for the past week plus, neither of us wanting to talk about it. More like avoiding it like the plague.

I wish she would just come with me. The thoughts of just putting her on my bike are now even more appealing. Trying to be the good guy here is hard as fuck. Only for Leah would I wade through so much shit. She’s worth it. I just wish she’d know she is. That’s going to be my goal in the next couple of days.

My hand glides over my face. I only have a couple of days and I have to get back. Fuck.

The door opens. I stand and move toward Anne. There’s a tingle at the back of my neck as I look around her and don’t see Leah.

Anne’s eyes are worried. All of this not settling one bit.

“Where is she?” I demand and notice Anne take a deep breath. Why is it you know when a big blow is coming and no matter how much you say that you can hack it, it always seems to knock the wind out of ya.

“Green, she asked me to tell you that she wanted to go out shopping for a while and will meet you back at her apartment in a couple of hours.”

I want to reach out and strangle this woman as hot lava melts the inside of me. Jacks told me once that I was someone different when anger took over. I just felt like me.

“Are you fucking kidding me!” I roar as Anne takes a step back, and the women behind me gasp. “She hasn’t been out by herself since before they hurt her, and you just let her go!”

“Green, I need you to calm down.”

My body vibrates as I clench my fists. A person shouldn’t be this angry, to the point where nothing else in the world matters except one thing. That everything on earth could be destroyed around me and still, my focus would be on Leah.

“Calm down? Are you fucking kidding me! How the hell did she get out?” I charge through the doorway they use for therapy and instantly see the extra door. “Son of a motherfucker!”

“Green, please, you’re scaring my other clients.”

“Scaring them?” I look over at the women. “Don’t trust this fuckin’ woman. She’s a damn moron.”

Anne crosses her arms over her chest. “She needed space and time to sort herself out. She’s my client and I work with her, not you. You get no say.”

“The fuck I don’t!” I roar. “How long ago?”

“About fifteen minutes ago.”

It takes every ounce of strength to hold back from punching this bitch in the face and flattening her out. It’s a very thin thread, but it’s saving her this time.

“You’d better fuckin’ hope I find her and she’s okay. If she’s not, I’ll be back.”

Her body turns stock-still, and I don’t give a fuck. Flying out the door, I see the one that Leah went out of. I pull out my phone and dial her number. It goes to voicemail where I leave a ‘Fuckin’ call me, Leah’ message.

Storming out of the building, Leah is nowhere in sight. Hundreds of people and no Leah. My heart thumps quickly as the adrenaline spikes. I have to find my girl and tan her hide. Not that I’d lay a finger on her, but hell I’d like to right now.

Right away I pull out my phone calling Buzz, one of my brothers who is a techmaster. I need him to see if Leah has a tracking device on her phone. Most people do when the phone is turned on. It could help.

Buzz has no luck, meaning her phone is off. Fuck me.

An hour now I’ve been looking with no luck. How could she be like a grain of sand and slip through my fingers? I head to her apartment hoping like hell she’s there and safe.

Pulling up to her apartment, I park the bike and race up to her door, letting myself in. When I do, the world tilts on its axis and not in a good way. Leah’s apartment is destroyed. Dishes are smashed on the floor in pieces along with the glasses. Sheets are shredded on the bed along with both Leah and my clothes from the small closet. The couch is overturned with stuffing coming out of everywhere, and there are only splintered pieces of wood left of the table and chairs.

Colorful spray paint covers the walls, but it’s the words ‘I’ll get you, bitch’ that stand out among the other derogatory phrases. The only trouble Leah’s had, has been with the Red Devils MC and those assholes who touched her. Cruz smoothed everything over with their president, or at least I thought.

I search what’s left for any sign that Leah was here when this asshole was and come up with nothing. Dialing her number, it goes right to voicemail again and I want to rip the entire place apart even more. If someone has her, I’ll break them. I’ll dismantle them limb from limb. I’ll make them feel the pain that I can inflict on those who cross me.

Grabbing my phone with sweaty hands, I dial Leah’s mother thinking maybe she called them and went there. It’s a long shot, but I’m working with nothing. Instead of getting answers, her parents are on their way over and are hysterical. Great. All calling them did was make me more rattled by the fact she left without telling me. I try to tap the fear down, but it’s riding hard and fast.

“Green,” Cruz answers on the first ring.

I pace the place, kicking broken pieces of everything out of my path. “Brother, did you get shit figured out with the Red Devils?”

He pauses briefly which is the indication of him thinking well and good about the information he’s giving. “Yeah. Already told ya that.”

Letting out a heavy breath, I charge, “Someone broke into Leah’s place, destroyed it, and wrote ‘I’ll get you, bitch,’ on the wall. Only people I can think that would want to hurt Leah would be the Red Devils.”

“What is she saying?” Cruz asks with a sharp tone, and I can hear him shuffling around on the other end.

“That’s the thing! I can’t fuckin’ find her!” I growl then tell him about how she evaded me, me looking for her and all the other bullshit.

Cruz practically growls, “I’ll call their president, and we’ll be there as fast as we can. Sit tight,” then hanging up the phone. My gut twists, running through the scenarios of what could be happening to Leah. Her body mutilated like before only this time not surviving. Parts of her body decimated and pulled limb from limb. Instead of knives, they use fire or acid or one of the thousands of other things someone could do to my girl.

I pace the place, door open and looking out the windows, thinking I should probably be out there looking for her, but I’ve done that and came up empty.

Why did she have to do this?

What was so fucking important she had to sneak out instead of just talking to me?

My mind keeps flying as I kick the scraps of debris on the floor and against the wall. Staring at the clock, it’s only been five minutes. Seriously! A low growl comes from deep in my chest. It’s not just anger, it’s frustration and fear. She should be in my arms instead of out there with me having no clue where she is.

“Fuck!” I cry out, kicking the bathroom door so hard my boot goes through the thin wood.

“Oh my God!” is gasped behind me as I turn around quickly, knowing that voice. Leah stands at the door with her hand over her mouth and eyes as round as saucers. And I have no fucks left to give.

In four quick strides, I pull her into my arms, wrapping her up tight. The pit of fear starts to unravel as I hold her to me not letting her move an inch. Her body begins to tremble under my touch.

“What did you do to my place?” she says, obviously looking over my shoulder. “Wait, you didn’t do this…” Leah trails off as I pull her away from my body to look at her shocked and stricken face.

I pull away just a bit, but her focus is on the room.

“First, no I didn’t do shit. Some asshole came into your place and fucked it up. Don’t know if you have anything to salvage. Second, I’m so fuckin’ pissed at you right now and have been so fuckin’ worried since that bitch of a shrink told me you took off.”

Leah shakes her head, and small pieces of her hair fall from her low ponytail, sweeping across her face. “I had to think. Who did this, Green?”

She pulls from my grasp, moving over to the bed and picking up a scrap of her bedding then dropping it back down.

A frustrated breath escapes me and as pissed as I am, I have bigger fish to fry. “I’m thinkin’ the Red Devils.” I look deep into her eyes, both fear and anger swirling around in them. “Know you have a lot in that head right now, but I’m gettin’ you away from here, then we talk.”

“What? Where?”

This time I smile. “Back to Sumner.”