Lind had never slept so soundly. He was usually a light sleeper, but he had slept like a rock until morning. Sunlight was now streaming in through the window. It hurt his eyes so much so that for a fleeting moment he wondered just how much he’d had to drink the night before. Three beers. That had been it. No way was he was hungover.
He rolled over onto his back and groaned loudly. His head pounded. Why was his head pounding? He threw an arm across his eyes to shield them from the glaring sunlight. Within the soothing darkness of his closed eyelids, his mind wandered to the events of the previous nights. A smile spread slowly across his lips. If he thought back on it, he could still feel Eve’s body against his. He could still feel her smooth skin underneath his fingertips. He could still taste her mouth. It had been a very sweet taste.
He found the courage to take his arm away and open eyes, bracing himself against the glare of the sun. He turned his head to look at Eve…
…and found that the bed was empty. Their post-coitus conversation also drifted back to his still-somewhat-fogged memory, and he groaned. She must have slept on the couch. He had never had a way with words, and he figured he must have pushed her too far last night. Clearly, he had crossed a line. Grunting, Lind rolled out of bed. He blinked, feeling dizzy. It took him a few moments to regain his balance and his bearings.
Those must’ve been some beers, he thought absently.
He fumbled for his clothes and put on his boxers and jeans before padding barefoot to the living room. The couch was empty, as was the whole room. The kitchen was also empty. Suddenly uneasy, Lind launched himself into a full exploration of the whole apartment. There was no sign of Eve. She wasn’t in the bathroom or on the balcony.
Yet, her stuff was still in the apartment. Her purse was still on the counter in the kitchen, with her keys and wallet in it. That’s when Lind knew that something was very, very wrong. She wouldn’t have gone anywhere without her purse. He was just about to put on the rest of his clothes and go look for her when his stomach rolled, sharp and sudden. He barely had time to reach the toilet before he emptied the contents of his stomach.
Lind frowned as the bout of sickness passed, and he sputtered the last of the bile and saliva. This didn’t feel like a hangover.
He rinsed his mouth with water from the sink and brushed his teeth to wash away the nauseating, sweet taste that had come to his tongue after he had thrown up. What the hell was that?
As if the morning had not started out hectic enough, the next sound Lind heard was a loud knock at the front door.
“Perfect,” he muttered to himself.
He jumped up and hurried over, all the while wondering how he was going to tell Jacob that he had lost Eve.
But the one that greeted him when he opened the door wasn’t Jacob. It was the last person Lind would have ever wanted to see standing at that doorway. It was Alec, and he didn’t look happy.
Lind swallowed and tried to look confident. “What are you doing here?”
Alec’s black eyes glared daggers and lighting at him. “I should ask you the same question.”
Lind hesitated. “Do you want to come in?”
Alec snorted. “What do you think?” He pushed his way past him and looked around. “So where is she?”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. “Where’s who?”
Alec rounded on him, his whole frame taut with thundering fury. “Don’t give me that bullshit,” he growled. “Where is the girl?”
“What girl?”
Alec took a step forward. “Don’t piss me off, Lind. You’re in enough trouble as it is.”
Lind took a deep breath. He supposed there was no reason to keep up the charade. “She’s gone,” he said. “It’s the truth,” he added when he saw Alec open his mouth to growl at him some more. “I woke up this morning and she was gone. Vanished.”
“Where?” Alec growled.
Lind took that one word spat out through gritted teeth to be the short version for, “Where did she go?”
“I don’t know,” he said, and the admission tasted bitter on his tongue. “But something’s wrong.”
“You bet your ass something’s wrong,” Alec said.
Before Lind even had the chance to figure out what was happening, his best friend was launching himself forward and slamming a fist across his jaw. Alec hit like a boxer, and Lind, for all his fighting skills and experience, went flying.
“HOW COULD YOU?” Alec roared.
Soon, too soon, he was on Lind, straddling him with his powerful thighs and hitting him again.
“YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?”
“I didn’t do anything—”
“BULLSHIT! YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!”
Anger and pride rose up together within Lind’s chest then, and he began to fight back. “GODAMMIT, ALEC!” he roared. “LISTEN TO ME!”
They rolled around for quite a while, throwing punches and kicks, turning on each other like they had never done before. Lind had taken many hits in his life, and he had given more than his share, but none of them had hurt nearly as much as those that he was taking and giving now.
Alec was stronger and had more technique, but Lind was quicker. They were on par, and soon they had exhausted each other. Lind pinned Alec to the floor and stared down at his best friend’s angry features.
“Alec,” he said again, firmly. “Listen. I did not betray you.”
“Where is she?” Alec growled, half-lifting his head off the floor and fighting weakly against Lind’s restraining hold.
Lind tightened his grip around the man’s wrists and gave him a shake to make himself better heard. “I don’t know,” he repeated. “But she doesn’t know anything. She wasn’t involved.”
“If she wasn’t involved, why are you hiding her?”
“Because she wasn’t involved,” Lind said. “I knew you and Merchant would suspect her. She was in danger. She’s been helping me trying to figure it out. She gave me insight on everyone who works or has ever worked at the nightclub.”
Alec watched him skeptically. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you would have killed her first and asked questions later.”
Alec stared at him for the longest of times. Finally, he seemed to deflate and went limp in Lind’s grasp. “Fine. I believe you,” he said, and Lind could see that he was sincere. “You can get off of me now.”
“You won’t do anything stupid?”
“Like what? Strike a woman who’s not here?”
Lind watched him closely. Satisfied, he nodded and let go, rolling off of his friend and helping him to his feet. As if by silent, mutual accord, they walked to the kitchen. Black coffee helped them both to think, and Lind put on a fresh pot. Soon, they were sitting at the table, nursing two steaming mugs, black eyes, and split lips. Lind hated the inactivity, but he knew they had to talk before any action could be taken.
“You should have told me,” Alec said after minutes of silence had ticked by.
“I would have, eventually,” Lind said. “You weren’t ready.”
Alec glared. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Lind pointedly lifted the bag of frozen peas off of his right cheekbone. “Seriously?”
“I would’ve listened to her case.”
“No, you wouldn’t have,” Lind said. It wasn’t an accusation. It was just facts.
Alec grunted begrudgingly. “And now you’ve lost her,” he said after a moment, the ghost of a grin coming to stretch his mouth. “Some guard you are.”
Lind’s features darkened. “I think something must have happened,” he said. “She wouldn’t leave without her things. Certainly not without her purse and wallet.” He nodded to the kitchen counter. He paused and looked curiously at his friend. “How did you find out anyway?”
“Jacob told me,” Alec said. “He came to me this morning.”
Alarm came to squeeze Lind’s stomach. “Jacob told you?”
Alec nodded. “He said he came by last night and found you here with her.”
“That son of a bitch!” Lind hissed. “He knew all along, you know?”
Alec frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Lind told him everything. He told him about finding Eve with his bike that night, and about his and Jacob’s plan to hide her both from the MC and the nightclub crew and have her help them out unravel the mystery of the ambush at the Cobra.
“I don’t understand,” Alec said. “Why would Jacob come to me today?”
Lind’s brain was working a mile a minute. “I think he must have been involved in the ambush.”
Alec’s eyes widened. “Jacob?” he said. “That’s impossible.”
“It’s the only explanation that makes sense,” Lind said, horrified to even think along those lines and even more so to know in his bones that he was right.
Jacob had told Alec that he had stopped by the apartment in Pasadena the night before. Lind had no doubt that part was true. He must have come by. Eve must have sniffed something out. Jacob must have realized that he had been caught and taken her. But taken her where? Was she even alive still?
She had to be. The opposite was simply too awful a possibility to even consider.
“Alec, we have to find them,” Lind said. “Jacob was involved. I know it. Otherwise, why take her away? Why expose me?”
Alec thought about it. His features were dark and sad. “I just can’t believe it. Why would he want me dead?”
“Probably to take your place.”
Alec almost choked on his coffee. “Jacob? President of the MC? God save us…”
“Indeed,” Lind said darkly. “I knew something was wrong when I woke up this morning. I never sleep that soundly, and there was a sweet taste in my mouth.”
Alec grinned. “Are you sure that wasn’t something else?”
Lind glared. “Shut up.”
Alec laughed. “You’ve fucked her, haven’t you?” he exclaimed in delight. “Shit, Lind, you’re so fucking predictable sometimes.”
Lind waved a hand in dismissal. “Really not the point, Alec. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
“Fine,” Alec said, still grinning. “You think he might have drugged you?”
“Again, it’s the only thing that makes sense,” Lind said. “But I don’t see how he could’ve done it. I was already asleep when he came by.”
“Chloroform tastes sweet, you know,” Alec ventured.
Lind’s eyes widened. Chloroform. The bastard! “Fuck,” he growled. “Fucking son of a bitch. He’s a dead man!”
“We have to find him first,” Alec said. He stood, stretched his sore muscles. “Let’s go. We’re going to need everybody for this.” He hesitated. “I believe you when you say she wasn’t involved with happened. But you still lied to the club, Viper. We’ll discuss your punishment when this is over.”
Lind nodded gravely. He wouldn’t have expected anything less.