Sage

Her smell lingers all around me. Stuck to my sheets, my pillow, my skin. Forcing myself from the bed, I try not to let it bother me that she’s gone—left my bed before I woke up. It’s what she was supposed to do, but I still find myself pissed at the fact that she actually listened for once. I stretch my arms up over my head, letting my back and shoulders crack, then move my head from side to side, the popping waking me further. I quickly pull on my clothes and my cut before leaving the room to search for her.

The clubhouse is as it always is in the morning, chatter here and there about what everyone’s planning for the day. Something to entertain the kids who have to be cooped up in the clubhouse. Thinking about why they have to be here in the first place makes me pissed about the prick who died on me before I got a name all over again.

I shake it off and step into the common room, instantly seeking out silver blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Only, I don’t find what I’m looking for. That’s when the commotion starts. Booted feet slamming down the hall. Someone calling out for Rock. Instantly, I’m on alert and out in the hall again looking for whoever’s shouting. It sounded like Patches, from the Rhino chapter, but I can’t say for sure. I get to Rock’s office to find a panting Patches, wearing a blood-soaked shirt.

“I got out there and found him, had his throat slit ear to ear. Someone got the jump on him. Killed JimmyJon too. Same fucking way,” Patches explains, trying to take in deep breaths.

“Anyone else?”

“I didn’t see anyone. No more bodies. They’ve been there for maybe an hour, two tops.”

“We need a head count. See if anyone is missing,” Rock commands, stepping past the brother and out the door, coming face to face with me.

“Get everyone rounded up,” he tells me, then pulls up his phone, calling Buggs I’m sure. “Babe? You okay? Good. Keep everyone there. We need to get a head count.” He pauses for a moment, staring down at the floor before swinging his gaze up to meet me. “You sure? Don’t panic. She might be sleeping still or something. Okay.” He ends the call. “Buggs said they’re all in the common room. All…except one.” Before he even says it, I’m running down the hall through the bar and outside. As soon as I hit the dirt, I run toward the cabin and throw open the door.

“Brook!” I call out, getting nothing but cold dead silence in return. Each room I go to is empty. My heart pounds even faster.

“Sage,” someone call out from outside, pulling my attention from my useless search. “Brother, we found a smashed coffee cup on the front deck of the clubhouse,” Ringer says when he comes into view. The image of the time I found her on the deck of this cabin, coffee cup in hand, enjoying the early morning comes to mind, and my gut clenches.

“Whoever the fuck is doing this shit has Brook,” I say, slamming my booted foot into a side table. The lamp flies across the room and shatters. “Fuck!”