Chapter Twenty-Two

Robyn awoke later that night to Avon rustling beside her. He was getting out of bed. She blinked back the sleepiness and tried to sit up and look at the clock.

 

4:00 a.m.

 

“Avon?”

 

He rummaged at the side of the bed. And then she heard the click of the pistol safety. Clarity stormed her, and she sat up straight.

 

“Avon, what’s going on?”

 

“Stay in here. I heard a window break.” His voice was a forceful hiss. “I’m going to go check it out.”

 

“Are you sure?” she asked, squinting into the darkness as she sensed him heading to the door. This was too much information for so late in the night. “Weren’t you just asleep?”

 

“Yes, but I heard it. I promise. It wasn’t a dream.” He opened the door a crack, which let the soft light of the living room spill in. “Stay in here.”

 

And then he was gone, his dark figure disappearing around the corner. She tried to listen for sounds in the night, but everything sounded both muted and on blast.

 

Less than a minute later, Avon came rushing into the bedroom. He snapped the light on, and she blinked against it, covering her eyes.

 

“Avon,” she started.

 

“Matt’s gone.” His face was etched with desperation. All she could do was blink up at him as his words made a painful lap through her body.

 

“What?”

 

“Someone broke in the window, and he’s fucking gone,” he said through gritted teeth. Avon tugged at his hair as he paced the far side of the bedroom. “I need to go look for him.”

 

She tried to fit the pieces together through the haze of the early morning. Part of her still thought maybe this was a dream. “Avon, don’t do it.”

 

“Why not? They just took him. If I leave now, I might be able to catch a trail.”

 

“But it could be a trap.”

 

They shared a long look, and then Avon was stepping into his jeans.

 

“Trap or not, I have to.”

 

As he dressed, Robyn weighed their options. “Should I call the cops?”

 

“Do it,” Avon spat. “It’s probably what Keenan is after, but let’s do it anyway. I’m sick of playing this bastard’s games. I can’t tell what he’s fucking after with Matt.” He tied his bootlaces with haste.

 

Robyn clutched her stomach, a wave of nausea overcoming her. This couldn’t be real. What were the chances this was a bad dream, and all she had to do was wake up? “He’s still out there and letting us know about it.”

 

“He won’t be out there for much longer,” Avon said, standing.

 

“Don’t do anything stupid.” She leveled him with her gaze. “I need you to come back to me. To us.”

 

“I will baby.” Avon cupped her face in his hands and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m just going to go see if there’s any trail to follow. I have to try at least. For Matt.”

 

Robyn nodded as he pressed another kiss to her lips, and then hurried out of the bedroom. “Make a report while I’m out!”

 

The front door slammed shut, and Robyn sat in the thick, strange silence for a few moments before dialing the emergency number. She heard the rev of Avon’s motorcycle, and then the roar as he peeled off. She explained calmly and repeatedly what the issue was, though, on the inside, nausea threatened to topple her. The dispatcher promised an officer would be arriving soon.

 

Robyn checked her phone compulsively as she sat curled up on the couch, feeling the strange sense of loss without Matt in the house. A few tears slipped down her cheek. This was supposed to be the fresh start. Their new home. And now Keenan was back, fucking things up.

 

Avon was right. His motives were indecipherable. Why Matt? Why now? After two months of radio silence, it seemed pointless to pick up the harassment again. But Keenan was probably far sicker than she’d imagined. Even as Morales’ death had become dulled with time, she needn’t forget that Keenan had killed a man in front of them. As a warning.

 

They didn’t come much sicker than that.

 

Robyn jumped when a knock sounded on the front door. She checked and double-checked the peephole. Though there was a policeman on the other side, she wasn’t totally convinced it wasn’t one of Keenans’ tricks either. How far did his reach extend? She drew a deep breath and opened the door with the security chain in place.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Ma’am, are you Robyn Winters?”

 

She nodded, looking the officer up and down. He seemed legit. But maybe he was already bought by Keenan. Maybe everyone in the whole damn town was bought. “Are you with the police?”

 

“Yes, ma’am. I’ve come to take a report about a purported kidnapping.”

 

Robyn opened the door, welcoming the officer inside. She tightened her robe and shut the door, guiding him into the living room. He had curt, practical questions, scribbling down almost everything she said in a small notebook while she spoke. When it was coming up on 5:00 am, she put some coffee on. Still no word from Avon.

 

“And you said this is the cousin of your live-in boyfriend?” The officer squinted up at her, pen poised.

 

“Yes. Avon. He, uh…” She rolled her lips inward. God, she hoped his MC status wouldn’t get in the way of justice. Doing what was right. “He left as soon as he noticed Matt was missing.”

 

The officer frowned down at his notes. “I’ll need to ask him a few questions as well. What’s his full name?”

 

“Avon Ross.” She hugged herself, waiting for the inevitable acknowledgment. Oh, that biker felon who’s been arrested too many times to count? The officer nodded, writing again on his notepad. No sign that he knew Avon. Thankfully.

 

Just as Robyn reached for her phone to check for the billionth time if Avon had written, the front doorknob turned. Avon stepped in, his boots clunking on the hardwood floor of the foyer. She could see the failure written all over his face.

 

“There you are,” Robyn breathed out.

 

“Hey.” Avon came into the living room, offering his hand to the officer. “I’m Avon. Matt’s cousin.”

 

The officer shook his hand, and Robyn followed his gaze to the leather kutte. Realization seeped over the officer’s face. “I have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind.”

 

The officer seemed to tighten a bit as he questioned Avon more on the same practical questions. And then he said, “Are you a member of the Chained Kings motorcycle club?”

 

Avon blinked, his face not betraying even an ounce of the tension that had skyrocketed inside Robyn. “Yes. Does that matter?”

 

“Are you aware of any outstanding issues between your club and others at the present time?”

 

“Not with other clubs,” Avon said, straightening his back. “We don’t have any beef right now.”

 

“Is there anyone you suspect might have been behind this kidnapping?”

 

“Yes,” Avon said at the same time Robyn reached for his wrist. She sent him a warning look. Even saying his name aloud seemed like a risky move.

 

“Who?” the officer asked

 

“Avon—” she began.

 

“Keenan Lourdes.” Avon worked his jaw back and forth, as though contemplating saying more.

 

Robyn sank back into the couch.

 

“Any reason to suspect him?” The officer squinted at Avon. “I know that name. He’s the head of a couple of social work agencies in town, if I’m not mistaken.”

 

“Yes. His agency is involved in my cousin’s case. I’m seeking custody, and we have reason to believe Keenan was involved in my cousin’s original kidnapping.” Avon’s jaw flexed.

 

“But we don’t know—” Robyn started.

 

“We strongly suspect,” Avon said. He sent her a dark look, then turned toward the officer. “If it was him the first time, it’s got to be him this time.”

 

The officer had a few more questions, and then finally stood to leave. It was just about 6:00 a.m. and the first rays of sunlight had started their slow trek through the sky. Robyn shut the door behind the officer and counted to five before turning to face Avon.

 

“Are you serious?”

 

Avon’s nostrils flared. “I told you I’m not playing his game anymore. I’m done fucking around with his bullshit.”

 

“But you could be putting Matt in danger,” Robyn hissed out, like any talk of this would somehow make it back to Keenan. “You heard what that nutjob said.”

 

“I didn’t talk about Morales. So I upheld our end of the deal. But if I didn’t say anything about Keenan now to this cop, then what? How can we make any headway?”

 

Robyn crossed her arms over her chest. The baby had been kicking up a storm since the officer left, as though he or she could sense the anxiety. “I don’t know. This whole thing is fucked.”

 

“Yeah, you’ve got that right.” Avon fished his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through some screens. “I gotta call the MC. We should be on high alert. Everyone. Because Keenan chose to wait until we moved here to attack. That means he’s more on top of shit than we bargained for.”

 

Robyn watched as he headed into the kitchen to make his call, feeling more helpless than she could ever remember in her life.

 

Keenan had them in a headlock, and Matt’s safety – not to mention sanity – was in the lurch.

 

And all they could do was wait for some sort of miracle.