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Could I try to reason with my father? No, he would never see sense in letting anyone go scot free after fucking even the smallest thing up. But I could try.
“Father.” I kept my voice even and firm but edged it with a plea. I was still Daddy’s little princess, and I always got what I wanted. “I repent, Dad. Let me go, and I will prove my loyalty. Give me a gun, and I will put a bullet through Royal Flush’s skull. Give me?—”
My father whipped around and cracked his hand against my cheek. The front legs of the chair lifted off the floor before slamming down, jerking me forward. I yelped in pain when the ropes bit into my skin.
“The only thing you will give, Caroline,” my father snarled, “is your absence from my operations. You’ll go nowhere near the Devils unless I explicitly order you to. Is that understood?”
My cheek smarted like a sunburn as my gaze flicked up to meet his. I hoped he saw the wrath in them.
If he did, he didn’t care. He snorted derisively and left the office, slamming the metal door behind him.
I watched him stalk away. A few moments later, I heard him bark an order that had bikes roaring to life in the back of the warehouse. They were heading out to god knew where.
Leaving me alone with Vane.
I turned the glare to the sneering bastard before me. He just smiled wider.
I had been afraid plenty of times in my life. But this was different.
All those times, I had power. I had the protection of my father on all sides.
But now, tied up and beaten at his order, left with a killer…
I had never felt more powerless.
CHAPTER 7
KNOX
“Dude, Black Jack is going to be pissed off if he knew we were doing this.”
I looked up from my phone at Gabriel. “That’s why I’ve already given you multiple outs.” My voice was rough. If I were just a little mean, maybe they’d back out of helping me. “I don’t want you guys’ necks on the chopping block. This is my problem to fix.”
“Yeah,” Grant noted with a snort from where he sat across from me and Gabriel on an old table in the corner of his shop. “And you are our problem, even when you dive fists first into helping the daughter of our worst enemy.”
“Better not be dick first,” Gabriel muttered.
I chucked a random bolt at his head and he ducked it with a chuckle. It pinged off the wall.
“Screw you, man.” I turned my attention back to my phone. My thumb flew all over the screen, going back and forth between my maps app and browser, tracking down any lead to the hazy window behind Caroline. “I have no intention of ever fucking a Wolverine.”
“No one said that.”
“Look, Gabe,” I snapped suddenly, making the man—my brother in arms—jolt in surprise. I never snapped. I never yelled. “I appreciate your humor. I do. But this is my fault. I don’t care that she’s Bates’s daughter. I just care about doing right by my fuck-up. I told you I’m not getting either of you in trouble with Jackson. So just…”
The fire that had flared up in me flickered and died. My grip on my phone went slack, and I tossed it on the table. Neon light from a random sign of a bike reflected off the phone’s surface. Grant’s shop had all sorts of wacky shit hanging up. Suzie Black once said its “vibes were immaculate.” Whatever the hell that meant.
I passed a hand over my face. I had never felt so conflicted before. Not with anything. I didn’t do shit half-assed. Gabriel was right; I always went in fists first, or guns first, or good old charm. But that was because I was Devil’s Luck, and my only loyalty was to my brothers. They were my heart and soul, no matter how corny that sounded, but I never had reason to doubt myself.
Now, I was torn between continuing to hate the enemy and being a halfway decent guy. A woman’s life was in danger because of me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let her die.
Rest assured, Walter Bates was capable of killing his own daughter.
Grant and Gabriel watched me like they hoped to see inside my mind.
My gaze drifted to the Polaroid next to my phone. I swiped it from the trash behind Sam’s bar when Jackson wasn’t looking. Sam was my lookout. Then I made to storm out of the Well and drive to my place like hell was on my heels, planning to crash at my place and search for the location like a damn hacker.
Grant and Gabriel stopped me before I even reached my bike. They convinced me far too easily to go to Grant’s shop. Once we got there, Grant rifled through some drawers until he found tape and handed it to me with an oddly kind, understanding expression. Brothers helping brothers.