Page 76

A bark of laughter escaped her before she could stop it. “What the fuck do you need an heir for? You sell drugs and guns. You’re a pathetic excuse for a human being.”

Anger crossed his features. “You’ll watch your mouth, young lady.”

Because I’ve ever listened to you. “Fuck you,” she spat out bitterly.

A sharp slap across the mouth met her words. “Enough talking.”

Just like that, she was ten years old again. Smacked for talking back and then ignored. It was for the best this time, though. She had to cooperate for the time being. She understood Dom wasn’t coming. Jaxson took priority, as it should be.

Maybe he’d send Creed or Casey, but she didn’t want to rely on them to get her out. She’d been taking care of herself her whole life, she could do it now, too.

Closing her eyes, she thought of Dom’s arms wrapped around her, his heated words whispered in her ear as he made love to her. They were feelings she would carry with her forever, and nothing or no one could ever take them from her. Those memories would get her through any hardships she was about to face.

A sharp gleam from a far off object out of the window caught her eye. The more she concentrated, the more she thought it was a man riding a horse. A few more seconds of looking and she realized he was following them and signaling someone on the other side of the vehicle.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned her head to see if she could spot the other person. Seeing him, she had to fight back a smile.

Dominic’s coming, she sighed inwardly.

When Bradshaw was about to direct his head to where she’d been looking, she began to cough uncontrollably, wheezing as she did.

“What the bloody hell is wrong with you?” he demanded to know.

“Air,” she stuttered out.

As her window was rolled down, she let out a few more coughs while breathing in the fresh air, trying her best to signal to the man on the horse that she saw him. When she noticed him tip his hat and fall back a bit, she knew he acknowledged that she’d seen him.

He’s coming. She secretly smiled in relief.

*****

“What the fuck happened!” Dom screamed, slamming his way through his house. “How the fuck did he know where Jaxson was?” It was rhetorical. He didn’t expect any of the men inside to know that answer.

He was about to start yelling again when it hit him like a ton of bricks, “Mother...fucker!” He couldn’t believe he didn’t think of it at the time they were planning. “Case, Creed, come here,” he called them while walking back outside.

“What’s up?” Creed asked him looking just as pissed as he was.

“The day we brought Case home, Bradshaw was here waiting. I should have fucking checked sooner. What if he bugged the place?” he questioned. “We didn’t think to check. The alarm was on, and nothing was noticeably out of place. Fuck!”

Pacing back and forth on the lawn, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do first. The two most important people in his life were in the hands of two deranged psychopaths. A lesser man would have caved already. When he got that text and then had to tell Dee he wasn’t coming for her, he damn near died. Thank fuck for his friends having his back when he didn’t even know he needed it.

?

??Yo, Ace!’ Creed called to one of his guys.

“Yeah?”

“You got your bug detector?”

A smile crept over his face. “Oh yeah.”

“Get it,” Creed demanded.

“You got it, boss.” Ace was gone before anyone could say anything.

“You really think he planted something?” Case asked him.

“I can’t think of another reason why he would know where Jaxson is,” he replied absently, waiting for Ace to come back and for Brooke to call him on where he was supposed to meet her.