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“Scar, please don’t go.” Her bottom lip trembles, and she gives me the biggest puppy dog eyes I’ve ever seen. She’s not playing fair right now, and she knows it. I’m tempted to give in to her plea, but if I do, what kind of man would I be? I can’t let the sheriff escape justice. It’s not who I am. Hanging out and twiddling my thumbs while others do my job isn’t what I do. I want in on this action more than anything else right now. Even her.

“We can talk about this when I get back.” I leave the room and slam the door behind me.

“Saw the text,” Reaper says, appearing in the hall near the kitchen.

“Let’s meet up at the clubhouse.”

“We should leave a couple of guys here. We don’t know if the sheriff’s going to try to come here or run. He might attempt to grab his kid first.”

“Maybe. But he’d be an idiot to try to breach our security. Besides, isn’t the FBI still outside watching this place?” I ask.

“Yeah. Matrix just double-checked. The feds have three teams around the property. They didn’t leave after the BOLO went out.”

“Okay. I don’t want to leave them totally defenseless. You and Talon stay back and guard Julia and Max. Have you heard from Nitro? I haven’t seen his stupid ass since I bailed him out of jail.”

“Nah. Nothing yet. He turned his phone off, too, so Matrix couldn’t track him.”

“Jackass. I should kick him out of the club for this bullshit. We need him, and he’s not here.”

“Heard you bashed his face in pretty good.” Reaper gives me a disapproving look.

“He had that coming after putting himself and Julia in danger. I won’t tolerate that shit.”

“Even so, we’re brothers. We have to stick together.”

“Well, he must have missed that line in the club handbook.”

“What handbook?” Reaper scowls.

I laugh and head for the garage to get my bike. I grab a couple of pistols from the gun safe in the garage and shove them into my cut. I’m about to climb onto my bike when the door from the kitchen opens, and Reaper pokes his head out.

“Are you sure you want to go out there? I’m all for going after this fuck, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he says.

“A premonition or just a feeling?” As far as I know, he’s never had premonitions, but maybe he’s developing a new skill.

“A feeling. It’s not good. Death is in the air. I can smell it.”

“What you’re smelling is the sheriff’s death. If I can get a clean shot, I’m taking him out.”

“It’s the only way.” Reaper gives me a smile born of darkness that chills me. No matter how many times I’ve seen that exact look in his eyes, it’s still terrifying. I know the demons in his soul are nothing like mine. Still hellish but infused with the stench of death.

I shake away the icy fingers skittering down my spine and strap on my helmet. Unlike Nitro, I don’t want to die. I’ve got to live long enough to kill Blackstone. Anyone who gets between me and that goal is in for a world of hurt, and right now, that guy is the sheriff.

As I race off into the night, I can’t help but think about what Reaper said. Death is coming. I just hope it’s not mine. Now that I’ve found Julia, I’m not ready to die. She’s given me something I thought I’d never have again.Hope. She’s given me a reason to live that has nothing to do with Blackstone. I don’t know what it all means yet, but I know I’m not ready to let her go. I want to make her mine, but I can’t do that until I’ve sent all my demons straight to hell, where they belong.

I ride as fast as I dare toward the clubhouse. Treachery lurks on the dark roads. It’s a moonless night, the worst time to ride at this speed. A deer. A Demon Rider. Anything could be lying in wait to take me out. But I don’t care. Vengeance surges through my veins. It breathes down my neck and slithers through my soul. It’s going to be mine tonight.

When I reach the clubhouse, I find Matrix glued to his monitors. I stopped here first because if anyone has a line on where the sheriff might be, it’s him.

“What do you have so far?” I ask.

“Can’t find him. His cell’s off. No chatter on the scanners. I tapped into the FBI’s communications center, and there’s nothing about his current location. He’s in the wind.” Matrix sits back and laces his fingers over his head. His long-sleeved shirt slides down to reveal three fresh parallel cuts above his right wrist.

“I thought that shit was over.” I point at his arm.

“Yeah, well, it’s been a rough week.” He stares back, challenging me to an argument.

“You need help.”