Page 159 of Dirty Salvation

"How many men does it take to kill one asshole?" – Snake

Goddamn it, they'd been played! Fury blazed Rider's eyes retracing his steps in a fast stride, his men in line with him all adding their own dialogue he didn't listen to, fists clenched at his sides, his head was fucking buzzing. They'd been fuckingplayed. It didn't matter if they had the building surrounded, Hades had probably led Grinder there and escaped the moment he was inside, all the while Rider and his crew guarding a fucking empty shack for hours. He should have known. Fuck.

"There was no way we could have known, Prez."

"Now this prick is just annoying me."

"Can we kill him already?"

Fat chance. Trying to was growing challenging but around the white noise Rider's blood was pumping fast he only had one thought as he grabbed his phone. Before he could call to check his girl was safely at home he saw she'd sent another message.

Air punched out of his lungs.

She'd left the house! to pick up her fucking car.Jesus. Of all the ... he exhaled and hit send on the call, it rang and rang and ... he hung up and called the house ... the same results ... he was going to fucking kill his prospects if they'd let her out of their sight.

One of them picked up. "Where the fuck is Zara?" His snarl was like an animal, his leg swung over his bike roaring it to life, waiting to hear that his girl was in the kitchen or curled up with a movie.

"Hey, Prez. Pretty-boy picked her up a while ago, she was excited about her car, they said to hang here until they got back."

Hanging up, curses fell off his tongue.

"Rider?"

"Hades is going after Zara and my fucking old lady thinks everything is sorted here so she's gone to collect her car and I'm thirty cocksucking minutes away." Teeth clenched, he’d never felt this dread before. He hit call on her number again and after a few rings it went to voicemail."

"Shit. Let's ride, boys." Snake growled climbing onto his bike. "We head to your house?"

"You two head to the club, she might be there already. G, you're with me. Whoever finds her, fucking sit on her."

At the last second before he rode off he called Hawk, thank fuck someone answered. "It was a setup, he's gone after Zara and she was at the car dealership with Pretty, get a hold of him and tell him to get to the club with her asap, I'm thirty minutes out, heading back now."

Throughout his life, Rider had endured a lot of bad shit, beatings from fights he was too small to be equally matched in but would never back down from, and then his cutthroat climb to the presidency, yet on that ride back to Armado Springs was the worse thirty minutes of his life, he'd never been so gut terrified before.

He needed to get to Zara before Hades did.

Hang on, baby. I'm coming.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

"It's an honor to be my old lady, faithless sweet love." – Hades

"Ah-ah, don't even think it, sweet love. Get your bony ass over here to me like a good girl." Hades advised like they were the best of friends, those nasty eyes pinned to Zara.

Run. Run. Run.

Her brain was active. Her body slow as a drugged slug.

"Get the fuck here now, call out for help if you want to risk it, don't make me repeat myself, no one else has to get killed today, do you want blood on your hands. Get the fuck here. Or you won't find out what happened to the piece of shit Renegade Souls loverboy now will you?"

Rider! Zara's eyes flared, that sinking dread intensified until bile rose up into her throat, a heavy anchor on her heart.Please be okay. What had he done to Rider?oh god.Oxygen blasted in and out of her lungs with such a speed she was seconds away from hyperventilating as she forced her feet to move, to walk towards the devil until she was in touching distance and he reached out dragging her behind the wall, crashing her back against it, the pain stung her skin and cracked the base of her head. His touch was razor blades on her skin, she could feel it everywhere. Sickened by it.

"What did you do to Rider?" She forced herself to ask, thinking the worse. If Rider had gone after Hades but ... Hades was here ... it could only mean ...

Zara gripped by fear, its talons deep in her skin, she looked him dead in the eye, driving her chin up and to stay up, all she could think about was Rider.

Please be alive.

"What concern. Where was that loyalty when you were mine, huh?" He smiled repellent and Zara wasn't comforted by the gesture at all. He meant to harm her in the evilest of ways, she knew it, could feel it crawling along her skin. To most women, they wouldn’t see past the pretty face to all his ugliness beneath, to her he would always be a well-functioning sociopathic animal.