Page 4

PUCK

I was moving before I considered the wisdom of it, taking off down the hallway as shouts sounded behind me. Those assholes had been in Arcane. My bar.

My boots hit the carpeted hardwood in a vicious tempo. Gods, I hoped like hell they were still there. I’d slit their throats and not give a damn if the whole town saw.

As I reached for the doorknob, a hand grabbed my tee and pulled me back. “Take a breath,” Kingston clipped.

“A breath?” I snarled. “Wren is hanging from a goddamned hook. They’re draining all the blood from her body, and you want me to…what? Meditate?”

King shoved me, trying to jerk me to attention. “No. I want you to not get dead.” His light-blue eyes went pure silver. “Did you ever think that they might be laying a trap? Hoping we’ll all come running so they can take us out one by one?”

Unease slid through me as I thought about my staff at Arcane. Dina and Gary were on today, trying to hold it together after Wren and I bailed on them. They just didn’t know why.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“Exactly.”

I pressed the heels of my palms to my eyes, trying to relieve some of the pressure in my head. “What do we do?”

“We go there, but we make the approach smart. We don’t go in the way we usually do. We circle until we know for sure there aren’t traps.”

I dropped my hands from my face. “Okay. One vehicle or two?”

“I’ll take the SUV. You grab your bike. It’ll give us flexibility.”

This was one of the reasons King was alpha. His brain was always strategizing. And having my bike could become necessary going up against an MC. If they were on bikes, too, they could dodge, weave, and get through tight spaces. One of us needed to be able to, as well.

“Let’s move,” I clipped.

King pulled out his phone, his fingers flying across the screen. “Locke sent us a still from the video with Wren blurred out. Once we clear Arcane, we need to ask around and see if anyone recognizes the building and knows where it is. If they sent the email from the bar, she’s close.”

My gut twisted in a vicious jerk. Wren. My mate. Hurting. Dying. So close but somehow beyond our reach.

I shoved the thoughts from my mind and strode out the front door, moving toward the massive garage on the side of the house. King had already hit Open from the app on his phone for the bay doors in front of his dark SUV and the row of motorcycles.

If I’d been going for a pleasure ride, I would’ve gone for the Triumph. But this was far from fun. I needed speed and precision, so I went straight for the Ducati Panigale. The red paint job with its custom accents wasn’t exactly subtle, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it now.

Moving to the side of the garage, I grabbed my leather jacket and helmet. Donning both, I climbed on and started my girl up.

“ Ready? ” King’s voice filled my mind.

“ Tell me the approach you want. ”

“ I’ll head in clockwise, approaching Arcane from the south. You go counter and approach from the west. ”

Neither was our typical route, and that was the point. “See you there. ”

The SUV’s engine started up, but I was already out of the garage. I didn’t waste any time. My hand twisted the throttle, taking me off the property in a flash. The speed was a combination of desperate need and strategy.

You could easily determine if you were being followed if you went fast. But it also meant getting to leads quicker. And that mattered the most. Finding Wren.

My bike hugged every curve in the road like a glove. Knowing it would take King longer to make his loop, I swung through a more rundown part of town, looking for anything out of place. Bikes that were too nice, unfamiliar faces, scents that didn’t belong.

But I didn’t see a damn thing that said Wren could be there.

Letting out a growl of frustration, I turned my bike toward Arcane. I focused all my senses, readying myself for an attack, but nothing came.

I dropped my speed and eased into the bar’s parking lot. Shutting off the Ducati’s engine, I climbed off. As I took off my helmet, I realized things wouldn’t remain attack-free.

Red hair caught the sunlight as Cressida moved in my direction.

My wolf let out a low growl. He didn’t want the female who’d been so cruel to Wren anywhere near us, and I agreed.

Cress was dressed immaculately—not over-the-top, but she’d certainly put in some effort: jeans that hugged every curve with a shirt that made sure I knew exactly what was underneath.

“Puck,” she greeted, her voice soft in a way that was all lies. She tried to play the submissive when she was anything but.

“I don’t have time, Cress.” I started toward the door.

She moved into my path, hurt brimming in her green eyes. “I wanted to apologize. Set things right. I shouldn’t have tipped the waitress’s tray. I admit it; I was jealous.”

I gnashed my back teeth. Cressida wouldn’t even say Wren’s name. “It’s not me you have to apologize to.”

Cressida’s lips pressed into a thin line. “We shared something special?—”

“We shared a fuck. I was wasted. You weren’t exactly sober either. It never should’ve happened. I’m sorry if that hurts you, but it’s the truth. But maybe this is all my fault for not saying it from the beginning.”

Just one more thing where I was to blame.

Shock then anger flashed in Cressida’s eyes. “Has anyone told you what a bastard you are?”

“Not today,” I muttered.

“Fuck off, Puck,” Cressida clipped and then stalked away.

“Jesus.” I squeezed the bridge of my nose.

“More problems?” King asked as he walked up.

“Not important.” None of it was. Nothing but Wren.

“I didn’t see anything on my approach. You?”

I shook my head. “Everything’s quiet.”

“I don’t like it,” King gritted out.

“Me either.”

I stalked to the door and hauled it open. At four o’clock, it was that lull between lunch and dinner, and only a few patrons were inside. Dina looked up from behind the bar, her eyes flashing with frustration and worry, but she waited until we were close to speak.

“What the hell is going on?”

I winced. “I’m sorry, D. I?—”

“You bail on me, and Wren’s in the wind. Did you hurt her?”

King and I shared a look.

Dina let out a low growl that had my wolf nodding in respect. “Do I need to take my bat to you?”

Honestly, her bat would’ve been a welcome reprieve. I’d take the physical pain over the emotional any day of the week.

“There’s some stuff going on that we can’t talk about,” I said, my voice low.

Dina’s whole demeanor shifted. “She in trouble?”

I nodded. “Did you see anyone in here today who read MC to you?”

Dina’s shoulders straightened. “Two guys came for a late lunch. Wore cuts. Read like supreme assholes.”

King’s jaw worked back and forth. “You get a look at their bikes?”

Dina shook her head. “No. Didn’t go outside while they were here. Did they hurt Wren?”

“We don’t know,” Kingston said, his voice low. I admired the restraint and mask he held on to so expertly. “But we’ve got a lead. Do you know where this building is?”

Kingston flipped his phone around so Dina could see the screen. Locke had erased Wren from the photo, blurring the center of it and darkening the section so you’d never know a woman was there. Though not just any woman.

Wren.

Pain clawed at me, taking vicious swipes. I just let it come. I deserved it. We all did. For not protecting Wren. For making her run in the first place.

“No…I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. You got a photo of the outside?” Dina asked Kingston.

“I wish I did.” Fatigue oozed from King’s words as he shoved the phone into his pocket.

“Ask Clyde,” Dina suggested. “He’s lived here forever. Might know where it is.”

Kingston lifted his chin in agreement. “Good idea.” He turned to me. “You gonna be okay?”

I jerked my head in a nod. “Let me know what Clyde says.”

Kingston was already moving, needing to do something, anything , to help bring Wren home.

“Did someone take her, Puck?” Dina dropped her voice so low it would’ve been hard to hear if I didn’t have supernatural hearing.

I opened my mouth to lie to Dina’s face, but found I couldn’t. Instead, I gave her the truth. “Yes. Someone took her. And I’m going to end them in a way that makes them wish they’d never taken their first breath.”