Page 2

CHAPTER 2

L aw scanned the Graceview Retreat Center for movement or anything unusual. Even with the mylar blanket underneath him, lying on his stomach on the frozen ground for four days wasn’t ideal. His skin was red and numb. But after spotting his target, nothing could have made him move.

Glancing at his watch, his heart ticked up a beat. It was six minutes until go time. The plan had come together easier than he’d thought it would. Sabre had a score to settle with the Society and its Warrior MC sidekicks. All the guys wanted a piece of the action.

They’d planned Zane’s rescue down to the last detail, but they hadn’t figured on the Lovelyn factor. He’d been watching her for four days, since he’d come back to scout and take note of the security guards’ movements. One thing he’d figured out about her right from the start was she was a menace to herself and everyone around her. And the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen.

The first thing he’d be discussing with her once he got her out was how windows worked. Evidently, no one had told her they worked both ways, and if she could see out, other people could see in. For four days, he’d watched her parade around her room wearing practically nothing, doing the most outrageous things.

She did whatever popped into her head, whether that was slinging herself rhythmically around the room in what he assumed was supposed to be dancing since she held her hairbrush to her mouth as a microphone. Adorable as fuck, but not what he’d call dancing. He was stretching it to even call it rhythmic.

His fingers itched to grab that brush and sit her down in front of him so he could brush her hair. Evidence suggested she didn’t know what a brush was really for, either. Once he smoothed out all the tangles and snarls, he’d put her over his knee and show her the other thing he liked to use hairbrushes for while explaining how windows worked. Thoroughly.

Then there was the jumping on the bed. He’d damn near had a heart attack the night before when she’d toppled off the side and disappeared from view. He’d been up and halfway to the perimeter fence when she’d climbed back up on her bed.

At first, he thought she was crying because she’d hurt herself, and his heart almost stopped. Then he realized she was laughing. He hadn’t even settled back onto his blanket before she was up and bouncing again.

She stayed up too late. Didn’t eat any of the vegetables the Society provided at her meals. And talked to herself and her stuffies a lot. He couldn’t really blame her for that last one since no one else who entered the room spoke to her at all. The woman was nothing if not verbal, so having no one to talk to must have been torture.

And through it all, no matter what happened, she just kept going. He’d never seen her break down. The fact all that had happened was bad enough, but what concerned him was, through it all, he’d never seen her cry.

She must have so many feelings inside, but she never broke down, had a good cry, and gotten rid of all the junk inside. He had no idea how, after four years, she wasn’t certifiably insane. He wouldn’t know until he could spend time with her, but by everything he’d seen, he’d bet his bottom dollar she was a Little. The question was, did she know she was Little?

She was the closest thing to pure light and joy he’d ever seen. It had taken all his self-control not to chuck the plan and infiltrate the mansion four days ago. It had been a constant battle. The only thing closer to frostbite than his stomach was his cock. And all the things he kept imagining warming it up didn’t help.

He’d never been one to ignore his instincts. His instincts had saved him more times than he could count. And every instinct he had was telling him to move now, get to her room, and make her his. He’d had more visions of hugging that curvy body tight, kissing her hard, fucking her harder, and then listening to whatever she wanted to share for as long as she had words to say.

Because all in all, she was the most adorable Little girl he’d ever seen. He couldn’t explain it. He never tried. But he knew she’d be his in some way. Thank god he’d read the message on Zane’s phone five days ago when the kid had snuck out of his house and run back to the Warriors. If not for that, he wouldn’t have known he even had a sister.

Yeah, he and the kid would be having a chat. Zane had lived with him for months, ever since he’d come back to check on Deke’s Little girl, Suzi, when the Warriors tried to poison her. Zane hadn’t realized what the bikers had made him deliver, but once he did, he went back to make sure Suzi hadn’t been harmed. He’d been with Sabre ever since. Law had taken the kid under his wing, and Zane had been living with him in one of Law’s spare bedrooms.

He knew the kid had secrets he wasn’t ready to share, but he’d never imagined the outlaw MC had his sister. Hell, he hadn’t even known Zane had a sister until he’d found the club’s message on Zane’s phone. Some asshat named Ravage had sent the message informing Zane his sister, Lovelyn, was at the Darling compound and the kid had snuck out, stolen Law’s bike, and gone back to the Warriors.

Law glanced at his watch again. Four minutes to go. Bringing the team up on his phone’s GPS, he counted the dots and locations. Everyone was in place, so what were they waiting for?

Four minutes might as well be forever. He needed to get to Zane and Lovelyn as soon as possible. A lot could happen in an interrogation in four minutes, and since Sawyer had patched Law into the Society’s walkie-talkie frequency the day before, he knew that’s where the kid was. They’d interrogated the kid a lot. It had been fucking hard to hear, but no matter what they did or threatened to do, the kid didn’t crack.

Guilt tried to cloud his mind, but he shoved it aside. He’d feel guilty that he hadn’t known what the kid had planned later. Zane had made the call to go back in. Right or wrong, that was done. Now, he needed to focus on getting the kid back out. Four minutes earlier than planned.

Dialing Sawyer, he made his demands before his brother could utter a word. “Everyone’s in position. Are we go?”

“I’ll check.” Sawyer didn’t waste time asking stupid questions. It was one of his finest qualities. He came back thirty seconds later. “Everyone is set. Reid and Hutch are walking up to the gate as a diversion. I just cut the phones and internet, and Gage is about to drive one of Winnie’s junker trucks into the transformer po—” A huge boom echoed from the far side of the compound. “Damn! Make that drove the truck into the transformer pole. I’m deactivating the Society’s account from their internet carrier, so most people’s phones won’t work to report anything. The Warriors should be about to have their hands full.”

Several explosions rent the early morning air of the Warriors’ compound. Right on time. Leave it to Connor and Deke to create an effective diversion. When they’d said they were hitting the compound with a barrage of Molotov cocktails, Law had been impressed. By the size of those explosions, they’d used something a hell of a lot more combustible than gasoline.

If the Society had been counting on the MC as backup, they were out of luck. Now, it was up to Law to make the most of the diversions and disruptions his brothers had made.

Crouching low, Law raced across the meadow. Fortunately, the past two days had been warm and dry, allowing much of the snow to melt away. His puncture-resistant Kevlar arm sleeves were perfect for the barbed wire topping the fence.

Once over the fence, Law grinned at the mass havoc consuming the Society’s compound, better known as the Graceville Resource Center or GRC. He wore black cargo pants and a thermal shirt with the same jacket as all the other Society security guards wore. Pulling on his cap, he thanked the powers that be for Sawyer Dorsey.

If information was online, that man could find it, hack into it, and do anything he wanted with it once he was in. Including ordering a uniform that matched the men now running like chickens with their heads cut off. Sawyer never participated in the ops themselves, preferring to stay in the background and run the show. Somehow, Law thought there was a lot more to Sawyer than computer skills, but if his friend wanted to keep that to himself, that was his call.

Law jogged across the compound and up the steps of the mansion where Zane and Lovelyn were held. Connor had used his contacts to get word to Zane that Sabre was making their move today, so Law planned to reach Zane first. Lovelyn would also be more inclined to trust him if he had her brother with him.

Zane was being held in one of four cells in the basement. All he needed to do was get him out of a locked cell without attracting too much attention. He’d devised a contingency plan in case Zane was too hurt to escape unassisted. Step one was to wrestle a gun from one of the security guards and shoot every last one of them for hurting the kid. That part was the most important. After that, the plan depended on how badly Zane had been injured, but he had backup plans.

Law always had plans. Things ran better when they were organized and orderly. Certain aspects of his life, those he kept the most secret, needed planning to work. The thrill was in executing the plan and the rewards it brought.

The dim lighting gave way to utter darkness as he stepped into the small room at the top of the stairs. It was fortunate the room was there. Otherwise, the change in light would alert the guard to his presence.

The wooden steps to the basement were silent as Law crept along the wall. One guard stood at the base of the stairs next to a spotlight that likely ran on batteries. With his back to the stairs, he was more concerned about the prisoners in the cells below escaping than about anyone coming down to rescue those who were held. They’d be reconsidering that plan after today.

It pissed him off nearly as much as the barbed wire on the perimeter fence leaning inward like a prison rather than outward. They worried more about their members escaping than they did outsiders coming in to harm them.

One blow to the guard’s temple was all it took to knock him out, leaving him lying on the floor. After dragging the guard into one of the vacant cells, Law grabbed the spotlight, found the keys, and opened Zane’s cell door.

“You all right?” Law tipped Zane’s chin to use the spotlight and assess the extent of abuse the kid had suffered. That would determine how many of the Society’s members Law had to kill. One for each bruise seemed fitting to him.

Zane wrestled his chin from Law’s grasp. “I’m fine. Let’s go get Lovie. ”

“Not so fast, man. They’ve been using you as a punching bag for four days. Let me see the damage.”

“It’s not gonna be any more or less damaged after we get Lovie. They never even let me see her, not once they got us inside. They wouldn’t let her, either, or she would have been down here.”

The kid wasn’t wrong about that. From what he overheard, she’d tried everything. Zane wasn’t the only one who wanted to get to Lovelyn. After watching for as long as he had, Law had become invested in her life. He wanted to meet her in person to see if she was who he thought she was.

Law gave in. He could count Zane’s bruises as they made their way to Lovelyn’s room. “One rule, kid. Until we’re safely off Society property, you do exactly what I say the second I say it. Got me? Because if you can’t give me your word on that, I’ll leave you here, get your sister, and pick you up on the way out. I have enough to worry about without worrying about you doing something stupid.”

Zane scowled at him. Law could appreciate that. Zane had to grow up fast over the last year. He thought of himself as a man, even though he wasn’t. Zane had to know who was in charge, so Law waited him out.

“I’m not a kid, no matter what you call me. I want my sister safe, so no way am I going to do something stupid that will slow us down. I’ll do whatever you say.”

Whether Zane could stand by that statement or not, they needed to get moving. Time was running out. “All right. Let’s go.”

At the top of the stairs, Law took Zane by the arm. “Play along so we don’t attract attention.”

Pulling the brim of his security cap low, Law marched the kid to the entry hall and up the wide staircase leading to the second floor. They received a few curious glances, but no one attempted to stop them. If the floor plans Sawyer had sent him were accurate, Lovelyn’s room should be the third on the left .

When they reached the door, Zane knocked. Best case scenario, Lovelyn would open the door, and they could all get the hell out before the chaos settled.

Of course, nothing ever matched the best-case scenario. Lovelyn didn’t answer the door, which made sense when Law remembered they kept her locked in. That was why he always had a Plan B, and a plan for every other letter of the alphabet. With proper planning, the objective could always be obtained.

Law pulled out a multitool he’d had customized to his specifications. Selecting the hex key tool, he inserted it into the lock and working on it in short order.

“They locked her in? What the fuck? Has she been treated like a prisoner for four years?”

Law couldn’t have heard him correctly. He assumed Zane and his sister had been with the Warriors for about the same amount of time. Zane had been with them for almost a year, which was a hell of a lot shorter than four years. What had taken her family so long to try to rescue her? And why in the fuck had it been her kid brother who made the attempt at all?

He needed answers, but that would have to wait.

The click of the lock opening was music to Law’s ears. Time to get the girl and get them all the hell out of here.

He wouldn’t have been surprised to see any number of things when they stepped into the room. Lovelyn jumping on the bed would be par for the course. Lovelyn talking to her stuffies, or dancing, or even sleeping since the power was out… none of those would have been out of the ordinary.

What he didn’t expect to find was an empty room. She hadn’t left this room in four days, so where the hell was she? He crossed to the bathroom to see if she was taking a bath, but that room was empty as well. She wasn’t hiding in the closet, either.

Law had made a plan with twenty-six contingency measures for every conceivable scenario. But not for a Little named Lovelyn to get a wild hair and be completely absent from the damn room.

She hadn’t been in the dungeon. And there had been no talk of them taking her anywhere before Sabre attacked. Had she gone outside? His phone was in his hand the second the thought occurred to him.

“Hutch? Did you spot Lovelyn outside? She’s wearing dark pants and a gray, long-sleeved shirt that reads ‘Squirrel Mode Has Been Activated’, so she should be easy to spot.”

“Checking now… no, I don’t see her. I’m out front. Let me call Reid and see if she went out back. Do you need me to come in and help you find her?”

“No, you need to be out there in case I need cover getting them out. Neither of them is equipped to scale the fence. She’s most likely inside the mansion. I’ll report in when I find her.”

“Roger that. Calling Reid now, then I’ll call Sawyer in case any of the camera feeds are still connected to his system.”

“Thanks, brother.” Law ended the call. “Come on. Did you hear them say anything about moving your sister?”

Zane shook his head. “The only place I can think they might take her is the conference room. It’s almost directly under this room, so it shouldn’t take us long to get there.”

Law nodded. “Then let’s head there.”

Zane’s limp grew more pronounced with each step. He needed to get the kid to Bones as soon as possible, but no way would he be able to talk the kid into leaving without his sister. He got it. He’d be the same way. Not that he had any intention of leaving her in the clutches of these abusive thugs.

It took them five minutes they couldn’t spare to reach the conference room. Cautiously, Law opened the door. The room was spacious, with rows of chairs and a polished wooden table extending across the entire front. It must have been custom-made. Gorgeous, expensive paintings adorned the walls, and the lights of the four chandeliers were on.

The only thing missing from the room was Lovelyn. They were almost out of time. If they didn’t find her soon, he’d have to hand Zane off to Reid and Hutch and try to find Lovelyn on his own.

He texted Reid to bring him up to speed before turning to Zane. “You sit and rest your leg while I check the side rooms.”

Pale and sweating, Zane hobbled to the armchair nearest the door. Law waited until Zane was seated, then said, “I’ll be right back. If someone comes in, tell them one of the security guards brought you in here and you have no idea why.”

Zane nodded, closing his eyes and resting his head against the wall. The kid’s breathing was more rapid than Law liked. He needed to find Lovelyn soon and get Zane to the doc.

Checking each side room and finding them empty, Law had just returned to Zane when he heard a yelp of pain. It appeared to have come from a room just down the hall.

He turned to Zane. “Wait here. I’m going to check something out.”

Zane nodded but didn’t open his eyes. The person in the room down the hall had better be Lovelyn. Two doors down, he paused to listen. Someone was in the room, but he didn’t have time to take down a Society member if it wasn’t Zane’s sister.

“Owie! Shoot! You hurt like a son of a biscuit-eater.”

Definitely female. Was she injured? She wasn’t crying, so hopefully, whatever hurt wasn’t serious. He couldn’t say for certain it was Lovelyn, but he couldn’t imagine a woman in the Society saying anything about biscuit eaters.

Opening the door slowly, he slipped into what turned out to be an office. Lovelyn stood by the fireplace to his left. A fireplace holding a roaring fire. He’d be willing to bet she started it by herself as it was mostly kindling wood and paper in danger of toppling off the grate .

His palm itched, just as it had countless times over the past four days as he’d watched her. Of course, most of the time, he couldn’t focus on that because he was too busy trying to tell his dick to settle down.

She was just so, well, lovely. He’d always wondered what people meant when they described someone as a breath of fresh air. Now he knew. She was perfect. Perfect for him. She checked every box on his list. He was all about following his instincts, but even so, he’d never been so instantly attracted to someone in his life.

Most people thought there was an order to these things. You met someone, got to know them, and got comfortable being around them. If you decided it might be a good match, you took it to the next level.

But Law wasn’t like most people. He understood how close he would let someone get within minutes of meeting them. And after observing Lovelyn for as long as he had, the two of them would be very close if he had any say in it.

But following his instincts didn’t mean he lacked self-control. He always stayed in control of his actions and emotions. His dick didn’t react unless he gave it permission.

But not with Lovelyn. She attracted him in a way he’d never experienced before. He didn’t like it, yet he also didn’t want it to stop. Damn it.

He strode toward her, but she didn’t even notice. He was practically looking over her shoulder, and she remained oblivious to his presence. Did the woman possess no situational awareness at all? What if he were a member of the Society’s security team? He could have done anything to her; she was so focused on the papers in her hands.

Why was she reading at a time like this? Even if she hadn’t known he was coming, she should be doing something to improve her and Zane’s situation. The least she could have done was to go check on him. Family his ass. Zane was kidding himself .

After reading the page in her hand, she ripped it in half and threw it in the fire. What. The. Fuck.

She began to read the next page. “Read faster, Lovie. You’re almost finished. Just a few more pages.”

He smiled despite himself. She talked to herself. And called herself Lovie. That was fucking cute.

And her voice. How could a voice be calming and exciting at the same time? Husky and soft and sexy as fuck. He’d never heard a voice like hers. What would she sound like when she came?

No. Damn it. Now she had him doing it. He needed to grab her, alert Zane they were leaving, and get the hell out of this place.

“Hurry up, Lovie. You can’t have much time left.” Stress tightened her muscles.

Law leaned over her shoulder and put all the growl he could muster into his voice. “Less than you know. Lovie.”

She screeched and jumped to her feet. He hadn’t expected her to move, and her shoulder slammed into the bottom of his chin so hard he saw stars. Staggering backward, he took the time to make sure she hadn’t broken his jaw. If she’d hit him hard enough to leave a bruise, his brothers were going to give him shit for the rest of his life. And he’d deserve it.

Lovelyn skuttled around the floor, gathering papers. That didn’t say much about her impression of him as dangerous. She’d be wrong about that. Very wrong. Not that he intended to hurt her, though if she were his, her behind would be in danger of a good tanning for wandering around such a dangerous place by herself.

She stood, holding the papers before her like a shield. Her gaze swept over him from head to toe. “Listen, you… you Viking. Don’t you know you shouldn’t sneak up on people like that? You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Viking? He could see that. The Vikings had been warriors. He got it. With his blonde hair, shaved close on the sides but a bit longer on top, his tattoos, his height, and physical condition, he understood why she associated him with ancient warriors. And no, he didn’t puff his chest out or throw his shoulders back to make himself appear more formidable. When she shrank back, he felt like an ass.

Because you’re acting like one.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Zane is in the conference room. I’m here to get you both out, but we need to go.”

She relaxed. At least she stopped cowering. She even went so far as to give him a tight smile. That’s right, soothe her ruffled feathers like she’s not some self-centered diva.

A diva now shaking her head. “Sorry, but I can’t leave yet. I only have a few more pages. If you could give me five more minutes.”

Was she crazy? Did she not hear the chaos all around her? Good question. A better question: did she think of no one but herself? He clenched his fist to keep from tossing her over his shoulder and carrying her out the door. “Only five?”

She beamed a smile at him that damn near made him forget her attitude. She was beautiful all the time, but when she smiled at him like that, like she thought the sun and moon followed his commands, she went from beautiful to stunning.

What was he doing? He was no Viking, well, not much of one, but she might very well be a Norse Volva. Just like those witches of old who were respected and feared for their knowledge and ability to manipulate.

That she flinched when he stepped toward her did not move him. He snatched the papers from her hand and tossed them in the fire.

“Wait!” She dove for the papers and would have reached into the flames for them if he hadn’t stopped her.

She turned on him, anger heating the fear in her eyes. “What did you do? Are you crazy? ”

“Me? Woman, you were about to stick your damn hand into the fucking fire. What the hell was I supposed to do, sit by and watch?”

“Well, they wouldn’t be in the fire in the first place if you hadn’t yanked them out of my hands and tossed them in there. Who does that? You… you potty mouth.”

It took way more effort than it should to keep his lips from twitching up at the corners. Instead, he gave her a well-practiced glare. “I do, when someone has her head so stuck in said papers she’s putting herself and those she claims to love further in danger.”

Her demeanor shifted before his eyes. She melted from defiance to confused concern. Better late than never. “I’ll have you know those papers— wait. What are you talking about? Who’s in danger?”

Was she kidding him right now? His head might explode. “What do you mean, who? You and Zane, who else?”

Her eyes, those deep, rich, honey brown eyes, widened. At last, she was catching on. Maybe now she’d stop arguing and do as she was told.

He should be contemplating strangling her right now. He hated it when people didn’t follow the plan. And yet what he felt wasn’t anger. Not even close. He fought the urge to take her into his arms and tell her everything would be all right.

The fearful hope in her voice was palpable. “Zane? My Zane?”

Now it was Law’s turn to battle confusion. “Are you saying you didn’t know he was here? How could you not know? He’s your brother.”

The color drained from her face as she shook her head and backed away from him. He had to grab her arm to keep her from backing into the fire. “No. No, that can’t be right. I didn’t… I would never…” Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head. And damn if he didn’t feel better seeing a bit of her fire return. “He can’ t be here. I’d know. I mean, they’d have told me if he was here, wouldn’t they?”

Damn. He loved her tenacity and spunk. She was a piece of work. Work of art, that was. “Calm down, little fairy cat. If you don’t, I’ll have to start calling you wildcat?—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. And my name is Lovelyn, not fairy cat or wildcat.”

“Well, I’d say that depends on how much sass you’re dishing out. At the moment, you’re definitely channeling your inner wildcat.”

A disgruntled frown settled on her face, and she even managed to make it look adorable. Then, crossing her arms, she hmphed at him. No one had ever hmphed at him before.

She took his breath away. Although her height was above average for a woman, she was still nearly three-quarters of a foot shorter than him. Even with all her soft, luscious curves, he had to outweigh her by eighty pounds.

And she wasn’t afraid of him at all. At six feet five inches and two hundred thirty pounds, he was accustomed to people being wary of him at the very least. Young children were known to hide when they saw him approaching.

Georgia told him it wasn’t his size but his resting bitch face that scared everyone. He needed to tell Hutch his Little girl could have quite the potty mouth when she wanted to.

But even Georgia wouldn’t go toe-to-toe with him like Lovelyn was. He didn’t know if he liked it or not, but his dick, swelling more and more by the second, was voting yes.

Whether he liked it or not, they didn’t have time to waste arguing. “As much as I’d love to have this out here and now, Zane is waiting, and he’s hurt. He needs a doctor. So, you can either come with me willingly, or I can toss your ass over my shoulder and carry you out. Your call, fairy cat.”