Page 9 of Next Level (Royal Bastards MC: Oakland Chapter #1)

THE CABIN

W e need to stop for gas, use the bathroom, and, from the sound coming from both our stomachs, we clearly need to eat.

“Let’s stop and grab some food,” I say as I take an exit.

I pull into a gas station first.

“Pull up some places to eat near here and pick one,” I tell her, getting out of the truck.

She yells from inside the truck, “There’s a diner right down the road here.”

A few minutes later, we’re both seated in a booth, looking at each other. She starts to read the menu, which gives me time to truly take in all her beauty.

Flawless skin. Light makeup, again flawless. Dark chocolate brown, almost black hair. Silky olive skin. My mouth waters, wanting to suck on her neck. One of her arms is completely sleeved in intricate, colored tattoos.

I clear my throat. “So, you’re a tattoo artist?”

The waitress sets down two glasses of water, saying she’ll give us a few more minutes.

Cherry grabs her glass, puts in a straw, and takes a long pull from it before saying, “Yeah, been doing it since I was sixteen. But I’ve been drawing all my life.”

She looks at my hands, which are both fully covered. I have tattoos all over my body from my neck down to my fingertips. Seeing her cherry blossoms down her arm has me intrigued and tripping out.

My entire life, I’ve been fascinated with Japanese heritage. I have a sexy Japanese geisha with cherry blossoms on one of my arms.

Could this be a sign?

No. Fuck that.

“You got a man?” I blurt out.

I suddenly have this urge to know everything about her.

She chokes on her drink and begins coughing.

“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” she says through a coughing fit.

I tilt my head, watching her.

Before I can answer, the waitress comes back. We both give our orders, and once she’s gone, I answer, “No, I’m very straightforward. Plus, I just wanted to know if you needed to check in with someone.”

Now it’s her turn to tilt her head, evaluating me.

“No, I’m too busy and move around a lot. No time,” she answers truthfully.

I take a drink of water, hiding my smirk.

“How does your ol’ lady feel about you being on the road with me?”

I scoff. “I ain’t got no ol’ lady.”

Cherry fires right back, “Samantha’s mom? She isn’t your ol’ lady?”

Her knowledge of ol’ ladies is a good sign that she might know about the biker lifestyle, but we’ll see how far it goes.

“Nah, never had an ol’ lady. She is my baby mama, but no one to worry about.”

We both sit there staring at each other with smirks on our faces.

“I like your cherry blossoms,” I announce, changing the subject.

She pulls down her shirt, showing her cleavage and revealing cherry blossoms peeking out of her— fuck me —pink-laced bra. Jesus, she’s got perfectly sized mounds of cleavage.

I choke on my drink.

She giggles.

“Christ. I was talking about the ones on your arm.” I grab a napkin.

She chuckles. “Oh sorry. I thought you were talking about these. I have them all over my body.”

I raise my brow, intrigued. “Oh really? Hmm. We’ll have to compare another time.”

She teases, “You have blossoms? I’d like to see that.”

Knowing she can’t see any of my tattoos except my neck and hands, which don’t show my blossom obsession, I don’t give anything away.

“Oh, I got lots of them, but that’s for another time.”

She makes a pouting face and folds her arms over her chest, making me want to yank her across this table and show her how much I want those blossoms in my mouth.

Needing to change the subject, I ask, “So, what is our plan? Do we go scope out the place first? Or just go there and hope for the best?”

We’ve already talked about her family and Garrett’s upbringing. She’s answered everything I’ve asked, so I feel confident she’s here to help.

Our food arrives, and we begin discussing our strategy for what we’re going to do. Sexual tension is put on hold—for now.

An hour later, we’re across the lake at a day picnic area. I’ve got my binoculars out, but I can’t see any movement across the lake at their family cabin.

Cherry is next to me, waiting.

“I don’t see anything. No lights, nothing.” My voice is rough, sounding angry.

Cherry touches my biceps, sending a jolt through my body. “Can I see again?”

I hand her the binoculars and watch her as she looks across the lake.

She says, looking through the binoculars, “Fuck it. Let’s go over there. You can park down the way, and I’ll walk up to the door.”

“Fuck that. I’m not letting you go in there alone,” I state roughly.

She lowers the binoculars and looks at me. “Garrett won’t hurt me. He might hate me, but he won’t hurt me.”

I shake my head.

She continues, “We need to know if she’s in there. Hell, if they’re even there. I can give you a sign if she is, and then you come in.”

I don’t say anything. I just look back and forth between her and the cabin across the lake.

Christ. I need my baby girl back. Fuck it.

“Let’s go,” I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the car.

When she doesn’t let go but instead weaves our fingers together, my heart swells.

A bolt of energy surges through me, knowing we’re so close to getting my girl back.

Or it could be the contact of holding Cherry’s hand since both have me jonesing.

Half an hour later, we’re pulling up to the cabin.

No cars.

No lights.

No smoke from the chimney.

Nothing.

My heart races. Not letting her go alone, we both get out of the truck. I pull out my Glock, and it doesn’t even faze her. She just moves right next to me. When we approach the door, she takes out a set of keys. Opening the door, she calls out, “Gar? Are you here?”

Nothing. Silence.

She moves inside with me right behind her. When she turns on the lights, I hold up my gun, checking the area around us.

Nothing. Silence.

Fuck!

I move down the hall and check each room.

Nothing. Silence.

“Goddamnit!” I roar.

Cherry calls out, “Level, come here.”

I follow her voice and find her in the kitchen.

“What?” I say, looking around for someone or something.

She takes several dirty dishes out of the sink. “They’ve been here. There’s food in the fridge and dishes in the sink.”

I look around the place and notice beer cans, a bottle of Jack, and empty soda cans.

Questions fly through my mind.

How could they have known we were coming?

Could someone have tipped them off—but who?

Where did they go?

Is she okay?

Cherry grabs my arm, pulling me from my thoughts. “We’re going to find her. Let’s head back into town. There are a few bars and places he might go to.”

“What about Sam? She’s fifteen years old. She won’t be in a bar.”

“Let’s just ask around. Check things out. Get a room and figure out our next move. You look like you need some sleep and to regroup. We’re close. We’ll get her,” Cherry reassures me.

I know she’s right. We are so close.

I agree and follow her out of the house. She closes up, leaving it the way we found it in case they are only in town. We don’t want to tip them off that we’ve been here.

After hitting a few bars, we find out that a couple of people have seen Garrett in the bar, but no one has seen Jared or Sam.

We decided to check into a hotel and stay for the night. My anxiety and stress are through the roof. I feel like I’m going to lose it.

We’re so close.