Page 118 of The Loves We Lost

There are two vehicles on the driveway. A man stands with his back to us, leaning against the car door. Air can barely make it into my lungs; I’m breathless. Panic is choking me. Running is all I can focus on.

Not the weight in my arms.

Certainly not the two gunshots I hear inside the house.

Just the thud of ground beneath my sneakered feet as I travel faster than I would have thought myself capable of.

Unaware of my surroundings, I remember the only bit of information Noah gave me. When I hit the trail, I turn left. In the cover of the trees, I place Avery on the ground.

“I need you to be brave, Avery. Braver than you’ve ever been. Trust me, okay?”

Avery’s lip wobbles as tears spill over. “I do, Momma.”

I throw up and feel better for doing so. And then I grab Avery’s hand, and we run again, weaving under and over fallen branches, snaking around boulders and shrubs.

As we do, I pray that help is coming.

37

BATES

Black.

It’s all I can see.

Vengeance. Hatred.

Vi hasn’t answered her phone. Neither has Noah. There were no panic alarms pressed. Both my girls’ trackers say they are at home, but the porch camera says they aren’t. Because Vex showed me them leaving and not retuning.

Hence, the ride to Noah’s. The last place I know they were supposed to be.

I don’t follow the road or think about directions. Instead, I focus on keeping Niro’s bike to my right as we ride and swallow down the bile that keeps burning my throat.

My club will get me where I need to be, of that I’m certain. We’re armed to the teeth. Weapons fully on display, and I don’t give a shit. I see Halo’s M27 assault rifle across his back as he rides. None of my brothers care that the police could arrest us for this single violation alone. We’re ready for business.

Switch is even driving the van with medical supplies in case we need it when we find them.

I just had my life where I wanted it. I had the woman I loved at my side. I was a father. About to be a father again. And if those fuckers have harmed a hair on either of my girls’ heads, I will spend eternity hunting them down and killing them.

We pull up en masse to Noah’s home, bikes roaring onto the property as I see five men disappearing on foot into the boundary at the rear corner of the lot. The front door is wide open, and there is no sign of Vi’s car.

I tear off my helmet.

“Search the house,” King instructs. But my gut tells me the men were chasing someone with their guns raised.

“Five men ran that way,” I say. “I’m taking Niro, Cat, and Halo.”

King nods. “Go. I’ll send Saint and Spark around the back of those woods, come at you from the other side. Watch your gunfire.”

Without saying anything, the four of us ride to the far corner of the property before dismounting our bikes.

“Niro, you and Cat head over that way.” I gesture to my left.

Niro shakes his head. “No. Cat and Halo go that way. I’m with you for every step of this.” He kisses Cat swiftly. “Do your thing and be safe,” he says to her, then begins to run to the right.

Shaken, I follow him. I’m blown away that he’d let his old lady out of his sight to find mine. I know Cat is a capable woman, but the gesture isn’t lost on me.

The four of us spread out wide, listening as we run. My legs burn as muscles fire. The air is warm and moist as I suck it in. The leaves provide some shade from the fireball of the midday sun.