Page 24

KEVLAR

Two Weeks Later . . .

“I’m telling you, Jason, I know something’s wrong.”

At the worry I hear in Jade’s voice, I spin around on my barstool and see both my new Prez and his woman coming into the clubhouse. We’d only just moved into the new place two weeks ago and only a couple of days ago finished furnishing the place.

The brick building we’d chosen is just on the outskirts of Pearl River.

A populated area where the club is already in the works of opening a strip joint, restaurant, and garage.

We’d just finished handling the paperwork yesterday for all the legal shit to get it started now to start with the other BS we’ve got to handle.

“Darlin’, I know you’re worried about her, but there’s nothing we can do until we get something to go on,” Viper states, wrapping his arm around Jade’s smaller body.

I can’t help but clench my teeth, realizing they’re talking about Rosemary.

A while ago, I fucked up where she was concerned.

I’d just gotten my patch and was all about the pussy.

One of the nights Jade brought her friend to the clubhouse, I sweet-talked her into my bed, spent the night fucking her, and showed her the door the next morning.

What was worse was when she’d come to the clubhouse after that without Jade, that’s when I fucked up and went off the deep end rather than asking what was obvious.

This, of course, earned me a slap in the face that I well deserved.

Now, she’s missing and has been for months now without a trace. How the woman up and vanished is bullshit. No one should be able to disappear the way she did. Not even Rex, her boss and roommate, knew where she went.

“I know, but it’s been months. This isn’t like her, and you know it.” Jade fusses and has this look on her face that isn’t quite right. Like she knows something. “We have to find her. ”

“Jade, darlin’, we’re doing what we can.

There’s not much more we can do right now.

Nerd’s working on it. Vulture’s at it. Hell, we’ve got word out that we’re looking for her,” Viper explains, stepping away from her and taking a seat on the stool by me.

He motions to Chrome, one of the prospects who came with us, for a beer and gives his attention back to Jade. “Promise, we’ll find her.”

“But . . . it might be too late,” Jade whispers and draws her bottom lip between her teeth.

Viper tenses next to me. “What do you mean by that, Jade?” he demands. The man loves his woman. Would do anything for her. I’m sure he’d give her the world if he could.

“It’s just that . . . well,” she sighs and brushes a hand through her hair in frustration, “Rosemary’s dad and brother have gotten word of her missing, and they’re pissed.”

“They have a right to be pissed, but what do you mean it might be too late?”

That’s what I’d like to know as well.

“Rosemary swore me to secrecy when we first met,” Jade states and starts pacing.

“You know we’re both from Colorado. I mean, Jensen’s the VP there, but I promised Rosie that I’d never tell anyone about her family.

She left to get away from them. They allowed it because they know her.

Know she blames them for the loss of her mom. ”

“Get to the point, darlin’,” Viper grunts, waving his hand in a rolling motion.

“Rosemary’s dad is the former President of a club called Reckless Souls MC. Her brother is now the President.”

I stare at the other woman like she’d grown two heads.

“I get you promised her, Jade, but this is information I think you should have shared with me,” Viper grinds out.

“I know, and I wanted to, but now it doesn’t matter.” She lets out a heavy breath and shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter because Big and Cobra have also started looking for her. Her dad, Big, well, he’s on his way here. He was going to go to Stonewall Mills, but he’s now on his way here.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“This isn’t good,” I remark.

“Jade,” Viper growls, “this is something you should have told us when she first went missing.”

“I’m sorry,” she whimpers, lip wobbling and tears pricking her eyes. “I just didn’t know what to do. It’s not like she’s close with them. She doesn’t even talk to either of them. I didn’t think.”

I stare at her, seeing the sincerity in her eyes as my Prez sighs heavily.

Even I know Jade isn’t one for crying. She’s sweet and shy, but she also has a damn backbone made of steel.

With all the shit she’d been through herself, this move was supposed to be like a fresh start, for her and my VP’s woman.

Several of us came from the original charter.

A few from each of the other charters to make up this one.

I got to admit it was a damn good move, and I was honored to have been voted in as the Sergeant at Arms for this charter.

“We’ll find her, darlin’,” Viper states, drawing Jade toward him. “Is there anything else we don’t know that could help with this shit?”

“No, not that I can think of.”

The way her expression drops, I believe her.

“When do you expect Rosemary’s dad to be here?

” I ask. I’d heard of the Reckless Souls MC.

They’re not your typical club. From the talk I’ve heard, they’re pretty much contracted killers.

I wouldn’t want to cross them. To think Rosemary is the daughter of the man who was once President of said club is mind-boggling.

Then again, it would explain why she was always fighting.

Rosemary didn’t just work at the gym, she trained there. Boxed and taught at it. She also would get in the ring against others. I’d seen her a time or two, and she’s damn good .

“He said soon,” Jade answers. “I didn’t know what he meant by that. Just that he was coming straight here.”

“Fuck,” I grunt and look at Viper. “You ever heard of the Reckless Souls MC?”

“Yeah,” he grinds out. “This isn’t a good thing. Get Vulture and tell him I want his ass on this. Last thing we need is a war on our hands. We just got down here, and we’re working on establishing our territory here.”

“You got it, Prez.” I grunt, coming off my bar stool and head in search of Vulture.

We’d picked this building for the very reason of its massive space.

There are enough rooms for all of us to have one.

Two of the rooms are designated for the clubwhores, granted we don’t have any of those around just yet.

Viper and Cyprus wanted to get the clubhouse organized before allowing them to come around.

I get it, but damn, if it doesn’t make this a headache when I want to get my dick wet. Well, not that hard, I can go to one of the clubs in town and find easy pussy, but it ain’t the same.

My cell rings in my pocket, and I yank it out to find Wrecker, our other prospect, calling. We have him manning the gate right now. Swiping a finger over the screen, I answer. “What is it?”

“We got a couple men out here, demanding entrance. One of ‘em says his name’s Big.”

“Fuck,” I snarl, look to where I’d left Viper, and jerk my chin. “Let ‘em in.” Closing the phone, I stalk back toward Viper and Jade. “We’ve got company.”

“Shit,” Viper mutters. “Get Vulture and Cyprus in here now.”

“On it.” Nodding, I find Cyprus’s number and call him while heading toward where Vulture has all his shit set up. I quickly tell Cyprus to get here and grab Vulture from in front of his computers. The rest of the club are out with Cyprus, so they’ll be with him when he gets here.

With Vulture in tow, I make my way back to the common room, ignoring Vulture’s demands to know what’s going on. He’ll find out soon enough.

Just as we step into the room, the doors open, and several men of the Reckless Souls MC step into the clubhouse. It doesn’t take a genius to know which one’s Big or Cobra. They both have the same eyes as Rosemary.

“I’m guessing Jade’s told you all that we were coming,” Big states, stepping forward.

“We only just found out who you are.” Viper nods, putting Jade behind him. “You should’ve just called. We’d have gladly told you anything you wanted about your daughter. ”

“My daughter’s been missing, and we had to hear about it through rumors.” Big sneers and glances around the room.

“What do you know about my sister?” Cobra demands, moving to stand next to his dad.

“I’m sorry,” Jade whispers, her voice trembling. “I didn’t tell them until now. Rosemary and I made a promise, and I didn’t know what to do. It’s been months, and she made me swear a long time ago never to mention it. To keep it a secret like it were government top secret.”

“Sweetheart,” Big grunts, “I know my daughter. She’s just like her mother. Strong-willed and stubborn.”

“A damn pain in my ass,” Cobra mutters. “Always was and always will be. Now, what avenues have you looked to find her?”

Viper takes the next few minutes to inform them that there’s nothing to go on. She’s a ghost, and we can’t place her anywhere. Vulture also explains what he’s doing and that he’s tracking.

“Whatever happened to her, it’s not good,” Big announces as the rest of my brothers make their way inside, Cyprus moving to stand on Viper’s other side.

“What makes you think that?” I ask.

“Because, we left my sister alone for so long because we were able to track her. Whatever is happening, they’ve either found the tracker embedded in or they’re blocking it somehow,” Cobra explains, leveling me with a glare.

“Do you have any idea who would have taken her?” The question passes my lips before I can hold it back.

Cobra eyes me closely, narrowing them accusingly. “What’s my sister to you?”

“Nothing,” I grunt, cross my arms, and refuse to let him get to me.

Rosemary is just a woman I had a one-night stand with. She’s Jade’s best friend. The two of them are close as family. Who the fuck am I kidding. Rosemary has haunted me from the moment I showed her the door. I want her back in my bed, and I know it, but I’m not ready to admit it.

“I don’t think it’s nothing,” Big remarks, eyeing me closely as well, his jaw twitching. “You got that look in your eye.”

I ignore the comment. “Do you know something or not?”

Cobra steps closer to me, getting nose to nose. “Yeah, we’ve heard something. It’s one of the reasons we’re in Mississippi. There are rumors of a death match club, and they have a female champion.”

“Oh my God.” Jade gasps.

My stomach tightens. With all the human sex trafficking our club’s been dealing it, it didn’t occur that it could be another reason she’d be taken. But who the hell would take her?

“How did you hear about this and we haven’t?” Cyprus demands.

“Guess because we’re in the know on shit you’re not.” Cobra shrugs.

“We’ll deal with what we’ve heard and not later,” Viper grunts and narrows his gaze on Cobra. “Do you know when and where the next fight is being held?”

“Yeah, we do.” The other man smirks. “We’ve already got the invite for it and all.”

“When is it?” Stepping forward, I ball my fist, ready to beat the shit out of this guy. I don’t care if he’s Rosemary’s brother or not.

Cobra glances back at me, takes in my stance, and that smirk deepens. “Go ahead and strike. Just know, I’ll win, I promise you that.”

“Funny, ‘cause I’ve never lost a fight.” I sneer. “I grew up needing to fight for everything I have.” Not once in my life did I have anything that was easy. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to Rosemary. She’s a fight all on her own. “Now, when the fuck is this next fight?”

“Tonight,” he answers.

“We’re going in, confirming if it’s her, if it’s her, we’re finding out who has her, and then we’ll plan,” Big states and explains the rest of the plan.

“I’m in on it,” I announce.

“You fuck our plan up, and I’ll kill you,” Cobra grinds out.

“I’m not going to fuck your plan up, but I want to see for myself.”

“We’re all in on this.” Viper growls, interrupting me, getting everyone’s attention, his gaze locked on Cobra. “Rosemary might be your sister, but she’s our family.”

“Then get ready. Doors open in two hours.” Cobra nods and returns his attention to me. “If she’s yours, you say it now.”

“You heard Viper, she’s family to this club,” I grind out. There’s no way I’m admitting something like that to him, not when I can’t admit it to myself.

“You admit it now, or when we get her, we take her back home with us,” Cobra seethes, getting toe to toe with me. “Rosemary might be a pain in my fuckin’ ass, but she’s my sister, and I’ve lost plenty of time with her. You don’t admit it, don’t claim her, she no longer exists for you.”

My anger rises, and I throw a punch, slamming my fist into his face. “Don’t fuckin’ threaten me with taking Rosemary away from the family she has here. ”

Cobra grins and takes a step back, rubbing his jaw. “Guess you just admitted it.” He chuckles.

Fuck.

“Let’s just find out if it’s her or not.

” I growl and stalk toward the doors. I need air to calm down.

That bastard gets under my skin. I see where Rosemary gets it from, and that alone pisses me off.

If not for any other reason than the fact he’s right.

I’ve done everything I can not to think about her.

If these rumors are true and she’s being used in a death match club, then her time is limited. She’s a fighter, but even I know there’s only so much fight a person has before they can’t fight anymore.