CHAPTER SEVEN

SIX

My heart slams against my chest when I burst into the clubhouse. Chaos erupts around me—everyone is frantically searching for the kids, their voices overlapping as they shout names into the air like it’ll somehow bring them running.

Rebel is in the thick of it, tears streaming down her face, and my stomach twists at the sight. I stride over to her, grab her by the arms, and pull her into a tight embrace, holding her against me like I can shield her from the storm.

She’s trembling, shaking so hard I can feel it through my own body.

“K-Koda,” she stammers, her voice barely a whisper between her ragged breaths. “I c-can’t find t-them. I d-don’t know where t-they are. How could I l-lose them?” Her voice cracks, and it breaks something inside me. “What kind of m-mother a-am I?”

Her words are frantic, her breaths coming in short, panicked gasps, and I feel her collapsing under the weight of her fear. Her hands claw at my club cut like she’s trying to hold on to something solid, something that’ll keep her from spiraling out of control. Her chest heaves, and I hear her struggling, each breath becoming more shallow, more desperate.

I cup her face, my thumb gently brushing away the hot tears that streak her red and blotchy cheeks. “Rebel, you need to calm down. It’s not good for the baby—”

Suddenly, her body stiffens, and her breath catches in her throat. Her eyes widen in sheer panic, and her hands clutch at her chest as she fights for air. She’s hyperventilating, her whole body shaking like a leaf in a gale-force wind. Her lips part, but no words come out, just strangled breaths, and I see the terror in her eyes as her world closes in around her.

Shit.

She’s spiraling.

I know the signs all too well—she’s slipping, losing control, and I have to pull her back.

Now!

I grip her face firmly, forcing her to look at me, and do the only thing that’ll snap her out of it. “Pineapple!” I shout, loud and sharp, straight into her face.

Her eyes snap to mine, wild and confused at first, but then—slowly—she starts to focus. Her chest still rises and falls rapidly, but I control my breathing, making it slow and deep, exaggerated, so she’ll follow me.

“Look at me, Rebel. Breathe with me,” I murmur. Holding her face, my voice softer now but steady, unyielding. Her body trembles in my arms, and I see the internal battle raging in her as she tries to claw her way out of the panic, her breath hitching as she struggles to pull herself back from the edge.

I see the flicker of recognition in her eyes when she locks onto mine.

She’s coming back to me.

“P-pineapple,” she whispers, her voice shaking, but it’s there.

There she is.

I nod, keeping my voice calm, soothing. “That’s it, baby. Breathe. Slowly. In and out.” I guide her, keeping my own breaths measured and deep, my forehead pressed against hers. “You’ve got this. You’re okay.”

She inhales shakily, but it’s longer this time, more controlled. Her trembling starts to ease, and the panic loosens its grip on her. Her arms are still wrapped around me, her grip tight, but her breathing slows, syncing with mine, and I know she’s back.

Not completely, but enough.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I promise, brushing my hand through her hair, my voice low and steady. “We will find them, Rebel. We’ll find them.”

She nods, tears still streaming down her face, but there’s a glimmer of strength behind her eyes now, a small spark of hope. “P-pineapple,” she whispers again, a shaky smile pulling at her lips. And I drag her even tighter against me, grounding her, as we both take one breath at a time.

She furrows her brows, anxiety sweeping her features. “How can you be so calm—”

“Trust me, Thay, I’m not calm. Not even a little bit. C’mon, let’s try and figure this out. Where has everyone looked?”

She sniffles like she is defeated. “We’ve looked everywhere.”

“In their rooms? In all their hiding spots?”

“Everywhere! In all the nooks and crannies.”

Letting out a long exhale, I turn, glancing around the room, seeing everyone still searching. “Okay, has anyone checked outside the gates to see if they went for a walk?”

Amber rushes up beside us, tears streaming down her face. “I am so sorry, Six. This is all my fault. I was so upset by having to move out that I was moping in my room and packing instead of watching the kids. This is all on me. I will never forgive myself.”

Letting out a huff, I don’t know what to believe when it comes to Amber right now. “We’ll figure it out. They can’t have gotten far.”

Suddenly, Amber’s cell starts ringing, and she pulls it out. “Sorry, Pres, it’s my cousin in New Orleans. Is it okay if I take this?”

Furrowing my brows, I shrug. “You don’t need my permission to answer calls, Amber.”

She nods and ducks off to the other side of the room to take her call while I turn back to Rebel. “How long have they been gone?” I question.

“About an hour, we think, since the last person saw them.”

“They’re probably just playing hide and seek and have found a really good hiding place. You know what Kenna is like.”

Rebel finally smiles. “Yeah… I do.”

Pulling her to me, I plant a kiss on her lips. “We’ll find them, Rebel. I know we will.”

“God, I hope so.”

I press my lips to hers again as Amber comes rushing back over. “Sorry to interrupt, Pres, but my cousin is having an emergency. There was a storm in New Orleans, and her roof caved in, and her whole house was flooded. I know this is bad timing, but she needs some help. She just broke her ankle, and her husband has diabetes. She worries that it might be too much for him to do on his own. I’m so sorry to bail on you right now. I’ll be back in a few days, tops.”

I wave her off.

Honestly, it will be good not to have to worry about her right now. “Go, it’s fine. Family first.”

“I’ll obviously have my phone with me, so can you please let me know what’s happening with the girls?”

“Yeah, will do. Drive safe,” I tell her when she spins and rushes for the exit.

I turn back to Rebel, and she shakes her head. “Do we need to call the police and file a missing person’s report?”

“What help are the heat gonna give us?” I reply honestly.

“Then I need you to go out and ride, see if you can find them on the streets. I can’t just sit around here doing nothing.”

“Okay, but you gotta take care of yourself while I’m out. Promise me?”

“I promise. Please, Koda… go .”

Exhaling, I press my lips to her forehead, then turn, signaling to my guys, and they follow me outside.

“We riding, Pres?” Wraith asks.

“We gotta go off in different directions, roam the streets, and search. I want no stone left unturned.”

Everyone nods, and we hop on our rides and head out.

As I hammer down, I can’t help but feel hopeless, knowing my girls are somewhere, I just don’t know where. All I know is if it takes me all night, I will keep searching until I can’t feel my ass and my fingers turn numb.

***

It’s the early hours of the morning when I get back to the clubhouse. Rebel is exhausted, physically and mentally. She needs to rest, but she refuses to go to bed. She’s stayed up all night waiting for me to come back in case I found anything—which I didn’t.

Same with everyone else.

Sitting next to Rebel, I keep her tight in my arms, feeling her tremble against me. My own thoughts are racing, but I’m doing everything I can to keep it together, to keep her grounded while everything spirals out of control. The room is tense, thick with fear and desperation, and neither of us has spoken in what feels like hours, both too wrapped up in the terrifying unknown.

Then suddenly, my cell rings, breaking through the deafening silence.

I jerk upright, my heart pounding in my throat as I pull it out. The number is unrecognizable, not a contact I know, and a cold shiver runs down my spine.

Could this be it?

A ransom call?

My skin prickles, my breath catching, and I swipe the screen so fast it nearly slips from my hands.

“Who the fuck is this?” I bark, my voice rough with anxiety, gripping the phone like it’s the lifeline I’ve been waiting for.

A male voice comes through, calm, oblivious to the storm raging in my chest. “Hey, Six. It’s Dom. I work for Scout at the Slavers. I thought you might be interested in what we found in the shipping containers when they arrived at the dock in New Orleans.”

My mind stutters, struggling to focus. What the fuck is this guy talking about? I don’t care about some shipment right now. I’m about to snap at him to get to the point when something in his tone makes me hesitate. Gritting my teeth, I continue, “Okay, what?”

There’s a pause like he’s about to drop a bomb. “Two little kids. I believe they’re yours… Kenna and Kinzley?”

The world tilts.

Everything inside me goes numb for a split second, then slams into overdrive as if my heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest. “ What? What the fuck are my kids doing in New Orleans?”

My voice is raw, filled with disbelief and sheer panic. My vision blurs for a second as Rebel’s head snaps up. She grabs my arm, her nails digging into my skin as she demands to know what’s going on. I fumble to put the phone on speaker, my hands trembling, but I can’t even look at her.

I’m afraid of what I’ll see in her eyes.

Dom continues, unfazed by the chaos unraveling inside me. “Looks like they were stowaways in the shipping containers on the cargo train. They’re at the shipping dock. Six, what do you want us to do with them? We’ve got to travel with the product, but we obviously can’t leave your kids at the shipping dock by themselves.”

Rebel’s reaction is immediate and violent. She gasps, her whole body going rigid before she starts to hyperventilate, clutching at her stomach, her face twisted in horror. Tears spill from her wide eyes, and she’s shaking her head like she can’t believe what she’s hearing. Her breathing turns erratic, ragged, as if she’s suffocating, and the panic in her voice sends a blade of fear slicing through me.

“Koda,” she chokes out, barely able to breathe. “Our babies... our girls... what the hell were they doing in a shipping container?” Her voice cracks, rising with panic as she looks at me, wild-eyed as if I have the damn answers. “ How could this happen? Why were they there?” her voice raises an octave.

Her words stab me, each one fueling the guilt and helplessness already raging inside. I grip her hand tightly, pulling her close, trying to steady her, trying to steady myself. But my own heart is racing so fast I feel dizzy, my mind screaming with a thousand worst-case scenarios.

“Hey, listen to me. I’ll fix this.” My voice comes out rough and shaking, and I can even hear doubt in my own words as I say them. “It’s gonna be okay, Rebel. I swear. I’m gonna get them back.”

But the truth is, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to fix this.

My mind is spinning, and every plan I try to form is falling apart before it even begins.

How the fuck do I get my kids back from New Orleans in one piece?

Rebel grips my hand tighter, her nails digging in as fresh tears flood her eyes. Her breathing is still fast and shallow, her chest heaving as she tries to pull herself out of the panic, but it’s not working. “They’re so far away,” she whispers, her voice trembling. “What if… what if something happens before we get there?”

I squeeze her hand, forcing her to look at me, even though the fear in her eyes nearly shatters me. “Nothing’s gonna happen to them. We’ll get them back. I promise you, baby.”

I don’t know how I’m going to make that happen, but I do know one thing—nothing will stop me from getting our daughters back.

I raise the phone up to my ear, forcing my voice to steady. “Dom, you stay with them. Keep them safe until we get there. I don’t care what you have to do. Just don’t let them out of your sight. You understand me?”

“We’ll keep an eye on them, Six. But you better hurry. This dock isn’t exactly a playground,” Dom urges, the weight of his words hitting me hard.

The clock is already ticking.

Ending the call, I turn to Rebel, who’s clinging to me as if her life depends on it. “We’re going to get them, baby. Right now.”

She nods, though her face is pale, her body trembling, the fear still gripping her, but there’s no time for any more words. I jump to my feet, pulling her with me, my heart thundering in my chest.

“Jesus, Six, they’re so young to be involved with shit like this. They’re all alone. Oh my God…” She bursts into tears as she starts pacing, and an idea comes to mind.

It’s not a good one, but it’s the only one I got.

We have an option that is in New Orleans by now, even though it is making my stomach churn. I turn to Rebel. “Amber will be in New Orleans by now. The kids know and trust her. They’ll go with her.”

Rebel scoffs, slumping her shoulders. “Yeah… but do we trust her?”

Shaking my head, I curl up my lip. “Not completely. I’ll call Hurricane and get him to lend us a prospect to tag along and make sure that the girls get back to us. Then we’ll fly the prospect back to New Orleans on our dime.”

Rebel hesitates for a moment and then nods. “Okay, just get them home. Whatever it takes.”

Dipping my chin, I bring up the last number in my phone. It rings once before he picks up, and I don’t bother with a greeting. “Dom, can you stay there until I can get a couple of brothers there to pick up the girls?”

“Yeah. I’m not about to leave two little ones out here on their own. We can delay shipment a little longer.”

“Dom, you’re a fucking lifesaver.” I end the call and instantly swipe the cell to call Hurricane.

My pulse pounds in my ears as I hold the phone to my ear, every second stretching into eternity. Each unanswered ring feels like a punch to my gut, the tension twisting tighter with every sound. My palms are slick, and I shift restlessly, pacing even though it doesn’t help. I can’t stop the flood of worst-case scenarios flashing through my mind, one after another, suffocating me.

Come on, pick up, pick up.

The silence on the other end is maddening, and I clench my jaw so hard it aches, the anxiety building until it feels like it’s going to tear me apart.

Rebel stands next to me, biting her nails—a habit she only falls into when she’s really on edge. Her foot taps against the floor in an erratic rhythm, and I see her glance at the phone every few seconds like she’s willing it to stop ringing and give us the answer we need. Her breath comes in short, uneven bursts, her chest rising and falling rapidly, and I catch the faint tremble in her hands as she tries to steady herself.

She reaches out, gripping my arm, her fingers digging in as if she needs the contact to stay grounded. I feel the tension in her hold, mirroring the storm brewing inside me. We exchange a brief look—her eyes wide, full of the same fear gnawing at my insides.

When suddenly, Hurricane answers, his voice gravelly, like he has just woken up. “The fuck you callin’ me this early for, asshole?”

Letting out a heavy, relieved breath, I start talking, “Hurricane, I need an urgent favor, and I mean right… fucking… now .”

He sniffs and clears his throat. “I’m listenin’.”

“My kids stowed away on the Snow White container and are currently sitting at your shipping dock in New Orleans. I’m going to call one of our people who happens to be in NOLA at the moment on personal business to go and collect them and then drive them back to us, but she’s a woman, and I want an escort in the car with them. Can I borrow a prospect? We’ll fly him back to you. I just need to know on the road back home that my kids are safe and that I have a brother watching over them.”

“Jesus, Six, how the fuck did this shit happen?”

Huffing out a long breath, I shake my head. “We don’t know. They went missing last night, and we just got the call that the Slavers found them at the dock.”

“Fuck a prospect. You need qualified protection. I’ll send Omen. He’ll guard your girls with his life.”

“Thanks, brother… appreciate this. I need him at the docks like yesterday, though.”

“I’ll go wake him up now. He’ll be there in under fifteen.”

“I fucking owe you, man.”

“This is what we do for family, right?”

“Yeah, brother.”

“Good luck,” he says, then ends the call, and I take a deep breath, placing a quick kiss on Rebel’s head. She weakly smiles at me, knowing that my next call has to be with Amber.

It’s early in the morning. I just hope she picks up.

Hesitating over her number, my eyes shift to Rebel. She gives me a small head nod of approval, and with a wave of anxiety rolling through me, along with a flash of Bradley’s warning shining like a neon sign in the back of my mind, I hit the call button.

Clearing my throat, I sit back, my arm around Rebel as the cell rings three times, and Amber answers sleepily. “Have you found them?” her soft voice chimes down the line.

Craning my neck, I get right to it. “We have… and we need your help.”

It’s obvious she is moving, wherever she is, her voice coming through clear, almost excited. “Okay… tell me what I can do!”

“They were stowed in a shipping container on the cargo train to New Orleans.”

Amber’s quiet for a moment and then hums under her breath. “On the train? But how?”

“That, we don’t know. But the fact is, they’re at the shipping yard, and my guys have to leave soon. I’ve arranged for NOLA Defiance to be there to guard them in the meantime, but I need someone to drive them from New Orleans back to us in Houston. Tonight.”

“Okay,” she states without any hesitation. “I’m on it. I got this, Pres. I’ll bring your girls back to you.”

Rebel’s eyes meet mine, a look of suspicion crossing her features. I see she has something on her mind, but I continue with the conversation. “The NOLA brother, Omen, will be escorting you. He’ll fly back to New Orleans from Houston.”

“It will be nice to have some company,” Amber states as if it doesn’t bother her.

“Drive safe. Keep our girls protected.”

“I will, Six. I’ll guard them with my life. As if they are my own.”

I shudder at the thought, and at the same time, Rebel curls up her lip, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just keep them safe, Amber. I’m entrusting you with this,” I tell her.

“I won’t let you down, Pres,” she says, then abruptly ends the call.

I turn to Rebel, dipping my head, and I pull her to me, holding her tightly. “It’s gonna be okay, but some heads are gonna fucking roll for this.”

Rebel pulls back. There’s a hardness in her eyes I haven’t seen before. “I swear to God, Six, you better find out what happened here. Our girls were alone on a cargo train for almost ten hours. They would have been terrified. If no one gets punished for this, I’m going to be fucking furious.”

A fresh wave of anger rolls through me, and I grit my teeth. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. Don’t worry. Right now, I need you to calm yourself down because you’ve been under a lot of stress, and the baby is the one suffering.” She sighs as I lead her to a chair, and we sit. “You want something to eat? You haven’t eaten in hours?”

She shrugs. “How can I possibly eat, Koda?”

“I know you’re worried about the girls, but you have to also think about this little guy, too,” I tell her, placing my hand on her stomach.

She glances down and then nods. “Yeah… you’re right, okay, but something small. I don’t think I could stomach much of anything.”

Nodding, I glance over my shoulder to Nessie and nod, signaling for her to bring us over something.

She smiles and walks off to the kitchen to prepare something for my Old Lady to eat.

The next few hours are going to be tense.

Right now, it’s just a waiting game until our kids are back, safe, and in our arms.