Chapter 19

NINETEEN

GNAW

As soon asI pull up to the clubhouse, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Before I even disengage from my bike, I tug the device out and glance at the screen. It's a text notification.

It's not what I expected. It's King's father, Nash. I had asked him to investigate Kyle for me because, obviously, I didn't have the time to do it all myself and knew he would enjoy the research. He doesn't give me any information in the text, though, just a simple Call me.

That in itself is alarming. I'm not quite sure how to react to it. I'm going to call him before I go inside the clubhouse, but that doesn't stop me from pausing as I think about what could come from this. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's nothing new.

Atomic is already inside of the clubhouse and no doubt setting up for church. But I can't go into that meeting without talking to Nash first. I call him, then wait for him to pick up, which he thankfully does on the second ring.

"Gnaw," he calls out.

"I don't know if I should be happy to hear your voice or not," I say, laughing softly.

He chuckles at my words and puts me out of my misery as he begins to speak.

"Kyle Stewart. She's single, but she was with someone off and on from the time she was sixteen until about four years ago."

Nash clears his throat, and I picture him shaking his head a couple of times before he continues. "He's been chasing her down and dragging her back to him for the past four years. She comes from a shit family, and my guess would be that she ran from that situation, not realizing she was going straight into the same shit under a different name."

That's about what she told me of the situation, but there is something about hearing it from him that makes my whole body tighten. Fuck. I didn't want this to happen to her. I wanted to keep her safe, protect her.

Nash hums. "That's the long and short of it, but as I was looking into her and the guy, something struck me as odd."

"What's that?" I ask when he doesn't continue immediately.

"I've been tracing that fucker, so I could tell you exactly where he is in case you wanted to take care of him yourself," he says.

"Yeah?" I growl.

"He's been in Pineville. He's not here now, but he's not very far, either. So, I hope you locked her up somewhere safe because he's coming for her."

Fuck.

A sinking feeling consumes me—I have a feeling he's already found her.

Fucking fuck.

"Thanks, Nash. Hey," I call out. Although this probably has nothing to do with Kyle, at least, I don't think it does. I continue because it is important for him and for the club.

"Keep an eye out for the Southern Mafia. They're trying to come into Texas. We're dealing with them right now, but I don't know how big they really are. And they want over the border, bad."

My warning isn't meant to go over Atomic's head, and I know he wouldn't get pissed because it's Nash. And right now, it's a fair fucking warning. He needs to know because they're part of our club and just as close to the border as we are. Nash thanks me, tells me good luck and to stay alert, then ends the call.

Throwing my leg over my bike, I make my way into the bar. It's already quiet inside, the men having made their way into the room for church. The whores having gone to their own quarters.

I move toward the conference room, then tug the door open and slip inside. I don't know if I should tell everyone what Nash said, but I decide I need to, because it could be important.

That fucker is somewhere near Pineville, and I have a feeling he could either be with her and the Southern Mafia or getting in our way. Either scenario is bullshit. I want to go and find the asshole, find the Southern Mafia, take them all out, then get my woman.

When I'm finished telling the whole room about Kyle, her ex, and the fact that he's here somewhere, I wait for a response from my brothers.

Nobody speaks immediately.

They all look either at the table or the floor, but none of them shift their gazes up to meet mine. I'm not quite sure what their deal is, but it feels very much like avoidance. I don't like that shit at all.

Brew shifts in his seat, and I watch as he leans forward, placing his elbows on the table, his gaze flicking from Atomic's to mine.

"Well, if this shit isn't connected, I would be fucking shocked," he barks.

"I agree," I say. It's just too fucking weird that it's all at once and that Kyle is missing. "What happens now?" I ask.

"Let's get Nash to send us a location. If this fucker is involved, and he is with them, then we'll know where the other location is. Maybe Sal is there, too," Atomic says.

I wince, thinking about Sal. I haven't forgotten about him, but at the same time, my focus has been on Kyle and getting her home safely. That is all I've given a shit about, and I know that finding Sal and the bar is important, but I have a feeling I've let some of the other shit get overlooked.

"Wait," I shout, slamming my palm down on the large table we're all sitting around.

Everyone lifts their eyes, their spines straightening when they do, and their eyes connect with mine. I can feel their attention focused on me, but it's only Atomic who I give much of a fuck about. He's my president and the one who makes the decisions.

"What?" he finally asks when I don't continue.

I'm not sure what exactly I want him to wait for. I said the word without a clear thought in my head. I just didn't want anyone running after Kyle and chance her getting hurt in the process, but then, judging by the way they're all starting to get fired up… now I'm panicking.

"If we just rush in there, guns blazing, that's what they're expecting," I murmur as my thoughts finally catch up to my mouth. "We still have no idea where any of them are. I don't want to risk hurting Sal and Dennis in the process."

"Dennis," Brew states.

My gaze swings to him, and he frowns as he stares at the tabletop in front of him. Slowly, he lifts his head, his attention focused on Atomic. And Atomic is watching and waiting, but I can tell the wheels are moving inside of his head. He has, without a doubt, already formulated some kind of plan that he hasn't voiced yet.

"Something doesn't sit right with me. I understand why Sal would be taken, and even Kyle. But why Dennis?"

"Wrong time, wrong place?" Clink asks.

Brew shakes his head, and then he lifts his fingers, pressing them together in front of his mouth. He frowns, his brows snapping together before he stands up. I watch as he walks over to the window, looking out for a moment, then turns to face Atomic.

"Maybe, but I don't think that's possible. It's too much of a coincidence. We would be stupid to write him off as not being involved in this. We need someone to look into him," Brew announces.

He's not wrong.

I don't know Dennis other than the few times I've seen him at the bar, but my focus was never on him. It was always and will always be on Kyle. I should have taken him into consideration, though.

"I'll look into it myself," I announce. "Into Dennis, that is."

Atomic dips his chin, then clears his throat and lifts his gaze toward Clink. "What do we do now? Collectively, as a club, we need this done. They want war, but I don't know exactly what we're going up against. Do we bring in other clubs for backup? This makes me feel like we're out of our element. I hate that shit."

It's not often that Atomic or any of the men in the club admit defeat. Because that's what this is, even though we haven't lost the war, mainly because it hasn't begun yet. This is essentially admitting defeat.

"I want someone to gather all the information on the Southern Mafia. As much as possible. Meet back here tomorrow morning. Ten. The information we have will decide how we proceed. We will proceed tomorrow," Atomic announces, his voice grave and clearly filled with worry.

Fuck.

We don't have that many hours until ten, and with the slam of his gavel against the sound block, the meeting is adjourned. We all scatter, going straight to our missions. To figure out truly how large the Southern Mafia is. We need to find out how the fuck Dennis the bartender is connected—if at all.

And also find Sal and Kyle.

Kyle.

That is my mission, my goal. Finding her and that fucking creature that is her ex, Xavier. I will find him, and I will make sure he never, not ever, hurts my woman again. In fact, I think I'll ensure he never even breathes again.

KYLE

Thankfully,I'm left alone for a while, Talon having taken Xavier out of the room and locking the door behind them when he did. I am under no impression that he is a nice man. He's the one in charge of all of this, after all. But I can't deny that I'm glad he has Xavier on a short leash.

Xavier needs to be on a leash—the shortest one on earth. The man is a menace. I want nothing to do with him ever again—not ever. I want him gone, out of my life, forever. The cost of that is of no concern to me, and I know it sounds heartless, but I'm not sure I care.

But I'm not sure I want anything to do with Talon, either. He's much more powerful than Xavier could ever be, and men in power are frightening. Eventually, my legs grow tired from standing, so I sink down to my ass on the floor, leaning my back against the wall.

Bringing my knees up to my chest, I rest my cheek against them as I stare straight at the wall. It's clean. Everything in here is clean. There isn't a single dust bunny in the room, and that strikes me as odd.

I'm a neat freak. I've made it my mission to keep everything clean. It's a form of controlling myself when the chaos is unbearable, but even I have missed an occasional spiderweb or dust bunny somewhere in a room.

So, this, having nothing, strikes me as odd and becomes my fixation while I wait for whatever is going to happen next because I know it will be something major. This Talon guy didn't go to all this trouble just to hand me over to Rider without getting something in return.

I just hope that whatever it is he is going after isn't me.

Although, the fact that I'm sitting in this room seems to not bode well for that hope. I have a feeling that no matter what, I'm going to get caught in the crosshairs of this. There is no way around it.

It's the way it is going to be, and just like Xavier finding me and dragging me back every single time that he finds me, it will just be something I will have to endure, then survive, and escape from.

It will tear me into pieces. It will break me a little more, but at this point, it doesn't matter. I've already been shattered more than once in this lifetime, and I'm sure this will not be the last time.

I will just endure, and once I come out on the other side, I can work on myself and heal.