32. Teysha

32

TEYSHA

"The abandoned church near the town park?" Sydney chokes out. "The one our families used to go to when we were young?"

I shake my head up and down. "He's kept a picture of it from its glory days. He said something about it being a special place."

"Then that's where he'll meet his end," Mason says. He redirects his attention to Silver. "We've got to make a move. There's no more time for planning."

"Call up the rest of the guys. We'll get it going."

Both men forget about Sydney and me as they start for the back office. I'm not willing to be brushed off so easily. Channeling my inner Sydney, I rush after them, throwing myself into their path.

"You're going to Boulder now?"

"Teysha, you and the others will be safe here," Silver says. "Bush and Mudd will be staying behind to?—"

"What about Logan?" I interrupt. "Where is he?"

"He said he's on his way back. He's part of this mission. It's going to work itself out. We're going to end this. "

Silver palms my shoulder for a reassuring squeeze, though anxiety has pitted in my stomach. I'm not sure if I can let it go. If I can shake the bad feeling that's sunk into me as heavy as stones. Something's missing. Something's off about this moment.

In the coming minutes, I have my answer why.

The saloon doors burst open. Ozzie and Hope spill through with wide-eyed expressions that make several Kings get up out of their seats. Most of them have caught word about what's going on in Boulder. They've split off in groups. Some staying at the saloon to protect our turf. Most about to ride off with Mason and Silver to face the Chosen Saints.

"You look like you've seen Casper the Ghost," Moses says from where he's perched in a stool at the bar counter.

Bush piggybacks off what he said. "Yeah, what in the hell's got you about to piss your pants?"

"You guys haven't heard?" Ozzie says, letting go of Hope's hand. He digs his phone out of his pocket to hold it up. "There's been some huge accident on highway 20. The wreckage was found. Parts of a Super Glide ripped in half."

"A Super Glide?!" Sydney blurts out.

"One that's identical to Ghost's. Look at the story the local news has put up. They've got pictures."

Mason makes it to Ozzie first, snatching his phone away for a look. "Shit. Shit !"

I'm frozen in place, ice-cold horror raining down on me. I can barely form a thought let alone speak, except to sputter out his name. "Logan?!"

"But here's the thing," Ozzie continues, "no body's been found. Apparently the bike was run off the road."

"The Saints," Mason grits out.

"Time to roll," Silver calls. "No time to waste. We've got to track them down before they disappear again."

The saloon descends into frenzied chaos. Everywhere around me, Steel Kings grab their gear and rush out to their bikes. Those staying behind start securing the club as if expecting an attack at any moment. Sydney and Mick begin doing what they can—cleaning up the half-drunk bottles of beer and pushing the tables and chairs out of the way.

And then there's me. Still frozen in place. Still trapped in a paralyzing iceberg of shock and horror.

No… not Logan… not again…

But it's a given this is what the war between him and Abraham would lead to. Abraham warned him the night the Steel Kings raided their compound and freed captives like me that he would make Logan regret what he'd done.

Abraham is power hungry. He's unafraid to harm anyone he must in order to stay on top. He wasn't going to go quietly.

The Chosen Saints were an entity bigger than any of us realized. He truly sees himself as God in the flesh. In his eyes, there's no escaping his wrath.

Logan made a mockery of him and everything he stands for when he shattered the illusion. Now Abraham's out to recreate his vision. He's out for blood.

There's only one thing that could stop him….

It's only as Mason and Silver stride past me on their way out that I snap out of my trance. Scrambling in their wake, I call both of their names.

"I need to come with you!"

"Teysha, get back inside the saloon," Mason barks.

"I know him better than any of you!"

"I said get back inside!"

"No! You need me to come with you!" I shout louder than him. I'm panting, trying to keep up with their lengthy strides. My body's achy and my stomach still hasn't settled, but I press on. "I'm the only one who understands how to get him to give Logan back!"

Silver abruptly stops, almost causing me to run right into him. He attempts a different approach than Mason. Rather than outright refusal and throaty growls, he grips me by the shoulders and puts on a sympathetic frown. We might as well be a father lecturing his daughter.

"I understand this is difficult for you," he says. "But you have to go back inside. You have to let us handle it."

Around us, Steel Kings mount their bikes and rev their engines. The scene feels eerily violent even before the first drop of blood has splattered. Precursors to violence that unfold before my watery eyes. I shake my head and shrug off Silver's touch.

"I can talk some sense into him," I say, my tone breathless and desperate. "I can get him to stop all of this. He'll listen to me. I was his favorite."

"Go back inside."

It's their parting words as they carry on. I'm left behind as they swing their legs over the sides of their bikes and ride off in a long line of exhaust smoke and blinding chrome.

My breathing's spiraled into choppy, panicked air that gusts out of me. The moment feels surreal and nightmarish. Everything's beyond my control.

But what else is new? When have I ever been in the driver's seat? When have I ever had enough agency to decide what happens around me?

The sense of helplessness becomes so suffocating, I choke out a cry and dig fingers into my hair. My vision pans to the remnants the Steel Kings left behind. The empty lot still vibrates from the sheer magnitude of their thunderous bikes. Aftershocks of a man-made earthquake.

…except for the last King that remains behind.

Ozzie and Hope are standing beside a Toyota Camry, sharing in a goodbye kiss. I blink through tears as he promises he'll return soon, then hops on his bike to ride off after the others.

The desperation rising up inside me reaches its fill. Then it bursts free in a flurry of quick steps. I dash over to Hope like a mad woman, vaguely aware of how I must look.

"Teysha?" She frowns, noticing me last second. "What are you?—"

"I need your car," I interrupt sharply. "I need to drive somewhere."

"But what are you?—"

"Please!" I beg, my voice cracking. "It's life or death, Hope!"

Her frown deepens. "This isn't my car. It's my pa's. He made me promise not to let anybody else drive it."

"I need to get somewhere immediately. He'll never know!"

"The best I can offer is driving you there. Wherever there is…"

My face clenches as if I'm in deep pain—and in a way, I am. I'm tormented by the possibility that Logan could be lying broken and bleeding in Abraham's custody. He could be making him pay right now. I could be the only one who could give him what he wants.

I can make him stop.

"Fine!" I shriek. "Drive me then! Let's go!"

"Hang on, where would we be going?"

"Get in the car." I run over to the passenger side and yank on the door handle. "If we leave now, we'll get there in no time. I know all the shortcuts. We need to make it to Boulder before it's too late."