Chapter 35

Slate

I t was amazing just how quickly life could change for the better. For most of my life I always expected for shit to go to shit because that had been my experience. My parents couldn’t stay sober for more than a few days at a time and from them I learned to always expect that the worst would happen.

In that way, Emma and I weren’t all that different from one another. The main difference was that when her life went to shit, she had our daughter to worry about and she’d consistently put herself in harm’s way just to keep her safe. I wasn’t sure if or how I could ever make that up to her, but I was damned determined to try.

The first step to making that happen was to get rid of Mark Edwards. He’d been quiet for a few days now but with the charges against Emma dropped, I fully expected him to pop up again. And when he did, I would be ready.

“Slate, you got a visitor!”

I paused in my current task and let out a heavy sigh. “Are you fucking with me?” Rebel loved making a nuisance of himself at the most inopportune times, like when I was busy trying to figure out how to ruin a former dirty cop who had a hard-on for my woman.

“Nope.” That was all he said, giving me no indication who the fuck was there to see me.

I hoped it wasn’t Sheriff Cross again. After the way Emma said she was treated, I couldn’t even look at the man without wanting to bash his face in. “Who is it?”

The next thing I heard was the sound of a woman’s stilettos on the hard floor of the clubhouse. The noise grew closer and closer until it stopped at the doorway to my office. “You’ve hardly changed at all.”

The voice wasn’t familiar even though her words were, and I looked up to find the slightly familiar figure that was Emma’s best friend. “Sara?”

She nodded but the smile I expected to see wasn’t there. “Good, you remember me. We don’t have to waste time with pleasantries.”

My brows pulled down. “Are you here to threaten me or warn me off Emma?”

She stopped abruptly and shook her head. “Fuck that. She’s in love with you and she believes that you love her too, which is all I want for her. This is more serious than that.” She thrust her arm out and handed me her phone.

“What is this?”

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she inhaled deeply. “I was on the phone with Emma while she was grocery shopping and when she was loading the groceries into the car, Mark approached her. Alex’s brother, Mark.”

That had me on my feet in an instant. Panic coursed through my veins. “What did he say?”

“Something about getting answers. Emma said something about him having a gun aimed at Ash and then he forced them to get into his car. He hit Emma and the only thing I’ve heard for the last ten minutes is Ash crying, I would have called the cops, but I didn’t want to end the call,” she said and nodded at the phone she still held out for me.

I snatched the phone from her hand and listened on speakerphone while I tracked the location. The phone was still in town, and it was headed in the direction of Mark’s house, which was a small comfort.

“You’ll go after her right? And get her back?” Sara’s eyes welled with tears, and she wrapped her arms around her body, so at odds with the power suit and sky-high stilettos she wore.

Emma had made her sound so tough but right now she was a woman terrified for her best friend and goddaughter. “Yeah, Sara. I’m going to get my girls back. You stay here.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

“You will. Emma will need to see you when she gets back.” I wrapped an arm around her and steered her back into the clubhouse where Grace and Laura sat chatting with a few other girls and some club whores. “Grace. Laura. This is Sara, Emma’s best friend. Keep her comfortable and here,” I said in a pointed tone before my gaze swung to Maverick and Rocky. “We need to talk.”

Without a word, Maverick and Rocky, along with all the other brothers in the room followed me to my office. “What’s up?” Diesel stood behind everyone with his arms folded, a deadly serious expression on his face.

“Sara was on the phone with Emma when Mark took her. And Ash.” My hands balled into fists and anger pulsed through me. “I know what the right thing to do is and I know what the fuck I want to do.” I wanted to empty my clip into that asshole for daring to scare my girls, but I also knew that this was an opportunity to get suspicion off Emma and onto Mark once and for all. “Talk me off the ledge or back me up.”

“I say we kill that asshole,” Rebel offered and clapped me on the back. “He doesn’t get to fuck with us and live to tell the tale.”

“As satisfying as it would be to kill him,” Diesel began. “We need to be smart. Do you know where she is right now, Slate?”

I nodded. “The call is still active, so I know exactly where they’re headed. Mark Edwards’ house.” I could only imagine what hell he was going to put her through once he arrived.

“Okay.” Diesel nodded. “The priority is getting Emma and Ash away from the asshole. If he dies in the process, no skin off my back. If he’s alive when we get our hands on the girls, then we should turn him over to Cross. Give him another suspect to pursue.”

It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear but it was the smartest play. “Fine.”

“What are we talking about,” Maverick asked, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. “High powered rifles? Handguns? Fire?” His smile was wide and giddy.

“I’d prefer a blade,” I spat out. “So I can peel every inch of skin from his body until he dies from shock. Then I’ll empty my gun into his head.”

The room fell silent and then Rocky laughed. “I like the way you think but we can’t afford that kind of mess, brother. Not in the middle of the day and not with your daughter and your woman inside.”

He was right. Emma and Ash were the priority. I had to get to them first and make sure they were safe and out of harm’s way, because who knew what the fuck Mark would do if he felt cornered.

“Not to be that guy but are we going to involve Cross in this rescue mission?”

“No,” I barked before Diesel could answer. “Kira and Emma both have expressed suspicion that there might be some connection between Massey or someone else and the Edwards brothers. For now we need to get my girls back safely.”

Diesel nodded. “Suit up and let’s go.”

Gio joined us a few minutes later. “What do you need from me?”

“You’re driving the van to bring Emma and Ash back to the clubhouse.”

Gio’s dark eyes lit with excitement. “You got it, bro.”

Fifteen minutes later I was armed to the teeth, angry as fuck and ready to rescue my family. My heart. My everything. The bike roared loudly as it ate up the pavement, my brothers all around me as we flew through the streets of Steel City with just one thought on my mind.

Get my girls back.

End Mark Edwards for good.