Chapter 12

Isat slumped over the wheel of the SUV until I heard the familiar roar of Zane’s motorcycle. Then I scrambled out of the vehicle, almost crashing to the ground because my knees buckled. But he jumped off his bike and caught me before I went down.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he promised, a thread of steel in his voice.

I shook my head, tears starting to fall now that some of the shock had worn off. “It’s all my fault.”

“You’re not to blame, baby,” he reassured. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I know you’d never do anything to put Corinne at risk.”

I was relieved that he didn’t think that I was responsible for Corinne’s kidnapping, but it didn’t ease my feeling of guilt. “He took her from the SUV while I was driving.”

“Tell me, any details you can remember will help,” he urged.

I took a few deep breaths and nodded. “It all happened so fast. I had just pulled over to wait for the prospect to catch up to me. Corinne was sleeping, and I twisted around in my seat to watch the light because I would pull out onto the street again when it turned green. I heard a noise in the back but didn’t realize what it was at first. By the time I turned around, the man was already popping the baby carrier out of its base. I couldn’t unbuckle my belt and get out of the vehicle fast enough to stop him from taking her. He just tossed her into the passenger seat of his car and took off. Without even bothering to buckle her in, and an airbag only inches from our precious little girl.”

“You were parked here when he took her?” he asked.

I pressed my hands against his chest to try to stop my trembling. “Yeah. That’s how he got the door open.” I wasn’t happy about the feature that automatically unlocked the car when it was put in park. I’d been so focused on watching for the prospect that I’d forgotten to lock it again. After this, we either needed to find a way to disable it or get a new freaking car.

He scanned the area and pointed out a couple of cameras mounted on the building to my left. “I’ll get one of the guys to work on getting the footage. Hopefully, they caught something that’ll help us find Corinne before our sweet girl realizes she’s not with you.”

“The prospect took off after him.” I blinked up at Zane. “Have you heard from him yet? Maybe he caught up to them.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, baby. The kid called the clubhouse. He hit a curb taking a sharp turn about a mile away, and the bastard got away. But he had the plate number, which’ll help.”

My shoulders slumped. “If I’d just realized the prospect wasn’t going to make the light, I could have slowed down and stayed at the intersection with him. Then I wouldn’t have needed to pull over to wait for him to catch up, and that guy wouldn’t have been able to snatch Corinne from the back seat.”

“No, this is on the asshole who got my sister pregnant and then ditched her. He must have a death wish to snatch her from you like that.”

My eyes widened. “You already know who took her?”

“I’m almost positive,” he confirmed before telling me about the man who’d stopped by Iron Inkworks, claiming to be Corinne’s biological father.

The thought of her out there with someone who’d been willing to sell her to us scared the daylights out of me. I’d only been in her life for a little more than two weeks, but I considered Corinne to be mine.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to her,” I cried.

Zane stroked his palm down my spine. “Don’t worry, baby. The entire club is working on figuring out where that bastard took our girl. He’s not going to have her long enough to do jack shit.”

“Our girl?” I echoed, tilting my head back to stare up at him through the tears streaming from my eyes.

He swiped his thumbs against the wetness on my cheeks. “She’s just as much yours as she is mine.”

“I love her so much,” I whispered, starting to sob in earnest.

He tightened his hold on me. “I know you do, baby.”

I sniffled against his chest and mumbled, “As much as I love you.”

His fingers flexed against my back before he leaned back to stare down at me. “Fuck, baby. I love you so damn much, too.”

“Really?” I clutched at his biceps. “Even after I let that guy take our little girl?”

“I meant it when I said this wasn’t your fault,” he growled, brushing a lock of hair from my forehead. “I could’ve prevented this if I’d paid the asshole off or put him in the ground for being a possible threat to Corinne. So if you’re gonna blame someone, then you need to hold me accountable.”

“You couldn’t possibly have known anything would happen to her,” I disagreed, shaking my head.

“And neither could you,” he pointed out.

“I suppose you’re right,” I grumbled. Some of my crushing guilt eased, but I knew it wouldn’t disappear completely until we got Corinne back.

“You bet your sweet ass I am.” He gave me a quick kiss. “It’s not the right time, but when all this is over, you’re gonna wear my vest and my ring. And you’ll have my last name before our next baby is born.”

I hated that it had taken something as drastic as Corinne being kidnapped for us to finally give voice to our feelings for each other. But I loved knowing that Zane wanted the same future with me that I was dreaming about with him. “I want all of that.”

He brushed his lips against mine again. “Just got word your property patch was ready this morning. I shoulda had it before now, but I was focused on getting my girls settled into our new house. And with Sheila and Tank out of town, she didn’t get to it until a couple of days ago. Already got your ring, though. It’s waiting for me to slide it on your finger when we get home—you, me, and Corinne.”

I looked forward to seeing what he’d picked out for me, but not until our girl was safe. “Thank goodness she likes to sleep in the car so much. Maybe she won’t wake up before you get her back.”

“Have faith in the Iron Rogues, baby. My club brothers will move heaven and earth to help me find Corinne, so it’s not gonna be long at all,” he assured me, placing his palm against my lower back. “C’mon, I need to get you to the clubhouse so you’ll be safe when I get word on where our baby girl is.”

He guided me toward the SUV, but I shook my head. Lifting my hands, I showed him how shaky they were. “I don’t think I can drive. I’m too upset.”

“Don’t worry.” He rounded the vehicle and opened the passenger door. “I’m gonna be the one behind the wheel.”

“What about your bike?” I asked as he helped me into the vehicle.

“A prospect is driving Viper over. He’ll ride it back to the compound for me.”

His answer surprised me because I’d been with Zane long enough to know that nobody rode his bike except for him. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and I appreciated that he was making an exception to his rule for me. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you and Corinne, baby,” he murmured as he buckled my seat belt before closing the door and rounding the front of the vehicle.

As soon as he was inside, he pulled away from the curb and headed straight for the Iron Rogues compound. They had extra men at the gate, and I took comfort from seeing their familiar faces.

Wrecker waved us through before making sure the gate closed behind the SUV. A crowd awaited us at the clubhouse, several old ladies making a beeline for my door after Zane parked. They ushered me into the building while the men talked. I turned down Dahlia’s offer for something to drink or eat and sat on the couch with my knees drawn against my chest.

Zane came to check on me a few minutes later. “You doin’ okay, baby?”

“Not really,” I whispered, shaking my head. “But don’t worry about me. I don’t want to distract you from what’s important. Focus on getting Corinne back. I’ll be fine.”

“We’ll make sure she’s good,” Molly promised him as she and Dahlia sat on either side of me, taking my hands in theirs.

Zane gave me a quick kiss, and then I watched him stalk away, praying that they’d find our baby girl before anything bad could happen to her.