Page 20 of Sweet Revenge

“Why the hell not?” I growled.

Brody’s eyes focused solely on me. “I know you want retribution for Maggie, brother, and you will get it. We can all promise that.” I saw heads nod in agreement and flicked my eyes back to Brody’s intense stare. “I know what it’s like to want to destroy the person responsible for my woman’s pain, but I also knew I had to do that in a way that I could still come home to her at night.”

Brody went through a lot with his wife, Gia. Everyone knew that story, so I didn’t doubt the honesty in his words, especially when he continued. “You want her?”

I did. I was sure everyone knew that because I wasn’t pretending to hide it. I’d wanted Maggie from the first moment I laid eyes on her, which was a long time before I knew most of the people in this room, and I’ve never stopped wanting her. There was just something about her that drew me toward her every time I saw her, even before she came to us with information to bring down the Widows. I lifted my chin in Brody’s direction. He knew my answer; I didn’t have to say the words.

“Then fight clean,” he said. “She’s lived a long time in a dirty world, probably saw things we can’t even imagine, and the last thing she needs to see is any hint of the world she lived and feared in you.” I nodded, and he continued. “We’ll get Snake, but we need to do it in a way that we get him for good.”

“We find Nick.” Luke surmised.

“Can’t you get ahold of him through his contact with the FBI?” I asked, knowing he wasn’t completely alone in there. The FBI had to be keeping tabs on him.

“He’s not checking in.” Cam’s gaze landed on me and Bear. “They’ve lost contact with him.”

“Fuck.” I ran my hand through my hair and nodded. “Then you’re right, we need to find Nick.”

“Exactly.” Brody dipped his chin at me before he faced the room. “He’s our connection. We need to use him.”

“I’ll put Striker on it,” Jax declared. “He’s the best damn tracker in our company.”

“Nick is Smoke,” Bear shared. “That’s the road name the club gave him, and it’s accurate. I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s here and gone before you even know what the hell happened. We can’t get a trace on him.”

“Then we draw him out.” Luke said.

“How?” I asked the obvious question.

“We use his weakness?” Bear guessed.

The mood in the room grew solemn. We all knew Nick only had one weakness. We just had no idea how to use her without getting anyone killed.

Because if Nick thought for one minute that any of us put Madelyn Hughes in danger, he’d take us all out.

CHAPTER TEN

MAGGIE

Twisting my fingers together, I stood inside my bedroom staring at the closed door in front of me. For the first time since I came here all those months ago, I wanted to leave my room. One month ago, I saw Kat and started my new prescription that very day. By the end of the week, I borrowed Becs phone and called the therapist who agreed to come see me. Since then, I’d been meeting with Lisa three times a week, and it’s felt nice to talk to someone, so nice that I’ve found myself looking forward to the appointments. I’d also found myself smiling more when Becs would visit, and I’d finally gotten my cast off, so overall, I was feeling better.

It also didn’t hurt that I was spending time with Gunner, but more than that, I was enjoying it. He’d been checking in everyday—sometimes only to say hello and other times, he’d sit down and ask me how I was feeling or what I was reading. Last night, he came to my room just as I’d put on a movie and asked if he could watch it with me. I answered yes, and he climbed onto the bed beside me, both of our backs propped against the headboard, not touching at all, and we watched Sandra Bullock pretend to be a beauty pageant contestant. It was an old movie but new to me, and I found myself grinning throughout it. I could feel the heat of Gunner’s stare on the side of my face sometimes, but I didn’t look at him. I wasn’t nearly brave enough for that yet. After the movie, he told me he’d see me tomorrow before he left quietly, and not for the first time, he made me second-guess everything I thought I knew about men.

I woke up this morning feeling happier than I had in a long time, and after reading a few chapters of the book on the Kindle that Becs gave me, I decided I felt hungry. It was odd to feel hungry because it wasn’t typical for me. Or maybe it was something I’d become so accustomed to ignoring in my life, because food wasn’t always available, that I forgot how to recognize it. Even during my time with Snake, I’d ignore hunger pangs and only eat when he was home to eat with me. He preferred that, and I knew better than to disappoint him.

But now I was hungry, and it was close to lunchtime. I knew that within the next hour, either Becs or a prospect would bring me something to eat. I’d seen so many prospects around the Widows when I was with Snake, and I always wondered why they would want to be a part of the club. The prospects were made to do so many awful things just to prove their loyalty and gain the votes to eventually be patched in as a full member of the club. I always wondered if they understood who they were joining.

And what they were giving up to be accepted.

I dropped my hands to my sides and took the few final steps to the door before reaching out and pulling it open. The hallway was quiet, as it should be on a Friday morning. I’d learned in my time here that most all members had jobs outside of the club or worked in the custom bike shop attached to the clubhouse. Becs had told me that Bear and Gunner both work in the shop and had even been featured in magazines for their custom designs and detailing on bikes.

Stepping out, I slowly made my way down the hallway to the stairs leading to the first floor. I had no idea where the kitchen was in this place, but I was sure I could find it. I knew they had one because Becs would bring me food that Ritz, one of the patched members, made. She’d said that was how he got his road name or nickname because, as a prospect, he would take over kitchen duty and made really fancy food. She said Bear thought it was like you’d find in a ritzy, upscale restaurant, so he gave him the nickname.

My foot hit the last step, and I entered the bar area. It was completely empty, and sadly, the silence was comforting to me. I’d been changing lately, allowing more people into my life and forcing myself to have conversations, but at times, I craved the solitude and safety that complete silence brought me. I just didn’t crave it as often, so I was calling that progress.

I walked toward the bar and went around the side, which brought me to the doorway leading into a large kitchen. There was stainless steel everywhere, from appliances to large counters gracing the immaculate space, and it was clean, spotless really. I heard a sound, jumped, and pressed my back to the wall by the doorway before finally allowing myself to scan the area for the sound.

My eyes landed on a large man at the back of the kitchen, sitting on a stool in front of another vast counter. A laptop was open in front of him, but his eyes were on me. I swallowed hard when he stood.

“I’m Ritz. We’ve seen each other a few times but haven’t really met.” He walked slowly toward me. “I’m sorry if I scared you, Maggie. I cleared my throat, so you’d know I was in here.”

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