Page 119 of Seizing Control: Part One

They all deny me the answer I seek.

As Nadia meets my enquiring look, my heart drops like a tonne of bricks.

“I’m sorry, Anna... Slash hasn’t been seen for days. We... he’s?—”

“He’s run away from his failure.” Hunter pushes off the wall to my right. The heavily tattooed man approaches me in a determined stride. Dropping to his haunches, he lays his palm between my shoulder blades, directly over the tattoo I share with Zeke. “I’ll find him if you want?”

“Why haven’t you done that before now?”

When he turns his head to the side, I catch sight of the purple tulip inked over his temple.

It rips the air from my lungs.

Hunter is the smartest person I know.

If he’s already permanently marked himself with a memento to signify Zeke’s death, the chances that my heart is right are dwindling by the hour.

“Hunt?” I ask when Slash’s younger brother doesn’t immediately respond.

“I’m done,” he replies steadily. My gaze scans his face for clues, then I shake my head as I take in his lack of cut. “With the Shamrocks and my inept brother. Venom died alone, and I can’t in good conscience countenance that kind of failure in the man I’m supposed to follow without question.”

“I wasn’t Slash’s...” Trailing off when I realise that I’m on the cusp of accepting that Zeke is dead, I swallow down the lump that lodges in my throat. “Will you find him... please? For me.”

“For you,’ Hunter says with a tone laced with grief and gravity. He blinks slowly, then his throat works as he swallows. “You needa let us bury him, Cherub.”

Toker tightens his arms around me as trembling wracks me from head to toe.

One fat tear rolls down my left cheek.

I bite down on my bottom lip, then I incline my head.

Once.

Hunter pats my back.

My cousin bounces me in his lap while he hugs me too hard.

“I’ll let you know when I’ve found him.”

“Thank you,” I say to Hunter before turning my attention on Toker. “Let me go. I wanna go back to bed.”

Reluctance in his expression, a sad droop to his lips, my cousin replies, “Okay.”

I shove at his chest.

He opens his arms.

After wobbling back to my feet, I glare at everyone assembled to ambush me. “I hope you’re all happy?”

“Anna,” Nadia calls after me when I spin on my heel. “We’re just tryna help.”

“I don’t need your help.”

As fast as I can on unsteady legs, I dash for the staircase. My movements are swift, the bedroom I thought I was sharing with my husband is my sole sanctuary right now. The compound is filled with memories.

The last time I saw Zeke—dragged out of the main clubhouse by the cops.

My father slipped out undetected, continuing his reign of terror.

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