Page 33 of Regret

“Okay. I’ll let everyone know,” Slim states, pulling his phone from his pocket. “Valor, I think you need to be the one to tell Vault. He shouldn’t hear it from anyone else but you. Why don’t you make that call now and then I’ll start makin’ mine.”

With a nod of my head, I pull out my phone and instantly check for any messages or missed calls since I’ve been lost in my head so much. Nothing fills my screen. After unlocking the screen, I pull up my brother's number and press send.

“What’s goin’ on?” Vault asks me, answering on the first ring as hope fills his voice. I wish I had a location or something to tell him, but I don’t yet.

“Shy just told me somethin’ and you need to know. Everyone needs to know in case one of you find her. Alex, Savannah’s pregnant. She hasn’t had a chance to tell me yet with everythin’ goin’ on. Shy didn’t want to betray her trust, but we need to know about the baby,” I tell him, my voice breaking as the thought that the love of my life and I created a new life and she’s been taken from me fills my mind.

“Fuck!” my brother yells, his voice so loud it hurts my ear and I have to pull the phone away from my head. “Okay, Zach. If we find her, we’ll make sure we take care of her and the baby. I’m so fuckin’ happy for you, brother. We will bring your wife and unborn baby home to you.”

“Slim is gonna let everyone else know what’s goin’ on now. He wanted me to be the one to call and tell you what’s goin’ on. I wouldn’t want you to hear it from anyone else, Alex,” I inform him before we get off the phone and I go back to pacing the common room of the clubhouse.

I watch as Slim makes one call after another and Shy goes back up to be with the girls in the bedroom. I’ve only checked on them a few times since they learned about Savannah. I should probably go back up there and spend some time with them since no one seems to be finding out any information on Savannah or where she is. Court doesn’t leave my side as the Phantom girls bring in lunch. This is the first time Court puts his foot down and forces me to sit in the chair next to him.

“Valor, you’re not gonna be good for Savannah if you’re weak and can’t stand on your own two feet,” Court states as he stands in my path so I can’t continue pacing the floor of the common room. “They’re bringin’ out food for everyone and you’re gonna eat. I don’t give a fuck if it’s just a few bites, but you need to get some kind of food in your body.”

Slim places his hand on my shoulder while looking at his phone and walks with me over to the table closest to us. Court sits with me as Slim leaves and heads down toward the office where Buzz, Kingston, and Fox are working. I’m guessing one of them has messaged him about something they’ve found. They’ll want to run it by him before coming to the rest of us. Since my brother is out searching for Savannah, Slim has stepped up and taken over the role of the acting President here in the clubhouse. I’m glad he did because Chrome is also out searching and I’m in no shape to be in any kind of leadership role right now.

One of the girls places a plate full of food down in front of me. I’ve got a large cheeseburger with homemade fries and steamed asparagus filling my plate. Picking up my burger, I take a large bite and savor the taste as the juices fill my mouth. I inhale all the food in front of me before sitting back in the chair and trying to keep my eyes open. Now that I’ve filled my stomach, my body is ready to shut down and go to sleep. Standing from my chair, I don’t start pacing again but I don’t let myself relax either. My entire body is coiled tight with tension and the rage coursing through my veins continues as Court continues eating his meal while watching me.

Before I can start pacing or anything else, Slim, Fox, and Kingston rush into the common room. They don’t stop until they’re standing in front of me and Fox is placing his laptop down on the table where Court is still eating.

“What’s goin’ on?” I ask, looking between the three men trying to figure out what the hell is making them rush out to me like they did.

“I finally caught the fucker on a camera. I’m still not sure who the fuck bypassed your security system, but I managed to get into the camera feeds from around town. One of the angles showed a car leavin’ the compound. A blacked out sedan with tinted windows. It’s a newer model and the windshield wasn’t tinted so I could capture the driver,” Fox informs me, his voice almost filled with excitement as he presses a few keys and the footage he’s talking about pulls up and plays.

I watch as Conrad leaves the compound and heads in the direction to leave the city. Fox pauses the footage after rewinding it and zooms in to show Conrad with a large smile on his face as if he’s won. He fucking hasn’t won a damn thing.

“I managed to find all the offshore accounts and everythin’ else we’ve been searchin’ for. The only thing I can’t find are any properties in any of their names. I’ve found a few that are obviously under corporations that don’t exist and I’m thinkin’ those belong to the stupid fuckers. We just can’t prove anythin’ at this point. I will keep diggin’. Dad and Buzz believe we have more than enough evidence to put them all away for a very long time,” Kingston says, trying not to let how proud he is of himself shine through knowing I’m not in a good headspace.

“I’m so proud of you, Kingston. You’ve truly stepped up and helped us more than you should have,” I tell him, knowing he needs to hear this right now. Kingston has put off hanging out with the other kids in order to help us deal with this Conrad situation and now helping to find my wife.

“Thank you, Valor. That means a lot,” Kingston says as Fox rests his hand on his son’s back with a large smile on his face.

Before anyone else can say anything, Fox’ phone rings and he pulls it out. Answering the call, I listen the best I can to see if it’s news on my wife. Fox’ eyes immediately find mine and he stares at me while taking the call.

“Are you sure?” he asks whoever he’s on the phone with.

I try to hear the person on the other end of the phone, but it’s impossible. Court stands right next to me, so close our shoulders are touching as Slim comes up to my other side and Kingston remains next to his dad.

“We’ll be right there. I’m warnin’ you now that her husband will want to be there with her. You’re gonna let him back as soon as he enters the hospital. Don’t try to prevent him from gettin’ to her. We’ll keep their daughters with us until they can go back, but Valor will be in that hospital room with Savannah,” Fox states as my heart starts racing and hope fills me and I move closer to Fox as he hangs up the call and shoves his phone back in his pocket. “She’s in the hospital in Cedar Bay. Someone found her naked and alone walkin’ down the road. He almost hit her because she stepped into the middle and tried flaggin’ him down. We won’t know more until we get there.”

Without a word to anyone, I race from the common room and head straight for my bike. Court is right next to me as I straddle my machine and start the engine before strapping my helmet on. Court and I take off immediately and race toward Cedar Bay. It’s really not a long ride to get there, but it’s still longer than I’d like. I don’t slow down, look back, or anything else as I focus on the road in front of me and the need to get to the hospital. My wife is there and the sooner I see her, the quicker I’ll be able to see for myself what kind of damage has been done to her. Conrad will pay for every scrape, cut, and bruise on my wife’s body one way or another. That’s a promise I make to myself as we continue riding to the hospital and a million thoughts flood my mind.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Savannah

WAKING UP SLOWLY, fear fills me as I think of seeing Conrad. So far, I’ve been lucky and haven’t had to deal with him. The last thing I truly remember as I wake up is him coming in the room and me pretending to be knocked out still so he didn’t hurt me. Conrad was on the phone with someone and I remember thinking he was nothing more than a bitch or pussy because he was taking orders from whoever he was talking to. If anyone understands the hierarchy of an organization, I do after being with the club for so long. However, Conrad wasn’t talking to this person as if they were simply above him in the chain of command. There was almost a hint of fear in his voice that I can remember hearing now. Along with the rage he was feeling. Conrad is nothing more than a puppet, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s committing horrendous crimes against other people.

My entire body hurts and the incessant beeping of a machine is making my head pound worse than it was the last time I was awake. There isn’t a single inch of me that isn’t at least aching or flat out killing me with how much pain is filling me. Even my feet hurt and feel as if they weigh a ton as they rest against the mattress. Even my eyes hurt and don’t want to open as I try so hard to make them cooperate and do what I want. When I finally manage to open my eyes, I see white walls where the paint isn’t peeling and there’s a large window letting in more light than was coming in the small room I was in the last time I woke up.

Something holds my hand and I slowly turn my head to find Zach sitting next to me in a chair with his head resting on the bed next to me and our fingers linked together. He’s sleeping, but I can tell that he hasn’t been sleeping because he doesn’t even stir as I try to run my fingers through his hair. I can’t move my other hand and turn my eyes to see an IV in my arm. I’m in the hospital and not with Conrad. My heart speeds up, making the beeping noise fill the room even more as I feel Zach move on the bed. Turning my attention back to him, I find his gorgeous eyes locked on me as he takes a minute to process that I’m here and awake.

Finally, everything comes back to me and I remember walking through a long, dark tunnel to get away from Conrad. It led me to the other side of the field from the house he was holding me hostage in. When I got out of the tunnel and saw where I was, I started making my way through the forest and away from Conrad. He knows I’m gone because I remember seeing the same car going up and down the road past where I was walking and hearing him shout my name. After that, I don’t really remember much of anything else.

“Love, how are you feelin’?” Zach questions me, his voice deep and husky while still filled with sleep as he looks up at me with concern filling his eyes.

“Like I’ve been run over by the biggest truck in the world, baby. What happened?” I ask him, wanting to know if he has any more information for me. “Where are the girls?”

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