Page 46 of Beautiful Unity

As much as I wanted to believe it, I knew I couldn’t solely focus on rescuing my dad. He wouldn’t want it that way either. It pained me, but there was more at stake. We had to finish Agonizer.

It would all end with him.

Becca. Hank. The Mavericks. Me.

Too many others I didn’t know the names of.

Feeling refocused, I kissed Maddox and pressed against his arms to let me down. I needed to walk on my own.

“You good?” he asked.

“No. But I’m ready.”

He nodded and set me down. I turned around, expecting the motel. Instead of the building we’d moved to earlier, we stood in front of a dilapidated barn.

“Um, please tell me we’re not staying here? I can rough it to an extent, but I draw the line at tents and sleeping bags.”

“I’m with Sunflower on this one,” Grayson said behind me. He draped an arm around my shoulders, kissing my cheek.

Maddox laughed. “Tiny brought us here. As far as I know, it’s just a pitstop.”

The man in question stuck his head between the double doors. “You guys coming or what?”

The five of us exchanged looks and shrugged. I took the lead. It gave me something else to focus on rather than the image of my dad. Shaking it out of my head, I pulled open the door and prayed it wouldn’t fall off.

Stepping inside, I stumbled at the scene before me. First, the inside of the barn did not match the outside. It was rundown and falling apart outside, but the inside was clean, bright, and set up in sections. The back had bunk beds like a military base, holding about twenty beds. Next to it was a curtain that separated into a medical exam room and supplies. An open area with a couch and chairs sat in the middle of the room, and the front had a kitchen area with tables.

The most surprising thing was how many people were inside. The place was bustling with activity as people cooked food, chatted, and argued over what show to watch next. It didn’t make sense how this place existed or why it was even here.

“Yeah, I had that look the first time I stepped inside here, too,” a pink-haired woman around my age said. She handed me a bowl of soup. “Eat up. It’s gonna be a long night.” The guys were given their own bowls.

“Um, thanks. I’m Darcie.”

She smiled. “I know. I’m Saucy, and I’m with that knucklehead. I believe you know her?” Saucy pointed over toward the tables, and I gaped at the girl. Her grin grew wide when she spotted me, and she skipped toward me. Her arms wrapped around me before I had time to process.

“Damn, Darcie. You’re lookin’ good.”

“Chelsie? What? How? Huh?”

Chelsie and Saucy laughed as I struggled to form words. Saucy wrapped her arm around Chelsie, and they stared at one another, full of love. “Didn’t I tell you she was cute?”

“You did. Though, I think she’s taken.” Saucy nodded to the men lurking behind me.

“Mad Dog!” Chelsie shouted when she spotted him. She broke away and ran to him, giving him the same warm greeting I’d received. It was such a contrast to the girl she’d been that I didn’t know what to focus on more—this place or the fact that Chelsie was here and in a relationship with a woman.

Brooks directed me to the tables, and I sat down and ate my soup. It was delicious, and my bowl was empty before I knew it. Saucy and Kiki—Chelsie’s road name—filled us in on the origins of the barn and its purpose.

“This is what’s left of the MCD program. Everything else was taken over by my father and ruined,” Kiki said, her voice full of sadness.

“How did you end up back here? I thought you hated everything to do with the MC life?”

“I did. But that was before I met Saucy in Tennessee.” Kiki smiled at her girlfriend. “We fell in love, and I realized it wasn’t the MC life I hated but my dad and how he ran things. Saucy's dad is part of the Rebels, and when Agonizer tried to marry me off in an alliance, we ran away. Her dad knew of Tank, so he reached out to him, and when he realized who I was, he sent Tiny and Mack to bring us here. We’ve been here a few years now. Right under my dad’s nose.”

Kiki smiled wide, pride pouring off her at being so close to the enemy and getting away with it.

“Does your brother know?”

She scoffed. “Hell no. He’s a mini Agonizer. No offense, I knew you had a crush on him.”

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