Page 70 of His Road Dog

"I'm not wrong." He raised his arm, aimed the pistol at the leader, and stepped away from the Tarkio members. "My men will go, but you're going to take me to her."

"Jesus Christ," said Roddy on a hiss. "You've lost your fucking mind. Don't do it."

He ignored his MC brother and walked forward. There were at least a dozen men with rifles trained on him. They could've shot him five minutes ago. He was going to gamble that they weren't in the mood to murder someone today.

He wanted his men safe, and he wanted his woman.

"Give me five minutes with her, and then I'll leave. You won't ever see me again," he said.

Behind the leader, a loud squelch filled the air. Priest never took his eyes off the man in front. He had nothing to bargain with because he had no idea what the other men needed. There was a reason for the security out in the middle of the forest, the artificial barrier hiding the road, the armed guards.

"Jeb, we're supposed to bring the man to the common area," said the man in the back of the group holding a walkie-talkie.

The leader motioned with his rifle. "You'll walk, and your men will go back to the clearing."

"What about my motorcycle?" he asked.

"Leave it." The leader waited for him to start walking.

"Do what he said." He lowered his gun, knowing that his MC brothers wouldn't leave until they had no other choice. They'd all taken an oath to protect their president.

He walked, giving his men permission to leave his side.

Only two of the armed men followed him deeper into the woods on the road. The others stayed back to make sure the Tarkio members wouldn't follow.

He took their willingness to take him deeper into the forest as a positive step toward finding Nicole.

A rock caught under his boot. He looked down and stepped left, staying between the ruts. "How far am I walking?"

"Just keep going."

If he wanted to walk, he wouldn't have a motorcycle. Aware of the men behind him, he focused on what was in front of him. Trees. Bushes. Nothing.

Hell, there were probably armed security all along the fucking road with guns aimed at him, and he couldn't see a damn thing.

Five minutes later and too many damn steps in heavy, black boots, he heard voices ahead of him. He tilted his head, not missing a step. He was too far away. The dense landscape muffled the noise, and he couldn't hear what they were saying.

He lifted his hand to his vest, needing his pistol.

"Keep your hands out of your pockets, or we'll take you back out."

He gritted his teeth and kept walking. They better produce Nicole, or he was going to go postal.

Rounding the bend, he spotted movement ahead. In the distance, there were log cabins spattered around as far as he could see. There were at least a dozen people outside and numerous vehicles parked in the area.

He slowed, trying to make a plan. Whatever happened, he'd need to outsmart them. He couldn't rely on his pistol. There were too many of them.

At what appeared to be the beginning of the settlement area—that's all he could call it. It wasn't a small town or a subdivision. It looked more like a campground with small cabins in a circular layout, taking up about five acres, and included a large garden and an outdoor kitchen in the middle of the area.

"Wait here." The guard, who seemed to run things around here, passed him, heading toward a group of men.

Staying aware, he scanned the people, looking for Nicole. She could be anywhere. It'd been over a month since he'd seen her. Enough time, she could clear across the United States.

The guard headed toward a man and woman standing with their backs toward Priest. He looked away, but sudden movement had him studying the couple.

An arm poked out from behind them. Blocked by the couple, he couldn't see who was on the other side of them.

The guard stopped. Priest swallowed. He would recognize that slim wrist anywhere. He'd had his fingers wrapped around her wrists and held her prisoner many times.

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