Page 75 of Savage Guardian

Tyler heaved a sigh as a sob tore from her chest.

“No matter, we’ve got enough for now.”

Her head hanging, her body limp, her fear ratcheted up to eleven, she listened as Tyler and Teddy snuffled from the room, arguing with one another in low voices.

There was no way out.

She was going to die there.

And Hawk would never know how much she loved him.

Leaving Jenkins at the studio to monitor things, Hawk sent Madden and the strangely calm Carrie back to the hotel. If Carrie was worried about her sister, she was going one hell of a job hiding it.

It had taken some doing to keep himself from slamming back a few shots of Johnny, but he knew that once AFK got a lead, Hawk would need a clear head. What he really wanted to do was head to AFK’s office and hover, but he knew that would only frustrate the OCD motherfucker, who hated having people in his space. Hawk didn’t blame him, though. He had tens of thousands of dollars of equipment in there. Hawk would be on edge with big ass bikers stomping around, too.

So, he was sitting in the common room, trying to ignore the weightiness of all the eyes on him. Word had gotten around, and people were giving him space, unsure of what might set him off. A few of his brothers, who weren’t out working their club jobs, were silently drinking and watching him.

Dragon, Slick, Junkie, and Raptor came in, lifting their chins in acknowledgement, their solidarity needing no words. Thankfully, the club bitches hadn’t even looked twice at him. The last fucking thing he needed was Amelia climbing all over him, making his skin crawl.

Grimm groaned beside him, bitching about his phone under his breath. Grimm’s phone still in his hand, Hawk was determined to watch and rewatch the video of the kidnapping until he was convinced he’d learned everything he could from it.

Just then, something on the screen caught his attention. In the video, Hawk was in the room with Fae, their conversation intense. Behind them, in the sound booth, just before he came out to hit Hawk, Teddy was on the phone, his voice low and agitated. Hawk couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“Who the fuck is he talkin’ to?” Grimm asked.

“Hell, if I know, but I can give you one guess why he would call someone right before bashing me over the head and kidnapping Fae.”

It didn’t take a moment before Grimm was cursing. “Motherfucker has an accomplice.”

Guts churning, Hawk racked his brain, trying to conjure up who Teddy could be working with.

“Jimmy?” Hawk theorized. “But why would Jimmy be working with Teddy? What would he gain by having his pay day kidnapped?”

“Maybe he put out an insurance policy on her,” Grimm speculated.

That didn’t sound right. “Would he get more that way than he would if Aoibheal hit it big? He could milk her fame for years.”

Grimm’s lips thinned. “Even after all that shit Carrie’s been pullin’? I doubt many people will race to buy her music once all her exploits hit critical mass online.”

Way to plunge the knife deeper.Hawk had been there with Carrie, watching her make a fool of herself—and the Aoibheal name—in public. He could have stopped her, but…he hadn’t cared. Then, Aoibheal was Carrie, a woman he didn’t give a shit about. Now that he knew Fae was Aoibheal, he realized the damage he’d allowed to happen.

When he got her back, safe and sound, he’d do whatever it took to fix what he’d fucked up—with Fae and with Aoibheal. He’d have to talk to AFK about it once all the shit with Banshee was over.

“I’ll have AFK look deeper into Jimmy while he’s tracking Teddy with the cameras. Octopus arms is good at doing more than one thing at a time. Comes with being the only computer brain in the club and working for SP.”

Hawk snorted knowingly, though he worried AFK would miss something if he wasn’t focused on finding where Teddy took Fae.

Grimm pinned a sympathetic gaze on Hawk, then slapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll find her, brother.”

God, he fucking hoped so. And once he did, there would be nothing left of Teddy and his accomplice.

Hawk’s phone pinged from his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. There was a text from an unknown number. Clicking on it, he saw a link to a video.

Dread clawed its way up his throat, chills thrilled up his spine. He sucked in a breath and held it, clicking the link.

The world tilted. His blood froze. His body turned to stone.

It was a video of Fae, tied to a chair. As he watched, a man whose face he couldn’t see entered the frame, speaking to her. Then…he was beating her. Unable to tear his eyes away, Hawk stared, not breathing, his body numb. When the man was done, Fae was hunched over, her body stiff from pain, her breathing ragged, her face bloody.

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