Page 80 of Memphis

Grim was simply too strong.

Once Koda was restrained, Grim secured him to the chains that were hanging from the ceiling. The chains were just a few inches short, making it impossible for Koda to stand with his feetflat against the floor. As he stood there on his tiptoes, he started shouting, “What the fuck are you doing? Let me out of here!”

“You’re not going anywhere.” Grim slammed his fist into Koda’s ribs, forcing the air out of his lungs. Koda started thrashing around, pulling at the chains as he gasped for air. Grim stepped towards him and growled, “Not until you start talking.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Who do you run with?” Remaining eerily calm, Grim leaned towards him and snarled, “And why did you make a stand against Fury?”

“Nah, man. You got it all wrong. Ain’t nobody made a stand against Fury.”

“Bullshit,” Grim barked.

“I mean it, man,” he babbled. “I’m not the one.”

“We both know that’s not true.” Grim slipped on a pair of brass knuckles, then punched him in the ribs once again. Before Koda had a chance to recover, Grim slammed his fist into his abdomen and then the side of his face. If he’d hit him any harder, he would’ve broken his fucking jaw. Koda was groaning in agony as Grim growled, “Who sent you to the Vault last night?”

Grim was just getting started.

He would get the answers we needed, but I didn’t have the time nor the patience to wait him out. I needed to get to Antonia. Dad must’ve sensed my impatience and gave me the nod, letting me know that my job was done. I gave him a nod in return, then I went to find Shep.

The clubhouse was oddly quiet as I made my way down the hall and to his office. When I walked in, he was at his desk, hammering away at his laptop. I hoped that meant that he’d found something that could help Antonia. “Hey, man.”

“Hey, I was just about to call you.”

“That mean you found something?”

“Yeah, but you’re not gonna like it.” Shep nodded, swiveling his chair to face one of his monitors. “Her father’s been skimming off the top and stealing from some pretty big players.”

“I’m guessing one of those players was Vittorio.”

“He’s not just a big player. This dude’s loaded, and he’s got some heavy connections to the Italian mafia.”

“Of course he does,” I scoffed. “You got any idea where I can find him?”

“I’m still working on it, and Gus and Riggs are, too.” Gus was the president of the Satan’s Fury Memphis chapter, and Riggs was their club’s hacker. It meant a great deal to me when Shep said, “Prez called them right after he talked to you and explained the situation. They’re sittin’ on go and ready to do whatever they can to help.”

“That’s good ‘cause I’m at least two hours out, and they can get to her faster than I can.”

“That’s what we were thinking. Anyway, it looks like her phone is dead, but I was able to use the local towers to ping her last location. It looks like she’s at Vittorio’s place at Spring Creek, just outside of Collierville.”

That’s all I needed to know.

As I turned and charged for the door, I shouted, “Text me the address!”

“Hold on!” Shep called out. “Get with Gus! Don’t go there alone!”

“I’ll call him on the way!”

Without saying anything more, I head out the back door and out to my truck. In a matter of seconds, I was through the gate and on my way to Memphis. My mind was running a mile a minute as I made my way out to the interstate.

I felt like time was slipping away from me. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t stop it or even slow it down. It was completely out of my control. Everything was out of my controland that had me spiraling in ways I couldn’t begin to describe. I had a million thoughts running through my head, mainly all the things I hadn’t said.

I hadn’t told her how she made me feel—how she made me want to keep her close, protect her, and love her. I’d finally convinced her to give us a chance, and I didn’t want to fuck it up by saying too much too soon. I’d kept it all bottled up inside, hoping that the right time would come along so I could tell her everything that was on my mind, but that time never came. And now, I feared I might never be able to tell her.

I’d made a fucking mess of things.

I’d let my guard down and hadn’t put up a fuss about her going to see her father—even after everything my mother had told me. I knew better, but I’d convinced myself that she was in good hands with her father. She was his flesh and blood. I trusted him to keep her out of harm’s way, but he hadn’t. Instead, the asshole had thrown her right into the fire.

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