Page 99 of Claimed By the Biker Brothers

“Hold on.”

I put Ellie on hold and immediately try calling Knox first. No answer.

“Come on,” I mumble, my fingers trembling as I try Jagger’s phone next. Still nothing. I can’t get through to Diesel either. I’m shaking like a leaf in the wind as I get up from my seat and go into the kitchen because I don’t want Kyra to overhear me. I click back over to Ellie. “How long ago was this?”

“Half an hour maybe,” she says. “Listen, Robyn. I’m sure they’re okay. I am. They’re tough SOBs, that much I know. Let me try calling Samson again and see if I can find out more.”

“Okay.”

I hang up, but the spiral into anxiety quickly comes over me. I’m sliding into uncertainty and fear as I cradle my belly, worried that whatever I’m feeling might affect the baby.

Minutes pass in utter silence, with the exception of my daughter’s voice in the other room. She’s singing one of her favorite nursery songs while playing. She does that when she’s focused, when nothing else matters but the task at hand.

I allow myself a soft smile as I let the sound of her distant voice soothe me.

When my phone rings again, I answer right away. “Talk to me, Ellie.”

“I know where they are,” Ellie says. “But you can’t tell anyone. Samson swore he’d kill me if I call you about this.”

“I don’t care, Ellie. Just tell me!”

“They’re okay, listen, they’re okay. Just some scratches and minor flesh wounds, nothing serious.”

“Ellie. Tell me where they are.”

“I’m not letting you go anywhere alone, Robyn,” she warns, her voice deep and stern all of a sudden. “Meet me outside of Grants Pass in an hour. There’s a Shell gas station there. Can you make it?”

I check the time on my phone, remembering the drive over here.

“Yeah, I can make it. One hour,” I tell Ellie.

“Wait, what about Kyra?”

“I’ll have to bring her with me,” I say.

“Okay, hold on, let me check something…” She pauses, and I can hear the clicking of a computer keyboard. “There’s an inn on the Rogue River Highway, just before you get into Grants Pass. I’ll send you a pin for it. Meet me there. It’s more secluded. Safer. And we’ll go see the guys together. They’re going to tear me a new one over this, but I know you wouldn’t want to be left out.”

“Thank you, Ellie. I appreciate it.”

Half an hour later, I’ve got Kyra in her car seat and I’m driving down Sardine Creek Road.

“Are you comfy back there, honey?” I ask Kyra as I briefly watch her in the rearview mirror.

“Yeah, Mommy,” she says.

Less than a mile down the road, I see a car pulled over. A sedan. Dirty grey. The hood is up. There’s a woman under it, and she looks like she’s struggling. Left and right, there are only trees and shrubs. I can’t see another car coming from either way. My heart won’t let me drive by. She’s on her own.

“Honey, I’m going to pull over for a second and help that lady. You need to sit tight and wait for Mommy to come back, alright?”

“Okay, Mommy.”

“My sweet, good girl,” I say and pull over just behind the sedan.

As soon as I step out, the chills of a particularly rough Oregon autumn come over. I shiver as I make my way over to her with a warm smile. “Hey, there… Car trouble?”

“Oh, hey,” the woman says, eyes wide with surprise. “Yeah, I don’t know what’s wrong with it. It just died on me.”

“Want me to call Triple A or something?”

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