Page 63 of The Gentleness of Rage

It pulled into traffic and disappeared as Slate ran forward. He could see a mass of brunette hair, and his heart was in his throat. Slate crashed to his knees, turned the body over, and sighed as he saw Sindy’s face.

“Slate,” she slurred. He looked down and noticed she’d been shot in her shoulder.

“Sindy, we gotta move, we’re too exposed here,” he said, picking her up and racing back. Where the hell was Jaelynn? “Did they have Jaelynn?”

“No, Jaelynn screamed at me to run and ran upstairs,” Sindy answered, trying to focus.

Slate slammed the fire door shut and headed for the changing room. Cayla held a gun in his face until she recognised him.

“Sindy’s been shot. Stay with her, and don’t let anyone in unless they are Rage,” Slate ordered.

“Got it. Silky, get that first aid box, we need to stop Sindy’s bleeding,” Cayla demanded as Slate ran out.

He sprinted up the stairs, alarmed at the blood on the walls. Someone had been hurt badly. As he hit the landing, he walked towards the panic room and saw the door was slammed shut and the panel was blinking red.

Somebody was in there. But there was a problem. Slate couldn’t speak to whoever was inside, and they couldn’t talk back. Hell, the cameras weren’t hooked up yet.

It had to be Jaelynn inside because Cayla was downstairs, and she was the only other one with the code. How the hell was he going to get Jaelynn out? It was pointless banging on the door, she’d not hear it.

Slate scratched his head. The second problem was that interior locking mechanisms meant only the occupants could open the panic room once the lock was engaged. It stopped anyone from being held hostage and forced to open the panic room.

Slate sighed and sat down against the wall. His brothers were riding, and the strip club had been locked down. He’d have to wait for Jaelynn to open the door. That was all he could think of. Fuckin’ typical! This wasn’t meant to happen.

Slate’s gaze fixed on the blood smeared on the door. As frantic as he was to get to Jaelynn, he couldn’t, and he felt he was going to bust out of his skin.

Slate prayed that it wasn’t Jaelynn who was hurt.

Chapter Thirteen.

Jaelynn

Okay… I couldn’t get a phone signal, and I had no way to communicate with the outside. There were disconnected wires where the voice box was. Which meant I was screwed.

How long should I wait before opening the door?

Could it be opened from out there?

People would know I was in here. I’d seen a dancer, and there was obviously security, too, because they’d called Slate. I needed to ensure that when I opened the door, Wade was gone.

Two hours. That was plenty of time for Wade to disappear and Rage to arrive. Would it be too long? I wavered back and forth before gritting my teeth and steeling myself to wait.

In the meantime, I would arm myself and then read a book I’d downloaded to my phone.

Slate

Slate’s head lifted as a clank sounded. Blaze and Hunter were sitting with him, watching the door while the police interviewed people downstairs. Slate could not identify either of the men caught on the scant coverage they had, but Jaelynn had clearly recognised the one in here. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have run. Slate had viewed the man’s image but was unfamiliar with his identity.

The door shoved open, and Jaelynn peered out, holding the leg of a table. Slate blinked as he looked past her and saw she had dismantled the table. He was on his feet just as fast, though, and rushing towards her.

Jaelynn dropped the weapon and let Slate swallow her in his embrace.

“What the hell happened?” he demanded.

Slate already knew, but he needed to hear it from her.

Instead, Jaelynn seemed distracted. “Fuck,” she murmured.

Slate followed her gaze and stared at the doorjamb of the panic room. There were red smears and flesh-coloured… gunk on it.

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