Page 63 of Queen of Blades

Paul wasn’t accustomed to being left out of the loop. Joseph was never this vague with him. There was more going on than his father wanted to say, and it didn’t sit well with Paul.

“What is Eddie doing?” he insisted. As far as Paul was concerned, this was an all-hands-on-deck situation. Which meant his brother needed to get his ass here.

“He is taking care ofbusiness.” His dad bristled. “Now, tell me what went on here with your biker princess.”

Paul’s eye twitched. Joseph didn’t want him involved with whatever Eddie was working on. But Paul was the fixer for the family. He made sure there were no messes.

Squeezing his eyes shut, it slapped him in the face.

The reason his dad didn’t want him to know what Eddie dealt with was because Paul had created a right fucking awful mess. He had his hands full. So, of course, Joseph wouldn’t pile on.

To be fair, Paul’s focus needed to remain on Harper and getting her back. As soon as that was resolved, he’d step up and help his brother.

Taking a deep breath, he did his best to quell the cyclone of fury inside him. “The bikers took Harper.”

His father hummed. “Heh. I never thought they’d be stupid enough to start a war.”

35

Harper

Withaheave-ho,theprospects dumped Harper onto the stained pool table. Someone cursed about interrupting their game, but she couldn’t see who. Groaning, she squeezed her eyes shut as more pain ricocheted through her. Everything hurt. Parts of her body she never knew existed throbbed.

Clenching her teeth, she did her best not to cry with all the eyes of everyone in the clubhouse on her despite desperately wanting to. It wouldn’t change anything. They wouldn’t show her empathy or mercy. Bikers didn’t respect weakness. She had to do her best to keep a straight face. Which was hard as hell considering she didn’t know which was worse, her nausea or the migraine blurring her vision.

Lifting her lids, she sought something to ground her—anything to focus on.

With her eyes locked on the discolored tiles of the dropped ceiling, she inhaled through her nose and blew out through her mouth. The repeated kicks had probably cracked a rib or two, so breathing was agony.

Which no one around her seemed all that concerned about. Instead, the crowd continued with their mumbled conversations as if she wasn’t lying here bound and suffering. This wasn’t the club she remembered her father leading in her youth. It broke her heart knowing he’d let it get like this, and now her brothers were a part of it. What had they become?

Fingers from a thick paw of a hand trailed down her cheek. It drew her attention, and she shifted her focus to the large, burly man with the long, bushy brown beard. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot. His stringy brown hair hung loosely past his shoulders as he cocked his head to the side. Dwight.

“Hey, baby,” he said affectionately.

Narrowing her eyes, Harper couldn’t believe his audacity. Fury swirled inside her, and she tugged at her restraints. The plastic of the zip ties dug farther into her wrists and ankles. It burned, and she swore she felt the moment they finally sliced into her flesh.

“Fuck you,” she seethed.

His grin grew wider. “In time.” He stroked his hand through her chocolate-and-amber mane. “First, I want to make it official.”

What the hell is he talking about?

Taking hold of her upper arm and her thigh, Dwight lifted and rolled Harper over from her back to lying on her belly. Fireworks shot off everywhere, and she bit down on her bottom lip to prevent her cries of anguish. Turning her head, resting her cheek on the red felt, she had an eyeful of crotch.

“You’ve forgotten your place,” Dwight said as he crouched so he could meet her gaze. “You are the property of the Roughneck Riders, born into this life. Your dad may have been okay with your running off to North Carolina, but I’m not.”

“It’s not your choice,” she snapped.

He chuckled and ran his hand over her hair again until he tangled his fingers in it. Making a fist, he yanked.

She couldn’t help it. The squeal slipped past her lips as he strained her neck with her head jerked backward.

“They voted me president, baby. It absolutely is my decision what happens to you,” he whispered.

“Where’s Weston?” she demanded. Her brother wouldn’t let this happen to her. There was no chance in hell he’d stand idle and let Dwight do this, let alone in public.

“Your dad sent him on a run.” Dwight rolled his eyes. “Took the baby with him too,” he said of Colt.

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