Page 48 of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

14.

Gage

God dammit, he’s dead. I’m going to kill him, watch the life fade from his eyes and laugh while it’s happening, for what he’s put Liv through. I will never forget the screech when that prod touched her leg. It’s fucking burned into my memory like a brand. A brand of hate that he fueled and will regret if I have any breath left in me.

Though now we have a whole set of different problems. We’d been on the trail of Michael. Now? Who the fuck knows? Where do we go from here? That’s the hundred-million dollar question.

Sneak walks in to Liv’s bedroom, where I’m sitting on the edge of the bed. I had to take a time out, collect myself before snapping someone’s head off out of frustration. Two days—it’s been two days since that video came to Boss’s phone. And we’re no closer to a rescue. Sneak stops in front of me, his hands to his hips and head hanging. Worry lines etch between his brow and around his eyes.

He looks like a man who has news he doesn’t want to share. “What?” I ask, trying to hold the bark back from my voice. “Just tell me.”

On a head nod, he does. “It’s not Liv,” he starts. Small fucking miracle. “I just got off the phone with Trish.”

Shit. Trish? She’s pregnant.Verypregnant. “Is she okay?”

A smile plays at the corners of his mouth now. “She’s in labor, brother. It’s early, but…”

“Go. Your wife needs you.”

“Timing sucks. I—” he starts to say something, but I cut him off.

“You’re gonna be a dad.”

“Yeah,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m gonna be a dad.”

As selfish as it makes me, I can’t help but wonder if Liv and I will ever get to have that. A family of our own, part her, part me. I should be happy for him,amhappy for him. “Give Trish my love. Now go. Take care of your family.”

A second nod of his head, he turns to leave. “Send pics,” I call out to his back.

“Let’s hope she looks like her mom. I’m not so photogenic. Lord knows what that woman ever saw in me.”

Being the old lady of a Lord isn’t the easiest life and isn’t for everyone, but I have no doubts about what the woman saw in him. Sneak’s a good man, a good brother and he knows his wife walks on water.

Now we’re one brother down and starting from scratch with finding Liv. My elbows to knees, I drop my face into my hands, holding on to the back of my head with my fingers digging into my scalp. The pressure and twinge of pain acts as a reminder that my woman has suffered so much worse and I can’t fall into a pity party just yet.

Think, St. James. Think.

Blood stands in the door and clears his throat to get my attention. I recognize his boots. Even if I don’t look up, he’s only got to talk. “I know we’ve had a setback, but Chaos, I got a lock on Michael.”

My head snaps up. He has my full attention now.

“Did a trace on the SUV plates. It don’t belong to the truck,stolen. Registered to an Alma Sayer. Checked her out, deceased I think.” He pauses and shifts to lean a shoulder against the door jamb. “But I didn’t want to let any possible lead go, so I looked into her. Alma Sayer moved here ten years ago with her nephew, Michael.”

“Fuck,” I grumble.

“Yeah, well, the records—bank, medical—abruptly stop for her a year ago. The property is still in her name.” Blood scrubs his hands down his face, sighing. “I know it might not bring us any closer, but I think we need to check out her place. It might bring us some clues. I fucking hate my lack of contacts in this area.”

Checking out Alma Sayer’s place will be a fuck-ton better than sitting here with my thumb up my ass waiting. I hate waiting. I hate feeling useless. “Let’s go.”

Entering the living room from the hallway, my brothers all stand, ready to move out. Including a new face, Blue. He became a brother the same time as Hero and Blaze. All three men showed their loyalty to the club by helping rescue Elise and Liv, the first time, from that fuckwad, Houdini.

As if reading my confusion, he shoots me a somber chin lift. “Been at the clubhouse with Trish. So goddamn miserable, I knew it wouldn’t be long before she called Sneak back home. My sister’s got four kids, seen the signs a time or two. Hopped in the van, thought we might need it.” He shrugs. “Now I’m here.” Then he turns to walk out the front door, the rest of the brothers filing out behind him.

The decades-old white van we keep stored at the compound rests next to my truck. She might be ancient, van-wise, but she runs and she runs quiet. Perfect for recon jobs.Thank you, Blue. I walk over to the front passenger seat and climb in while Duke takes the driver’s seat. The rest of the brothers climb inside the back.

Duke clips his phone to the dashboard, the GPS app pulled up and ready to go. The roads we take become smaller and longer, winding through the mountains. Trees branches and thick brush envelop the daylight to the point we can hardly see the sun. This bastard lives deep in country. Deep. Winding. Unusual for a man who shows in town wearing slick business suits.

Finally, after several hours of driving, we turn down a dirt drive even easier to miss than Liv’s drive. A dirt drive gouged out and up the side of a mountain leading to a flat plateau. There’s a clearing with a well-maintained gingerbread cabin situated in the middle. Michael’s black SUV sits parked out front. The whole area turned flat. An abundance of dense forest surrounds the entire lot. We park back from the clearing, still covered by trees, and empty out from the vehicle silently to not give any advance warning if someone happens to be inside.

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