Page 37 of Scythe's Salvation
“He’s with his father,” she admits, setting several towels down. “You can use these to wash up in the sink.”
I roll my eyes at her. Where is the woman who acted as though she had her life together? Because the one who’s facing me right now has been broken. “What’s going on? Why are we here?”
“You’re here because I’m a soldier for the cause,” Tim states, walking into the room, his gun at his side. “And as for my son, the child needs to be taught our ways.”
What ways? Because from where I’m sitting, these people are the head residents of Crazy Town and I want zero part in it at all. “I want to go home.”
“You are home, dear,” Tim sneers. “The fact that you got pregnant from our little tryst all those years ago shows you’re a perfect candidate for our breeding program. Right now, we’re trying to decide which of the Elders will propagate with you.”
“Yeah, I’m not fucking anyone,” I retort. “Besides, you’ve never once, since I told you I was expecting, were involved in our lives. Especiallymyson.”
“Biology says he’s mine as well,” Tim replies. “And he’s going to grow up to be one of our leaders for the cause.”
“Over my dead body,” I tell him, meaning every word. Tim moves closer and I presume he’s trying to intimidate me. The only problem with that is I’m so full of anger and rage at what he’s done, it doesn’t work.
Several years ago, Amara and I started taking various self-defense classes. While she eventually stopped, I kept going since I knew I needed to be able to protect myself. Calling on memory muscle, I wait for him to get within striking distance and lash out, my leg sweeping his and causing him to crash to the concrete floor.
“You’re going to regret that, bitch,” he yells as the gun points in my direction. “Don’t think we can’t keep you alive on life support and still breed you.”
He pulls the trigger and I fall back onto the bed, pain radiating down my side. I stare in horror as blood starts seeping through my T-shirt, even as he laughs while getting to his feet. “We’ll get you fixed up. Just remember, you’re somewhat dispensable, Tamara. The kid isn’t.”
Darkness looms as I succumb to the pain lashing through me and I miss Portia whispering, “I’ll try to help, Tamara.”
Time seems to be irrelevant at this point. I have no clue how long I’ve been here, but based on the bandages on my side, I’ve been ‘fixed up’. Unlike when I first woke up and was told I’d have free rein of the room, I now have an ankle shackle that has just enough give to allow me to go to the bathroom and the sink. My non-dominant hand has been bound behind me, leaving me with nothing to use to fight back with, although the drugs they’re giving me kind of make that a moot point. I know I’ve got an infection; I can feel how hot my body is but calling out won’t do any good based on what little Tim shared earlier.
“Chance,” I feverishly murmur as I toss and turn on the narrow, uncomfortable cot. “God, I hope you’re okay, baby. Mommy’s sorry, so sorry.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Scythe
“It’s been two fucking weeks,”I snarl as we sit around the table in church once again. This time, we have a few guests, three brothers from the Graven Bastards MC—Grim, Rael, and Shadow. “How have we not found them yet?”
“Because they virtually have no digital fingerprint,” Hawg says, his head down as his fingers fly over the keyboard of his ever-present laptop. “No credit cards to track, no lease agreements in any of the names we’re aware of, and no sightings on any of the town’s cameras.”
“Fuck!” I roar, standing and grabbing the chair I was sitting in before flinging it against the wall.
I’ve never in my entire lifeeverfelt more fucking helpless. The day that we parted ways so that we could run our errands before we reconvened at the clubhouse is on a constant loop in my head.
“Anyone seen Tamara or Chance?” I ask as I come back through the clubhouse. “She should’ve been here by now, I would think. Her last text to me said they were checking out and would be back in about thirty minutes.”
“What time was that, brother?” Banshee questions.
I look down at my watch and my eyes widen. “Almost two hours ago,” I whisper.
“Where was she going?” Kracken asks, having come into the room when I was talking.
“That sporting goods store on the edge of town that recently opened up. They’re offering discounts to players who are with the rec league as a way to entice clients.” I had offered to cover Chance’s new cleats and received a glare for my efforts, but mark my words, at some point, Iwilltake care of my ol’ lady and son. Because as far as I’m concerned, he’s mine.
“Then let’s ride out and see if we can figure out what happened,” Ban states. “Me, you, and Kracken can be there in just a few minutes. She might’ve broken down, brother.”
If she broke down, why didn’t she call? She has her phone and has one of those fancy watches that allow her to make phone calls as well. No, something’s wrong; I can feel it in my gut. I follow my brothers outside and throw my leg over my girl, starting her then pulling on the throttle to rev the engine. When Banshee pulls out, I’m right next to him with Kracken at our backs.
When we get to the store, I see Tamara’s SUV in a parking spot and pull in right next to it, shutting down my Harley. Before the other two can even say a word, I’m off my bike and striding to the vehicle, my eyes searching the area.
I see the bags loaded in the cargo area through the tinted windows and shake my head when I notice her ‘purse’ which is more like a tote bag tucked alongside. The backseat is empty, although I spot Chance’s book on the floorboard. While he’s got a tablet, Tamara prefers for him to read real books, so he often takes them to read when they go places. Outside of that, there’s nothing, absolutely nothing at all.
