Page 42 of Karma
A motorcycle outside catches his attention, and he sniffles. “I think Colt’s home. I’ll have him call you.”
He hangs up and looks at the door, rocking slightly as he waits for his father to walk inside. To see the broken wood and realize the woman they both love has been taken. Disappeared with no way to get to her.
Chapter Fourteen
Griffin’s Beach
Colt
Being gone on a run wasn’t on Colt’s plan, especially with Lex’s psychotic brother on the loose gunning for her. Correction: New psychotic brother. He didn’t have a choice, and he hated every minute he was away.
There were issues with potentially bad merchandise, a fun side effect of working with two suppliers, and Colt brought the customers to the Drifters. Ones who wanted to talk to him and only him.
He’d offered to send Jennings in his place, but they refused. If they weren’t one of the largest customers the Drifters have, Colt would have told them to fuck off and find a new supplier.
Lex assured him she’d be fine with her goon squad outside. The text messages they exchanged last night proved her right, but he hasn’t heard from her all morning. And she wasn’t at the clubhouse when he returned.
Parking in front of the garage, he cracks his neck and looks at the front porch. Lucas’s car is outside rather than at school, but Lex could have given him a ride. And she may not be at the clubhouse because she ran an errand, which isn’t preferable, but Venom wouldn’t let her go alone.
All assumptions about Lex being safe and sound go out the window when he sees the front door broken from being kicked in. He pulls his gun from his holster, ready to shoot Phillip inside his house. He looks around for Venom or anyone else, but no one’s around.
Bursting inside, he doesn’t find Phillip or Lex. He finds Lucas rocking on the floor beside the couch.
“Luke?”
“She’s gone,” Lucas says, his voice cracking and tears filling his eyes. “Phillip took her.”
His heart races, and he lowers his gun. Lex is gone? “What happened?”
Lucas recounts the morning, which explains why his car is out front, and Colt pulls his phone from his pocket. Pressing the button, he remembers he never brought his charger with him, and it’s dead. Tossing it against the wall, it shatters, and he tries to find a way to remain calm. “It died. I didn’t know. Fuck!”
“She’s in the trunk of a car. Headed east. That’s all I know. Undertaker knows. Said he’d take care of it. Venom just called Lex back, so he knows, too. This is all my fault.”
He quickly walks over to Lucas and pulls him to his feet and into a hug as he tries to curb his own panic. “It’s not your fault.”
“I should have done something. When you’re not here, I’m the man of the house. I should’ve grabbed a gun and shot him ashe was leaving. Found a gun somewhere, but I didn’t. I don’t… I should have insisted you teach me how to shoot.”
Grabbing Lex’s phone, he sees the low battery level, too. “Where’s your phone?”
“In my room,” he whispers.
Colt runs to Lucas’s room and calls Undertaker, but he gets no answer. Shaking, he calls Hailey.
“Hey, Luke. Aren’t you supposed to be in class? Are you finally being bad and skipping class?”
“It’s me,” Colts says, trying to keep his voice steady. “Hailey, I need you to go and pick up Calla from preschool, and then I need you to pull Noah from school. Head to Ky’s house and stay there until I call you.”
“You’re scaring me, Colt. What’s going on? Is Lucas okay?”
He swallows the lump the size of Texas in his throat, and he struggles to hear anything past the racing heartbeat in his ears. “Lucas is okay. He’s with me, but Phillip has Lex.”
“What?”
“We’re going to find her, but I need you to take care of the younger kids for me. Please, Hailey, I can’t be worried about all of you guys, too.”
“I’ll take care of it,” she whispers. “You’ll find her before he… before he kills her, right?”
His lip trembles, but he fights the crippling fear. “We’re getting her back.”
