Page 3 of Shadow's Heart
Turning my attention back to the crowd, I carry on scanning for Wreck. I need to lay eyes on him and know he’s okay. Once I’ve done that, I can deal with whatever is going on here. However, that’s not what happens; instead, I catch the gaze of my President and twin, Wrath. My feet are moving in his direction before I’m even aware I’m on the move, but I already know before I reach him that whatever has caused Sera’s tears and all the members out here doing god knows what has something to do with Wreck. It’s written all over my brother’s face. His normal ability to hide what he’s thinking and feeling seems to have taken a hike. Now if that isn’t a sign to worry, I don’t know what is. Wrath is the fucking master at keeping hisemotions off his face. The last time I saw him fail to hide what he was feeling was when his husband was kidnapped.
That feeling I felt when heading in this direction is because I knew on some sort of subconscious level that something had happened to Wreck. We’ve always had a weird way of being in tune with each other; I’ve never questioned it; it’s just always been there. Like when he found out about Dre being missing, I wasn’t with him, but I knew something was wrong and immediately went to him. It’s sort of like the twin connection I have with Wrath but not quite the same. I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s not something I’ve ever had to do.
My twin bond with Wrath isn’t as prominent now that we’re older. We have a more normal brotherly bond nowadays, and I couldn’t imagine my life without him right next to me, but we aren’t connected the way we were when we were younger anymore. I’m fine with that; well, I am now, but growing up, it was hard, especially when he was always much closer to Flame than me, and yeah, back then part of me was jealous. I felt like I’d lost my brother in some ways. That all changed the day I met Wreck, and I understood meeting that one person you knew you were meant to have in your life. The person you feel an instant connection with and know they’re meant to be in your life. Okay, so Wrath and Flame aren’t exactly the same as me and Wreck; they’re a hell of a lot more than best friends, but still, the similarities are there when you look at the friendships as a base.
As I stop in front of Wrath, I steel myself for whatever he’s about to tell me. I know whatever it is isn’t good. I can tell he doesn’t want to tell me whatever has happened, but he knows he doesn’t have a choice.
“Shadow.” He starts to say, and his voice sounds full of pain, which is not helping when I still don’t know what’s happened. I need him to just spit it out before my imagination runs wild.
“Just tell me.” I say, managing to keep my voice steady even though I feel anything but.
“There was an attack; they took Wreck.”
My entire body starts to shake at his words. I feel like he just ripped part of me away and it’s floating away out there without me, and I suppose in a way that’s true because Wreck is a part of me; he’s my person. My best friend. My rock.
“How?” I manage to choke out through the lump in my throat. I don’t understand how that could have happened; we have a fucking safe room. We have one in all our businesses for this very fucking reason. He should have been in there and safe!
Wrath clearly knows where my mind has gone by his next words. “He put Sera in the safe room but didn’t go in himself. He sacrificed himself to protect her.”
“Why? There’s something you’re not telling me. I can see it written all over your face.”
Wrath scrubs a hand down his face before quietly saying, “Sera told Wreck she’s pregnant with mine and Flame’s child.”
Say no fucking more; of course he sacrificed himself after learning that. My best friend has a soft spot for my sister anyway; learning she’s pregnant with Wrath and Flame’s child would have just sealed in his mind the fact he needed to do anything to protect her. I can’t even be mad at him for it. I’d have made the same decision in his shoes.
“Congratulations.” I manage to say with a small, watery smile.
I’m so happy for my brother and Flame; they deserve to grow their family and fuck if they haven’t already proven they’re amazing parents. But right now I can’t focus on the newest member of our family currently growing inside my sister. I’m far too worried about Wreck. I can feel my emotions starting to spillover despite my best efforts to keep them contained. I’ve always been the one to wear my heart on my sleeve compared tomy twin, and right now I fucking hate it. I need to have my head in the game. Wreck needs me at my best. Being an emotional mess isn’t going to help him in the slightest.
“What do we know?” I manage to ask. I need to know everything so I can figure out what the hell I need to do to get Wreck back.
“Not a lot. Tech’s going over the footage now, and we haven’t found anything inside or outside to help.” He stops and blows out a massive breath. “Whoever did this, they were smart, organized, and, I dare say, professional.”
His words cause the feeling of utter despair to travel through my body once more. I feel my legs start to give out. Every word feels like a physical blow. It’s all too fucking much. I don’t hit the ground like I expected to, though; instead I feel an arm band around my waist keeping me on my feet. Glancing over my shoulder, I come face to face with my Dad, and that does it. The emotions that have been threatening to be unleashed come tumbling to the surface. I can feel the tears streaming down my face and my breathing becoming more and more chopped and short as I start to hyperventilate.
My Dad spins me around to face him and embraces me in a massive bear hug while I continue to break down with my face buried in his shoulder. I couldn’t care less that more than likely every member of my MC is witnessing their VP break into a million pieces in his Dad’s arms. They’re all fully aware of the closeness between me and Wreck, and I’d love to see any of their reactions if they found out the person they were closest to had been taken, and they have no idea where to start looking to get them back.
I feel like my whole world’s been turned inside out. My world doesn’t make sense without Wreck. I can’t imagine living the rest of my life without him by my side. He’s my constant. My best friend. My ride or die. Fuck if I’m not going to do everything inmy power to find him, because a world without Wreck isn’t one I plan on living in.
I’m not sure how long I stay in my Dad’s embrace, but I finally pull back when I feel like I have more control over my emotions. I wipe away the stray tears on my face while also pushing back my despair and letting the one emotion I know I need to fuel me right now remain. Anger. It’s time to take a leap out of my brother’s book, and God help anyone who stands in my way because I’m about to do whatever it takes to get Wreck back. Fuck what anyone thinks. All I care about is getting him back. That’s all that matters.
Chapter Four
Wrath
Watching my brother break down in my Dad’s arms is one of the most painful things I think I’ve ever witnessed. His entire body is trembling with the force of his tears and emotions that are finally spilling free. I fucking hate that he’s going through this. I struggled when Flame was taken from me, but unlike my brother, I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve; I never fucking have. If I could take away his pain, I would in a nanosecond; unfortunately, I don’t have that option. Instead, I’m going to use every resource at my disposal to find Wreck and bring him home. Starting with all the members currently gathered here. If I have to, I’ll call in every favor I’m owed because I will do everything in my power to bring Wreck home to Shadow. Where he belongs.
Turning away from Shadow, who I know is in the best hands with our Dad. There’s no one better to help him right now. I lock eyes with Flame and immediately head in his direction, where he’s standing talking to Eagle. They’re probably discussing who could be behind this newest crisis. I’m not sure they’ll come up with anything though; this came totally out of the blue. The moment I’m within arms reach, Flame pulls me into his arms, hugging me tight and fuck if I didn’t need this. He always knowswhat I need before I do. People might assume needing this minute with my husband is a weakness, but it’s not. He’s my strength. He gives me strength to go on, and I need that right now. Having to tell Shadow what happened hurt my heart. I hate seeing my brother in so much distress.
“We’ll find him.” Flame whispers into my ear. He sounds so sure, and fuck, I need that reassurance right now because currently we have fucking nothing to go on. I can’t believe how little there is for us to follow; there isn’t one physical clue left behind. Our only hope right now is Tech finding something in the video footage he has access to, but I’m not holding my breath for good news there. These guys seem to have left nothing to chance. I’m not hopeful they wouldn’t have covered their tracks in the digital world just like they have in the physical one.
After taking a minute to compose myself, I pull back and turn to face the gathering crowd. My Dad and Shadow are now no longer in sight; if I had to guess, Dad’s taken him inside Devil’s Ink for some privacy. Shadow’s distraught state doesn’t need to be exposed any more than it already has. He deserves a fucking minute to try and wrap his head around what’s happened without becoming a sideshow everyone wants to watch.
“Right now we’ve got fucking nothing to help us find Wreck; Tech’s working his magic, but I need us to be proactive. So work your contacts, ask around town. Someone somewhere fucking knows something. Nothing else fucking matters until we find Wreck.”
Most of the members disperse and head for their rides as soon as it’s clear that I have nothing else to say right now. Each and every one of them has a look of utter determination on their faces despite the bad luck we’ve had at finding anything so far. That’s one of the things I love about my club; they all want to do whatever it takes to find our missing member. We’re not just a club; we’re a family, and family fights for family.
When it’s clear to me that everyone who is leaving has left, I look over the people who remain. Flame, my husband and Enforcer; Eagle, my SAA; Piston, my Road Captain; Ink, my Secretary; Rock, my Treasurer; and Blade, my Enforcer, who has Sera plastered to his side. I’m not even shocked about that; she needs her Ol’ Man right now. I can’t even imagine what it was like for her to be inside the safe room, watching what happened to Wreck and knowing she couldn’t do anything to help him. To my surprise, the one member I didn’t even realize had come out, Flash, is also here. He’s standing off to the side of where my Officers are gathered.
