Page 37 of Chaos
"Close your eyes," he demands.
I don't. Because, fuck him. If death is coming for me tonight, I'll face it with my eyes wide open. In the distance, I hearsomething—a faint rumble. A motorcycle. Multiple motorcycles. And they’re getting louder.
Fiend hears it too. His head jerks toward the sound, momentary panic crossing his features before his face hardens again.
"Looks like we're out of time." He steps closer, pressing the gun barrel against my forehead. "Goodbye, Rowan."
I close my eyes then, not from fear, but because I don't want Fiend's face to be the last thing I see. Instead, I picture Chaos, his blue-green eyes, the way he calls me "sweetheart" in that deep, rumbling voice.
The engines grow louder. Too late. They'll be too late.
Chapter 16
Chaos
"Where the fuck is she?" I bark at no one in particular, remembering saying exactly the same thing the night I dragged Rowan from the dumpster when she took off behind my back and headed home.
Kandi turns her attention away from the group of cut sluts in the corner. “Where’s who?”
“Cut the shit, Kandi.” Something in her tone raises the hair on the back of my neck. "Where. The fuck. Is she?"
Kandi must see I mean business because her cocky assuredness falls away, and she stares down at her feet. “She left. With Fiend. About twenty minutes ago."
My blood freezes to ice in my veins.
I don't fear much in this life. After everything I've seen, everything I've done, there's not much that rattles me. But right now, real soul-deep terror grips me.
"What do you mean she left with Fiend?" I grab Kandi's arm, making her flinch.
“I-I.” She tries to pull away, but I hold tight. "He went over, talked to her for a bit, then they took off together. Said something about visiting her grandma."
My mind races through possibilities, each one darker than the last. If Fiend knows we're onto him...
The clubhouse door swings open, and Zeus strolls in like he hasn’t a care in the world, whistling under his breath. Rage explodes through me. I cross the room in three strides, grab him by the throat, and slam him against the wall.
"Where the fuck is she?" I snarl, forearm pressed against his windpipe.
Zeus's eyes widen, hands coming up to grip my arm. "What?—"
“Did you know? Did you fucking know?”
He tries to answer, but it comes out as a series of choking sounds. I ease up a bit on his throat.
“Fiend's a rat." The words taste like poison on my tongue. "Working for the fucking cartel." I press harder, watching his face. “You helpin’ him?”
His reaction tells me everything. First disbelief—eyes widening, jaw slackening. Then horror—his face goes ashen. Then utter devastation.
I watch as something breaks behind his eyes.
"No," he chokes out. "That's—that can't be right."
I ease the pressure more, but keep him pinned. "And now he's got my woman.”
Zeus shakes his head, desperation in every line of his face. "No. No way. Not Fiend. We've been brothers for?—"
"He took Rowan," I cut him off.
The remaining color drains from him. "Oh fuck. Oh, Jesus fuck."
