Page 43 of Loch
“Don’t,” she said softly as she cupped my face. “You don’t have to be sorry or explain anything. Just tell me you’re safe.”
I couldn’t lie to her. So instead, I kissed her. She sighed as she sagged into me.
“Let’s go,” I said grabbing her hand and pulling her behind me.
I used my body to shield her from most of what was going on. Okay, and maybe to hide her perky nipples. Which were completely visible behind the thin fabric. To her credit, she kept her eyes forward and didn’t ask questions.
Once we were outside, I threw her on my bike and took off as fast as I could. Her arms held on tight as I whipped out onto the road. Minutes later, I rode up into Ethel’s driveway. She hopped off as fast as her legs would let her. As much as I wanted to linger and give her a proper good morning, I couldn’t. I could see the understanding in her eyes and she placed a light kiss on my lips. She stepped back, letting me know I was good to take off. I inhaled a deep breath.
“This isn’t over,” I said pointing back and forth between us.
“Go, Nate. I’ll be here.” She nodded and I took off back for the clubhouse.
Fuck! Everything about her was perfect. In all my wildest dreams, I never imagined something like this would happen. And while the situation was absolutely fucked up and shitty, it gave me a chance to see how she would handle club business. She made me fucking proud. She was going to know she was mine, and soon.
But first thing was first. Figure out what the fuck was going on with the club.
Hours later, we sat in church going over everything we’d found out. Bocca had the floor and handed out printouts of what he could find. The whole thing was much bigger than any of us could have anticipated. And the dread that we’d never be free was sinking in.
“They are called The Devil’s Kings. They were originally from up north, but it looks like they came under a lot of heat and the club moved down here. Recently it seems.” Bocca said. “The leader is Savage, real name James Craig. He started the club eight years ago and from what I could find out, he has his hands in a lot of things. Drugs and guns being two of them. There are hints of other things, but I want to do more digging to find out what exactly. From what I can gather, the club has close to forty members.”
That was a decent enough number. But if we collected all of our members from the three states, we were nearly triple that. Each of our chapters were relatively small but collectively we made a decent sized crowd. That could play in our favor. If it came to war, we should be able to take them down.
“He’s known to be sneaky and ruthless. He also wasn’t very shy about leaving dead bodies. This guy thinks he’s invincible. Or maybe he’s crazy,” Bocca went on. “Anyway. The only other thing I could find out is that he might be married, but I couldn’t find anything on it. No marriage certificate or name. I’ll keep digging.” He nodded to Cal, who sat rigidly at the head of the table.
“We need to find out if there is anyone left from the Dogs,” Cal commanded the room. “This is a warning. And I don’t doubt that there will be more to come. I don’t think he will touch us until he talks to us. He’s goin’ to list his demands and see if we follow along. Until then, we wait and gather info. Think it’s best to stay as close to the clubhouse as possible. Not a mandatory lockdown, but if I need you I want you right the fuck where I can find you.” Everyone nodded in understanding.
So much for wanting to figure things out with Reagan. I only hoped she would understand and still be there when the dust settled. I had to push thoughts of her out of my head and focus on the club’s main threat. Something was coming, it was big and I could feel it deep in my bones. I just hoped we were all still standing when everything cleared.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Reagan
It had been over a week since the party at the clubhouse. Nate said we were going to talk and I was actually excited and relieved. I felt it that night. I felt that he wanted to let me in. I felt that he wanted more with me than what we had.
But then something happened. I still wasn’t sure what was going on, but I could sense the anxiety and tension thick in the air as I left that morning.
Nate said we weren’t done and now I all I could do was wait and hope that he was alright. I knew he was still alive because he sent me a text every night. Usually a simple ‘good night’ followed by him saying he either missed me or was thinking about me. And every single one of them made me smile. I decided I would be there when he needed me.
However, I didn’t sit around and wait for him, and as the week went on I started going to places other than the bar. It was time for me to breakout. Besides, if I sat around I would only go crazy with all the thoughts that went through my head. I would over obsess about what he wanted to talk about. I would stress out like crazy worrying if something happened to him. Or any of the guys, for that matter.
I spent the afternoon sitting in the window of the coffee shop-slash-bookstore. It was a small place with only about one bookshelf for each genre. The coffee shop part was your choice of regular coffee or hot tea. You had your choice between three different tea bags. There was no Batista, either. Only a table in the back. With a sign and a jar for you to put your money in front of the pump dispenser pots. I cringed as I wondered how long the coffee had been sitting there. There were three tables situated in the big window that faced the street.
I bought a cheesy comedy about a girl who solved mysteries in a small town. The main character was a little ditzy and seemed to just stumble upon the clues. I made it through half the book when the sun started going down. Deciding that it was a good time to head home, I finished the chapter I was on and cleaned up my mess.
Being that it was Thursday, I knew Nan was presumably already at bingo. I contemplated stopping by as I walked past the community center. But changed my mind and continued the ten-minute walk back to the house.
The sun was about to set behind the tree line by the time I reached the front door. As I climbed the stairs I realized the porch was dark. I looked up and noticed that the light was off. Knowing that Nan always left it on, I figured it must have burned out. I shrugged as I pulled out my keys, thinking I would change it later. I wanted to do it before Nan got home, but I knew I still had a few hours before that would happen.
Once inside, I slipped off my boots and hung my keys on the hook beside the door. The house was eerily quiet. I shook off the shiver that ran down my spine as I made my way up the stairs. At the top, I flicked the switch for the hallway light. To my surprise, nothing happened. I contemplated if there was a brownout as I flicked the switch a couple more times. It had been extremely hot. With everyone running their air conditioning non-stop, brownouts had become a regular thing. I let out a frustrated sigh as I wondered how long this one would last.
I walked into my room, shrugging at the situation. It wasn’t like there was anything I could do to fix it. I tossed my purse and book onto the bed as I headed to the dresser. I opened the second drawer to pull out some comfy clothes when the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I froze.
“Hello, Reagan.” His voice was cold and I closed my eyes tight hoping it was a bad dream. “I have you now. I’ve missed you. I know you have missed me, too.” How did I not see how crazy he was? I should have seen the warning signs, but he must’ve been able to cover it well.
I tried to run. My legs stumbled as I lunged myself forward towards the stairs. Before I could make my way down, Lance grabbed my hair at the crown of my head. My whole body jerked as he yanked me back and I could feel the hairs ripping from my scalp. Before I could even attempt to regain my balance, he pushed me forward so hard I went tumbling down the stairs. I tried to grasp onto something and stop my fall. But nothing seemed to be working. My back and head slammed into the wall at the landing, crippling me. Pain radiated through every part of my body and white dots spotted my sight. I blinked, trying to clear my vision. I looked up to see his towering body slowly and menacingly climb down the towards me.
My brain was screaming at me to get up. Only three more stairs to the bottom floor, then turn the corner and in four steps I would be at the front door. I repeated that over and over in my head, willing myself to get up and make the move. Time was running out.
