Page 8 of Love & Violence

“You’re welcome, Miss. Will there be anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

I wait until she leaves before closing my bedroom door and going to the closet.

“Isabel, you can come out now.”

Isabel slowly walks out of my closet, looking around to make sure we are alone once more.

“You better not stay,” I say, even though I want her to stay. “My father said nothing about not having a visitor, but I don’t want to push my luck.”

Isabel hugs me. “I’m here for you.”

I hug her back and close my eyes. “Thank you. Your friendship means the world to me.”

I watch as Isabel creeps out of my room, and then I close my door once more. I am pulled back to the window where I can see the woods. I don’t think he’s still there, but I can feel his presence. I fear it may be the closest I’m going to be to him for a while.

Chapter Three

Psych

It has been over a week since I first ran into Aryanna, and with each passing day, my mood seems to foul even more. My sister watches me closely, waiting for me to make a move, and I see her disappointment in me grow.

What the fuck does she expect me to do? Simply ride into their compound with guns blazing and take what is mine? Don’t think for a second the thought hasn’t crossed my mind, because it has. But there are too many variables with a shitty plan like that. I may even get Aryanna hurt in the process, and I can’t stand the thought.

The only plan that seems to carry any merit is to kidnap her. There are still many things that could go wrong, I just have to make sure they don’t. I have one of the prospects, Rat, staking out her home, and he’ll let me know when she leaves. It’s a hasty plan, but it’s all I have. Now I need to wait for something to happen.

Patience isn’t my strong suit, and my panther prowls in my mind begging to be let out. He wants her with us as well. Getting the beast to understand that this isn’t as easy as he thinks is becoming harder than I ever would have imagined. My father and brother argue about a drug shipment we’re waiting for as I struggle to keep my composure.

My cell phone rings, and every eye in the room turns to me as I pull it from the inner pocket of my leather cut. The wordRatscrolls across the screen.

“I need to take this,” I say to no one in particular as I stand and leave the room.

No one tries to stop me. All of them are preoccupied with their own problems. As I step outside, I press the device to my ear, praying he will have some news for me.

“They just left,” Rat says. “Black SUV headed toward town. Two males, one female.”

“Let me know where they stop,” I say before hanging up and pocketing the device again.

Striding through the compound, I find Rylee standing outside the door holding the keys to her little green Jeep.

“You can’t kidnap a girl on your Harley, brother.”

I glare at her. “First, who said anything about kidnapping? And second, why can’t I use my Harley if I did plan to do such a thing?” I ask, my frustration causing me to almost snap at her.

“No one tells me shit, you know this. I figured it out when Rat went missing, and you started checking your phone for messages every five minutes like some lovesick fool. As for your Harley, they would hear you coming from a mile away. You wouldn’t even get close to her.”

I fucking hate when she’s right, but she is, and we both know it. One day, when I run this club, there will be some changes. Women like my sister won’t be left out of the loop simply because they have tits. She is smart and has valuable insights. No one will ever be able to look over women like her ever again if I have my way.

“I suppose you want to come with me?” I snark.

“Who else is going to distract her bodyguard? Rat?” She laughs as she tosses me the keys before getting into the passenger seat.

“This is going to be dangerous.”

Rylee smiles as she lifts the hem of her flowy pink shirt to show me her 9mm Baretta. “I’m not afraid, Draven. Let’s go get your mate so at least one of us can be happy.”

She turns and stares out the window as I drive toward town with her words on a loop in my mind. For some time, I have known something was wrong with Rylee. Her light has dimmed over the past year. But she won’t talk to me about it, and now I’m even more worried than I was before. But I need to focus on the task at hand, so I make a mental note to get to the bottom of whatever is going on with her.

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