Page 62 of Hell on Wheels

My ears began to ring, and I shook my head, noticing the heightening of all my senses at once. I could hear with such clarity I noticed the fly buzzing around across the street. Each heartbeat in the room thumped, growing louder as I exhaled a breath. My vision enhanced, bursting with color. I detected heat signatures from each of the guys and small rodents as they scurried along the dirty concrete floor.

Somewhere close, I smelled the unmistakable, pungent odor of decaying flesh.

What the fuck was happening?

“Maddog?” Spook sounded . . .spooked.

“I need you to check the Crossroads. Call me back once you’re done.”

“On it.”

He hung up, and I gripped the phone tight enough to hear a small crack. Shit.

Grim appeared in front of me. One of his hands landed on my shoulder. “Is it Lark?”

I managed to nod.

Torin moved closer. “What happened?”

“She’s gone. Her phone was on the ground with the ringer turned up. Spook found it when I called.”

Torin paled. “Fuck!”

“I’m riding back to the Crossroads.”

Grim didn’t argue.

“I need you to go to that club with Torin. Find Molly.”

“Okay, brother. Sending Patriot with you.”

It took everything in me to reply in a calm tone. “Yeah.”

Torin shook his head. “Fuck that! If something happened to Lark, I need to find her.”

“No,” I growled, staring him down. “I’ll find my woman.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but I didn’t let him get a word in.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to find and protect Lark. You have my word.”

“Maddog.”

“No one touches what’s mine. That’s a fucking declaration of war. You understand what I’m sayin’?”

Torin finally relented. “You better not fail.”

“Never failed a mission yet.”

“Then we both know what to do.”

“Yes,” I agreed.

Patriot followed me downstairs as we ran to our bikes, firing them up as I heard Rael, Grim, and Wraith ride off, joining Torin. Heading in two separate directions, I hoped we found both young women tonight. One stuck in a life of hell. The other being pulled back into it.

The ride to Tonopah usually lasted three hours. Took us that long to get to Vegas. Returning to the Crossroads? We got back in an hour and a half. I fucking pushed my bike and the speed the entire ride, not giving a fuck how many laws I broke to find Lark.

Spook must have tried to call me during the trip, but I didn’t check my phone, leaving it inside a pocket in my leather jacket. I still didn’t have a Royal Bastards cut yet, but I’d get one. Soon.

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