Page 39 of The Nightmare King

"Up on the bed, my dear. You'll find I already prepared for our stay." He waved the gun, gesturing for me to do as he instructed. I couldn't help but notice the same stains that had been on the cover when I stayed in the room more than a month ago were still there. Had they even cleaned the room at all? Since it was the least of my worries at the moment, I did what he said and warily crawled to the center of the bed. It wasn't until I was in the middle that I noticed the leather cuff lying by the pillow. Turning to look, I spotted the matching one on the other side.

"Go ahead, don't be shy. Slide your wrist into the cuff, dear. Once you have it attached, you can put the other one on."

With eyes burning with frustration, I picked up the first cuff and buckled my right wrist in. I only hesitated for a moment before reaching for the left one. I eyed him as I slid the leather through the loop. "Jack is going to come for me."

He scoffed while reaching into the pocket of his slacks to produce two small padlocks. "Sally, dear, even if that biker thug came looking for you, he won't get close enough to rescue you. I told you, I have nothing else to live for. I will finish what I started, and then…" He snatched my right arm and pulled it far away from my body, too far to be able to reach with my left hand to try to stop him as he slid the small padlock into place on the metal ring where the leather strap went through the cuff loop. "Once I'm done, I'll kill us both. So, you see? It doesn't matter who finds us. It will be too late."

ChapterTwenty-Eight

THE NIGHTMARE KING

We were almost to the clubhouse, where I planned to leave the rest of the club behind to head to my cabin. I needed to see my woman. I needed to have my hands on her to reassure myself that she was okay. The urge had been beating at me since I had ridden away, nearly causing me to turn back a million times, but since leaving The Four Corners, I was almost desperate to reassure myself that she was safe.

I didn't even pause as I passed the large building; just waved a hand in the air to acknowledge that we were back on the clubhouse grounds. I would need to call church today, so I'd be back. There was a lot to discuss, and it couldn't wait, but this couldn't either.

I revved my engine, putting on speed and throwing up rocks on the long dirt road that led to the house. It was only a speck in the distance, surrounded on both sides by cornfields that were turning brown. The closer I got to the house, the more my need to get to her grew instead of lessening.

My breath froze in my lungs. The first thing I noticed as I pulled up was the open door. Lock's bike was sitting in the drive, so if the door was open, then that meant he hadn't been able to stop whoever had come for her. My heart rate was already beating out of control as I skidded to a halt, my tires squealing, then fishtailing. I dropped my motorcycle, jumping off, not caring to take the time to put the stand down. I had my gun in my hand before both feet hit the pavement, and I was already running for the door.

I saw the small bloody footprints before I saw the man lying on the ground. I stared in horrified shock at Lock lying with the upper half of his body in the house, keeping the door open. From the puddle of blood and the size of the hole in his back, I knew he was already gone. My heart squeezed painfully, stealing the breath from my lungs as I realized my long time friend and VP, the man I trusted above all others, was dead. I wanted to drop to my knees, but I couldn't take the time to check on him. He was already gone, but my girl might not be.

"Sally!" My desperation rang clearly through my choked yell as it echoed against the walls while I ran down the hall to our bedroom, darting my eyes in each open doorway I passed, but I could sense the house was already empty. When I reached the bathroom to see the white plastic test still sitting there from just a few hours before, I threw back my head and roared. My hand was through the wall, plaster raining down to the carpet before the sound died away. "Fuck!"

I stormed back the way I had come, remembering the footprints. I stepped over my fallen friend, anger and regret trying to make their way inside me, but I was too focused on finding my Queen to give Lock the proper attention he deserved.

I stared at the footsteps where she had slipped in the congealed blood that had still been fresh when she'd stepped in it. I eyed the trail and followed, jogging along where it had left the walkway and started over the rocky dirt that would one day become a grassy yard. I would need to work on that for our kid. Children needed soft grass to play on, not the rocks and dirt it was now. My mind tried to tell me that it was too late, that the future that had been in my grasp hours ago was already gone, but I clenched my teeth.

I forced the dark thoughts back, battling them with everything I had. Sally needed me to find her. There were only two possibilities that I knew of. Either the Boogeymen had killed Lock and taken my woman while we were distracted at the meeting, or she had been found by the man who had given her the scars that covered every inch of her beautiful body.

If the Boogeymen were responsible, nothing would stop me from reigning destruction on their club until every single one of them were dead, destroyed by my hands. If it was her captor, I would show him what it was like to be helpless as his body was being carved into. I would ensure he stayed alive while I sliced every single cut she had suffered by his hands into him. Once I was satisfied I hadn't missed a single scar, I would let him bleed out slowly. I would stand there and watch as the light died from his eyes.

The footprints faded until they disappeared, but there were still signs of her steps through the dirt. I followed them as they headed around the corner of the house and toward the back. There was a spot where it looked like there had been a slight struggle, as if she had tried to get away from whoever had led her. I looked up to see what might have caused her to start fighting at that spot, when I saw the white fur lying just a few feet away.

I quickly ran to my dog and slid to a stop, dropping to my knees beside him. I raised my hands, surprised to see them shaking, and hesitated before lying them over his side, fearing the worst. I nearly collapsed with relief when I felt a slow but steady rise and fall of his chest.

"Fuck, Zero. Goddamnit!"

I pulled the phone from my pocket. "Barrel! Get the van over to my house, now!" I tossed the phone to the ground beside me and squeezed my eyes shut. I clenched my fists in his fur and ground my jaw so hard it hurt. My mind was in a black haze of rage, and I needed to rain death and destruction on the fucker that had done this shit. Lock was dead. My woman was missing. My dog was hurt. I. Needed. To. Kill. Someone.

I blinked my eyes open and looked back over where the scuffle had taken place in the dirt. Sally had likely seen Zero and tried to go to him but had been forced to keep moving. Moving to where? I scanned the ground without leaving Zero's side, following the path left by my girl's bare feet. Fuck, she'd been walking over the rough ground full of small, jagged rocks. The fucker would pay for that, too.

As I followed the trail she'd made, I finally saw them. Tire marks. The fucker had been parked right behind my fucking house. It could have been parked there all night. Maybe he'd only been there a few minutes. Regardless, I didn't fucking know, and that was a stupid fucking mistake on my part. I had intended on putting security cameras around the place, but for so long, it had only been me living out here. I arrogantly thought that no one would ever be stupid enough to come onto my land. Now, too many others were paying the price for my foolishness.

The roar of several motorcycle engines signaled the arrival of more than just the van I had called for. Barrel's vicious cursing reminded me that Lock was still on my doorstep. Fuck. I grabbed my phone and shoved it into my pocket as I stood back up. I would have to answer to my men for the mistakes I made, too.

Carefully, I scooped Zero into my arms and tried not to think about how his head rolled to the side as if he were lifeless. I could feel his heartbeat under my hands. I had to hold on to that. I carried him over to the van, where a prospect stood next to the open side door with wide, round eyes. I gently lay Zero down on the floorboard, then backed away slowly, not taking my eyes off his chest, which was moving too shallowly for my liking.

"Take him to the vet. Don't leave his side. Ever." I stared the prospect down, letting him see just how serious I was with my command. "I don't care what the vet is doing right now. You make her stop and tend to Zero. Understand?"

He nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing with his nervous swallow. "Yes, Prez. I won't leave his side."

"Good." I nodded and turned to face Barrel, who was standing behind me, his face pale as he looked back at where our club brother lay dead on the ground. "Barrel, you're coming with me. Shock," I waited until my Sergeant at Arms tore his horrified gaze from the Vice President and met my cold stare. "Take care of Lock. Put the club on lockdown. All family members need to head straight for the clubhouse until we find the person who did this."

The van pulled away from the house quickly and back down the dirt road. I watched as it grew smaller in the distance before disappearing. I turned to my motorcycle, which was no longer on the ground. Someone had righted it, but I was too busy trying to keep a tight hold on my emotions to show my gratitude. I straddled the bike, started it up, and prepared to begin my search for my missing woman.

Barrel climbed onto his bike next to me and gave me a look. "How are we going to find her?"

"I don't fucking know," I growled, raking my hand through my hair in frustration. "But I do know it won't be by sitting here with my thumb up my ass." I glanced over at him and then revved the engine. "Let's head into town and ask questions. If I'm lucky, someone will have seen a strange car driving through."

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