Page 176 of Timber

My brothers all practically stampede toward us when they see Levi and Lex.

“Mae?” Tripp asks, but then his face hardens as he sees the answer written all over my face.

“Get Bones here. At least until Smoke or Lex is good again. Warn the others. Call Reaper.”

He gives me a curt nod and he and Ryder both pull out their phones.

Grabbing Mae’s backpack and the one Levi had packed for Smoke, I follow the others back into the ER. As soon as they get Lex on a bed, he gestures toward the bag and I hand him the laptop.

“Sir, you really need to lean back and rest,” the same nurse tells him, and the glare he gives her has her shrinking back.

“My niece was just kidnapped from your hospital. Get Luke or Allison in here. I don’t want you fixing me up. If they aren’t available, I’ll wait till they are,” he says as he continues to glare at her.

Finally, she nods and scurries out of the room.

“I also don’t know if she’s in on this and in no way do I want her to see anything I do,” he mumbles under his breath as he starts clicking away.

Walking over to the counter, I grab some gloves, gauze, tape, scissors, and wet down some paper towels.

“I’m no Patch or Alli, but I can at least clean you up and put pressure on your wounds,” I say as I get to work.

To his credit, he doesn’t flinch at anything I do and I finish up just as Mr. Thatcher comes in.

“Thor and Levi told me what happened. She’s getting checked out. In fact, they were just wheeling in the ultrasound machine as I left. All three of you will have the guards you need when you are here and later if it’s deemed you and Levi need to stay for observation. Now, with that said, what can I do to help in tracking down the assholes who kidnapped your wife, Timber?”

“We need to see your security footage and we’ll need a copy of it,” Lex says before I can say anything.

“Done and done. I’m going to assume that I need to keep the cops out of this?” he asks as his gaze cuts to mine, his eyebrows cocked in question.

Fuck, I knew I liked this guy.

“If at all possible, yes. And just so you know, when Smoke comes around after surgery, any monitors he’s hooked up to are going to freak the fuck out when he finds out Mae’s gone.”

Mr. Thatcher frowns. “They’re close?”

His face falls slightly at the look on my face and his worry increases.

“Mae’s his daughter and he took two bullets to save her.”

“Fuck,” he hisses as he scrubs his face, but then nods. “Anything you need, you’ll have it. If anyone gives you trouble, call me. In fact,” he says as he digs in his pocket and hands me a card. “My numbers, so any of you can call me anytime—day or night.”

“Here, Timber,” Lex says as he turns the laptop slightly so I can see what he just brought up.

I clench my fists when I realize where her locators are pinging from. They’re on the move, but I have a pretty good idea where they’re taking her.

Fucking asshole.

“Thanks, Lex.” I pause as I tuck the laptop under my arm, noting that it’s already after midnight, and turn to Mr. Thatcher. “Let’s go see security.”

A groan escapes me as I blink my eyes open, but then close them against the harsh light.

Another groan escapes when I realize that mother trucker Bruce frickin’ drugged me.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly open my eyes, ignoring the jackhammers in my head. I feel just like I did last time, so they must have used the same sedative or something that’s close enough.

Once I’ve adjusted to the light, I look around and grimace. I’m in a room that has cinderblock walls and a cracked concrete floor. There’s a bed in the corner that looks newish, but I hope like heck they don’t put me on it. A shudder runs through me as I remember the pictures and videos Bruce and his minions sent me.

I know without looking down that I’m no longer wearing the clothes that I had on earlier. I can feel the cold concrete under my feet and the cool air on my bare legs and arms. Taking a deep breath, I suppress my groan when I realize I’ve been put into one of those white, almost sheer dresses that the other women wore in some of the pictures.

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