Page 19 of Passion & Betrayal

I clutch the clothing in my mouth and step back. Running from the opposite side of the room, I jump, barely making it through the opening. I end up in an alley and race as fast as I can in the direction I guess my men are.

I run until I’m out of breath. I hide behind a dumpster and try to slow my heart. I can’t stop now. If Micah is like Cian, he is a panther, has more stamina, and can run faster than me.

I know this will be the one and only chance I get. If they catch me, I know I’ll pay for it one way or another.

Chapter Five

Doom

My heart is breaking at the thought of our mate being in any kind of danger. But my anger quickly overshadows those feelings. It’s amazing how quickly I have accepted not just Isabel but Sypher as my own. I would kill for either of them.

Draven walks into the office where Sypher and I have been holed up since yesterday, calling in any favors we might have and trying to figure out who could have taken our mate. We aren’t any closer to finding her, and the thought that one of our enemies may have her and what they may be doing to her is playing on a constant loop in my mind.

It used to be my father’s office, but I have since cleared out all his crap and made it my own. A sturdy wooden table where I intend to fuck my mate someday, with a decent chair for anyone else to sit in while they are in here, and even a fresh coat of paint. I am in charge of this club now, and things are going to change.

“Any news?” Sypher asks my brother, but Draven only shakes his head. “What the fuck, man? She can’t have simply disappeared. Someone must have seen something, must know where she is or who took her.”

“I can’t figure out how they got in,” I mumble. “The entire club is under lock and key.”

I knew the moment I took over, there would be some people who were less than happy with the change. Even more so, the moment I made it known that I was mated to a female from a mafia family and a male from a rival club, I have been taking every precaution, but it clearly wasn’t enough.

Silence descends on us. All of us are lost to our own thoughts. It is only the smell of freshly brewed coffee that has me looking up. Rylee stands in the doorway with two takeout cups.

“I didn’t know you’d be here, so you don’t get any,” she says to Draven.

His reply is to stick out his tongue at her. I sometimes forget how young they both still are. Before they can start bickering, I cut them off.

“Thank you. Although we may need something stronger if we don’t get news soon.”

“I was thinking,” she says, taking the empty seat beside Sypher.

“That’s never good,” Draven quips, and I shove him.

“Continue,” Sypher says, turning to give my sister his undivided attention while I glare at my younger brother.

“How did whoever took Isabel get inside?” she asks.

“That’s the same question we have all been asking ourselves,” I say.

“There’re only two answers to that question,” she points out. “Either someone inside let them in, or it’s someone on the outside that knows how to get in.”

Her words have my mind reeling. Neither option is a good one. Either I have a rat and will have to clean house, or someone on the outside knows more than I want them to.

“Maybe one of the members that left when Sypher was welcomed in?” Draven asks.

I don’t answer him. Instead, I stare at the name scrolled across the screen on my cell phone. Everything snaps into place, and I know who has my mate.

“Motherfucker!” I roar once answering the phone. “Where is my fucking woman?”

“Is that any way to speak to your father?” Micah, my dad, asks on the other end of the line.

“You aren’t my father, you’re a damn sperm donor. I basically raised myself, and then I raised Rylee and Draven,” I seethe down the line. “I don’t give a flying fuck if you are blood. I will rip you limb from limb if anything happens to Isabel.” It’s not a threat, it’s a fucking promise.

“You can have the little mafia whore back once you do something for me.”

I feel color suffuse my face as my anger grows. My panther agitatedly roams the corners of my mind, ready to rip into my father. Literally. How dare he speak that way about our mate. He doesn’t even know her.

“What do you want?” I grunt, unhappy that I had to play along with his game.

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