“Is Julian there with you?” Chance asks and there’s a pause on the line. All of the guys except for Chance jump into action, grabbing God knows what as they work out which vehicles to take.
“Who’s that?”
“Ivy, it’s not important right now. Is Julian there with you?”
“No, he got called into work, so he was just going to meet us there once he was done.”
I sigh. God, this is already a mess. I guess I should be glad Julian isn’t there but he could show up at any moment. “And where are the guards?”
“Still at the table, I assume. I told them I was going to the bathroom.”
“You’re in the kitchen?”
The sound of metal clanging in the background makes my pulse spike. “Yeah. The cooks are hiding me, but you’ve got to hurry.”
“We are, Vi. We’re coming right now. We just need to know the name of the restaurant.”
“Hold on,” she says and I hear whispering in the background. “It’s called Patrick’s.”
I nod and glance over at Chance. “Okay. We’re on our way, Vi. Just hang on.”
“Hurry, please,” she whispers into the phone before hanging up and my shoulders sag as I press my hands to the table and hang my head. After sucking in a breath, I look up.
“All right, let’s go.”
Chance shakes his head. “No way in hell, Princess.”
“You are not going to stop me,” I tell him, my voice firm. He has zero chance of getting me to wait here while he goes to save my sister. It’s not going to happen.
“We ready to go?” Ali asks and I nod.
“I don’t think so, Kitten,” Logan growls and Ali turns, leveling a glare at him.
“Try and stop me.”
The whole scene would be comical if my sister wasn’t hiding in a kitchen, waiting for us right now.
“We don’t have time for this,” Blaze snaps, storming out of the office with Kodiak on his heels. “Everyone is going.”
Ali and I nod before storming outside and leaving our men behind with gaping jaws. They catch up to us after a moment and I peek over at Chance, but I can’t tell if his stern expression is because I wouldn’t listen or because of what we’re about to walk into. Probably both.
I hop into the truck and Chance slips behind the wheel as the sound of engines fill the air. Most of the guys are on their bikes but Smith and Storm are driving the big white van Ali’s riding in. We pull out of the parking lot in a single file line and my knee bounces as I set the GPS and check to see how far away we are.
Three miles.
It could be worse, I suppose. Hopefully, the traffic is light and we can get there quickly. Those guards won’t wait much longer if they haven’t already gone to check on her and I don’t know how long the cooks can hide her. God, what will Julian do to her if we don’t get to her in time? And how far are these cooks willing to go to protect her? Chance’s hand lands on my knee and I glance over at him.
“It’s going to be okay. We’re bringing her home today.”
I nod, tears of relief filling my eyes. I know it’s not over yet but we’re so close that I can taste it.
“We’re bringing her home,” I whisper. Time ticks by slowly and the three miles to the restaurant feel like a hundred as I scan the streets. I don’t even know what the hell I’m looking for, but it feels like the right thing to do in this situation. When we finally pull up in front of the restaurant, I jump out, ignoring the screams from Chance in the truck. A door slams and footsteps echo behind me but before I can reach the door, an arm hooks around my waist. Chance spins me around and I glance up at him as his nostrils flare.
“Wait,” he grounds out, his expression making it clear I shouldn’t argue. This is probably the only time he’ll win this fight. Blaze walks over to us with Storm and Kodiak trailing behind him.
“Carly, you need to go get her, but we’ll be right behind you. Don’t worry about the guards, we’ll cover them. If they haven’t already called Julian, they will as soon as we leave.”
I nod. “Okay.”
Chance takes my hand and nods to me, giving me the kick in the ass I need to move forward. We walk into the restaurant, Chance and I in front with Blaze, Storm, and Kodiak behind us. As I stop at the front counter, they fan out behind us, blocking Chance and I from the dining room where three large men sit at a table, watching us closely.
The waitress’s eyes widen as she comes out from the kitchen and approaches us. I glance down at her nametag as she takes us all in. “Can I help y’all?”
“I’m here for my sister, Alice. She’s hiding in your kitchen,” I say softly, glancing at the guards in the dining room before focusing back on her. She nods.
“Of course, follow me.”
“We’ll hang out here,” Kodiak says, his gaze locked onto the three guards who are now standing.
Chance nods. “Thanks.”
I suck in a breath and we follow Alice back to the kitchen, where two big burly men stop and stare at us.
“This is her sister,” she says and the guys share a glance before nodding. One steps forward and holds his hand out.
“I’m Vernon and this is Adam.”
“Carly,” I reply, shaking his hand. “And this is my boyfriend, Chance.”
“Follow me,” Vernon says and I nod as he turns and starts walking away. When we get to the hallway, he turns back to look at us. “Knew as soon as I saw her she was in trouble. I’m just glad y’all were able to get here so quickly.”
“Me, too.”
He points down the hallway to a closed door. “She’s in there. Asked me to tell you to knock twice, wait a second, and then knock once more.”
“Thank you,” I say, grabbing his arm as he starts to turn away from me. I’ll forever be grateful to him. Who knows what would have happened if these people hadn’t stepped up to help Ivy.
“Don’t mention it. I just did what anyone else would do.”
I shake my head. “No, not anyone else. I’ll always remember what you did for us.”
He studies me for a second before nodding toward the door. “She’s waiting for you.”
I turn back to the door and release a breath before peeking over at Chance. “I think I should go in there alone.”
“That sounds good, Princess. I’ll wait out here.”
He gives me a quick kiss before releasing me. I stare at the closed door for another second before walking down the hallway and knocking twice. I wait a beat and knock again just before the door flies open.
“Carly,” Ivy sobs, throwing herself into my arms and I hold her tight, tears building in my eyes as I thank God she’s still safe.
“Are you okay?” I ask, pushing her away from me so I can see her face. Gasping, I cover my mouth at the bruise on her cheek and she shrugs my other hand off.
“It’s not as bad as it looks. I’m okay… really.”
“Baby, we can catch up later,” Chance calls from down the hallway and I turn to look at him, nodding. He’s right. We can’t be hanging around here.
“Baby?” Ivy asks, her brows shooting up and I roll my eyes as I tuck her under my arm.