He purses his lips and nods as he turns toward the door, not buying a single word I’m saying. “Make sure you really emphasize that part when Kodiak finds out. I wanna see what happens to the human body when you drop it off the roof.”
“Fuck you.” I laugh as he opens the door. Kodiak won’t like it, for sure, but he wouldn’t murder me over this… I don’t think. He flips me off as he walks out of my room and shuts the door behind him as I turn back to my computer and sigh. Closing out of the video, I lean back in my chair and try to think of a new angle, any other way I could look at this, that might give us the lead we need but I’m drawing a giant fucking blank. My phone rings on the desk and I grab it, scowling at the unfamiliar number on the screen before I answer it.
“Hello?”
“Travis, long time no talk. How are you, my friend?” a voice asks and I scowl as I pull the phone away from my ear before shaking my head and pulling it back.
“Uh… who is this?”
The voice on the other end of the line scoffs. “You don’t remember me? And here I thought we had such a special relationship.”
“Okay, who the fuck is this?” I demand and he laughs.
“It’s your old friend, Warren.”
No…
An ice cold wave of dread washes over me as I sit forward in my chair and try to think of something to say. Why in the fuck is he calling me? His laughter greets me and the dread is quickly replaced by anger.
“Oh, that got your attention, didn’t it? Let me ask you, how did you like my little show last night?”
I grit my teeth, shoving out of my chair. “Oh, yeah. It was really something.”
“I’m so glad you enjoyed it. What about Rowan? Was she entertained, too?”
My heart pounds in my ears at the mention of her name and I clench my fists as I pace back and forth through my room, trying to calm myself.
“Don’t fucking talk about her.”
He laughs again. “Touchy touchy. I thought you didn’t do relationships, Travis.”
“I don’t,” I snap, my hands shaking out of control as I think about all of the awful things I want to do to this fuck for the hell he’s put us through over the last two years. And how in the hell does he know that I don’t do relationships?
“So, then you have no say when it comes to her, do you? If I wanted to get to know her, too, it would be well within my rights. I have to admit, I’ve watched all of your brothers meet their wives and lose their damn minds as they tripped over their own two feet in their attempts to woo them. It’s always bored me before but there is just something about our little Rowan, isn’t there? She’s special.”
“You listen to me, you son of a bitch. You stay the hell away from her or I’ll…”
“You’ll what?” he growls, cutting me off. “You gonna start taking after your daddy?”
All of my thoughts screech to a halt and I freeze in the middle of my room. “What the hell do you know about that?”
“Oh.” He laughs and the sound grates on my nerves. “I know everything, Travis Hornback.”
“Don’t fucking call me that.” I roar as I smash my fist into the wall but it does nothing to quell the rage pumping through every inch of my body. My anger only seems to delight him though because he laughs again.
“Why not? It’s your name. I mean, sure, you can get it legally changed to your mother’s maiden name but we both know the truth. Don’t we, Travis?”
I shake my head. “You don’t know shit and when we find you…”
“Oh, speaking of your little club, there is something I need you to do for me,” he interrupts and I shake my head as I spin toward the door, clenching and unclenching my fist.
“Not happening.”
A noise of disapproval greets me. “I wouldn’t be so quick to say that, Travis, or I might have to start showing you what I can really do.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, just that if you tell anyone about this little conversation, I’ll have to start coming after people you care about. Maybe I’ll even start with… ooh, Tate. Wouldn’t that just destroy your pretty little girlfriend and her brother? And then after that, I could send him the photo I have of you fucking his sweet little baby sister on your desk. Trauma like that, back to back, is enough to make anyone snap, don’t you think?”
My heart pounds in my chest and pain swarms my body at the thought of losing any of the people in this club. I fucking hate the idea of keeping this from everyone but what other choice do I have? Until we know who Warren truly is, I have to keep my mouth shut.
“Travis?” he asks and I grit my teeth and I nod.
“Fine.”
“Excellent!” he exclaims and I can hear the triumph in his voice. It tears through me as my anger flares out of control and I vow that I’ll do whatever it takes to find this asshole and put an end to him. “Well, I’ve got to get going. Plans to put into motion and all that but I’ll talk to you soon, Travis.”
He hangs up before I can say anything else and I throw the phone against the wall as I let out another scream, rage spiraling through me like a tornado and consuming everything else in its path. The door to my room opens and Rowan steps in with a shocked expression as she shuts the door behind her.
“What the hell is going on in here?”
I shake my head, holding my arms out to her and she eliminates the distance between us without a second of hesitation. Pulling her into my body, I bury my face in her hair and my body sags in relief.
“I’m sorry, Princess. I… was just frustrated that I couldn’t find anything from the surveillance videos,” I lie, the deceit seeping through my system like poison as she pulls back to meet my eyes. The concern on her face fucking kills me and my entire body aches to tell her the truth about what just happened but I think about Warren coming after her and it stops me. She presses her hand to my cheek and I lean into the touch.
“I know last night was…”
“Hell,” I supply and she nods.
“But we’re going to figure this out, okay? Don’t give up hope, Travis.”
I close my eyes as my name rolls off of her tongue, almost like her voice is erasing Warren’s from my mind, and nod. “I won’t, baby. I promise.”
“Good.” She leans up and presses a soft kiss to my lips as I tighten my arms around her waist. “Now, Storm sent me up here to get you. Blaze just called everyone into church.”
I nod and kiss her again. “Thanks. I’ll come find you afterward, okay?”
“You’d better,” she quips as I release her and when I turn to walk away, she smacks my ass. I turn back to her with a grin.
“Watch it, woman. You’re going to start something you can’t finish.”
She cocks her head to the side and smiles. “Actually, I think you’re the one who can’t finish it and besides, I still have tricks, remember? Now, go.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I tell her and her grin widens.
“Ooh, dirty talk, I like it.”
Laughing, I walk out of the room with her trailing behind me and I marvel at her ability to make me relax even after the most stressful, rage inducing situation I’ve ever been in. When we get to the bottom of the stairs, she shoots me a wink and joins Ali, Tate, Emma, and Nix at the bar and I slip into the war room, flinging myself into my usual seat across from Blaze, who walks in and shuts the door right after me.