“Who took him?” Ravage demands, coming up next to us. I want to shrink back from the anger radiating off the man, but I hold my ground. I need to do everything in my power to help Daimon.
“Men in ski masks. They were driving a white van.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us, anything that might help?” Levi asks.
Desperation and frustration battle for the upper hand. I shake myself, trying to push through the fog that’s making my brain feel sluggish.
“I don’t know. They didn’t show their faces.”
“Think, Brie,” he presses.
I calm my breathing and let my head empty of thoughts as my eyes shut. Like a trickle, memories start returning. I try to recall if either of them had any discerning features.
My eyes pop open. “One had a tattoo. It was of a snake around a skull.”
Looks go around the men before Fury, the quietest brother, speaks. “Sic Bastards.” His voice rattles out, gravelly and gruff. He scares the shit out of me. Levi has always warned me to be careful around the man, and while I don’t know anything about Fury, I know he gives me the heebie jeebies.
Titch nods. “It’s their insignia.”
“Fuck,” Ravage growls and I can see the tension in his face as he spits the word. He looks a step from meltdown.
“What the fuck would the Bastards want with Daimon?” Whizz demands.
Titch’s eyes come to me. “He pulled Briella out of one of their clubs a few weeks back.”
Ice fills my belly, fear grips my heart. “This is because of me?” I whisper.
“Daimon knew the risks before he went in there,” Levi tries to soothe me, but it’s not working. My heart is racing and my entire body feels clammy. The cool breeze lapping at my skin is helping, but not enough. This is my fault.
“How do we get him back?” I demand.
Ravage snorts. “You don’t. You go back to the clubhouse while we handle this shit.”
“I’m not sitting on the sidelines,” I tell him, not sure where this show of bravery comes from.
“Yeah, darlin’, you are. This shit is nothing to do with you.”
“I created this mess. The least I can do is clean it—”
Levi snags my arm, shutting me up. “Let us handle it, yeah? Trust me.”
I stare at my brother who has clearly lost his mind if he thinks I’m just going to sit in the clubhouse, twiddling my thumbs while Daimon is in trouble.
His grip on my arm tightens to uncomfortable, though not painful, levels. “Do as I say, Brie.”
I want to argue more, but I don’t. I clamp my mouth shut. I know better than to talk back to my brother in front of his club. I know that I have to respect him in public, and I do and I will. Levi gave up so much for me over the years.
“Levi, you take Briella back to the clubhouse.”
My brother nods, seemingly unfazed by being benched, and moves me out of the way as the men move back to their bikes and climb on. The rumbling of their pipes is loud as they start up their engines and one by one the bikes move into a formation to ride out of the parking area. They look fierce. I can see why people are scared of them. Even growing up here for the past two years, I’m still scared of Ravage and Fury. The others keep their darkness at bay, keep their demons hidden. Ravage and Fury wear them like a badge of honour, for all to see.
Levi waits until they’re out of sight before he pulls his phone out and calls Kyle. He asks the prospect to bring the van to pick up Daimon’s bike then hangs up. My stomach is cramping the longer we stand there in that car park, my fear for Daimon making my body tremble.
Levi notices and places his hand on my shoulder.
“Day will be okay. The others will find him and bring him home.”
A tear rolls down my cheek. “I did this, didn’t I?”
He ducks his head, licking his lips before he raises his gaze back to me. My brother has always given me the truth, even when it hurts, so I expect the same now.
“Yeah, Brie. Know you don’t get it, know you don’t like it, but there are rules in this life. Gangs, clubs—their territory is fucking sacred. Daimon walking onto their patch to get you was a fucking prelude to war. Ain’t saying this to make you feel any shittier than you probably already do, but these are the cold, hard facts. You fucked up going there, but Daimon should have cleared that shit before he stepped a foot within their patch. He knew that. Don’t know why he didn’t. I can only assume he didn’t see the Sic Bastards as a threat. Fuck, none of us did. Never imagined they’d take him like this. Sons’ name usually carries some weight.” He runs a thumb over my bruised cheek. “But I fucked up too. I should have told you who to watch out for. I should have been more fucking open, but I didn’t want this shit to touch you.” He shakes his head. We both know, though, that I’m in the thick of this, whether we wanted it or not.
Guilt gnaws at my gut. This is on me. Every hurt inflicted on him is my fault. I don’t know how to live with that. Daimon has been nothing short of amazing to me and I put him in this position. My stupid drinking put him here.
Shit.
Levi moves over to his bike and climbs on the back. He signals for me to get up behind him. I use his shoulders to steady myself as I take a seat on the back of his Harley.
He starts the engine, kicks the stand up and then we’re roaring out of the car park. My thoughts are scattered as we ride. I wish I was riding behind Daimon right now. I wish I’d been more careful and hadn’t flouted the club’s rules. I’ve been such an idiot and it’s Daimon paying the price. I can’t get that look of fear out of my head, then how still he went, his body lifeless as they bundled him into the van.
As soon as we reach the clubhouse, pulling into a parking space near the door, I can’t help but notice the lack of bikes. The clubhouse really did empty to find Daimon, and I hope like hell they do. The thought of something happening to him is like a knife to my heart. I need him, I love him. Without him my life just doesn’t make sense.
When we step into the clubhouse common room, Sasha and Lucy are on me. Bailey, Nox’s sister half-rises from the table, where she’s sitting with Lily-May and her two daughters, but she doesn’t come to me, keeping the kids occupied instead.
“Are you all right?” Sasha demands, her eyes scanning my face. “Luce, grab the first aid kit from the kitchen.”
“What happened to Brie-Brie?” Mollie, the younger of Bailey’s girls, asks.
“Nothing, honey. She just fell over,” Bailey says. “You guys keep colouring in, okay?”
“Was she in an acci-me-dent?” Lily-May’s sweet voice pipes in.
“It’s acc-i-dent, and she’s fine,” Sasha assures her. “Be a good girl for Mummy and do as Bailey says.”
She mutters something under her breath but keeps colouring.
The last thing I want to do is scare the kids, so I move my chair, so my back is to them.
Lucy moves, doing as she’s asked. I’m sure Whizz has a proper medical kit, but no one is ever going to go rummaging in his room for it.
Sasha pushes me into a chair near the bar and I feel relieved to get off my wobbly legs.
“What happened?”
I lick my suddenly dry lips, my mouth as dry as the desert.