One of her hands instantly slipped from my neck, and I caught it just as she reached for my belt, a mischievous smirk on her face.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she whispered, her tongue flicking out and brushing over my lips.
My cock was straining hard against my jeans. But unfortunately for me, I’d already called my brothers in, the plan to have church before we can sit down, relax, and eat.
“I’ll be less than an hour,” I answered, taking her hand I had a hold of and pressing her palm to the front of my jeans so she could feel just how badly I wanted her. “You better be in my bed, naked, touching yourself, so when I walk in, your pussy is already drenched, waiting for my fucking cock.”
Her mouth fell open, and she stood a little taller, moving her hips unconsciously, no doubt the throbbing between her legs already beginning.
“You hear me?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “Yes, sir.”
And with that, I was gone.
Not looking back.
Knowing if I did, I might just change my plans and take her upstairs. But I had business to take care of, trying not to let my thoughts of Avery distract me from the job at hand.
She protected my child with her life today. She was ready to lay down for him to that psycho bastard. Just like she was my old lady. Just like that baby was her own.
But I was still aware of her fears, so I was going to move slow.
Warn her.
Prepare her.
Get her used to the idea of being fucking mine. Let her fall in love with me, with Gage, and make sure that when I lay that shit down, there is no fucking way she was going to say no. There was no way she was going to freak out and run.
My cock was still pressed uncomfortably against the front of my jeans when I sat at the head of the table and leaned in. “What’ve we got?”
“Thayleah Ryan,” Mix announced, sliding the papers he had flashed me earlier across the table.
Mix had joined us a few weeks ago from Troy, Alabama. He wanted to change things up a little, be a little closer to a younger brother who was going to college in California. The kid had managed to pull himself out of a bad place after getting caught up in a street gang in New York. Mix, having contacts in more places than I think anyone was really aware of, cut a deal to get him out and shifted him as far across the country as possible.
Got him into school.
Got him something to focus on.
And since we were the closest club, Mix moved right along with him.
I was grateful for the addition to the club. He had skills, and when I said his contact list was long, I wasn’t exaggerating. He knew people. He knew people who knew people. And on top of that, he’d earned people’s respect. So when he came knocking looking for something, more often than not, doors always opened.
I flicked open the first page, finding a photograph tucked just inside. “This her?” I questioned, picking it up and leaning forward, studying it for a second. She looked like Emma, only with darker hair and a sad face. It was a strange thing to point out, but for the most part, I always remembered Emma being this smiling, beautiful soul who lit up a room. Her energy was all sweetness and love which, now that I think about it, was probably why we didn’t exactly work out.
Every woman that hung around the club, whether it be old lady, club girl, sisters, daughters, or just associates, they were loving, caring, and had huge hearts. But they also weren’t afraid to lay it down if they had to. They were not afraid to throw a fist. Or pull a trigger.
That wasn’t Emma.
She was strong but not in the way that I needed.
“She’s almost seventeen,” Mix continued, looking through a matching folder of his own. “Been living with Emma for eighteen months, moved in just before she got married to the bastard. The girl’s mom isn’t exactly your world’s best parent. Thayleah and Emma both have a long record of being in and out of foster care, often after they’ve been found living out of their car or at a shelter.”
“Where’d this information come from?”
“Neighbors and someone I know from inside Child Protective Services,” he answered, flicking the page. “Had a chat with a few people who lived around her before the husband got locked up and before she had Gage, trying to figure out if anyone had seen them. Or knew of friends he had. Maybe a clue as to where he might be keeping her.”
“Any luck?” I asked, feeling like I should cross my fucking fingers or say a goddamn prayer. Knowing he had this kid locked up somewhere was the only thing that stopped me from killing the bastard today. He could have her tied up in the desert somewhere or locked in some goddamn cabin in the hills that we would never find.
I had no fucking idea what he was capable of, but I knew I wasn’t about to risk Thayleah’s life too. I had to hold back, fight every fucking burning muscle in my body that was so ready to make him pay for what he did and give some kind of retribution to Emma because I knew she would want us to find her sister.
She was Gage’s aunt.
And that made her family.
So the motherfucker got to live.
But hopefully not for long.
“No luck with her neighbors,” Mix answered, pushing his shoulders back. “But Kid and I are gonna head up to his place tomorrow and have a chat with his neighbors, ask if they’ve seen any young girls, any strange visitors, or know where he’s been going during the day.”
I tapped my fingers on the table. “Good. Also, Auron...” I turned to him, and he sat a little taller, his eyes focused on me, so I knew he was paying attention. His mind could run at times, his brain wired a little differently from ours. “Your job is to simply check him out. Follow where he’s going for a few days. Let me know if there are any places you think we should check out.”
“I’m on it,” Auron answered with a salute.
“We’re gonna catch him out,” I told my brothers, their heads all bobbing in agreement. “The long game has already begun, and later this week, he has a meeting with the board at the hospital, where he’ll be asking for his job back. They’re going to ruin his day and say no, and he’s going to be fucking furious.”
I grinned.
I couldn’t fucking help it.
I wished I could be a fly on the wall at that medical board meeting. I already knew what kind of man Garrett was. He wanted control, attention, and that god-like power his job offered him. He wanted everyone to look at him in awe. Men to want to be him, women to want to be with him. After seeing Emma’s apartment, Austin explained to me how they had suspicions that Garrett had some kind of personality disorder. More than likely, narcissistic personality disorder. It wasn’t just the self-importance or the superiority he had, it was the lack of any other fucking emotions other than cool, calm, arrogance, and red-hot anger.
It meant that this game had to be played a certain way. We needed to push him. Nudge him. Right to the edge of fucking crazy. Right to the point where he loses control because it’s there that he will make a mistake. And when he makes a mistake, we will find Thayleah.
“And how do you know they’re gonna say no?” Kid questioned when the rest of the table just sat back looking smug.
“They have a couple of heavy hitters that organize fundraisers and are donating a lot of money for a new children’s wing,” I explained, leaning back in my chair and folding my arms across my chest. “I just told the hospital that if they wanted it to go ahead, it wasn’t in their best interest to have a convicted abuser on their payroll.”