“Easy, Marcel.” Not even Rock’s deep, presidential tone calms me. “Put the knife away.”
The war inside me rages. Obey my president? Or tell my father to fuck off? I hate both options for different reasons.
“You here to help or get in the way?” Wrath asks Merlin, stepping up next to me, not even attempting to take the knife out of my hand.
At my back, I sense the rest of my brothers forming a wall between this scene and the girls.
“Marcel,” Rock says, still calm but firm. “Put the knife away. Now. We’ll talk this out at the table.”
No matter how badly I want to separate Merlin’s useless head from his shoulders, I can’t continue to disrespect Rock like this in front of everyone.
Merlin also might be the only one with any answers.
Without taking my eyes off him, I lower the knife and tuck it into its sheath.
“That’s it,” Grinder says in a low voice.
Rock’s hand lands on my shoulder and yanks me backward. My arm drops from Merlin’s throat. He bends over, coughing and choking on the sudden intake of air.
“Thanks, Rock,” he gasps.
“Don’t thank me yet,” Rock seethes. “You piss me off, I’ll blow a hole in your skull myself.”
“Great.” He rests his hands on his knees and continues coughing. “So glad I hurried out to the middle of nowhere for this abuse.”
“That’s nothing compared to what those sick fucks are probably doing to your nephew right now,” I rage.
That seems to remind Merlin that he’s not here for a social call. He straightens. “Noted.”
Behind us, there’s a scuffle and low, angry voices.
“Let go of me!” Charlotte snaps.
“Char,” Murphy pleads but it’s too late.
She throws the box at her uncle’s feet. “What have you done?” she screams.
“Calm down, girl.” He bends over and picks up the bloody box. He reads the note, then scowls. “What was in it?”
“A toe!” Charlotte sobs. “Carter’s fucking toe.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ,” Merlin breathes. “Where is it?”
“On ice in the fridge!” Jigsaw shouts from somewhere behind us. “Gotta keep it cold.”
Charlotte breaks down into sobs that tear at my heart. She collapses against me. I hold onto her, stroking her back but not saying a word.
I lift my gaze and Rock jerks his head in the direction of the clubhouse. “We need to sit down with everyone.” He shifts his angry gaze to Merlin. “That includes you.”
“All right.”
My brothers stop and either squeeze Charlotte’s shoulder, pat her back, or offer some words of comfort on their way out. Merlin doesn’t even look at Charlotte and me as he follows them out of the house.
“Let’s go up to the clubhouse,” I whisper to her when only Rock and Murphy remain. “I want you there where it’s safe.”
Charlotte sniffles and lifts her head. “Okay.”
Trinity helps her collect a few things, and they meet us in the kitchen. Tension and fear pull Charlotte’s mouth down, but she doesn’t shed another tear. She’s eerily calm and stoic as we lock the house and file outside.
A sob escapes her as we pass Carter’s place.
“It’s okay, Sunshine.”
“We’re going to find him,” Rock says.
Not whole, though.
I push that thought away. Carter’s stronger than anyone gives him credit for. He’s going to be okay.
Tension rules the clubhouse when we arrive. Hope and Lilly hurry to take Charlotte from me. Lilly leads her over to the living room couch, but Hope curls her fingers around my forearm, stopping me from going directly into the war room. “How bad is this?”
“Bad, Hope. Someone grabbed Carter.”
“No,” she whispers.
My gaze lands on Merlin standing by the bar with Wrath. Not a friendly conversation. More like Wrath’s guarding Merlin to make sure none of us kill him.
“Charlotte’s uncle has the answers.” I hope.
“We’ll take care of Charlotte.” The intense stare Hope drills into my skull hints at her bloodthirsty, protect-the-family-at-all-costs side. “Bring him home.”
“I intend to.”
She releases me, stops to talk to Rock, then sits next to Charlotte, curling an arm around her shoulders.
Rock motions for us to move toward the war room. Wrath, Merlin, and I enter last. Brothers scowl as we enter with Merlin. Rarely—if ever—do we have members of other clubs at our table. Even though we were always on good terms with the Wolf Knights MC, that was because of their old president, Ulfric. My brothers are all aware how shitty Merlin’s treated Charlotte in the past and don’t seem in a forgiving mood tonight.
Dex stands. “Does he need to be here?”
Rock throws him a sit-down-and-shut-up glare. “Merlin’s got information we need.”
“Let’s hurry the fuck up.” Ravage pounds his fist against his palm. “Little dude isn’t built for this kinda shit. It ain’t right.”
“Easy, bro,” Wrath warns. “We all want Carter back, but we need to know what we’re dealing with.”
Merlin stares at Wrath with wide eyes. Shocked, I guess, that Wrath, of all bikers, is concerned about his nephew. The kid Merlin likes to imply is gay because he didn’t want to join his MC.
Wrath seems to sense Merlin’s disbelief and focuses his scary eyes on him. “Carter’s club family. We protect our own.”
Wrath’s meaning couldn’t be clearer. Unlike you.
If I thought Merlin was capable of feeling shame, I’d say that was what was turning the fucker’s cheeks red.
No one wants to give up their seat to Merlin. He ends up wedged in a chair between Grinder and Wrath, the two enforcers.
Merlin does a double take, shifting his body in the large wooden chair. “When’d you get out, brother?” he asks Grinder.
“While ago.” Grinder waves off the attention. “We can catch up when we get Carter back.”
“All right.” Rock paces behind his chair at the head of the table. “Here’s what we know. Carter was at his friend’s apartment downtown. He was standing next to his car, talking to her. A van pulled up. Two men dressed in black grabbed Carter and wrestled him into the back of the van.”
“He fought back?” Merlin’s incredulous tone stokes my rage.
“That’s what the girl said.” Rock’s clipped answer suggests he expects no interruptions. “Carter’s friend says there were at least two more guys in the van—one behind the wheel and one who threw the doors open.”
“Bianca called the cops.” I pick up where Rock left off. “She got stuck giving them statements but called Charlotte. She got a partial plate number.”
“I ran it,” Z says, “But it’ll take days to track down every vehicle on the list.”
“Vermont or New York plates?” Merlin asks.
“New York.”
“Finally…” I raise my voice. “Dex left Crystal Ball and found a package waiting on his bike, addressed to Charlotte. That was the box you saw at the house. The message inside was for you.”