“Without a doubt. I think her death and kidnapping Marley is him trying to get my attention. For what? I do not know, but he’s got it. He’s going to wish he didn’t,” Niko states.
“We have one problem,” Tech adds.
“What’s that,” Prez asks.
“I found Rodrigo’s house in California and broke into the security feed,” he tells us. “He hasn’t been there in two days. Multiple vehicles left at the same time he did and I was able to grab a couple license plates. I’m currently trying to track them down.”
“Keep diggin’ and let us know when you find anything. Until then, everyone stay aware of your surroundings. We’ll be on lock down, so get your families here ASAP,” Prez announces. “Niko, call Andrei and set up a meeting. Ranger and I can go to him or he can come here.”
“Yes, sir.” Niko walks out of the room.
“Thor.” Prez turns to face him.
“Yes, sir?”
“I need you to reach out to some of our contacts on the West Coast, maybe even Southwest, and see if anyone has any information on Rodrigo Sanchez. We need to do what we can to get as much information on him as possible,” Prez explains.
“You got it,” Thor replies.
“Buster, you reach out to the Riders in Phoenix and see if they’ve heard anything,” Prez adds.
“On it,” Buster says.
“This is lookin’ more like a Cartel vs Bratva issue and we’re caught in the middle,” Prez says. “Prepare yourselves for the worse.”
With that, he dismisses us from Church. I walk out to the main room and drop onto one of the couches. Saint walks over and sits across from me.
“Stupid question, but how are you holdin’ up,” he asks.
“I never thought a woman would ever have this much of a hold on me. It blows my fuckin’ mind, bro.”
“I don’t think any of us ever thought you’d claim an Ol’ Lady.” He chuckles.
“Marley is somethin’ else. She’s it for me. I just got her, only to have her ripped away from me. What am I supposed to do?” I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
“You’re doin’ it. You’re lettin’ your brothers help you get her back. And we will get her back,” he assures me.
“I sure as fuck hope so. I don’t know what I’ll do if we don’t.” In all honesty, I’ll either get her back, or die trying. I’ve only had her in my life a short time, but she’s made a huge impact on my life. It’s terrifying how quickly someone can become so important to you. Marley is the first woman I’ve let myself get so close to. Nothing would be the same without her.
A couple hours later, the clubhouse is full. Everyone is here except my girl. Cali is even here with Caden. All the women are surrounding them, gushing over the baby. Wren manages to be the first one to hold him. She’s pregnant. Her shirt is too loose to show off her tiny baby bump, but Sketch says it’s there. He’s out of his mind excited to be a dad.
“Your time will come.” Buster sits on the couch, next to me.
“What?”
“To have kids. We’ll save her and y’all will have your chance,” he explains.
“I never really thought I wanted kids. I’ll have hundreds as long as it’s with Marley.” I shock myself with those words. Does she even want kids? Would she want them with me?
“Everything is gonna be alright, Ras.” Buster slaps me on the back and stands. “Come hold my son. You haven’t spent much time with him, yet.”
“Alright, alright.” I get up and walk with him to Wren and Cali.
“Wren, can Rascal hold him for a few,” Buster asks her.
“How dare you ask me to hand over this bundle of cuteness!” She teases. “Caden, your Uncle Ras wants to hold you. He might look big and scary, but you’ll turn him into a giant ball of mush just like the rest.”
I chuckle as she hands him to me.
“Good God, he looks teeny tiny in your arms,” Cali says. Buster laughs and I shake my head.
“Hey, little man. I’m your Uncle Ras.” He stares at me, giving me a big, toothless smile. “You have the world’s best family right here in this clubhouse, kid.”
32
Marley
My eyes flutter open but the bright light has me squeezing them shut again. I groan, grabbing my head. My head is pounding worse than it ever has before. I try opening my eyes again, slowly and glance around. I’m laying in the back seat of a moving van. I sit up, groaning again.
“Wh-what happened?” I stutter. There’s a bitter taste in my mouth.
A woman in the passenger seat turns to face me. A sinister smirk crosses her face. “Ah, she’s awake.”
Evil eyes I’m all too familiar with lock onto mine through the rear view mirror. Eduardo. He’s one of Rodrigo’s goons.
“Oh, shit.” My stomach turns as a wave of nausea washes over me. I lay down, closing my eyes. “What did you do to me?”
“A special concoction.” The woman laughs but it’s void of humor.
“We’ll get you something to eat soon and you’ll be fine,” Eduardo says. He lets out a maniacal chuckle. “We want you nice and healthy when we deliver you back to Rodrigo.”
Bile threatens to creep up my throat at the mere mention of his name. I have an idea of what’s in store for me when I’m back with Rodrigo and it won’t be pretty. I managed to escape him once, he won’t let that happen again. The only difference this time is I’ll have someone looking for me. I never told Rascal much about my past, but hopefully what I did tell him will help him find me.
There’s an ache in my heart at the thought of Rascal. Things were finally looking up for me and I was starting to see a future with him and the Savage Menaces. I got too comfortable and let my guard down, now I’m paying for it. As terrified as I am to being going back to Rodrigo, I need to stay strong. I can’t let him break me. I won’t let him.
“He’s gonna be so happy to see you again, Preciosa.” Eduardo calls me Rodrigo’s pet name and gives me the chills. Not the good kind either. “He was not a happy man when you ran away.”
“I don’t know what’s so fuckin’ special about her,” the woman spits out.
“Cállate, Paula. El Jefe said she’s the key. If he says she’s important, she’s important.” His voice is hushed as if he doesn’t want me to hear what he’s saying. Dumbass needs to speak quieter than that if he doesn’t want me to hear.
I keep my eyes closed, trying to will myself to go back to sleep. The movement of the van does nothing to ease my nauseousness. I can only hope to sleep it off. I finally doze off only to be woken up shortly after by Paula, letting me know we were stopping for food.
“If you try to run, I’ll break your fuckin’ legs,” she threatens. I roll my eyes, following Eduardo into the diner.
“If you need to go pee, go now,” Eduardo says. “You’ll get one more chance before we get back on the road, but we won’t be stopping again for a while.”