At an intersection not far from her place, I take out my phone and call Axel, let him know that I’m on my way and he’s free to leave.
There’s a fire inside me after talking with Josie. Fire and determination to do what needs to be done. It’s time Adella and I get to work. We can’t be a couple anymore, but we can still do this job to save the club and keep our family safe. I’ve been a jaded soldier for so long, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be young, dumb, and idealistic, back when the idea of being a hero didn’t seem so far-fetched. Back when I was that wide-eyed kid from Marietta, dreaming about joining the Army and saving the world.
Maybe I can do that again.
One last time.
We’ll break the rules, win this goddamn war, and then I can see her off to the life that she deserves. Away from all this shit, where she can find the success that she craves.
It’ll hurt, but doing the right thing ain’t always easy.
Those thoughts occupy me the rest of the way home. So much that I don’t notice the unfamiliar car leaving the parking lot. Or realize anything is wrong until I climb the stairs leading to Addie’s apartment and hear her blood-curdling scream coming from outside.
Chapter Nineteen
Adella
My bed is empty when I wake up, but I’m not surprised Snake is gone. Not after everything we talked about. Though our conversation and the impending breakup makes my heart hurt, I know he’s facing a horrible choice.
Maybe things will be different once I take care of that FBI agent.
Maybe, once the club is safe, we can sit down and talk to my father.
My mind’s stuck in those thoughts when I leave my bed, take a quick shower, get dressed, and then head into my kitchen to make some coffee. Out my kitchen window, I see Axel on his bike, watching my place and trying to look inconspicuous while being as conspicuous as it gets — that biker is a big-armed, big-bearded mountain man — and he would stand out everywhere except a viking convention.
I wave to him.
He waves back.
I hold up a coffee cup and point to it, and he politely shakes his head. Probably feels uncomfortable even coming into the apartment of the president’s daughter. Snake might be the only one I want, but he’s not the only one who’s looked at me as I’ve grown up. These guys all might think of me as their daughter or their kid sister — well, except for Snake — but that would change if my father wasn’t the head of the club.
I drink my coffee and I check my watch, impatient for Ruby to show. I’m not excited about shooting someone, the thought makes me nauseous — though I’ll do it if I have to to protect my family — but I am impatient to get this gun and get it over with.
Ruby should be here in ten minutes.
I’m done with my coffee and glancing idly at my phone in anticipation of Ruby calling to tell me to let her up when Axel gets a call of his own and abruptly starts his bike and heads out of the parking lot.
That must be Snake coming back. I hope Ruby gets here first. Snake will flip his lid if he gets even a hint of what I’m up to.
The second Axel leaves the parking lot, another car — midnight black and with tinted windows — comes closer to the building and two men get out.
I don’t like the look of them.
One, especially.
I know him.
Slade.
With my heart trying to claw its way up my throat, I reach for the nearest weapon — a paring knife — and get ready for a fight.
I hardly take a breath before my front door comes flying inward, propelled by Slade’s booted foot. He and the other man enter, guns held casually in their hands.
“Time to go,” he says. “Uncle’s tired of waiting, which means your daddy needs a little extra motivation.”
I hold my knife out. “I’m not going to just let you take me.”
Slade rolls his eyes, walks toward me without even hesitating, not even when I slash the knife at him.
“Adella, you’re not the only woman in the club. Not the only leverage we could take. There’s your mom, and there’s any number of women and children in the club. You can do the sensible thing, come with us, and spare those other women some pain. Or I can shoot you and try again with the next bitch.”
“Get the fuck out of my home,” I shriek, hoping that maybe I can make enough noise that someone will call the police or that I can delay them long enough for Snake to get back.
Slade just shrugs. Then he raises his gun — a garish .44 magnum Desert Eagle handgun — cocks the hammer and points it right at my head.
“Choose,” he commands. “Either you come with us, or some other bitch will see a visit from me and my friend. Maybe we’ll go find that little girl Josie, first.”
I can’t let someone else get hurt because of me. I set my knife down on the counter and hold my hands out.
“Fine. Take me. You bastard.”
“Good girl,” he says, and then he motions to his companion, who slaps a ziptie around my wrists. “Now, let’s go.”
With his gun jammed in my back, he leads me downstairs to his car, where I’m shoved in the back seat. I stare out at the world as we leave the lot in the dead of morning. There’s no police in sight as we get on the road. No sign of Snake, either.
