When I arrive, I stand by the railings that surround the park. It’s busy with families enjoying the warm weather. I pull out my cell and call her again. It rings out. I call Mom to see if we’ve somehow missed each other and she’s back there, but she isn’t. I’ll make sure she’s never alone with Ziggy again after this stunt.
I jump the railings and make my way to the ice cream shack. There’s no sign of them and the teenager behind the counter is no use, telling me he’s seen a hundred moms with kids already today. I decide that maybe she took the long walk home, so I make my way back to the club. When I find that she still hasn’t arrived there, I call her again. This time, a man answers, and I grip the cell tightly. If she’s gone to buy drugs, I’ll kill her myself.
“Where’s Michelle?” I growl.
“I wanted your sister first,” says the voice on the other end of the cell. “A virgin was worth the nights I had men sat outside your club waiting. But a crack whore and her brat will have to do.”
My blood runs cold. Bile lingers in my throat. I’m holding the cell so tight, it threatens to crumble in my hand. “Reggie,” I spit out.
“Hello again, Riggs. How’s my wife?”
“You’ve no idea what you’ve done,” I hiss.
“Oh, I have a very clear idea of what I’m doing. You thought you could take my wife and daughter, so now I have your girl and your son. Hurts, doesn’t it?”
“What the fuck do you want?” I growl.
“You know what I want. I told you what would happen if she didn’t return to me. One by one, I’ll take everyone and everything she loves.”
“This can’t just be about them. What’s so special that you’d hurt a child to get them back?” I growl.
“You’re right. I want so much more. But we’ll get to that after I have Anna and Malia back.”
“I’m not returning fuck all until I have Ziggy home. You think I’m gonna return them and then listen to your demands?”
Reggie laughs. It’s cold and cruel. “You don’t have a choice, biker boy. At exactly noon, I’m gonna fuck your wife, and then every hour after that, I’ll have my men fuck her. Nothing will be off-limits, and my men have very . . . interesting tastes. I should also point out that your son doesn’t like the dark. He’s making such a fuss down there. The quicker you get my wife home and agree to what I want, the quicker he’ll see daylight again.” The call disconnects and a noise escapes me. It’s something between a scream and a wail. Ziggy hates being in the dark since living with Michelle and the thought of him crying for me tears me apart.
I lean over by the club gate and empty the contents of my stomach. It splatters over my boots. For the first time since my dad died, a tear rolls down my face. Chains spots me and rushes over. “Pres?” he asks.
“Get the brothers together,” I mutter. I spit on the ground and then scrub my hands over my face. “And every goddamn weapon we own. I’ve got a war to win.”
Chapter Fifteen
Anna
I stuff my belongings into my bags. “Just think about it. He was mad and he shouldn’t have said what he did, but he didn’t mean it. When it comes to Ziggy, he goes crazy protective,” explains Frankie.
“I know. I get why he was mad. I would be too if he did that with Malia. We’ve had a great few days, Frankie.” I pause, trying to stop the tears from falling again. “I really like him, and he just threw everything in my face. I was the one who kept my distance and he convinced me we were worth the risk. I’ve watched him with Malia this week and it’s given me hope. Hope that we could be happy, all of us as a family.”
“Baby girl, you can be.” Frankie sighs, taking my hand. “You two were made for each other. I’ve never seen him smile so much. And it’s not just me— everyone’s saying the same thing. He loves you and I know you love him even if you don’t see it yet. Please, stay. Talk to him.”
“I promise I told Michelle to ask Riggs. I said it wasn’t up to me. I could kick myself now. I was so fucking nice to her.”
Frankie gives a look of disdain. “She’s a nasty piece of work. I never liked her. She was sniffing around Finn like a hungry shark. Mothers know when their boys find trouble, and trust me, she had trouble written all over her. Finn will tell you a love story of how they fell in love after she got pregnant and how they tried to make it work, but I remember the arguments. She would wind him up by flirting with anything with a dick. If she could get attention, then she would play up for it. She’d twist situations and manipulate everyone. I caught her grinding up on Finn’s dad once.” Frankie shakes her head. “I should have kicked her ass then.”
“I get the impression she really hurt him.”
“The morning she left with Ziggy will be burnt into my brain forever. My boy was devastated. The distress stayed on his face for a solid year until he found them, and he never stopped looking. He brought Ziggy home and the poor kid was all bones. His skin was almost translucent because she was so high that she didn’t bother to take him outside. Yah know, Ziggy still wets the bed because he’s suffering from the trauma. I’ll never forgive her for what she put my boys through.”
I gently place my hand over hers and
