He doesn’t say a single word to me, instead he puts his cue away and starts to walk toward the bar. I make a move to stand, but Trista’s hand wraps around my wrist, squeezing me and keeping me in my place.
“Let him find out, he’ll tell us what he needs, when he needs to.”
Shaking my head once, I wriggle my hand from her grasp. “I love you, Tris. I really do, but something is wrong and I’m going to find out in real time what it is. Taz is your man and if you want to wait for his word, that’s cool. But right now, Hawk is mine and everything is not okay.”
Standing, I hurry toward the bar where Taz has his head bent and he’s in a conversation with Dragon. As soon as they sense my approach, they stop talking and both turn their heads to look over at me.
“You can play he-man woman-haters later, tell me what the fuck is going on, now,” I demand.
Dragon’s gaze widens and his brows lift in surprise. “Don’t know, babe. Gonna call Worm, see if we can get a lock on his location.”
My legs start to tremble, but I refuse to show an ounce of emotion. Nodding my head once, I look from Dragon to Taz, then back to Dragon.
“Where is he?” I hiss.
Something unreadable crosses his expression, something akin to sadness, maybe even worry, and I watch as his gaze softens. I shake my head, taking a step back, but he doesn’t let me get far. He reaches out, wrapping his fingers around my forearm, and tugs me forward.
“I know where he probably is, but I’ll get him back here. Make sure you stay here until he’s back, yeah?”
“And where’s he at?” I ask on a whisper.
“It’s nowhere good or where he needs to be alone.”
“Find him,” I breathe.
He nods his head, his gaze not leaving mine as he releases his grip on my arm. Turning from him, I don’t go back to Trista, instead, I make my way up to Hawk’s room, our room. I need to finish putting my things away and try to busy myself.
I don’t want to believe that he would just leave me here alone, especially knowing that the senator is still out there somewhere. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t find me—he will.
Chapter Twenty
HAWK
It feels like I’m in the trunk of this sedan for hours, though it probably isn’t quite that long. Not having your faculties about you, it makes you feel fucking terrible and each minute drags on for far too long.
The car finally comes to a stop and I hear the doors open, then close after the engine is turned off. I watch the trunk, waiting for it to open and I’m not surprised to see the two asshole guards on the other side. It’s obvious to me that Walsh does zero dirty work and relies on these fucks for everything.
When he goes down, and he will, these assholes will go down with me. I will personally make sure of that shit. They gather me in their arms and drag my limp body across a rock driveway. I’m taken into a house, but I can’t lift my head up to look around and take in my surroundings, all I can see is the marble flooring.
They drag me through the house, then toward stairs and begin to walk down to a basement. I expect the space to be dank and dark, but it’s bright, a little too bright, and the flooring switches from marble to concrete.
My body is thrown across a room and I land on my side. There are bars all around me, as I’m obviously thrown into some kind of cell or cage. The door is locked and wordlessly, the men walk away, leaving the too-bright lighting glaring.
I attempt to take in what I can around me. I can’t move my head around, so all I can see is what is in my direct line of vision. There is a leather bench, a bed with black satin sheets, and a metal four-poster bed with a top that has chains and cuffs hanging down on all sides.
I assume the rest of the room has more kink equipment and my body aches at the thought of this fucker bringing my Avah down here to hurt her. I’m going to torture him. I’m going to enjoy it too, every fucking second of it.
Hours pass as I lay there and eventually, I start to regain the ability to move my limbs. It takes me far longer than I like to push myself to a sitting position. My eyes take in the rest of the room as my ability to move my neck comes back to me.
I was right.
The room is filled with implements and furniture for kink play, which in a normal circumstance, I could really get behind. However, I know that Walsh is not going to use it for a good time, he’s going to use it to torture both me and Avah, plus whoever else he’s kidnapped or purchased to harm.
Hours continue to pass, the lights stay on, bright and make it impossible to sleep, I’m sure a purposeful tactic. Then, I hear shoes walking down the concrete staircase. Men’s nice shoes click, one after the other with precision. Walsh.
He appears in front of me, his body loose and comfortable in his suit and tie, shiny loafers on his feet.
“Food will be delivered soon. Don’t get excited. You’ll eat just like all my pets. A plant-based nutrition drink that will keep you alive.”
I want to spit in his fucking face, but I don’t. Instead, I continue to stare at him, waiting to see what he’s going to say next. This is one of those situations where I can’t try to fight my way out of, at least not right this minute. I need to strategize, wait, and hope that my brothers come, but if they
