Brick Brick (Knights Corruption MC - Next Generation, #4) - S. Nelson Page 0,81

dark.” Marek chewed on his bottom lip, looking a bit nervous, which wasn’t like him. “Be. Careful,” he emphasized. A few seconds later, the gavel came down, the sound startling me even though I expected it.

I’d retaken my seat when Linc asked who was going with him to the fight, and I remained there for a while after everyone was dismissed, torturing myself with wondering what they’d done to Zoe. If I found out they… No, I couldn’t let my mind wander to that dark place because I’d never come back, and instead of being tactical in how we handled the situation, I’d feed off emotions, putting not only myself at risk, but my brothers, as well as the two women.

Swallowing breath after stuttered breath, I turned toward the door when I heard Riley talking to Kaden a few feet from where I sat.

“Should we bring Natalie here?”

“Why?” Kaden tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Because she works at the salon, and even though the place is closed for now, she might be in danger too.”

“I don’t think we can take on one more person. Besides, she knows nothing of what is goin’ on, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to alert her to anything.”

“I don’t completely understand what’s goin’ on,” Riley shot back, her features twisting in her anger.

“Calm down.” He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “How about this? Ace and I will go talk to her. Try and convince her to stay with someone while we handle this.”

“She won’t go for it.”

“How do you know?”

“Call it a feeling.”

“Okay, then if she doesn’t, we’ll bring her back here.”

“What if she doesn’t want to come here either?” Riley pulled back to look at him.

“Fuck, Ry. I don’t know. You’re the one who suggested we bring her here. What do you want me to do?”

She sighed, the entire conversation only seeming to add to her stress. “Let me call her.” Riley walked away shortly afterward, and I happened to find out later that because they closed Transform, Natalie and her friends decided to take a trip to Florida for a few days.

One problem solved.

A thousand more to go.

37

Regrouping later that same evening, Ford and Owen told us all about their trip to the place we believed Zoe and Braylen might be kept. And even though they didn’t see the women, they were fairly sure the two of them were nearby. Several Reapers came and went, loading crates into the back of two black vans. Their guess was it was drugs or weapons, but they didn’t want to run the risk of getting caught, so they stayed hidden. When the two Reapers who stood guard on the porch disappeared inside, the brothers walked the perimeter of the house, noting six guys inside, none of whom any of us recognized from the pictures they took. There was a barn on the property, which was empty, save for another van stored inside.

Ace, Tag, and Hawke arrived back at the clubhouse shortly before Ford and Owen had, not having much information themselves, other than there were eight Reapers at the Santa Clara location, partying it up, half of them drunk and falling over. No signs of Braylen or Zoe there.

Nash, Rez, and Miles scoped out the Reaper charter near here, snapping pictures of the men who came and went, none of them Griller or Dutch. Most of us didn’t know what Dutch looked like, the private investigator Marek hired not being able to come up with a photo either, or his real name, but Prez had seen the man once, verifying none of the images were of him. And other than the unloading of a black van, no doubt having come from the farm, there wasn’t much else to report, no signs of the women there either. I’d bet my life they were being held at the farmhouse.

“We’re ready,” Linc announced, pacing next to Jagger, both men’s postures coiled, looking like they were set to strike any moment. With the new day, apprehension ran high among the entire club and the only thing that would elevate the uncertainty was the return of Zoe and Braylen, and of course the complete annihilation of the Savage Reapers. There wasn’t any reason for Prez to remind the guys to carry because there was an arsenal of weapons to choose from. Plus, none of us were that stupid to go anywhere unprepared, especially now.

“Linc and I will ride together.” Jagger grabbed Linc’s duffle bag and