furrowing. “Why isn’t he with you?”
What happened out there?
Chains ignores me, and continues to carry Dee into his bedroom, laying him on top of the sheets. I follow behind, waiting for someone to tell me what the hell is going on and where my man is. I can feel myself about to snap, about to lose control as panic and fear start to take over me. Skylar looks over Dee, and tells us that he’s a little battered, but going to be okay.
“Chains,” Crow says, stopping him with his arm on his shoulder. “What happened?”
“We went into the stripper’s bar—they were expecting us. All the mercenaries were there, about ten of them, not to mention Georgia, and there was more of them than there was us. They offered Temper a trade. Him for Dee, and we get to walk away unharmed. If he didn’t agree to that trade, they were going to kill us all, starting with Dee.”
“I can’t believe Georgia. I think I’m going to be sick,” Skylar says, running to the bathroom.
“Fuck,” Crow whispers, turning to me, and pulling me against him. “Abbie, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get him back. He’s not going out like this, no way in hell.”
I’m still trying to process the whole thing. So now we have Dee back, but they have Temper? Was this their plan all along? What are they going to do to him? Does he look like Dee does right now? Are they hurting him? What if Georgia has had enough playing around and is going to kill him? What if he’s already gone?
He said he’d come home to me.
I guess being with the president means being with someone who will always put himself last, someone who always has to be the hero. But you know what?
Crow is right: Temper is not going out like this.
“Where is this stripper’s bar?” I demand from Chains. “Where?” I yell when he doesn’t reply. “Tell me!”
I don’t care what I have to do, but I’m going to try anything.
I did not just get this man only to lose him.
“What are you going to do?” Skylar asks me as she comes back from the bathroom, holding on to my arm and making me look at her. “You can’t just walk in there, Abbie. Temper would be devastated if you did that, and it wouldn’t end well. The men just tried the same thing and look at what happened. We need a new plan, a better plan, or this isn’t going to end well.”
“I’m devastated!” I growl. “I don’t care what Temper thinks right now, I just want to save him. He might not be around to care if we don’t do something now. And I don’t care what I have to do. You’re right, I just need a better plan.”
Think, Abbie, think.
“Georgia was there?” I ask Chains.
He nods. “Yeah, she was. The mercenaries are hers. She’s calling the shots.”
Shit.
“I’ve got an idea,” I say, looking at each of them in turn. “But I’m going to need all of you, and Skylar, I’m going to need a huge fucking favor from you.”
“Anything you need,” she instantly says.
I don’t know if this is going to work, but I’m sure as hell going to try anything that I can.
* * *
“Skylar, I can’t be fucking walking into some situation where I’m going to get shot. I have a family and I need to be there for them,” Logan says, shaking his head.
“We have a family too,” she says. “And it’s our mother pulling this bullshit, and you’re her favorite kid. You’re the only leverage we have over her.”
“Please,” I say, looking him dead in the eye. “I can’t lose him.”
Logan groans, his head falling back on his neck. “I cannot believe you are trying to drag me into this shit. Are you sure Mom is the ringleader of this? I don’t know what the hell is going on, Skylar.”
“Logan, you don’t know me.” I start willing him to understand the severity of the situation.