He looks over my shoulder at Willa, who is talking and laughing with Tempe. “We’re good.”
“And the ranch?”
“Surprisingly, it’s better now than it has been in years. Kincaid really stepped up after all that shit went down. He’s working hard to change things up around there.”
“He should be.”
For about a year, Chaos and his brother, Kincaid, were fighting over ownership of their grandfather’s Texas ranch, Ironside Ridge. It wasn’t until they finally found documentation naming Chaos as the beneficiary that the tension settled. Kincaid stopped fighting and agreed to help Chaos maintain the land, since he has no plans to move to Texas.
Now, Chaos is working with Steel to sell a portion of the ranch to the Twisted Kings. It won’t be an official clubhouse, but clubs all over the country could use that spot if they’re passing through, or if a nomad needs a place to land for a little while.
Meanwhile, Kincaid will maintain the rest of the ranch, keeping it operating as their grandfather intended.
I open my mouth to ask Chaos how things are moving forward with Ironside Ridge now that he’s back in town, but a strange sound comes from around the corner before I get the chance, cutting me off.
“What is that?”
There’s another bar in the front of the clubhouse, so it’s not uncommon to hear a commotion from there, but this sound is something else.
Ghost turns the corner, off the phone now, and his gaze is on me. He nods once, and without a word, my stomach plummets. It’s no secret I’ve been on edge since New Year’s. I’ve been constantly fielding questions from Chaos and Venom about why I’m not fucking every girl who looks my way, and Steel’s been threatening to tamper with my bike if I don’t stay put for the night because he’s worried about me riding around Vegas alone as often as I am.
But Ghost knows the truth.
Ever since the night Emery slipped out of my bed, I’ve been searching the city for her, and Ghost has been helping by scouring security footage. He’s run her face through every piece of software we have, and still we haven’t been able to find her.
That single nod changes everything, and a moment later, Emery rounds the corner, stopping my heart in my chest.
Her thick brown hair is longer than it was the last time I saw her. Her blue eyes are bright and wide as she takes in the room.
Ten months I’ve been looking for her.
Ten months I’ve searched every corner of Vegas.
And here she is, walking into my club with a baby in her arms.
“It’s that—”
“Yeah.” I cut off Chaos, barely able to breathe as I shove off my barstool and meet Emery in the middle of the room.
Ghost stays posted by the door, watching the scene. I really wish that if he was going to let her through the gate, he’d have given me a heads-up so I could have met her out front and not in the middle of the party.
Emery looks around the room again, taking in the topless patch bunnies, drugs, and guns. It’s a sight that has her eyes widening before they sweep to me. Thick lashes frame her pretty blue eyes just like they did last time I stared into them, and it pulls the air from my lungs.
For months, I wondered if I’d imagined her. I thought maybe I’d made her up. A beacon of hope when life has been doing nothing but falling apart lately. I take a breath and catch a hit of her orange blossom perfume like it’s the answer to my prayers. I’m high on the first inhale.
Her cheeks pinken, darkening her freckles.
That night she fell asleep next to me, I counted all thirty-seven of her freckles over and over until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
And then, she disappeared.
Ten. Fucking. Months. Ago.
A fresh wave of emotion barrels through me. This one different.
“Emery, what the hell?” It comes out harsher than I mean for it to, but I can’t help it.
I’ve done everything I could think of to look for her, and here she is, walking into my clubhouse like she didn’t just leave me in that bed alone.
