Page 20 of Rogue’s Vow

I slink along the alley and duck beneath a window trying to stay low and not visible to anyone. A loud howl in the darkness causes me to pause, listening until the pack of coyotes in the distance has decided to settle down and I can focus on what I have to do.

All I can think about is getting to the Scorpions’ club and how I’m going to find my sister when they take me back. I don’t care what they’re going to do to me. If they let her go, I’ll gladly do whatever they want, strip, tease horny guys and dance. They can sell me, whatever, but my freedom and life can’t be at the cost of my sister’s misery. That’s for damn sure. I’ll do whatever it takes to prevent that.

I stay in the shadows, slinking along the back side of the club planning to come in the back door of the bar the Scorpions have brought me in so many times before but a hand goes over my mouth and strong arms surround and imprison me against the wall. “Whatcha doing, Angel?”

My chest tightens with all kinds of fear after seeing exactly what the Scorpions have done with traitors in the last couple of months, and knowing the man I love is going to think I’m a traitor and he has every right. He whispers in my ear. “Shh…” as he removes his hand from my mouth.

“It’s not what you think, Rogue.”

“You weren’t leaving the safety of me and my club to go deal with the Scorpions yourself?”

I swallow through my emotions, trying to catch my breath, hoping to explain but words just don’t come for a minute. “All I want is my sister, safe.” Right now, Rogue, no matter what his intentions, is the one standing in the way of that. “You have to let me go.”

Rogue spins me around, keeping me pressed against the wall, leaning in so close his forehead presses against mine. “Not a fucking chance in hell I’m letting you go back to those sadistic bastards, Angel,” he growls. “You’re coming home with me and my crew are going after your sister. Got that?”

My knees almost buckle. All the adrenaline, fear, and need to get to my sister has kept me going, pushing forward to find a way back to the Scorpions to deal with it myself but Rogue’s arms around me and his protection calms all the emotion, at least the fear of walking right into that bar and facing the men who held me prisoner, wanted to sell me and do me and my sister harm. But still, he has to know they are never going to allow it. “They won’t let her go unless they get me. They don’t know I’m no longer a virgin.”

The warmth of his lips on my ear and hand underneath my hair cradling my nape calms me more than he knows. “Our recruit was a plant. A fucking traitor. We learned a lot from him tonight. We put the pressure on, and he told us everything we needed. Trust me baby, we’re going to get your sister back.”

Tears of emotion pool and spill down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. I just need to make sure Ari is alive and okay.” I gulp in a breath. “My aunt said they took her from the cabin. I knew the only way they were ever going to give her back is if I turned myself in so they can get their payday from my virginity, which we both know doesn’t exist anymore.”

Rogue draws me close. “Your worries aren’t yours anymore, Angel. Come on, let’s go home and leave rescuing your sister to the Royal Bastards.”

Rogue walks me not to the street but toward the parking lot, then cuts down behind a couple of tall buildings where his bike is parked and a few members of his crew are waiting for us.

He settles onto the bike before I climb on behind and wrap my arms around him as he revs the engine and guides us toward the Royal Bastard club and away from the bar I hate with a passion but the only chance or place I had of finding one of the Scorpions who could have taken me to my sister.

My head spins with hope and at the same time regret. It’s not that I don’t believe Rogue, but what if his recruit, the one he thinks is a traitor, just told him what the Scorpions wanted him to know? What if he’s a real plant and the Royal Bastards are just walking into a trap because of me? What does that mean for my sister?

We reach the Royal Bastards’ club and Rogue slows his bike, letting me get off before he parks it for the night. “Rogue?”

“Yeah, baby,” he says, grasping my waist as we walk up to the front door. “How much do you trust what you learned from the recruit?”

His eyes narrow as they meet mine. “Why do you ask?”

I suck in a breath. “Something I heard when I was a prisoner of the Scorpions just keeps playing over and over in my head. It’s probably nothing.”

He lifts my chin. “Tell me, Angel.”

“I don’t know if I’m just being paranoid or not but I heard someone say, ‘No matter what happens with the Bastards, we have a backup plan in place. Jed’s gonna tell him exactly what we want him to say.’”

22

ROGUE

Ihave no fucking clue who Jed is but I’m sure as shit going to get that information out of that traitor recruit, but not until Angel is safely in bed and asleep.

I’ve already got men out surrounding the Scorpions’ territory in the desert, laying low, just waiting to make sure they don’t try to move Angel’s sister out tonight after what I’ve already learned from that recruit. I’ve barely got Angel tucked into bed and made sure she’s sound asleep before leaving when Hayze hits me up. “You need to get down here quick. We’ve got a very big fucking problem.”

I hightail it downstairs and he and the others are at the long table with a map of the desert and a few bottles of beer. Hayze gestures to the center and points to an area circled in black ink. Every single one of them heard what our recruit traitor said, knows that Angel’s sister has been taken prisoner and what they threatened to do to her if Angel doesn’t show up.

My VP clears his throat. “This is where the Scorpions have been hiding out. Based on what that fucking rat told us, and what we were able to gather tonight from our guys out on the street, we’re going to find the fucks here.” Hayze points to the spot he’s referring to on the map. “But we’ve got bigger problems.”

“Tell me.” No matter that Hayze was suspicious of Angel at first and especially when he caught her with his phone, he is loyal to me, especially knowing what I told him about her innocence.

My brother in arms, no matter what he thought before, after telling him about my Angel’s innocence and what we learned from the beating we gave our fucking recruit, he knows she is innocent. He’ll work side by side with me to bring Angel’s sister home now that we know the Scorpions have her. Him, me and our fucking crew, we’re going to even the score with the people who buy women like her as soon as we get her sister back.

Hayze takes a pull from his bottle of beer. “I got a few calls from trusted men I know. The Scorpions must have known they didn’t stand a fucking chance in hell against us with that many men down. A large crew of bikers just rode in and are holed up with the Scorpions.”