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Bellamy sniffles. "I wanted to make things right. I thought if I left and went back, you all would be safe."
"Sweetheart, you are not going back to those people. The Kings are your family now. You're stuck with us forever." I wipe a stray tear from Bellamy's cheek as she cracks a watery smile. "What do you say we go home? Everyone is worried sick about you."
"I'd like that."
Bellamy and I are walking to my car when we startle at the thunderous sound of a large engine and blinding headlights barreling toward us. At the last second, the large truck swerves, looking to strike us where we stand. With lightning-quick reflexes, I grab hold of Bellamy and dive out of the way, seconds before the truck slams into the back end of my car. I land on top of her in the ditch and cover her head as crunching metal crashes around us.
Through a daze, I stand, pulling Bellamy with me. My eyes widen with shock, and the adrenalin floods my veins, making my heart feel like it will beat out of my chest. Blake's sister clings to me, fear written all over her face as we take in my mangled car.
25
BLAKE
"Goddammit!" Jake rages, putting his fist through the van's window, sending broken glass flying everywhere. He pulls his hand back, his knuckles cut and bleeding. "Those motherfuckers got the drop on us, and now Charley's knockin' on death's door because of it."
I look back at the hospital, and guilt eats at my insides. Charley is a good man. He doesn't deserve to be in there lying on an operating table fighting for his life right now. I look down at my blood-stained hands. There's only one way to make this right. My phone rings, jerking me from my thoughts, and I answer, not bothering to see who the call is from. "Yeah?"
"Blake." Austin's voice filters into my ear, and the tone of his voice causes the muscles in my body to lock up. "Ember and Bellamy are missing."
My heart hammers and panic surges through me. "How long?"
"Last time I had eyes on Ember was thirty minutes ago when she was looking for your sister," Austin informs me, then yells, "Fuck!"
Jake locks eyes with me. "Tell him and the others to stay put. If another person leaves the compound, I'll have their asses." I relay the message, then disconnect the call.
This cannot be happening.
"Head back toward the clubhouse. There's only one way to town from there, and if she travels it, we'll find her." Jake fires up his bike and takes off with Logan falling in behind him. I jump into the van as Gabriel starts the engine, and we take off after them.
I punch the dashboard repeatedly as my emotions reach their boiling point. "Fuck!" My body shakes at the level of rage spreading through me, fueled by my terror. "She fucking knows better." I curse that Ember left the safety of the clubhouse, then grow angrier because Bellamy left too. I think back to the conversation I had with Bellamy this morning, and though she fears what's happening between the clubs, she's harboring a massive amount of guilt, thinking and trying to shoulder the blame. It finally dawns on me that Bellamy must have left for those reasons, and my heart sinks to my stomach, knowing she is willing to sacrifice herself for all of us. "Shit!" I hit the dashboard one more time once I piece it all together. "She left to give herself to Satan's Hounds, and Ember went looking for her."
Through my outburst and revelation, Gabriel remains quiet as we speed down the road, keeping pace with Prez and Logan, who are a couple of car lengths ahead of us. The silence encapsulating the inside of the van leaves me with a rabbit hole of maddening thoughts, conjuring up the worst-case scenario—finding Ember and my sister… dead.
In the distance, just beyond the bridge, we notice a warm, illuminating light and billowing gray-white smoke pluming upwards. On the other side of the bridge, an overturned vehicle is engulfed in flames. "It's Ember's car!" I leap from the van before Gabriel brings it to a complete stop and I race toward the inferno. "Ember! Bellamy!" I get as close as the scorching heat will allow, trying to see inside. I try getting closer, ignoring the stinging heat on my skin. "Ember!" I shout her name with so much intensity that my lungs burn. I nearly lose my footing when Logan pulls me back from the flames. I jerk from his hold and pull at my hair while staring at Ember's vehicle. The smell of burning plastic fills the air, penetrating my lungs and stinging my eyes. All I hear is the roaring of the fire, my heartbeat whooshing in my ears, and the voice inside my head.They are not dead. They are not dead.
I feel myself unraveling.
Dread, fear, and guilt claw at my throat.
I can't breathe.
"Blake." I hear the baritone of Jake's voice, but it sounds far away. "Blake, goddammit, snap out of it!" This time, I turn away from the flames to see Jake standing before me. "Ember and Bellamy are not in the car." He makes the statement with certainty that should put me at ease, but the alarm in his eyes installs a new sense of urgency in me. "Satan's Hounds have them."
My body goes numb. "Where?"
"Charley's."
I don't have time to question or think about my actions. Later, if I'm still alive, I'll happily accept repercussions for taking another brother's bike and going rogue, half-cocked, without consulting Jake. I sprint across the street, hop on Logan's bike, and take off, heading for Charley's bar. Though my mother believed in a higher power, I've never been much of a religious man. But I'm praying now and hoping like hell the Almighty is listening.Keep my woman and my sister safe. Don't let anything happen to them. I don't give a damn what happens to me. I'm begging you, please protect my family.
A short time later, I'm rolling into the bar's parking lot, which is littered with probably a dozen unmanned bikes. I approach the entrance and arm myself as I dismount Logan's ride. At the same time, a short bald motherfucker walks out of the door with his gun aimed in my direction, and I shoot the bastard before he gets the chance to pull his trigger. The biker falls to the ground, his body propping the door open. I hear tires squealing and loose gravel spraying everywhere, peppering the parked motorcycles as Jake flies into the parking lot. Close behind are Gabriel and Logan in the van. I step over the dead Satan's Hound and enter the bar before my brothers can stop me.
Nine Hounds meet me, a few of whom now have guns aimed at my face. I keep my gun raised in front of me, scanning the bar until my eyes land on my uncle, Hellhound, kicked back in a chair with his feet propped on the table at the far side of the room.
"Blake." He pauses to take a shot of whiskey, then slams the glass against the table, laughing. "You've got balls; I'll give you that. Reminds me of your father."
His words further fuel the rage swirling inside me. "I am nothing like my father," I seethe.
My uncle looks past me. "And here I thought we would be hosting seven Kings instead of one." He jerks his chin. "Toad, Boner, Tater, and Dutch, get your asses outside. You see someone, shoot 'em."
