Page 122 of Riot

I shake my head. I’m waiting for the MC. They’re on their way and they told me to stay put. Star is coming, too, and I need my people around me.

I don’t fit here. Not anymore. I will always love my parents, even if I can’t have a relationship with my mom, but I’ll always want Riot and if that means the MC then so be it. It isn’t their fault that this happened. They took Riot in when he was at rockbottom. Cash has been like a second father to him along with Charles. Speaking of which, I should probably go through Riot’s phone and call him. Though, it’s four o’clock in the morning, so it can wait until a more reasonable hour. It’s not like we can do anything.

My phone rings and I jump.

I answer it, not knowing who the number is and then I hear, “Halo? It’s Cash.”

I breathe a sigh of relief, though I’ve no idea why.

“Hello, Cash.”

“How you holdin’ up?”

“As good as could be expected,” I sigh.

“You know much about what’s been goin’ on in Chicago?”

“Not much,” I admit. “Just what I saw on the news, and what little Riot told me.”

I don’t know if it’s the sound of approval or disapproval, buthe makes a distinct noise in his throat. “We’re tryin’ to piece it together ourselves, but the details are sketchy. Everyone Riot knew from back then is dead, or involved with Bratva.”

“Bratva?” I stammer. “The Russian mafia?”

“Ironically, they aren’t the bad guys in all of this.”

“Holy shit.”

“I’ve got the address for the Airbnb and your parents. Rock and Jett are looking at security footage now, but I gotta ask if there could be anyone else involved from around your hometown? Someone who would want revenge?”

“Riot beat up the man my parents were trying to force me to marry,” I whisper, stepping down the hall toward my old room. I don’t want Mom overhearing any of this. “He came to New Orleans and bought an apartment in my complex. Riot got very jealous and then lashed out. But I honestly don’t think he’s involved. He may be an asshole, but he’s also a coward. If this was him, he wouldn’t be directly involved; he would’ve hiredsomeone. Still, it seems a stretch, even for him, and he had no clue where we were staying.”

“He had a motive,” Cash mutters. “And these assholes who took him left you alone, that’s telling.”

I swallow hard, thinking about what could have been. I don’t want to think about it.

“I guess, but as much as I dislike Ian, I can’t see him kidnapping Riot.”

It doesn't sit right, but that doesn't mean Ian is innocent.

“Sometimes the people we think we know turn out to be the villains in disguise.”

Prickles run over my skin. I know that to be true. Cash doesn’t know how much that statement sums up pretty much most of what my mom thinks about all of this. Still, she was shaken up when I called her and was so distressed she and Dad had to come collect me and Cookie from the Airbnb.

“I felt so hopeless,” I say. “He went out there unarmed, thinking it was just a squirrel and he got hurt and kidnapped?” My voice piques and I fight back tears.

Where is he? What are they doing to him?

I close my eyes, sitting on the edge of my old bed. Everything is as I left it six months ago.

“None of this is your fault.”

“I know, but I couldn’t do anything to help him.”

“That’s where we come in.”

“The police haven’t said anything, they’re collecting evidence,” I sniffle.

I know how the MC feels about cops, but I don’t care about that. I would do anything to get Riot back, and I thought maybe the police would put a call out and even barricades. That being said, we’ve no idea what kind of vehicle we’re looking for. It’s like a needle in a giant haystack.

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