Page 103 of My Darling Mayhem

“Presley is home. Your mother is home. Your sister. Your grandmother. And we are here. So, tell me if you think it’s a problem or not.”

Kingston muttered a curse while pulling out his phone. Gio glared at the screen before shaking his head.

“We’ll agree to the terms. His club is safe,” Kingston said, glancing at his device and then at me.

Kyle stayed where he was. “Get it all in writing. Call everyone off who’s currently out. No one goes after him or his men. We’re allies from here on out. He’ll respect the route, but no harm will come to them.”

“Fine,” Gio sourly agreed while pushing away from the couch, and pulling on his jacket.

We’d left shortly after that, Thistle and I following their car at a speed that had us arriving in half the time.

The sound of a snapping branch brought me back to the moment.

Thistle was next to me, but he froze when the branch snapped. It was early morning after we rode through the night from New York to North Carolina. We had no idea if we’d make it in time, but I hoped Juan alerted whoever needed to be notified so that everyone remained safe.

My stomach churned. Something was off. Thistle felt it too. I could tell from how he gripped his gun and kept his eyes on the dense tree line. Then we heard it. A loud crack from a gun.

It was far enough away that I knew it wasn’t anywhere in our immediate vicinity. Still, I slowed my steps, searching around. The trees were thin enough that I could easily see several yards away. Kingston, Gio, Juan, and Kyle were in the forest with us, all approaching from a different angle because based on their intel my father, fucker that he was, had entered through some forest that connected to their property.

Another shot rang out, echoing from the north. We started toward it, only to hear another shot ring out, then another. All from what sounded like a rifle of some kind.

“Do you hear dogs barking?” Thistle glanced over, looking nervous.

Shit. Dogs wouldn’t know if we were friend or foe; they’d just know our scent wasn’t familiar and likely tear the fuck into us. I was about to panic when Kingston suddenly ran toward us as a large black dog approached.

It immediately started growling and barking.

“Rex,” Kingston snapped, followed by a quick whistle. The dog’s ears and snout lifted, as though he responded to the command. Rex seemed to heel, trotting next to Kingston’s side, right as another dog darted for us.

“Fuck. You might have to shoot him, which will mean that Scotty might shoot you in return. I’ll do what I can, but if the dog seems like he’ll attack then you need to shoot.”

I didn’t want to shoot a dog. My eyes bugged the fuck out as the second dog barreled toward us, only to pull left with his ears lifted. The dog named Rex followed him, while I heard several people running.

Adrenaline hit my chest as the scenario finally played out for me. These dogs were chasing someone; the shots were aimed at an enemy.

My dad was here. He’d made contact somehow, and now they were after him. Was it merely because he’d trespassed or had something happened?

“Kingston!” a man yelled, running toward us while his arm was raised, a black assault rifle pointed directly at us.

Kingston reared back until he was watching a man break through the trees.

The man with the gun wasn’t even breathing heavily; he was merely focused intently on us.

“Are you with him?” he asked, directing the barrel of his gun at my patches.

Thistle lifted his hands as if surrendering. “With who?”

Kingston spoke up on our behalf. “Scotty, they’re with us. What’s going on?”

The man gave us one last once-over before searching the surrounding woods with a frantic gaze. “Male, late fifties. Stocky, white hair, tattoos, patches, leather cut like theirs.” He gestured at us. “He took a kid. The kid that came with your aunt.”

No.

I stepped forward, my heart tangled in my chest as it tried to push out of my skin.

“Which kid?” Not that it made a difference, but I needed to know how panicked Wren was. If he had Cruz then I’d imagine she would be behind this man any second, tearing into the tree line, looking for him. Unless something happened…

The man regarded me and then did a double take. “He your son?”

---