Page 55 of Wild Ride

My lips curve up into a grin as I think about the fact that while the Bloodhounds thought they had leverage, they do not. We will have more.

“What?” Ralph asks.

“You want protection for your sister?”

His gaze flicks around between the men at my back. Maverick and Goose are standing behind him. He’s completely surrounded by all of us, and he knows there will only be one answer, the right answer, to every question I ask him.

“From you?” he asks.

“Do you want protection for your sister?” I ask again.

He jerks his chin, and no doubt his heart is beating inside of his throat now as he attempts to formulate words. He doesn’t know what the fuck is going on, and that’s a good thing because I’m about to blow his goddamn mind.

“Give us what we want, and we’ll protect your sister.”

His eyes widen, and his mouth opens, but no sound comes out. My lips twitch into a smirk. I have him right where I want him. This motherfucker is mine. Tilting my head to the side, I watch him for a silent moment. Then he nods once. That’s all I need.

“You can have whatever you need as long as she’s safe.”

That is what I wanted to hear. Gathering information on his sister, I send it all to Piggy and ask him to coordinate surveillance and whatever else is needed to give her full protection, or at least as much protection as she can have without being on lockdown.

We, as a club, don’t typically set up and use our own equipment. It costs us too much money to do that. We’re not in the business of security, but in this case, it will cost us a hell of a lot less in time and money to watch this one college girl than it will to lose Ralph as a supplier and then whatever the goddamn Bloodhounds cost us—like my woman.

“All of this over supplies?” Ralph asks after he’s finished telling me everything I need to know, including the address to the Bloodhounds’ clubhouse, something that they have been able to keep a secret for far longer than I imagined possible.

I’ve known who they are my entire life, yet I’ve never known where their main clubhouse is located. It’s not shocking that they’ve been able to keep that a secret all these years. In general, MCs are known for living off the grid as much as possible.

Their mailing address is a PO Box, much like ours. They don’t have a phone line to the clubhouse, and we’ve had no reason before now to know where they’re located. Vicious Reapers have never wanted anything to do with those fucks—we still don’t, but right now, we’re fucked.

“Those bastards want to take over our club. They tried to fuck us over financially, and when that wasn’t working fast enough, they kidnapped my woman,” I growl.

Ralph’s eyes widen and his brows lift straight into his fucking hairline. I feel the same way. Shocked and goddamn bewildered that these fuckers would attempt such a thing. But they did, and they are, and I’m going to make them suffer for every goddamn second they’ve kept Dakota from me.

Piggy texts me back, confirming that he is working on protection for Ralph’s sister. As our sergeant at arms, it’s his duty to handle security, and there is nobody else I trust more in this world to get that done.

Ralph’s sister will have our protection, even if it means having a man on her at all times to ensure that she’s breathing.We have a couple of nomads who could use the busy work and change of scenery, and it won’t take a hit to our manpower.

Although, this isn’t a bad gig. Protection for supplies and information—I wonder if this could be a new venture for us. Shade was always looking for ways to diversify, and we have nomads all over the country. This could possibly work for us. It’s something I’ll have to revisit once we’ve settled from this horseshit.

But I’m going to revisit it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

DAKOTA

Bright lights shinein my face, and pinching my eyes closed, I find myself disoriented but in a completely different way. One extreme to another, and I don’t like any part of it. Fingers curl around one of my biceps and squeeze hard before I’m being dragged from the bed, across the floor, and then released into a heap.

Slowly, I open my eyes, and I’m in another room. I know it’s another room because when I look around, there is no mattress, and I know they dragged me off one. Looking up from my place on the ground, I see the older guy who marched into my dad’s house.

The man with the evil eyes and scary smile. He’s staring at me with those eyes right now, almost into my damn soul. I don’t say a word, not a single one, as I wait for whatever the hell he’s going to throw at me.

And I know he’s going to throw something, especially since his beady little eyes dance with what I can only describe as delight. He clears his throat. I can sense a speech coming myway. I don’t want a speech. I don’t want to be here. I want to get the absolute hell out of here. Like, run far away and never, not ever, look back.

Unfortunately, I don’t know where I am except in a room. A big empty room with a concrete floor. And I have a feeling that I won’t be able to stand up and walk out of the only door in said room without being dragged back.

So I don’t try.

Even though I really want to.

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