Page 84 of Being Lost

Suits me. Quicker we get to wherever we’re heading, the faster I can bring my woman home. And this time I’ll make damn sure she’s never leaving again, even if I have to tie her to my fucking bed.

I don’t have to tell them how to ride in formation. Getting into position behind the truck, I take the lead, Dart at my side. Grumbler and Salem fall into place behind us. Next come Bones and Snips, and the others, then Blaze at the rear as road captain.

I’m not surprised when Token leads us up I-8 heading east, not that I knew which direction she’d run in, but expected it to be one of the major routes out of the city. We’ve only left San Diego about fifty miles behind when right indicator of the truck I’m following comes on. A flick of my eyes shows it’s a rest stop, and I wave my hand over my head.

A brief, unlikely concern, that somehow she searched the car and found the tracker Token had planted there is quickly dismissed. I’ve more faith in my brother’s ability to hide it than hers to find it in a casual search, even if she knew it was there. Then any fear disappears when I spot her car, and her sitting in the driver’s seat.

As if I’d given them instruction, the bikes surround the car, blocking any escape. Then I’m cutting my engine, sweeping my leg over the bike and running to her door. It’s locked.

She’s sitting, open-mouthed, and I can see from here, her eyes are red and raw from crying. Rapping on the window, I indicate the door handle when I have her attention.

A moment passes, then it unlocks. I wrench it open, crouch down and pull the sobbing woman into my arms. All the admonishments I was going to say are wiped from my mind. All the reasons why what she was doing was crazy, go unsaid.

Her hands grip the sides of my cut. “I’m sorry,” she wails. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

Again I bite back any comment about how I can look after myself, as a comparison shoots through my head. Kim only ever thought of herself. Patsy is putting me and her family first because she’s more worried about everyone else. Instead of telling her how stupid she’s been, I open my mouth and set some things straight.

“I told you, you are mine, Patsy. Perhaps you didn’t get what I meant. You’re mine to love, mine to cherish, and mine to protect.” As she shakes her head, I place my fingers under her chin. “I get that you’re scared, Patsy. I’ll back off a bit if you need more time. I overwhelmed you last night, didn’t I?”

“Last night was perfect, Lost. But it showed what you were coming to mean to me.” A tear rolls down her cheek, she wipes it away. “If you died…”

“Babe, listen to me. I’m an MC prez, I ride with the Satan’s Devils MC. We’re not just one chapter, babe. You already know that. You know Demon would have my back if I need him. And not only Colorado. If I put out the word, I’ll have another hundred bikers here within a day. There’s not a problem too big that I and my brothers can’t solve. I’ll keep you safe, I promise you, babe, and neither my brothers nor I will take unnecessary risks.”

This time, when her eyes turn toward mine, there’s a glimmer of hope in them. “Lost, I… I stopped because I knew what I was doing was wrong. I had this idea maybe I could get Alder to follow me, confront him, find out what he wants from me.”

My eyes widen in fear at the thought of her doing it alone, while at the root of it, she’s got the makings of a plan. But Patsy facing him without backup? Hell to the no. The very idea makes my skin feel like it’s breaking out in hives. “We’ll talk, okay? We’ll work something out. We’ll get you free of Alder once and for all. But together, babe. Not having you going off on your own.”

“Prez,” my name is snapped. I glance around at Token. “What?”

He jerks his head. Dart comes up to take my place by Patsy’s side, as I walk a few steps away. “What you got?” I repeat.

“Fucker’s playing with us.”

“Who?”

“I got a message.”

This is like pulling teeth. “Who from?”

“My bank,” Token emotionlessly informs me.

If he’s pulled me away to tell me he’s gone overdrawn, I’ll lay him out cold. But it’s Token. I just stare and wait.

“You know addresses can be hidden, yeah? This message isn’t from my bank at all. It’s from the fucker that seems to be able to hack into anything I touch.”

He’s got my interest now. “What’s it say?”

Instead of replying, he shows me:

You took your time. I’ll leave the woman to you now.

What the fuck?Immediately I look around. I’m just about to tell the guys to fan out and find whoever’s got fuckin’ eyes on us, but there’s only one way to enter this rest stop or leave. Trees and bushes have grown up high, so there’s no nearby high ground he could be spying from. He must be close. Close enough that I can almost taste his discovery. Maybe in one of the parked-up trucks, but his message said he was about to leave, and I can’t hear an engine starting.

But Token stops me with a gesture of his hand. He’s pointing up into the air.

The drone, hovering above us, dips, spins, then, after it’s weird approximation of a salute, rises and soars, heading away to fuck knows where.

The air rushes out of my lungs, but I’m still not giving up. “How far can those things fly?” I snap, watching until it disappears over a rise.

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