Page 80 of Nitro

The ride to Holly’s house takes forever. I’ve broken every driving-related law on the books. In addition to riding double the speed limit, I ran three red lights and cut off some tourist fucker in a rented van. That asshole deserved it. He couldn’t decide if he was turning left or right and seemed to think that waving his phone around would somehow help.Idiot.

When we pull into her white-picket-fenced neighborhood, mothers grab their children and scurry inside, locking their doors behind them. It’s ridiculous that they’re afraid of us. Sure, we look like big, bad bikers, but the people they should really fear are the men they live with. If there’s one thing I learned about rescuing people, it’s this: The nicer the house, the meaner the abuser. Domestic violence happens across the board. No one’s immune to it. All the money in the world won’t protect you when you’re sharing your bed with a monster.

Holly’s house is halfway down the block. Matrix, Scar, and I park in her driveway. Talon and Reaper stay on the street as lookouts. We sent Tucker ahead to scout Polson’s cabin. Although Polson hasn’t been there since all this started, I’m not discounting it. Matrix never found deeds to any other properties. As far as we know, he only owns these two spots. If Holly’s not at one of them…

I shudder and cut that thought short. We have to find her.

“You take the back,” Scar says to Matrix. “Nitro and I are going in the front.”

“Give me thirty seconds then kick in the door.” Matrix jumps the fence into the backyard.

I’m already counting down in my head. Scar pulls his piece out of his cut and checks the magazine. He racks the slide, chambering a bullet. I do the same with my gun. We don’t even have to say it out loud. When we find Polson, he’s a dead man. As much as I’d like to take him to the basement to teach him a lesson, I can’t risk leaving him alive. Holly will spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder until he’s dead. I’m going to let that happen.

“Ready in three.” Scar positions himself at the front door.

“If you have a shot, take it.”

“Three. Two. One.” Scar kicks in the door.

We rush inside, swat-team style. Scar sweeps the right side of the room while I sweep left. It’s clear. Matrix is already inside, coming toward us from the kitchen. He points at the entrance to the hallway. There are two bedrooms and a bathroom downstairs. We quickly clear those.

Dread builds in my belly. They could be upstairs, but so far, it’s been completely silent. It’s so quiet I can hear the wall clock ticking. The place feels empty, but we have to be sure.

Scar points at the staircase. Matrix nods. I fall in line between them. We creep up the stairs. The first bedroom is empty. It looks like a guest room. The next door is closed. We open it and find Polson’s home office. I quickly riffle through the papers on his desk. I don’t know what I’m looking for, maybe a clue as to where Polson took her. It’s pointless. He didn’t leave any clues.

The master bedroom is the only room left. When we kick in the door, it’s also empty. I check the walk-in closet to be sure he’s not hiding her in it. All her clothes are there. She’s not.

“Fuck!” I kick a pair of Polson’s perfectly polished loafers across the floor.

“I’ll check in with Tucker.” Scar sends a text. When he doesn’t get an immediate response, he frowns. “That’s not good.”

“We should go to the cabin next. If Tucker’s not checking in, he could be in trouble.” Matrix takes the stairs two at a time while we follow.

“I should have sent two guys down there.” Scar straps on his helmet and starts his bike.

“Wouldn’t change anything now.” I back out of the driveway and get into my spot in the formation.

“Let’s ride.” Scar waves his hand so the others know we’re taking off.

The five of us tear up the highway. When we get to the dirt road leading to Polson’s cabin, I slow considerably. I don’t like the idea of announcing our presence. The bikes are loud as fuck. He’ll hear them coming a mile away. Scar must have the same idea because he stops well before we get to the final cut-off to the cabin.

“We hike in from here,” Scar says.

“I’ll circle around through the forest,” Talon says.

“Me too,” Reaper says.

We split into two groups again. As we get closer to the cabin, my heart pounds. I try not to think about what Polson might be doing to her. If I could feel her pain, I’d be less worried because at least then I’d know she’s still alive. I haven’t been able to sense anything. This so-called gift fucking sucks. Being able to use it on command would be so much better. After this is all over, I’m going to figure out how to control it.

When we get within ten yards of the cabin, we stop behind a large pine tree. Using it as cover, I grab the binoculars I brought and use them to take a peek. The windows aren’t covered, so I can see inside. Bingo. We found them. Polson’spacing back and forth, waving a gun, while Holly’s sitting in a chair. The terrified look on her face enrages me. I’m going to kill that motherfucker.

“What’s the plan?” I ask Scar, handing him the binoculars.

“We need to get inside, but he’ll see us coming.”

“If we can lure him out, we’ve got a clean shot.”

“Yeah, but how?”

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