Page 94 of Riot's Thorn
Neither one of them has Parker.
The lights flip on, and the whole vibe of the place changes. It went from somewhere cool and trendy to just a room with an indoor pool. Then the music turns off, and the only sound left is the panic of people trying to get out the door.
I hop off the chair. She’s not in here. If she were, one of us would’ve spotted her by now. Pissing off everyone I pass, I push my way back into the casino to continue my search. Maybe she was washed out with the sea of people fleeing. If not, where would she be? And why do I keep hearing about a shooter? There was no one injured that I saw. It doesn’t make sense.
I spot her three friends standing behind tape the security guards are putting up to block the area and head that way. All three have their arms folded, looking scared.
“Where’s Parker?” I ask.
“Who are you?” The tallest one, with bright red hair and a fiery attitude to match, glares at me.
“I’m her boyfriend,” I say, hoping they’ll take me at my word.
“Parker doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
“She didn’t tell you about me? I’m hurt.” There’s no inflection in my tone. “Where is she?”
“We don’t know. That’s why we’re waiting. She went to the bathroom and had almost reached us when all hell broke loose. Someone started screaming there was a shooter. Before we knew what was happening, we were being ushered out here,” the smallest one with blonde hair speaks up. She must be the soft one of the group.
Her bodyguards are out of breath when they find the three girls. “Have you seen Parker? We lost her in the crowd.”
“We were just telling her boyfriend?—”
I disappear into the throngs of people, leaving them to twiddle their thumbs without me. The thorn in my side is missing.
It’s been six hours—six fucking hours—since I’ve seen Parker. After an hour of searching the club and the casino, I had to leave. She wasn’t there, and the only man who could help me was at the clubhouse.
Satyr hacked into the casino’s system, which took too fucking long, and for the last hour, we’ve been combing through the footage, trying to find where she went. There were so many people and so many angles, it’s taking us forever, and with each minute, she feels farther and farther away.
“Riot, the sheriff’s here,” Cy calls out.
I have no proof, but I just know Bart took her. Even though Sheriff Melville is in charge of Storey County, where the brothel is, and not Washoe, where the casino is, he might’ve heard something.
“What do you know about Bart Banks?” I ask as I approach the man.
He scowls. “Hello to you too, Riot.”
“Don’t have time to fuck around. My woman’s missing.”
The sheriff sighs. “I don’t know the man, and I don’t know who your girl is, so if that’s all you need, I’m?—”
“Stop right there, asshole,” I say, stepping in front of the door. “We both know what Bart does, and my woman’s father was part of that before he died. Since she was there when it happened, it’d stand to reason Bart wouldn’t leave her to start blabbing about the shit he has going on.”
“That’s the pot calling the kettle black, don’t you think? Since you’re in the same business.”
Suddenly, Melville is faced with four pissed-off bikers as some of my brothers stand behind me. “The Honey Pot is legal. Our girls want to be there, and our customers pay them well to spread their legs.”
“And last time I checked, you’ve enjoyed our pussy many times. For free, I might add,” Cy growls.
“I meant no disrespect. You’re right. There is a difference.” He gentles his tone. “I hate to break it to you, but you can kiss your girl goodbye if Bart has her. He makes sure of it. Even when there’s some self-righteous rookie cop who has it in their head that they’ll be the one to take him down, it never happens because the people at the top are paid well to stop anyone from looking too far into his business. No one knows his routes or how he disposes of hisshipmentsonce they’ve served their purpose. He’s untouchable.”
“Hewasuntouchable,” I correct. “But he pissed off the wrong guy. That woman is the only thing I have in this world, meaning I give zero fucks about who he is and what power he thinks he has. I will burn this goddamn city to the ground to find her.”
Satyr throws an arm around my shoulders, which I shrug off. “This guy is nuttier than a jar of peanut butter. I don’t think he’s bluffing.”
He’s right, of course. I killed my own mother, and now, I kill other people for sport; that’s not a normal thing for humans to do. But there’s more to me than that, things I didn’t even know about myself until Parker came around. It makes me wonder if the guys took the time to understand me, would they still think I’m just a freak?
Fuck. Parker’s made me into a pussy with all these gross feelings. Before she came around, I was fine with the way things were. I enjoyed the solitude and was thriving in the life I had. Now, I get offended every time one of my brothers says some shit, because they’re supposed to be my family.
