"Lauren let's go." I put the last of the reports Juice had pulled in the filing cabinet and looked at my best friend. She nodded and shut her laptop before wrapping her arm through mine and walking out of the office by my side.
"Do you mind if I come over?" I looked up at Lauren from digging in my purse for my keys. I'd thought something was going on with her earlier, but now I knew. Lauren and I always had an open door policy and never asked permission to visit or come over.
"Course not, Laruen. Miles! We're leaving." He jumped off the barstool and hurried to open the door for us. I rolled my eyes and walked outside. It was one thing to be respectful, but he was just kissing ass.
I propped my elbow against the window and blasted the music on the way home. Between Happy acting out earlier and Lauren being off now, I just wanted everyone to chill out. I decided to focus on Lauren at the moment. Happy was off on club business and if I worried about him, it would drive me crazy.
"Make yourself at home, doll." I closed and locked the door after Laruen made her way inside. She nodded and headed over to the couch, tossing her purse on the floor in front of her. Harley bounded inside from the backyard and climbed into my lap as I sat down at the opposite end of the couch from Lauren.
"He's going to squish you." Lauren said with a laugh as she reached out and scratched Harley's chin. I groaned and nodded as I tried to shift so his bones weren't grinding into mine. Eventually, we settled on my legs being on either side of him as he sprawled out between Lauren and I.
"Lauren, what's going on? Don't tell me it's nothing either." I met her gaze before she quickly looked down at her hands in her lap. Harley's ears perked at the soft sound of her sniffle.
"I can't be like you, K. Chibs and I can't go a day without fighting and I know he watches you and Happy and wishes I was more like you." Her breath shuddered as she inhaled through her nose. I bit my bottom lip in thought, trying to understand how she meant that.
"Like me how, Lauren? You and Chibs were inseparable before the guys got out. Anytime the two of you were together, it was like you'd been by his side for years." She scoffed and shook her head.
"Yeah and then I realized that my baby was going to be a bastard. We got into this huge fight about his wife. I want this baby to have both parents, K. I told him I wouldn't take his crow unless he marries me, and he can't do that. Rather, he won't take care of his shit so he could." Her sadness seemed to morph into anger as she finally let everything off her chest. Lauren had never shown interest in getting married before. Now, she seemed to want it, a lot.
"Lauren, I could take this ring off and it wouldn't change how I feel about Happy. It's okay to want to get married, but I don't understand why it matters so much. If you love each other and I know you'll both love the baby, then what does a piece of paper from the state matter?" I frowned and hoped I hadn't overstepped her hormonal limits. She huffed and gave me a look as if to ask whom I was kidding.
"You don't get it, do you? The croweaters see that ring on your finger and they back off. All they see when they look at me is a girl that got knocked up. I know he at least takes head from them sometimes." She went back to sounding sad as my temper flared.
"If those bitches see anything, it's the way Happy pushes them away and tells them no. If your old man won't do that and they won't listen to you, a ring or a tattoo isn't going to change a damn thing. How do you know he's letting them suck him off?" I had never noticed Chibs giving any of the croweaters or sweet butts anything more than a smile, but Lauren seemed certain she was right.
"I just know. Are you expecting anybody?" She was looking through a crack in the curtains. I shook my head at the same time that Harley jumped down from the couch and rushed towards the door, teeth bared and growling. I sighed and got up from the couch, wondering who could be outside without calling first.
I peeked out of the window and started to get anxious when I realized neither Miles nor his bike was outside. Instead, there was a large red truck parked in front of our mailbox. There was someone in the driver's seat, but I couldn't make out who it was from the window.
"Fucking Miles. Call Chibs or Happy, Lauren. Stay inside." I hooked Harley's leash on his collar and headed out to see who was sitting in front of the house. Lauren was bringing the phone up to her ear when I closed the door behind me.
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"Who is this?" I snapped, answering my phone just before getting back on the bike. The meeting was finally over and we were all ready to head back to Charming before my phone started vibrating.
"Lauren. I'm sorry, Chibs didn't answer when I tried to call him." I leaned back, aggravated that their domestic shit was wasting my time.
"We're about to head back. What do you need?" I growled, strapping my helmet on and glaring over at my brother. He looked back at me with a curious expression.
"You actually. K told me to call you. There's some truck outside and I don't think Miles is here." She had my full attention and I started my bike.
"Let me talk to Katerina." I growled as the bike idled. I was just waiting to tell Kat to move back to the bedroom before heading out.
"Uh, well she and Harley went out to see who it was. I'll get her, hold on." I gripped the phone tightly as I heard her shuffling and opening the door. She yelled for Katerina and everything went to shit. There was a gun shot and Lauren screaming in the phone.
"Lauren! What the fuck? Hello?" The line was dead. I didn't wait to fill the others in before pulling out quickly, barely managing to keep control. The others followed me quickly as I flew down the highway. My mind was racing through scenarios and what to do for each possible situation.
The ride seemed to take forever when, in reality, we made it back to Charming within thirty minutes from an hour away. My heart was trying to break out of my chest when I saw several police cars in front of my house. I didn't bother shutting my bike off and barely remembered to put the stand down.
"What the fuck is going on?" I was shoving through cops, looking for my old lady. Lauren was sitting on the steps with her head in her hands. I felt hands grabbing my arms and trying to pull me away. Reflexes kicked in and I threw my elbow up and back, connecting hard with the face of a cop.
"Let him go, it's his house!" Jax was pulling the cop off of me as Roosevelt walked over. He nodded and the cop with a freshly broken nose let me go.
"Where the fuck is Katerina?" Roosevelt swallowed hard and held his hands up in front of his chest. I repeated my question, losing more and more restraint.
"We're working on figuring that out, Lowman. Ms. Buckley was able to give us a description of the suspects vehicle." My heart stopped and my veins constricted as I processed what Roosevelt said. He didn't know where Katerina was and there was a suspect. She was gone.
"Tara! What's going on?" Jax's voice broke into my thoughts. I looked up and saw his old lady, walking out of my house with blood all over her. She eyed me cautiously as she walked up to Jax.
"Lauren called me. She said Katerina was arguing with somebody in front of a red truck and Harley was lunging at him. When Lauren called for Katerina, Harley bit the guy's leg and then he shot him before putting the gun to Kat's head." Tara sobbed and tried to wipe the blood off her hands and onto her jeans. "He pulled her into the truck and took off. I'm sorry, Happy."
"Lowman, can you think of anybody that would do this?" Roosevelt looked back to me and I shook my head. I knew who this was. Jax hurried after me as I headed back out to my Dyna. This was my kill, not something I was willing to let the cops handle. Clay wasn't going to take this to the table. This was my family, not the club. As soon as my old lady was safe, that bastard was fucking dead.
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My head was killing me as the world started coming back into focus. I felt warm liquid coming from my forehead and there was a loud ringing in my ear from where the gun had gone off so close to me. My arms were bound tightly to opposite posts of an iron headboard. I started breathing hard and fast as my memory of the last hour or so fell into place.
"Good morning, sunshine." Wright's face appeared over me with a sickening smile. I did my best to cuss him up one side and down the other, but the gag in my mouth made everything sound like loud grunts and moans. He laughed and brushed some hair out of the clotting blood on my forehead.
"You should have taken the easy way, Recker. You're going to be okay. A few months away from that trash and you'll realize how in love with me you can be." He bent down to kiss my forehead and I slammed it into his mouth, slightly satisfied to see blood start oozing out of his nose. He was fucking crazy to think that I'd ever forgive him, much less love him.
"You stupid bitch. Don't tell me you think your biker boyfriend is going to save you. He probably doesn't even know you're gone." I scowled and flipped him the middle finger on both of my hands. He smirked and grabbed the front of my shirt. I shook my head and kicked out, hoping to connect with something hard enough to get him off of me. He smirked and walked over to the other side of the room. My eyes widened to the size of saucers when I saw the transport bag he was digging into. I knew there were leg restraints in the bag. If he could get my legs shackled, I would be defenseless.
I kicked wildly as he walked back towards me with a pair of restraints. He smirked and pulled a knife out of his back pocket. I narrowed my eyes, betting that he wouldn't dare cut me. He reached for my right ankle and I kicked out hard with my left leg. The knife was slammed into my left thigh and I screamed loudly, distracted just long enough for him to shackle my right ankle to the footboard.
"Don't worry, Recker. I like a woman that puts up a fight." Wright smiled and winked at me as he moved over to my left side. I tried to kick out again and felt a searing pain from the place where the knife was still sticking out of my leg. He laughed and yanked my ankle to him, quickly shackling it to the other side of the footboard so that I was spread eagle on the bed. I closed my eyes tightly, knowing what was coming soon. In my mind, I pictured Happy's face. I tried to force myself not to breathe so I could pass out and miss the assault that Wright was starting by ripping my shirt off, cutting it from neck to bottom with the knife he removed from my leg.