"Yes," I whispered.
She nodded and shifted so that her legs were tucked under her on the couch. "That"s what I want to do right now, but I know Spider will only drop everything and go with us. He"s needed here, so here I"ll stay."
"I won"t say I"m surprised that you ended up with Spider. I"m just curious how you got him to marry you." I lifted Max high and lowered him to my thighs, repeating it when he giggled, but keeping my attention on Willa. I"d known Spider my entire life. He"d never been into any one female so it was understandable that I was curious how he had gotten married in the time I"d been gone.
Her lips twitched upward and she finally gave in and let herself grin. "He"s crazy about me, I guess."
"I"m pretty sure Rave gave you this speech before, but I"ll put my two cents in. You hurt him and I"ll kill you." Spider was one of my closest friends and I wouldn"t hesitate to rip this chick"s heart out if she hurt him.
"Raven said about the same thing. You can cool your jets, though. I don"t plan on ever hurting or letting that man go. He"s stuck with me." Her grin remained for a few more seconds before her gaze went right back to her niece.
The front door practically bounced open and we both jumped before we realized it was Spider. He must have run back because he was pouring with sweat, but he wasn"t breathing hard. "Pack a few things, Willa. We"re moving to the clubhouse until this s.h.i.t is cleared up."
"But I thought there was a package left there?" I reminded him.
He shook his head. "It wasn"t a bomb. We"ve got the place secure and everyone is going on lockdown. Jet wants you and the kids over there as soon as possible."
Willa stood and hurried up the stairs. I sat there with Max, still bouncing him high to keep him distracted from the tension rolling off of Spider. When Willa returned with a gym bag tossed over her shoulder, Spider pushed us all out of the house and into the garage where a blacked-out SUV was parked. The two car seats already set up in the back surprised me but I didn"t question it as I strapped Max into the smaller one while Willa secured Lexa into the toddler one.
The ride to the clubhouse was short because Spider was driving at least ten miles over the speed limit. The gates outside the old warehouse that had been turned into the MC"s clubhouse long before I"d been born were shut and two MC brothers were standing guard in front of them. Up on the gate"s wall there were three more with machine guns in their hands.
Spider stopped in front of the fence and honked twice before one of the brothers opened the gate for us. Spider tipped his chin up at them as he drove through and parked by the front door to the clubhouse.
Raider was standing inside the doorway with two different females next to him. One I recognized instantly as Quinn but the girl beside her was new to me. As I waited for Spider to open the door for me since the child locks were engaged, I watched him with the two women.
It wasn"t a secret to anyone that Quinn had always been in love with Raider, but everyone knew that Raider wasn"t a one-woman type of guy. Quinn wasn"t a club sheep, unlike her sisters, and had given up on Raider long before I"d moved away so I was surprised to see her there right then.
"Will someone just tell me what"s going on?" I heard her snap at Raider as she glared up at him. "Colt called and told me to get to the clubhouse and to expect a long stay. Why are we going on lockdown? What"s going on?"
"Did you bring a change of clothes?" Raider questioned, ignoring her questions. "If you didn"t, I"ll have someone stop by your house and get you some clothes and anything else you need." When she continued to glare at him, he turned his head to look at the other woman standing beside him. "Kelli?"
Even as I unbuckled Max from the car seat, I was taking in the new girl. She was younger than Quinn by at least a few years, but the way the two stood so close told me that they were protective of each other. Kelli was beautiful with her makeup-free face and tall, curvy body but Quinn? She was drop-dead gorgeous and wasting her love on the idiot in front of her.
"I threw enough clothes in there for both me and Quinn. If you"ll just point to where we will be staying, I"d like to get some sleep. I"d barely closed my eyes when Colt called." Her voice had a huskiness to it that made me wonder if she smoked or if her voice was naturally that s.e.xy.
Raider let his gaze go back to the other woman for less than a second before turning back to Kelli. "She knows the way. Her sisters practically live here."
Quinn flinched as if he"d struck her and I had to remind myself not to squeeze the baby in my arms. That d.a.m.n a.s.shat. Raider was such a d.i.c.khead. Don"t get me wrong, I"d always loved him like a brother, but he was such a f.u.c.king douchebag to any female he didn"t consider family.
Kelli"s tired gaze turned glacier. "Yeah. I"m sure they do. Sucking d.i.c.k is what those c.u.n.ts do best. Too bad they don"t have a brain in their dumba.s.s heads. Be careful, Raider. I hear it"s contagious...Oh wait. Too late. You"re already a dumb f.u.c.k." She took Quinn"s arm and nudged her through the door before I could reach them.
"Quinn," I called out to stop her from disappearing into the madhouse I knew the clubhouse was turning into. I"d been on lockdown plenty of times in the past and knew exactly what to expect when I walked through that door. All the sheep were probably rushing to get everything ready for the families that would be with us during lockdown. It was their job to take care of us; cook and clean...and whatever else the MC brothers might need.
Quinn turned and her pale face broke into a smile when she spotted me hurrying toward her. "Flick. G.o.d, it"s so good to see you." Careful of the baby in my arms, she hugged me hard. "When Colt told me you had actually come home with Jet, I couldn"t believe it. You were smart, babe. You got out. I only wish I could do that." The last was said practically under her breath, but I still heard her.
"Let"s just say that I"m not exactly back on my own terms," I a.s.sured her and rearranged Max in my arms so I could stand closer to her. I turned my curious gaze to Kelli.
"This is Kelli," Quinn introduced when she saw my curious glance at her friend. "She"s my new roommate."
My eyes widened, not that Kelli was Quinn"s roommate, but at the fact that Quinn had finally moved out of her mother"s house and away from her b.i.t.c.hy sisters. My smile was warm when I offered Kelli my hand. "Hi, Kelli. Are you responsible for our Quinn getting her own place? Because if you are, I could kiss you."
Kelli gave me a tight smile, anger still simmering in her eyes after having to deal with Raider. "It wasn"t me. Colt got her set up and then she came looking for a roommate to help with the bills. It was friendship at first sight."
While everyone was rushing around doing what needed doing, Raider stood a few feet away, watching me with Quinn and frowning from Quinn to Kelli and back again. I shot him a cold look. What was it about Hannigan men and treating the women-who would gladly worship them for the rest of their lives-like c.r.a.p? "Don"t you have things that need your attention?"
"A s.h.i.t ton," he confirmed. "But I"m just too d.a.m.n curious to do it yet." He pushed away from the doorway where he"d been standing and switched his gaze back and forth from Quinn to Kelli. "Whose bed did Colt sleep in last night? Yours, Kelli? Or was it Quinn"s?"
Any sane person would know that Colt would never sleep with Quinn. Those two were best friends. He would protect her to his last breath, but he would never touch her. I knew it had to be Kelli if Colt was sleeping with anyone. Did that mean he was taking her seriously? I"d never known the youngest Hannigan brother to sleep with anyone but club sheep.
d.a.m.n, I"d missed a lot while I was gone. Guilt made my chest tight and I shifted Max on my hip and kissed the top of his head to distract myself from the stab of pain.
"f.u.c.k you, a.s.shole," Quinn spat at him. "I don"t answer to you. You don"t like him spending the night at my house, you take it up with him. It"s none of your d.a.m.n business."
Kelli pushed between Quinn and Raider, turning to face the hulking biker with a glare that made me instantly think I was going to like this girl. "Not that it"s any of your business, but your brother has been keeping my bed warm at night. And while you"re trying to prove how big of a d.i.c.k you have, I"m pretty sure that your brother"s c.o.c.k is a h.e.l.l of a lot bigger."
Everyone who was nearby instantly stopped what they were doing and turned their full attention to Kelli now. It was suddenly very quiet around us. Kelli didn"t even bother to look at anyone else as she faced down Raider who now had murder in his green eyes. You didn"t have to know Raider for more than five minutes before you knew that his d.i.c.k was his favorite organ. From what the sheep said about it on a regular basis, I was pretty sure that he was packing a d.a.m.n anaconda in his pants. I guessed it was a family trait because Jet"s was so big I"d ached for days after our first time.
Quinn sucked in a sharp breath and tugged on Kelli"s arm. "Don"t, Kell. He"s not worth it." Her shoulders drooped in exhaustion as she turned her head to give me a small smile without meeting my eyes. "I"ll see you later, Flick. Kelli and I are going to get a few hours of sleep before it gets any crazier around here."
"Yeah, I"ll see you later," I promised her as I watched her enter the clubhouse. Once she was out of sight I turned my fury onto the d.i.c.khead Hannigan beside me. "Really? What the f.u.c.k is your problem?"
Raider raked a hand through his hair. "h.e.l.l if I know," he muttered as he walked off.
Chapter Eight.
Jet I was shaking by the time we got to the hospital. It wasn"t like this was the first time one of my family members had been in the hospital, and it sure as h.e.l.l wasn"t the first time one of my brothers-blood or MC-had been shot. Jenkins had a.s.sured me that nothing vital had been hit, but I couldn"t help wondering if I was going to walk in there and be told that my brother, the first guy I"d ever trusted to have my back no matter what, was dead.
Raven wasn"t much better than me. She clung to Bash"s hand as he led us into the hospital and straight onto an elevator. She was more used to seeing blood than most medical staff but the thought of our brother being shot was making her act unlike her normal take-charge self. Colt was rocking back and forth on his feet, his eyes just as wild as I knew my own had to be. Raider should have been there with us, but we knew he wouldn"t be able to handle it if Hawk wasn"t really alright. My brother might seem like a heartless b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but he felt more than any of us. He was just better at hiding his true feelings than we were.
Jenkins was waiting by the OR waiting room doors with Samantha beside him. For the first time since I"d known the old lawyer, he looked shaken. I wasn"t sure if that was because his office building had just been destroyed by someone h.e.l.l bent on killing my brother and taking Gracie, or because he"d come to think of Gracie as kind of like a surrogate daughter.
"What the h.e.l.l happened?" Raven was the first to demand before I could even open my mouth. "Who took Gracie?"
"Italians."
We all gritted our teeth and my shaking only intensified. I was going to gut those motherf.u.c.kers.
"Does Uncle Jack know?" Colt asked as he looked around, making sure no one overheard us.
"I called him as soon as I got off the phone with Jet," Jenkins a.s.sured us.
"This is a cl.u.s.ter f.u.c.k," Bash muttered. "Why the h.e.l.l would the senator want Gracie?"
I shrugged. "You said she was the one who started all of that s.h.i.t with Samson. He tried to rape her and that"s what set Hawk off. Maybe he wants her as payment for the loss of his son."
"His vendetta was against the Club, not Gracie. He would have gotten his revenge by killing Hawk. Taking her was either overkill or..." Bash muttered another curse and shook his dark head. "Maybe this isn"t him."
"Who the f.u.c.k else would want to attack us like this?" I bit out.
"Does it look like I know?"
Raven put a hand on her husband"s chest and the other on my own. "Calm down. We won"t get anywhere if you two alphas start tearing each other apart. Whoever this is would love that. So cool it."
Colt started pacing and we all turned to watch him. That was how my baby brother worked best. He was our go-to puzzle solver and we all knew he solved best when he paced. "The two bombs were decoys," he was saying to himself. "But they shot up Jenkins"s office and took Gracie." He stopped and faced us. "Hawk probably wasn"t even supposed to get hurt. The bombs were to keep us distracted and out of the way long enough for them to s.n.a.t.c.h her. If it was the senator, he would have hit us directly, not just take Gracie."
"Oh h.e.l.l." Raven shook her head. "I think I know who it is."
"Who?" we all demanded when she just continued to shake her head.
"Her grandfather."
Jenkins spit out a vicious word and pushed away from the wall he"d been leaning against. "He"s been contacting me regularly the last two weeks. Each time he wanted to talk to Gracie, but I didn"t want to upset her."
"She got that letter yesterday telling her they needed her back in Connecticut to discuss the terms of her father"s will," Raven reminded us. "She doesn"t want the money so why don"t they just leave her alone?"
"I don"t know," Jenkins said with a tired sigh. "But if it is them and they need her in Connecticut, that"s probably where those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are planning on taking her. I"m going to make some phone calls to my East Coast connections."
I pulled one of the three burner phones from my pocket. "If you"re right, Raven, then I need to call Ciro and get his men on this instead of having him come here."
"Colt, call Uncle Jack," Bash directed. "Get him to grab Trigger and a few other brothers. They can check out Santino"s compound. I want them to stake the place out until we can get down there. And I want a few men watching the senator, too. I don"t want to take the chance that this is him and we miss something."
Colt nodded and pulled out his own burner. We took the stairs down to the ground floor and walked outside so that we had better reception on the phones. I was already dialing Ciro before the automatic sliding doors closed behind us.
"My plane leaves in thirty minutes," Ciro said as way of greeting.
"Cancel it."
"You have news?" He didn"t say another word as he listened to what I had to tell him. Only when I was done did he let out one vicious-sounding curse in Italian. "Colt is probably right. I"ll get my men on this. I"ll have the Morgans watched and let you know if I see anything suspicious. What do you want me to do if I see them with her?"
"Keep her safe." That was all I could ask of him right then. I didn"t know what the Club would want to do and I wasn"t the MC president now so I couldn"t start throwing out orders when it came to who got to play Angel of Death today. "Do what you have to do to keep her safe. Hawk will kill us all if she isn"t."
"Felicity?" His voice had lowered.
"She"s safe. At the clubhouse under lockdown." Just thinking of Flick had my heart twisting as it started racing. f.u.c.k, what if it had been her that had gotten s.n.a.t.c.hed instead of Gracie? I couldn"t have handled it. I would have already been slitting throats.
"Good. Keep her that way." The line went dead and I clenched my jaw as I closed the phone and headed back into the hospital without Colt.
I got back up to the OR waiting room just in time to see a nurse leading Raven and Bash back toward the recovery rooms. I noticed that Jenkins and Samantha were gone, and I jogged to catch up with my sister.
As soon as the door to the recovery ward was open, I heard my brother. Quickly followed by the yelp of a nurse as she jumped back from the curtained-off little section where Hawk was being kept. "Where is she?" he bellowed and something metallic hit the wall, making the room ring with the echoing sound. "Where"s Gracie?"
Bash and I both rushed forward. My brother-in-law pulled back the curtain and we found Hawk sitting straight up in bed, his fingers tangled around the IV in his arm, ready to rip it out. "Where the f.u.c.k is she?"
He had tears rolling down his face but his eyes were those of a predator who was trapped and only wanted to get to his mate.
In less than a second, I took in the monitors attached to my brother-that were going crazy because of his heart rate, and the IV that was pushing fluids and blood back into him that he was about to rip out. One nurse was shaking with pure terror but she was at least trying to keep Hawk from hurting himself more.
"Calm down," I commanded as I reached Hawk and grabbed the arm that didn"t have the IV attached to it.
Hawk"s muscles were tense, as if he were ready to fight me, and I tightened my hold. Bash took his other arm and between the two of us we got Hawk pushed back down onto the mattress, but it was a h.e.l.l of a struggle to keep him there. Despite the blood loss and obvious pain I knew he had to be in, Hawk was hyped up on the adrenaline of needing to find Gracie.
"Where is she, Jet?" Hawk demanded, his voice hoa.r.s.e. "Is she okay? Is she safe?"
"Calm the f.u.c.k down and I"ll tell you," I promised, but the truth must have already been in my eyes because Hawk only started struggling harder.
"Is she alive? Tell me she"s alive," he roared and pushed against my hold.
"Hawk!" Raven was in front of him now. He jerked at the sound of her voice but seemed to calm down enough that I wasn"t having to struggle to keep him down. "Stop, you"re hurting yourself. Look. You"re bleeding."
I glanced down to find two b.l.o.o.d.y spots on the hospital gown the nurses had put on him. He"d popped his st.i.tches.
"I don"t give a f.u.c.k. Where is she, Raven? Where is she?" His tears were falling faster and his voice cracked as a sob raked his body. "Tell. Me."
"They took her," Raven told him, and his entire body went stiff. "The Italians took her, Hawk. We think they"re working with her grandfather."
"Let me up." His voice was calmer now, his tears instantly drying up. "Get off me."
Confused by the sudden change in my brother, I actually loosened my hold and moved back a step. After a few seconds Bash did the same. His gaze zeroed in on the two nurses standing behind Bash, as if they were using him as a shield. "You. Get that f.u.c.king doctor back in here and st.i.tch me up."
"Hawk..." Raven tried to intercede. He was too calm, too quiet. We all knew that when Hawk was like that he was at his deadliest.
"Now." He raised his voice just enough that the nurse flinched and rushed to do as commanded.
"Don"t do something stupid," Raven urged. "You just got out of surgery. You"re in no shape to do what I can only imagine you plan on doing."
"Go to the clubhouse, Rave. Be with your kids." Hawk glared up at the ceiling. "Tell them Uncle Hawk loves them."
"Stop it," she pleaded. "Don"t do this."
"Get her out of here, Bash."
Bash moved to wrap his arms around her waist. "I"ll take you back, baby."
"No," she cried and fought against his hold. "Hawk, you can"t. Let the others go. You aren"t in any shape to go. Please. They"ll kill you." Bash lifted her into his arms. "Put me down. You can"t let him. You can"t... Hawk!"
Her voice faded as the door shut behind them and I turned my attention back to my still motionless brother. "What do you want me to do?" I knew there was no use in trying to convince him otherwise. All I could do was help him as much as possible and watch his back.
"Tell Ciro to have me a gun waiting. And my knives."
"What about Santino?"
"f.u.c.k Santino. I"ll deal with him later. I have to find Gracie first." He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight. "I"m gonna need Uncle Jack and Trigger."