“Come.”
The door opened and T-Rex stumbled into the room, his face a mask of horror. He stared at Zane, who was seated across from the door. “They have him,” he panted. “The Jacks got him.”
“Who?”
“Jagger.”
Zane motioned to the head of the table. “He’s standing right there.”
T-Rex glanced over at Jagger and jerked back, reaching for the open door to support himself. “You’re okay.”
“Of course I’m okay.” Jagger shot Zane a puzzled glance and then his gaze slid back to T-Rex. “But I thought I assigned you to Banks Bar. Clearly that job isn’t being done if you’re standing in my boardroom interrupting a meeting.”
T-Rex sagged against the door frame and let out a breath. “I was there like you asked. Arianne came in to say good-bye and Banks got her doing some work. I told Banks you wanted me to keep a low profile, so he said I could hide out in the stockroom. I texted you a coupla times and Banks called…”
Jagger reached beneath his cut for his phone. “Went for a run when I got back to the clubhouse and then came straight into the meeting so I haven’t checked my messages.” He saw four messages from T-Rex and a missed call on his screen and gestured for T-Rex to continue.
“Wheels came in. He brought Arianne to the stockroom and told her Viper had kidnapped you. He said the executive board was in a meeting deciding how to rescue you. Something didn’t feel right, so I stayed put. I figured if you were gone, Zane woulda been in charge, and everyone knows he hates meetings. I just couldn’t see him hearing Viper had you and then sittin’ around the table, trying to decide what to do.”
“Damn right.” Zane thumped his fist on the table. “If that had happened, I woulda be on my bike and halfway to hell before you’d even finished saying what you had to say.”
T-Rex grimaced. “That’s kinda what happened with Arianne. She didn’t hesitate. When Wheels said he knew where Viper was holding you, she told him to take her there right away. I was torn whether to go after them or come here, but when I heard Wheels tell her where they were going, I thought I’d better come straight here. I couldn’t believe anyone could take you, Jag, and since no one was answering the phone, I wanted to see with my own eyes if Wheels was telling the truth.”
“You did good.”
T-Rex scrubbed his hand over his face. “I was thinkin’ all the way what would we do without you, Jag? Nothing would be the same. And then when I walked in the door—” His voice broke. “Fuck. It’s good to see you. But we gotta go get her, man. Wheels betrayed us. It’s a trap.”
*
Stay strong. Stay strong.
Arianne carefully worked the lock on the handcuffs binding her hands behind her back. Bear had tied her to a chair in the center of the dimly lit warehouse, and she had to take care that no one realized she’d grabbed a loose nail when he’d thrown her to the floor.
Jeff was hunched against the wall a few feet away, clearly suffering the effects of withdrawal. “You got anything on you, Ari?” He spoke in a low whisper. “Even a joint? Or a prescription? Painkillers?”
“Unlock these cuffs, and I’ll take care of you the way you took care of me at Bunny’s.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice. Trusting Wheels, desperate to save Jagger, she’d walked right into a trap. Although she’d had her gun ready when she walked into the warehouse, Bear and Jeff had been waiting for her. Taking her by surprise, they’d grabbed her from either side, disarmed her, and thrown her to the floor.
She glanced around, assessing her best route for escape. Light filtered through dirty, broken windows dotted around the perimeter of the ten-thousand-square-foot space. Concrete floor. Boxes and barrels in the corners. Delivery truck in the far corner, back open, crates of guns on the floor. A second door at the back. Her weapon lay on the floor, only a few feet out of reach.
She had to get out before Viper arrived, because she knew what was going to happen. This wasn’t meant to be a family reunion. It was an execution.
A pained expression crossed Jeff’s face. “I’m sorry, Ari. I was tweaking and I couldn’t think straight. I just wanted to go to Bunny’s place to get some meth. It was Axle’s idea to sell you.”
“You could have stopped him. You could have taken the drugs and gone.” She made no effort to hide the bitterness in her tone. “But you couldn’t, could you? Because you didn’t have any money to pay. But you had me.”