“Well let’s wake ’em up.” Blake pushes past me and kicks the door hard, once and then twice. “Wake up, biker bitches!” He steps back enough to slam the flat of his boot into the door.
It finally swings open. “What the fuck, asshole?” The long barrel of a shotgun is pointed at Blake’s forehead.
I shove him aside and stand in his place. “You’ve got something of ours. We’re here to pick her up.”
The biker narrows his sleep-puffed eyes. “You banging my shit down for a bitch?”
A growl erupts from my throat. “Call her that again and I’ll shove that shotgun up your ass.”
Jonah steps up, and the biker’s chin tilts up, eyes wide. A grin of satisfaction slides across my face in a snarl.
“You pigs?” He says, his gaze bouncing between us.
“Do I look like a fucking pig to you?” My muscles are coiled. I’m ready to bulldoze this guy, knowing that Gia’s back there somewhere. She has to be.
He studies my face from my lip ring to my eyebrow piercing. “So what? You’re after your ex old lady and you think she’s here?” He scratches his bearded cheek. “’Lotta chicks come and go; no guarantee the one you’re looking for is here. And if she is, no guarantee you’re gonna like what you see when you find her.”
“We’ll take our chances,” Blake says. “Step aside.”
“You’re fucking crazy if you think I’m gonna let you guys in here.” He moves a few paces toward us, stepping outside. “Who’re you looking for? I’ll see if I can drag her out. One thing we don’t need is bitch complications.”
My arm jerks to sucker punch this fuck, but Caleb holds me back.
“Her name’s Mac. Black hair, light skin.” Jonah crosses his arms at his chest as if he’s struggling to keep his hands off this guy’s neck too. “She hangs with Hatch.”
“Hatch ain’t here. He’s got an old lady, but it’s not the same girl. His bitch has red hair.”
A wave of fury slams through my veins. I push past the biker and into the farmhouse. An arm wraps around my throat. I twist free and shove. Biker down. I ignore the sound of the short-lived scuffle that goes on behind me, confident that the guys can hold back one biker.
I storm through what looks like the main living space to a hallway. Bedrooms. On fire to find her, I start at the first door. It’s locked. I rock back, slamming my heel into the door. The cheap wood splinters and pops open.
A big guy jumps out of bed. “What the fuck?” I scan the room and find two chicks huddled at the headboard. No red hair. He barely gets his pants up and charges me.
“Easy, fuckwad.” Blake’s there. He shoves the guy hard, sending him to the floor. He turns toward me. “I got this. Go get your girl.”
I move to the next door. Locked again. I kick, the door flies open. The guy sleeping in there doesn’t budge. I stalk up to his bed. He’s alone.
Next door. I jiggle the handle. “Gia! You in there?” I rock back and throw my weight behind a heel-slam that sends the door swinging. This room is darker than the others. The windows are covered. I blink and try to focus.
On the bed, covered from the waist down in a thin sheet, lies a woman with ghostly pale skin and fiery red hair.
“Gia!” I race to her; she’s not moving. Fuck, she looks dead.
My hands move to touch her but stop just shy of her perfect skin. Dried-up vomit is crusted to her mouth and the pillow. “Shit, Gia!”
I run my hand up her arm and rest it against her cheek. Her skin is clammy, but warm. Alive, but just barely. There’s nothing left. Her bones protrude from her joints, her cheeks sunken.
A small glass vial lies near her open hand. I snag it. Empty. She’s OD’ing.
“Call 911!”
God, please. Don’t let me be too late.
My throat swells with all I need to say, all I have to apologize for. “Baby, wake up.”
I scoop my hand beneath her neck and shoulders, pulling her into my lap. Her frail body, naked and vulnerable, lies limp in my arms. I hold her to my chest, burying my nose into her hair. The hint of tropical fruit and coconut fills my nose. “I did this. I’m so sorry, Gia.”
I rock her back and forth, whispering, praying, and pleading. “Don’t leave me. Please, baby, I can’t live without you.” Tears burn the backs of my eyes. “Don’t make me live another day without you.”
Caleb races into the room. “Dude, we gotta—whoa!” He turns his back and holds up a hand. “Sorry, bro. I didn’t know she’d be—”
“I’m not leaving.” I clear my throat. “She needs an ambulance.”
Jonah steps in to the room, his eyes darting back to the hallway. “Can’t stay here. We’ve woken the beast.”
He walks toward me, and I hug her to my body close. Like a feral animal, I’ll kill anyone who tries to take her from me.
“It’s all right, man. I won’t touch her.” He pulls up the sheet to cover her naked body. “We gotta bolt. Now.”