There was a reward out for her capture and return. A fucking reward. Initially set at fifty thousand dollars, it had been recently expanded to a hundred grand. A hundred grand that incentivized every lowlife scumbag from Georgia to God only knew how far to be looking for Haven Randall.
Which was likely why the Church Gang had picked her and Cora up in the first place. The description of the women and their truck, which thankfully was no longer in the picture as a possible point of identification, had been blasted far and wide. Some gangbanger probably thought he’d hit the jackpot.
Now the question was, had the Churchmen gotten in touch with Rhett Randall or his people? Were they, even now, in possession of information that could lead them to Baltimore? And, from there, to the Ravens themselves?
“Fuck,” Dare bit out, pacing in the silence of his kitchen. Anger and worry roared through him in equal measure. Haven had been at the compound for more than three goddamned weeks. If Randall knew that the Church Gang had had the women in custody and lost them, three weeks was plenty long enough for all kinds of pieces to be moved into place. Which meant the net could be a lot smaller than Dare had believed.
That reward changed fucking everything.
He grabbed his cell and jabbed at the speed dial number for Maverick. He cursed when voice mail picked up, then waited for the beep and said, “Mav, we’ve got a problem. I need the officers at the clubhouse as soon as we can get everyone together. Hit me back when you get this.” With every additional call he placed and voice mail he left, his frustration ramped up until he wanted to punch something.
He’d been out in the garage most of the morning trying to forget his fuckup from the night before by immersing himself in a rebuild he’d finally gotten some parts for, so he hopped in a quick shower, hoping it might take the edge off his mood. No such luck.
Problem was, there wasn’t anything likely to chase away the black cloud hanging over his head as long as he needed to confront Haven—and that was exactly what he needed to do.
No sense putting off the inevitable. Besides, he’d do them both the one kindness of having this conversation in private.
Normally, riding cured a lot of what ailed Dare. Love of riding was the one good thing his father had given him, the one—and only—way Dare didn’t mind resembling his old man. But today he felt like his bike was delivering him to the gallows.
Goddamnit.
Somehow he had to get his temper under control before he talked to her. He was pissed, and rightfully so, he thought. But that didn’t give him the right to scare Haven, and it was the last thing he wanted to do anyway.
He took the long, long, way-the-hell-out-of-the-way route to the compound.
The chop shop was hopping, but otherwise, the lot was pretty empty, which meant his other board members weren’t here yet. Just as well. It would give him time to talk to Haven and come up with the start of a plan to present to the others.
Inside the clubhouse, Dare was glad he didn’t run into anyone as he crossed the lounge and beelined up to Haven’s room. He gave her door a few hard thumps, and then repeated them against Cora’s door when Haven didn’t answer. Neither of them were there.
Where the hell were they? Dare spun on his heel and made for the stairs again when a thought crossed his mind.
Haven’s notebook.
He hadn’t read it last night because he hadn’t wanted to violate her privacy on top of all the other ways he’d failed her. But all bets were off now that Dare had confirmed that she was withholding important information—important not just for protecting her and Cora but for keeping his brothers and everyone he cared about safe, too.
Dare unlocked her door and slipped inside. The notebook lay on the pillow of the unmade bed. With none of the hesitation of the night before, he picked it up and opened it.
And hoped the news didn’t get any worse from there.
CHAPTER 11
Dare’s eyes scanned down the page. A list of some sort. He flipped through to the end of it, not yet making sense of what it was for. At the top, Haven had written:
To-Dos/To-Haves
Live Dangerously!
The second line made him frown. Living dangerously got people hurt, or worse. Just like what could’ve happened if Haven had been with the wrong kind of man last night when she passed out. Just like could still happen if they didn’t find effective ways to mitigate the risk this reward posed for all of them.
His eyes ran down the first few items, and then the first title of the list made more sense. This was a to-do list for Haven’s life. A bucket list. The thought set off an uncomfortable pressure in his chest. Her father had clearly denied her so much. So Dare had to give her credit for having dreams and goals. It had taken him a while after he’d come to his grandfather’s to feel safe, secure, and stable enough to start making any plans for the future. But here was Haven, a few weeks out from years of virtual captivity and already figuring out what kind of life she wanted to lead.
√Kiss a guy
Kiss a lot of guys! (√ ? )
√Have fun at a party for once
√Wear makeup