“Where in the fuck did that come from?” I whispered.
Reese asked who he was as we clung to each other and inched closer to the cell. When the man identified himself as Octavius Jones, Reese stumbled and fell to the floor, taking me down with her.
“We need to get out of here, Harper. Now!”
“Okay, okay. Let’s go,” I agreed and helped her to her feet.
Once she was up, we both ran to the stairs and all the way up only to be stopped by Chase, Duke, and Phoenix. And they looked pissed.
Reese pushed past them, telling them she would puke all over them if they didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if she was serious, but I followed her nonetheless. I would much rather deal with vomit than the three angry men staring at us.
They followed us to Duke’s room and immediately began questioning us the moment Reese stepped out of the bathroom. We told them everything that happened. Then, Reese and Chase declared that Nemo was Omen which resulted in Phoenix calling the guys into Church. All the while, I was wondering who in the hell Octavius and Omen were.
Later that night, I was in my room at the farm, when a knock at the door startled me. Opening the door, I found Chase standing on the other side, and he didn’t look happy.
“What the fuck, Harper? What were you thinking going down to the basement with Reese?”
“Well, hello to you, too. Please, come in.”
“Cut the shit. You could’ve been hurt, and you’re damn lucky Phoenix didn’t ban you from the club.”
“Would you have preferred I let your sister go down there alone? Because I’m here to tell you, she was going whether I went with her or not.”
He frowned and took a seat on the bed. “I appreciate you looking out for her, but I’d rather neither of you put yourselves in danger.”
“Understood.”
His head shot up. “Yeah?”
“Yes, I understand. I’m not making any promises, but, hopefully, something like this won’t be an issue again.”
“It better not be,” he said seriously.
After a few beats of silence, his eyes flickered over me from head to toe, and the look on his face changed to one I was very familiar with. “Come here.”
***
The next day, Duke picked me up first thing in the morning and drove me to the clubhouse. I expected him to use the time to give me a good lecture about what happened in the basement. To my surprise, that wasn’t what he wanted to talk to me about.
“Are you doing okay?” he asked, his voice full of concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why are you asking?” It was the tone of his voice that let me know his question had a far deeper meaning.
He shifted in his seat and blew out a breath. “My son was kidnapped, and Melissa is here. This whole mess has to be bringing up bad memories for you. I’m a shit for not asking about it sooner.”
I placed my hand on his shoulder to reassure him. “Duke, it’s okay. You’ve been focused on your son, as you should be. I’m not going to lie and tell you it hasn’t affected me, because it has, but I can honestly tell you that I’m okay.”
“Would you tell me if you weren’t?”
“Yes, I would. I promise.”
“Good.” He was silent for a few moments before adding, “Shannon is coming to the clubhouse today. You can stay in my room if you don’t want to see her.”
“I never had a problem with Shannon. I mean, I didn’t really know her,” I explained.
“Okay, but if it gets to be too much for you, my room will be available for you.”
“Thanks, Dukie,” I said and snickered at my use of the nickname I knew he hated.