Dragon watches me, his face unreadable. “She was here,” he agrees. “But now they’re gone.”
“How long ago?” I ask, though I know he can’t possibly have a precise answer.
He shrugs slightly. “Based on what I’m seeing… maybe a day? No more than two.”
A day. Just a fucking day. I was so close. If I’d found this place yesterday, would Kayla still be here? Would I have been able to save her?
“They moved her because they knew someone was getting close,” Dragon says, studying the small room. “They left in a hurry. Didn’t have time to clean up properly.”
I carefully fold the dress and tuck it inside my cut, close to my heart. A reminder of what I’m fighting for. A promise that I won’t stop until I find her.
“Where do you think he’d go from here?”
Dragon shakes his head. “I’m not sure yet. I need to call some people.” He turns toward the door. “Come back to the Inferno with me.”
I blink at him, surprised by the abrupt invitation. “What?”
“You heard me.” Dragon glances back over his shoulder. “You can’t keep flailing around blindly anymore. You need allies. And I need to check with my sources, figure out what Kit’s next move might be.”
I look around the small, windowless room where my wife spent God knows how many days alone, frightened, waiting for a rescue that never came. The thought of returning to Billings, to sit and wait while others work the problem, feels wrong. I should be out there looking for her.
“Viper,” Dragon’s voice is almost gentle now. “You’ve been running yourself into the ground for days. And where has it gotten you? You found this place because of my contacts, not yours. Your club has abandoned you. The only way you’re going to find her now is with help.”
I know he’s right. I haven’t slept more than a few hours at a time since she was taken. I’ve been running on caffeine and fear and rage, and it’s gotten me nowhere. Kayla is still missing, and I’m no closer to finding her than I was the day she disappeared. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.
“Fine,” I say. “But the second we have any information—”
“We move,” Dragon agrees with a nod. “No delays.”
He turns and walks out of the small room, clearly expecting me to follow. I take one last look around, trying to imagine Kayla here, trying not to think about what Demon might have done to her in this room. The walls seem to close in on me, and I force myself to leave.
Dragon is waiting by the warehouse entrance, his expression grim. “We’ll find her,” he says as I approach, though whether it’s a promise or just empty words to keep me moving, I can’t tell.
I say nothing as we leave the abandoned compound. There’s nothing to say. Either Kayla is alive, or she’s not. Either I’ll get her back, or I’ll spend the rest of my life hunting the man who took her from me. Either way, nothing will ever be the same again.
The drive back to Billings takes hours. I stare straight ahead as miles of forest give way to farmland and then the outskirts of Billings. My body feels hollow, scraped out from the inside. I’ve been running on adrenaline for almost a week, and now it’s starting to fade, leaving nothing but bone-deep exhaustion and the knowledge that I failed the one person who mattered most.
Dragon rides ahead of me, and I follow mechanically, my mind too numb to do more than maintain the proper distance.
By the time we pull into the lot behind the Drago’s Inferno clubhouse, the sun is setting, painting the western sky in shades of crimson and gold. I kill my engine and dismount, my movements slow and clumsy with fatigue. My legs feel like they might give out at any moment.
“Come on,” Dragon says, nodding toward the back entrance. “You look like shit.”
I don’t bother responding, just follow him inside. The clubhouse is quieter than it was during my last visit. A handful of members look up as we enter, their eyes following us with amixture of curiosity and wariness. No one speaks to me directly. I’m grateful for that small mercy.
Dragon leads me to a worn leather couch in a corner of the main room. I collapse onto it, my body suddenly too heavy to support. I lean forward, elbows on my knees, head in my hands.
“I’m going to go make some calls,” Dragon says. “See if there’s any word on where Kit might have gone. You stay put.”
I nod without looking up. Where else would I go? Every lead I had is dead, every avenue explored and exhausted. Kayla is gone. The thought sends a fresh wave of pain through me, so intense it’s almost physical.
Dragon’s footsteps fade as he moves away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. They’re dark, circling like vultures.
I reach inside my cut and touch the folded dress, the fabric soft beneath my fingertips. What kind of husband am I? What kind of man? The answer comes immediately: a failure. I failed to protect her. I failed to find her. I failed to even notice she was missing until it was too late.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, startling me. Almost without thinking, I pull it out and stare at the screen. It’s probably Atlas or one of my former brothers.
Unknown number.