I finally rolled out of bed around four, and I had some things to finish before we opened the club tonight. I dressed in slacks and a crimson button up before stepping into my office. Hunter was sitting in my chair with her legs kicked up on my desk.
“So? How was your date? Did you go to pound town?”
I rolled my eyes walking to my desk. “No, we didn't have sex. We talked. We’re going to…date and see where things go.”
“How does it feel dating in your thirties? And that age gap?”
“Go away. I am seeing where this is going because I haven’t felt like this in years, and it’s mortifying. If you tell anyone, I will kill you.”
Hunter beamed from ear to ear. “So am I expecting wedding bells soon?”
“Stop. This might not work, so don’t plan anything you can’t return. And if this back fires, I am blaming you.”
“It won’t. I think Kadence will be good for you.”
“I still want to know who she is.”
“And when she wants to tell you what happened to her, she will. You need to stop being paranoid and thinking everyone is out to get you. Enjoy this moment with her and bask in the feeling.”
I rolled my eyes as my phone chimed. I opened the text from Sin and grimaced. He was one of the men I scarcelycommunicated with via text unless Hawke was out of town with Fallon. It was short and cryptic.
SIN
Clubhouse. Now.
I glanced at Hunter, her expression now serious as she waited for me to speak. I didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed we couldn’t breathe for even a minute before something happened. I grabbed my keys and jacket, Hunter following behind me. “Something happened at the clubhouse. We’re both going.”
Hunter wasa few steps behind me as we walked to the clubhouse. She was not fully involved in the motorcycle club’s business, but she helped kill sick fuckers and gave advice on certain operations we did. It was good to have a second opinion from someone not involved fully. Once inside, the aura shifted, and small sobs filled my ears. I looked at Hunter, who had her brow cocked, waiting for me to say something. In the foyer, the girls were clinging onto their chosen partner crying while others looked ready to kill someone. A few of my men were missing, but Sin walked out of the infirmary before I could question it. He was crying.
“Who’s hurt?”
He sighed, looking at me with anger and loss in his eyes. “Layla’s dead.”
I was taken aback. Hunter gripped my arm, reassuring me, as Sin directed us to follow him. I was sure he was taking us to her body. Layla was a sweet girl trying to get her life back on track after losing her parents. I didn’t care what it took; I would kill the motherfucker who took her away from this family.
“Where’s Hawke?”
“The asshole who murdered Layla shot Fallon in the chest. She’s at the hospital. It’s not good.”
I looked at Hunter, and she had the same shocked look on her face as I did. Sin took us to the infirmary where Ranger was bent over the table, crying into Layla’s neck. Doc made eye contact with me and nodded.
He tapped Ranger’s shoulder, and the man straightened his back, looking at me with anger laced in his eyes. “I want him dead,” he growled. “He took our girl from us. I want him to pay.”
“I’ll make sure he burns in hell.” Doc stepped forward, uncovering her fully. I stepped to take a full look at her body. Her throat was an ugly shade of purple with deep lacerations, like someone choked her with thin wire. There was a single bullet—a kill shot in the center of her forehead between her eyes. Doc had her eyes closed so we wouldn’t look into dead, lifeless eyes that once were filled with happiness and love.
My hand lightly caresses her soft, cold cheek. I failed as a leader, and it cost an innocent life. “Where were they?”
“Fallon and Layla went to a sex shop in Bellevue and the mall for some date night clothes,” Sin grinded out. “Fallon was shot first, and when Layla tried running, that’s when the bastard did it. Fallon tried protecting our girl.”
Ranger grasped his shoulder comfortingly. “Her death won’t be in vain. I want a piece when we find the asshole pretending to be Elijah.” Ranger lifted the sheet from her leg revealing a thick, cauterized brand.Hisfucking symbol again.
“Was she…?”
“No,” Doc said, and I could breathe a little better, but she was still dead and two of my men were heartbroken. “The copycat isn’t following his MO fully.”
“If they were attacked in Bellevue, I take it Damon knows?”
“Yes. He is looking into it. He is pissed that someone hurt our people in his town.”