We scurried after him, leaving the pandemonium behind us.
“We’re going to the club,” Mack told us tersely, peeling out of the parking lot and directing us to the outskirts of town where the headquarters lie.
The sound of Harleys all around us ricocheted off the SUV’s interior as we drove in silence.
“Thank you,” Mack spoke gruffly from the driver’s seat. “I would never let Etts,” his voice rasped and he cleared it. “I would never let my girl do something like this, but I appreciate you trying to bring her home. I’m indebted to you both,” he said gravely as we sped along the deserted highway.
“She’s our girl, Mack,” Connie spoke up softly. “Of course we’d do whatever we can.”
“All we did was sit at a bar,” I added. “We’d do much more for her and for all of you.”
He merely nodded.
When we got to the club, several bikes sat parked out front, including Sal’s and Wes’. Connie and I exchanged an “oh, shit” look before hopping out of the truck and following Mack inside.
When I walked in, Sal was all I saw. He stopped mid-stride, no doubt he’d been pacing, and he turned his heated gaze to me.
“Oh, shit” didn’t quite cover it as it turned out.
He stalked over to me, pinning me against the wall, his hard body caging me in. “You think I can’t’ take care of this, is that it?” he demanded, his voice cold.
I shook my head adamantly unable to speak. He was scaring the crap out of me, for the first time ever.
“You think going behind my back with my club’s Prez and making yourself bait was the way to handle this shit!” he roared.
“Sal, man. She was trying to help,” Mack put in.
“Shut the fuck up,” Sal bit out not even sparing him a glance.
“Come here,” he directed me taking my arm and pulling me along forcefully.
I’d never seen this side of Sal before. He was beyond angry, he was livid.
“Apparently, you need to see this,” he muttered, continuing to pull me until we reached an office door, one I’d never been behind. He swung it open revealing Axel towering over a broken, very beat up looking Allen Parker.
I gasped in shock at the man tied to a chair with blood seeping from his nose and mouth. His eyes were swollen shut and he could barely see.
Despite everything Parker had done to me, I still felt slightly sick at the sight. This was the part of Sal’s world I willingly turned a blind eye to. He was making that impossible now by shoving it right in my face.
Sal slammed the door shut again, obstructing my view and turned to me in fury. “Who is that in there?” he demanded, again pinning me against the nearest wall.
“Allen Parker,” I murmured.
“I have Allen Parker, have him talking, too. So, what in the fuck did you think you were doing tonight?” he demanded.
“Um, helping?” I gulped.
“Helping,” his deep voice repeated. “And, helping is lying to me and making most of my club lie to me, too?” he asked with quiet intensity.
“I wanted to help, Sal,” I replied quietly. “I knew you’d never let me do it and it was painful for me to watch all you guys kill yourselves,” I murmured, meeting his heated gaze as he glared down at me.
“And, helping was going behind my back? Making me worry for you on top of everything else?” he raged. “Making me question the loyalty of my brothers? Of our president?”
Well shit, I hadn’t thought about it quite like that.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention,” I said as I shook my head, tears pooling in my eyes.
“Get the fuck out,” he spat, his eyes cold and dismissive.