“Fuck you, Zane,” I force out past the intense pain at my side and my chest, my voice scratchy from the strong force his hands had around my neck. His hand reaches the waist of his pants, pulling out a gun.

“With pleasure,” he sneers before bring the butt of his gun across the side of my face.

Everything goes black.

***

I wake to the soft cries of Holly across from me. It's dark but I can see the bright glow of the moon coming through a small window.

“Holly?” I croak out, my voice not my own.

“Kadence, thank God, you’re awake,” she cries harder. I try to sit up from the hard concrete floor, but my chest hurts too much. I take stock of my injuries. My face is throbbing, but not as bad as the soreness of my throat. My hands and knees sting, but it’s my chest that I’m feeling the worst pain.

“Something is wrong with my chest,” I croak out the words and try to still my erratic breathing.

“It’s okay, Kadence. Sy’s on his way.”

“Where are we?” I try to focus my eyes, but I can only make out shadows, my head throbbing.

“I don’t know, but Sy is gonna find us.” She sounds so sure, so I don’t question her with my doubts of him finding us.

“Are you hurt?” Shit, the last thing I ever want is Holly getting hurt because of me.

“I’m fine. I’m tied up, but I put up a good fight.” The proudness in her voice makes me smile on this totally messed up night.

“How long have we been here?”

“We’ve been here for an hour, but it’s been two hours since they put us in the van,” she tells me. Two hours. Oh God, there is no way anyone is going to find us.

The door on the far wall creaks open. My breathing stills as I wait for what, I’m not sure, but this can’t be good. The room is suddenly bathed in bright light, blinding me for a moment as Zane walks into the room.

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” He walks up to where I’m lying on the hard cold floor. I look around; we must be in a shed.

“What the fuck do you want, Zane?” I ask, the wheeze of my chest burns after each word spoken. Even though he has the upper hand, I’m not going down without a fight.

Zane’s rough fingers clutch my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “Oh, Kadence, see what happens when you hang with biker scum? You start speaking like biker scum.” He shakes his head like a father disappointed in his daughter.

I shake my head out of his grasp, the movement sending an excruciating pain down the left side of my body. His hand reaches out, fisting my loose hair, bringing me up in one forceful jerk. I scream at the sting of my head and the shooting pain through my chest, my lungs struggling to seize some air. Bile surges up my throat at the sheer pain. Forcing it down, I tell myself not to break. How could he be doing this? You think you know someone, think you love them... I shared my bed for three years with this man, shared my dreams, my body, my life, but I don’t know him at all.

“I want your boyfriend out of the picture, baby.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why? You used to love it. Loved it when I was fucking you hard. Maybe we could go another round, for old time’s sake.”

I whimper at the thought, knowing he probably will, but I would rather die than have him inside of me.

“Don’t fucking touch her, asshole,” Holly yells out.

“Don’t worry, Holly. You can watch, then you’ll be next.”

“Don’t,” I plead with him. “You can have me, but please don’t touch her,” I say, giving myself to him. I couldn’t bear to know he touched her. Fuck, this situation is just getting worse. I don’t know how we are going to get out of it.

“Don’t sound so disgusted by it, Kadence. I’ll make sure you enjoy it.”

“You’re a piece of shit, asshole,” I say, trying to calm my panic. I know I shouldn’t be goading him, but disgust courses through me, and I can’t hold my tongue. I won’t allow him to break me.

“You’re right, babe,” he agrees, a smile now replacing his disappointed scowl. He looks over to where Holly sits up against the wall. The same guy she fought with earlier stands above her, a gun pointed at her head.

“Zane, this has nothing to do with Holly.” I try to hide the fear in my voice, but think I fail when he looks back at me.

“Oh, I know.” He smiles his evil smile. “This is all about you and that asshole you’ve been seeing. He needs to be gone and what better way to make him listen.”

“This won’t change anything, Zane. He’ll still fight you every step of the way,” I try to get him to see. “Hurting me or killing me won’t get him to step down.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. I set it up. Make it look like that the Mayhems did this and all I’ll have to do is sit back and watch the fucking show.” He laughs like he has completely lost his mind.

“You’re crazy,” I tell him, knowing there is no way we are getting out of this; the man has gone nuts.

“I’ll tell you what’s crazy. Gunner can’t fucking get his trade in this shit town ‘cause your fucking boyfriend has some sort of truce. Fuck that. Fuck the truce. We’ve been trying for years to get a foot up on him, and our luck changed when your fucking dumbass started sucking his cock,” he sneers. “Tell me, Kadence. Do you like the way he fucks you?”

I don’t answer his question, afraid of the outcome, afraid of his reaction.

“ANSWER ME, YOU WHORE!” he screams, striking me across the face with his gun again. The black stars are back, and I fight desperately to push them away. I can’t pass out again. I can’t leave Holly alone.

“Yes, Zane,” I answer, looking him straight in the eye. He nods, turning his body toward Holly's direction. The loud bang rings in my ears, my eyes glued to Holly’s form in front of me, red blood seeping from the bullet hole in her stomach. Her dazed stare looks back at me.

“Holly!” I scream, trying to stand. Oh, God, Holly. I try to move to her, to break free. Oh, God, no, no, no.

“Don’t, Kadence, or she gets one in the head.” Zane forces me back to my knees.

I try to fight the internal battle of wanting to fight, but his grip is painfully tight in my hair.

“I hate you,” I spit out past the tears falling, knowing Holly is so close to me, yet I can’t get to her. He just shot her. What’s going to happen to me?

“Oh, Kadence, I hate you too. Didn’t you know? That’s why I left you in the house to burn,” he confesses, smiling down at me. I cry harder as the sounds of Holly’s gasps come from the side.

“Which is why I can’t wait to end this bullshit once and for all.” I don’t see the movement in Zane’s hand until a small black barrel stares at me two inches from my face. I briefly see the outline of his finger, lightly touching the trigger. The darkness of that small black hole drags my eyes away. I want to fight him, reach up, and push it out of his hands so I can go to Holly.

“Don’t even think about it, Kadence,” he warns like he can see my thoughts.

Everything in the small space around me fades; my best friend lying shot next to me, the pain in my chest gone. Everything stops for a moment. My eyes sting, begging me to blink, but for the life of me, I’m stuck, fascinated by the hollow shape staring back at me.

Memories of my mom and dad flash before me like a playback on an old movie reel. Holly and I on our first day of college, the day Zane got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife, the fire that changed my life. Each significant moment plays like a movie before my eyes, then fades fast when Nix’s voice breaks through. His gravelly voice, telling me to get on his damn bike. Z’s smiling face is staring at me as I hold on to his dad’s hand.

The small black hole moves forward, the coldness of the metal meeting my forehead. I close my eyes, willing to see Nix and Z again, my mind knowing that they are the last people I want to see. I don’t hear the words coming from Zane. They bleed into each other. I focus solely on remembering the touch of Nix’s hands, the taste of his lips.

I’m going to die, and I’m never going to see him again.

My breathing comes back, dragging and forcing air into my lungs, the encompassing pain pulling me from the haze. A bone-chilling roar, followed by a loud thud has me twisting away. A force like no other pushes me down, and a heaviness falls over me. Before my back hits the solid ground, the darkness takes me.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nix

“Tell me you got a fuckin’ hit on him,” I roar down my cell. The pain in my chest feels akin to someone slamming into me, reaching in and tearing me apart. I don’t know what will kill me first: the blinding rage that’s searing through my heart or the paralyzing fear that she’s been hurt. The fury that’s building inside of me shows no signs of calming anytime soon.

I got a call an hour ago. The last thing I ever expected to hear was that Gunner and his men took Kadence and Holly. I’m seething, and I’m trying to remind myself to stay levelheaded, but the unknown is worse than the truth. He could be doing who knows what to her and I’m still fucking an hour away helpless. Sy got the call from Holly’s cell, the muffled sound of a struggle, and then Holly trying to relay what was happening in the back of the van. He lost contact with her five minutes ago, and every second that's ticked by is the second that I’m left wondering in the dark.

Nothing can happen to her. Nothing. It will kill me.

“Mayhems are on board and putting a recon team together as we speak. We’ve narrowed it down to an old farmhouse an hour away. Jesse and I are on our way now.” Sy sounds calm and collected, but I detect the controlled anger he’s keeping at bay. Brooks was taken off guard when he was knocked over the head waiting for Kadence and Holly, and now Zane has her. I shouldn’t have thought for a second leaving her was smart. My head messed up with Z and Addison’s shit, I left Kadence vulnerable and open to an attack. I fucking knew Zane would pull this shit. He’s so far up Gunner’s ass I’m not surprised when he found out Kadence was dating the enemy, he moved in and took his play. Only now he’s gone too far. I don’t give a fuck about what side of the law the MC lives on; the motherfucker is dead.

“Keep me posted, and Sy?”

“Yeah, boss, you don’t have to tell me.” He cuts me off before I say it. I know he’s feelin’ me. I know I’m not gonna get back in time. It’s on Sy, Jesse and the Warriors of Mayhem. I just pray the fuckers pull through for us. I want the asshole fucking dead. I survived losing my mom. I’m not sure if I’ll survive losing Kadence.

***

I watch the fluorescent light flicker above me, the buzzing sounds replacing the bright light, before switching back into the full light only to repeat all over again. I look around at my family and my friends, all gathered in the waiting room by my side. My mind won’t still, racing through thought after thought.

How much fucking longer?

Sy stands near the double doors, his back against the wall. Blood matter covers the front of his shirt and cut. He hasn’t spoken a word to me since going over the details when I first made it to the hospital. He’s fighting some serious rage behind his eyes. I didn’t push him; the tension rolling off him is telling me he’s about to snap.

Brooks and Jesse sit watching the muted TV. After only just leaving the emergency room himself with ten stiches at the back of the head, I told Brooks to go home, but he still refuses. He won’t leave until he knows they are okay.

Jesse’s leg bounces up and down, impatient to hear the news. He filled me in on what Sy couldn’t say. After receiving the call that the Warriors of Mayhem had found where the girls were being held, they floored it to meet them. After T and his boys took out the two assholes guarding the perimeter, Sy took Zane, while Jesse took out the other fuckhead holding Holly. I know he is dealing with some serious shit over there, probably replaying the fact he just killed another person, but I don’t doubt he doesn’t regret it. The asshole had it coming, and knowing that Holly is fighting for her life, we all know those assholes deserve more.

I look over to where Beau sits on the one side of Z, with my pops on the other.

“Will Kadence be okay?” Z asks when my eyes go to him. I don’t miss the stagger in his question, my strong boy trying to hold it together. I told Pops to stay behind, but the old bastard didn’t listen. I’m glad he’s here. After spending the last three nights with him, he’s come to know Kadence through me constantly talking about her. I know our relationship was strained after losing Mom, but after he turned his patch in and allowed the club repair, we were able to build it back. I don’t get to see him as often as I like now that he lives out at the lake house still mourning my mom. Z and I were on our last night away, both impatient to get home to Kadence. The hilarious yet smart-ass shit she pulls with me has become the highlight of my day. The way she’s shown nothing but compassion to my son, nurturing him through the fallout with his mom, only makes me fall in love with her more.

While having Kadence around us has been healing for Z, I needed to be able to make sure he wasn’t just okay because of her, because of us. I wanted to be right with him. In order to do that, I had to do it away from Kadence. She consumes me and takes all my attention. It’s like my body is drawn to hers. Getting away for a few nights helped me separate myself from that and focus solely on Z. We talked through everything that was concerning me; where his head was at and where we are going from here. I wanted to make sure Z was okay with being with me full time, and see how he was handling the thought of not having his mom in his life. He seems to be accepting it for what it is, knowing it’s not his fault. I can only hope that Addison doesn’t fight me on custody.