“Shit kid, what’s goin’ on?”

“It’s Axel,” I cry out. “B-b-beast showed up...I don’t know what happened, he made me come and get you.”

“Where?” he barks.

“Lady’s house.”

“When?”

“About two hours ago,” I whisper.

Cobra spins around. “Boys, get on your bikes. Now!”

Everything happens in a blur after that. The guys get on their bikes, and I hear Cobra barking orders. Soon they’re skidding off into the night, guns loaded, ready to find their boss. I am left behind, alone, with only a few strays left hanging around. I go to Axel’s room, and crawl onto his bed, letting the tears escape. God, they took him, I just know it. I tremble with fear, and pull out my phone, trying to dial his number. It goes straight to voice mail.

The sick feeling that spreads through my stomach is enough to make me run to the bathroom and throw up.

Please God, let him be ok.

~*~*~*~

The next twelve hours of my life are slow and completely agonizing. I just sit, blaming myself. If I didn’t go out there, he would have never had to follow me. It would have never happened. Colt keeps telling me repeatedly that it’s not my fault. How can he say that? I’m the one who refused not to listen. I’m the one who ran constantly, making Axel chase me. It is my fault. He’s gone because of me. Grief doesn’t begin to explain what I’m feeling right now.

I hate myself.

I’m curled up in a corner, just watching they guys run past. None of them have slept. They’ve been making calls, trying to track cell phones, and doing the best they can to locate Axel. They can’t. Beast isn’t in his compound. He’s not co-operating at all. We don’t know where Axel is. We have no idea. It feels like we’re banging our heads against a brick wall.

Then my phone rings.

And I see Axel’s number.

I can’t scramble quickly enough to press the enter button. I hold the phone to my ear, and the entire room stops, watching me, their eyes wide. “H-h-hello?” I whisper, praying with everything inside me that I hear Axel’s voice on the phone.

I don’t.

“Well, hello, Meadow.”

It’s Beast. My blood runs cold, and I clench my fists.

“What have you done with him?” I snarl.

“You know, I’ve thought about this, and it wasn’t an easy decision to make. I thought about keeping Axel until I had the USB drive, but then I decided, I really don’t want to let him go. Without Axel, that club will go up in flames. They can’t function without him. When he’s gone they will run off the rails, and the cops will focus on them. I’ve really only wanted Axel for one thing...the satisfaction of killing him.”

“You’re bluffing,” I stammer.

A cold laugh comes across the phone. “Poor naive little girl, how stupid do you think I am? Axel had the USB on him, and now I have it. I simply have no purpose for him. He’s been scum in my life for too long now...”

My body freezes. I gave Axel the USB. Oh God, I gave it to him right before Beast showed up. Tears leak out of my eyes, and fear makes it hard to breathe.

“Please,” I whisper, “I’ll give you anything, just bring him back.”

Colt kneels in front of me, his eyes searching my face.

“Aw, now, your pleading might have worked if I hadn’t already killed him.”

“You’re lying,” I scream.

“I have pictures, if you’d like. Please hold; I’ll send them through to your phone.”

The next few seconds of my life pass by in a blur as I feel my phone vibrate in my hand. With the function of a robot, I move it from my ear and stare down at the screen. My scream escapes, ragged and broken, as a picture of Axel, covered in blood, his eyes wide open, his head tilted back. He looks...dead. No.

No.

Colt snatches the phone from my hand, looks at the picture, and then presses it to his ear. “You son of a bitch. I’ll fucking kill you for this. I’ll fucking gut you.”

Then he sends the phone soaring across the room, but I don’t notice. My entire body slumps forward. There’s no strength to hold myself up. All I can see in my head is Axel’s vacant eyes, and the way his mouth was slightly open. My screams come out high-pitched and violent, unbreakable. Colt leans down, scooping me into his arms. I feel his hot tears drop down onto my cheek. By the time we’re halfway down the hall, my screaming has turned to ragged pleas.

“He’s lying!” I cry, not believing it.

It can’t be over. It’s a trick. He’s playing with us.

Colt looks down at me, his eyes broken. “I’m sorry, honey.”

“No, Colt, he’s not dead,” I begin to scream again. The pain in my chest is something I can’t explain. It’s like two hands have reached in, and torn my heart out. Desperation fills my veins, fighting against reality. This isn’t real. It’s just too easy. It’s too simple. Beast wouldn’t just ring up and say he’s dead. It’s not how a man like him works. He wants a fight, he wants our desperation.

It can’t be real.

Colt takes me to his room, and lays me on the bed. I clutch him, not wanting to let him go, needing something to take this aching pain in my chest away. Grief wracks my body, causing me to shake and cry so hard my teeth snap together. My mumbled words are not comprehendible to anyone. My lifeline has been torn from me. We never even got a chance. We finally broke down that wall, and then we were left with nothing but emptiness.