Knife's Property

E I G H T E E N

My mouth drops open at his words.

His fingers tighten on the wheel as he takes a turn. At the back of my brain, recognition flares as we take the route to the compound but it's too far back for me to concentrate on.

"Do you know who took her?"

"No, but I'm going to find out."

His words stir another type of anxiety in me, but I bite my lip and force the words to stay put.

I'm happy he's decided to take the reins and track down who take Evelyn, but I'm also terrified of having to thank him for hand delivering people's brains.

He'll most likely wrap them up in a pretty bow and everything.

I'm still staring at him, mouth open, when we turn down the road that takes us to the compound. I tear my gaze away from him and onto the building as we pull nearer to it.

It's filled with bikers, their bikes line the garden like some sort of bike show. Their owners are either straddling their bikes or are stood around Prez, their faces serious as they listen to him discuss what's happening.

I spot someone who looks vaguely familiar, he glances over at me momentarily, a flicker of recognition lighting up his eyes before his attention is pulled elsewhere.

He's not part of our MC, that much is clear by the unfamiliar cut adorning his back.

Knife's cut warms my skin, the fabric pulling against my skin as I tighten it around me and burrow myself into the smell of Knife.

I search the men for dad and Elliot, but I can't see them. Frowning, I find Kyle in the crowd. He's leaning against a wall, separated from the group of men that gather in the garden. He's watching them, his face blank like Knife's but his jaw is clenched.

The reason for his slip in emotion is the small bundle huddled behind him, her small form shaking.

If I received the text message, so did Lana. I try not to worry what else they know about us if they were able to gather our mobile numbers. All of our information is locked down tight by the guys, they put all of sorts of tech walls around us to protect us from anyone finding any information on us. If they were able to break through those walls, they must be good.

I'm yanked into Knife's side as soon as my foot is on the ground. I grunt at the impact but don't bother moving and upsetting him. His strong arm wrapped around my shoulders is more than welcome as I continue to freak the fuck out.

The last time one of our own was taken, they had her for less than five hours and managed to cause enough damage for her to be stuck in hospital for months while her body and mind recovered.

She was a sweet butt, no one even knew her real name, but the Untamed Lions had taken her as payback for our club hacking into their system and causing a virus to wipe all of the information they had on anyone in town.

I didn't know much about her, I didn't even know her name, but I had glimpsed at the image of her injuries when I was in Prez's office fetching dad.

The image stuck with me for so long, I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, my throat hoarse from screaming at her to run away from the men.

The nightmares stopped when Knife arrived. I was nervous around him, but I also felt safe and protected as soon as he was in my life. Like nothing could touch me ever again.

When Lana looked up and saw me, she broke away from Kyle and threw herself into my arms. I caught her, stumbling back a step at her bouldering into me but wrapped my arms around her instantly.