Arrow's Hell (Wind Dragons MC #2)(37)

A muscle tics in Talon’s jaw. “You haven’t known the club for long, have you?”

I shake my head. “Not at all. But I heard about Mary, the woman who was killed.”

Talon looks away then, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. “The men did that against their president’s orders. They went rogue, and our club suffered for it. My father would never have wanted an innocent woman harmed—he wasn’t like that—though that’s now our burden to bear.”

“What happened to the men?” I ask.

Talon clenches his fist. “All dead. My father died too, because of them. If they weren’t killed I would have done it myself.”

“Your own club brothers?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“They betrayed us,” is all he says. “Now eat, you must be hungry.”

*

I wake up, horrified with myself for falling asleep in the first place. I’m alone in the room, luckily, and seem to have been left alone. I walk to the door and try to pull it open, but it’s still locked and doesn’t budge. Of course I’m not that lucky, but at least no one has hurt me. I use the bathroom as quickly as I can, just in case they decide to come in, then sit back on the bed. With nothing else to do, my mind races, thinking up different scenarios. Where is Rake? I hope he is okay, and not too worried about me. He must think they’re doing God knows what to me, and I can only imagine how frantic he must be.

Where is Arrow? How is he reacting right now?

Probably back in bed with Jill.

Well, wasn’t that a mood killer.

The door opens with a creak and Talon walks in, followed by another man—a scary-looking one at that.

“We’re going to the meet,” Talon says, holding his hand out to me. I hesitantly take it and look up at the other man.

“Let me guess, you’re Ranger?” I ask, gulping. Dressed in all leather, he is a massive man with shrewd dark eyes and a Mohawk.

He laughs at me, his shoulders shaking. “No, sweetheart, I’m not Ranger. I’m Slice.”

“Slice,” I repeat, tasting the ridiculous name on my tongue. “I don’t even want to know why they call you that.”

“And I don’t want to tell you,” he replies smoothly.

With a man on each side of me, we exit the room and I get my first look at where I’m being held. The Wild Men clubhouse is different from the Wind Dragons’. Less homey for one, less clean for another. Men sit around a table, drinking and carrying on. I know it’s morning, although I don’t know what time, but I’m assuming they’ve been up all night.

“Well, what do we have here?” one man croons, making all the other men turn to look at me.

Just great.

Talon ignores them and ushers me into a garage and to an expensive-looking black four-wheel drive. He opens the door for me, waits for me to slide into the car, but hesitates as he’s about to close the door.

“Anna,” he says quietly, eyes boring into mine. “Are they good to you there? They treat you right?”

My brows furrow, wondering why he is concerned at all. “They’re good to me.”

He nods once, seemingly satisfied. “Good.”

Then he closes the door, leaving me even more confused. Slice gets into the passenger seat after me and Talon drives. The car ride is tense, the air thick between the two men, obviously anticipating facing the Wind Dragons face-to-face. Did they think this was going to run smoothly? Or were they worried that something might happen?

“Where are we going?” I ask nosily, breaking the strained silence and looking between the two men.

“A secure location,” Talon replies, his fingers squeezing the steering wheel. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe with your brother before you know it.”

“How does everyone know so much about me?” I ask him, frowning. It is a little weird. There are many people connected to the club, but it seems like they had homed in on me. Was I an easy target? I didn’t like the sound of that.

“You work at one of the most popular bars in town, and the club keeps an eye on you everywhere you go. Everyone knows who you are,” Slice says in a dry tone. “Don’t know why you were stupid enough to be walking around alone. I’d kick your ass if you were my sister.”

“Well, luckily I’m not,” I snap. “I’m not a club member, I live my own life. I work at the bar; I go to school. I’m a f*cking scientist. I didn’t think anyone would do anything to me because my only crime is being related to Rake!”

The men go quiet at my outburst, and Talon uncomfortably clears his throat. “You should listen to your brother. Other men might not be as nice as I am.”

My eyes narrow. “What I should do is move back to the other side of the country and live a peaceful life away from overbearing *s.”

Slice chuckles, a really annoying sound. “Sweetheart, we both have chapters over there. You can’t get away no matter what. If you think your brother didn’t keep tabs on you while you were living away, you’re one stupid scientist.”

I blink. It never even occurred to me that Rake would have an eye on me while I was living on the other side of the country, but it does sound like something he would do.

I rub my forehead. “I’ll move somewhere far away. Scotland maybe? How about Ireland? I heard Galway is a beautiful place to visit this time of the year.”