Chaos Bound (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #4)(66)

“Twenty-two and counting.” Shaggy stroked his beard, his fingers lost in the tangle.

“Our sweet rose here is looking for Tank.” Bank gave her a wink. “You seen him around?”

“He was out for a bit, but he just came in.” Shaggy nodded to the door, and Naiya turned to see a tall, heavily built biker crossing the floor toward them. He was about the same height and build as Holt, but dark where Holt was fair, his eyes chestnut brown, and his hair thick, but closely cropped to his head, bringing his wide jaw and defined cheekbones into stark relief. Handsome but rough.

“There’s a girl here,” Banks said when Tank joined them at the bar. “Wants to talk to you.”

Tank’s gaze flicked to her, and he frowned. She could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. Who was she? Had he slept with her?

He glanced over at Banks, shook his head. “Another f*cking night I don’t remember. You’d better start cutting me off at two.”

Naiya’s mouth opened and closed again. This was Holt’s best friend; the one person in the world he missed most of all; the man whose betrayal hurt him beyond anything Viper had done to him. And now that she was standing in front of him, she didn’t know what to say. What if Holt was right and Tank and the Sinners had abandoned him? What if Tank was the bad guy? What if he used her to find Holt and …

“You’re scaring her,” Shaggy said. “Lookit her eyes turning green. I think I remember a sweet butt whose eyes did that, or maybe it was a waitress…”

Banks snorted a laugh. “Or maybe you looked in the mirror one morning and scared the shit out of yourself ‘cause your beard looks like it’s swallowing your face.”

Shaggy cursed at Banks and the banter continued. For a moment, she felt like she was in the Black Jacks’ clubhouse all over again. But she’d had enough hiding and feeling scared, running away again and again. If she didn’t do something now, Holt would never know the truth and he might kill an innocent man.

She swallowed hard, looked up at Tank. “Could I talk to you outside?”

Tank gave her a curt nod and gestured her toward the door. “After you.”

“Congrats in advance if you’re gonna become a daddy,” Shaggy called after them.

Tank shot him a withering stare, then guided her out of the bar with one hand against her lower back. A gentleman biker. Kinda like Holt.

Once outside, Tank leaned against the brick wall fronting the bar, arms folded, his muscular body casting a large shadow on the sidewalk beneath the streetlight. Cars zipped down the street in front of them, and a biker pulled up beside the row of bikes to Tank’s left and waved.

“What’s this all about?” Tank asked.

Naiya unzipped the backpack and handed him Holt’s cut.

Tank unfolded the leather vest and his face contorted in pain. “Where the f*ck did you get this?”

“Viper’s dungeon.”

He fisted the leather, and a shudder ran through his body. “So you came all the way here to bring it back to the Sinners? You some kinda Good Samaritan? Why me?”

She shivered in the cold. “You were his best friend.”

Tank’s face tightened, and he leaned over her, glowering. “How do you know that?”

“He told me.”

The pulse on his neck throbbed, and his voice, when he spoke, was harsh. “When?”

“Tonight. Holt … er … T-Rex is alive.”

His breath left him with a moan, and he pressed a closed fist to his mouth. “How do you know?”

“I’ve been with him,” she said, feeling braver. “We escaped Viper’s dungeon together. You know I’m telling the truth. You saw him. At the gas station in Still Water. We were there.”

Tank staggered back to the wall, scrubbed his hands over his face. “Christ. I knew it was him. I f*cking knew it, and no one believed me. I knew he wasn’t dead. I would have felt it. Just wait till I tell—”

“No. You can’t tell anyone.” Naiya held up her hands, keeping him back. “He thinks … you betrayed him. He thinks the Sinners left him to die in Viper’s dungeon.”

“Jesus f*cking Christ.” Tank groaned and wrapped his arms around his middle, clutching himself. “We came for him. A week of recon, a massive attack on the Black Jack clubhouse, explosives, trucks driving through the building, ambush … the works. Two brothers got into the dungeon and saw a body. Same build, same hair … they even found the medallion he used to wear. But they couldn’t see his face.” He thudded the wall with his fist. “They couldn’t see his damn face, but they assumed it was him.”

Naiya backed up a step. “I think it would be better if you don’t tell anyone and come with me to see him first. But you should know he’s here for vengeance, not just against Viper, but the Sinners, too.”

“Three months being tortured by Viper, waiting for your brothers, losing hope.” His voice cracked, broke. “I’m surprised we’re still alive. Take me to him. And if he shoots me before I get a chance to talk, then I’ll die a happy man ’cause I’ll know he’s alive and he’s free, and that’s all I ever wanted.”

*

Holt startled awake, his heart pounding.

Viper coming. Must have fallen asleep. He clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to prepare himself for what was to come. But he didn’t hear the chains. He tested one arm, then the other …