“It’s what she did after that.”
“Thanks, Jed,” I said sarcastically, then I turned back to Brice, “I used a burner phone to call my father. I let him know that even if I die, he will never see a dime of the money.”
Brice went deadly calm as he absorbed what I had said. “Legend,” He barked.
“On it, brother,” Legend hopped up from his chair, his phone already to his ear as he disappeared into the living room.
“You let her do this?”
“Like I could stop her.”
“You take the fucking phone away from her!” Brice shouted.
“Brice,” I tried to calm him.
“NO!” His shout rang in my ears. “No, you don’t get to soothe my temper right now. Do you realize what you have done?”
“You made that fucking target on your back bigger and then you taunted the man that is most likely responsible for putting the damn thing there in the first place.” His voice had calmed, but his anger came through loud and clear. I had never seen his face so tight and his jaw was clenched so hard, I wondered how his teeth weren’t cracking.
“Brice, I-“
“Not now, Abby. I can’t undo all the damage you just did. What the hell were you thinking to do that? What if McKenzie or I had pulled a stunt like that? What the fuck would you be feeling right now.” He was yelling so loud, my ears rang and I watched helplessly as he left the room and followed Legend into the living room. I couldn’t blame him though had it been one of them doing something like that, I would have been pissed too.
“Give him time, sweetheart.” Jed wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his side. “It’s just fear talking, he just found you and doesn’t want to lose you.”
Chapter 24
Brice
What the hell had she been thinking? Fuck, I leave her alone for one goddamned morning and this is the shit she pulls. Not only is Monica’s crazy ass out there for some unknown reason, but now she waved a damn red flag in front of her father’s face. A flag that has a monetary value of millions.
“What did Hack say?”
“That your girl is in deep shit. Her parents are broke and the estate was just put on the market by her solicitor. Apparently, her parents had to be escorted out by the police. Right now they are staying at a hotel and, being broke, you think they would be at a motel six. No, they are at the freaking Four Seasons in Manhattan.”
“Fuck, I wonder if she knew about the police. God, what all is she keeping from me?” It stung that she was still keeping shit, but at the same time I admired the fact that she was trying to protect McKenzie. It showed her loyalty ran deep and I could completely understand that. Loyalty is something I admire because of growing up how I did and joining the military. In all the years I was overseas with no contact with Monica, I never strayed, not once. It wasn’t until after the divorce that I started sleeping around like I did.
“It’s your woman, what do you want to do?” I ran my hand roughly through my hair. She would be better off at the club; isolated, off the map, and hard to find. The problem with that was I didn’t want to throw the club girls in her face. I had gotten on to her about that with Phil-, “Gavel,” I yelled for him to join us.
“Yes.” He entered with Abby at his side. McKenzie must still have been upstairs.
“Give me Philip Worthington’s number.”
“Why?” Abby spoke up from beside him.
I shot her a hot look. I was still really angry at her for this shit. “Now.”
Gavel just raised his eyebrow at me when I barked. “You’re kidding right?” He questioned dubiously. “You’re really going to talk to me like that?”
“Dad,” I warned. I wasn’t in the mood for this shit. “Give me the number”
“Not until you-“, Abby started but cut off when I moved quickly to get in her face.
“Not now. I have my reasons and you are wasting time. I will deal with you later.”
Gavel read the number off to me and I dialed and lifted my chin signaling that he should escort her out. Philip answered on the third ring. “Worthington.”
“Philip, it’s Brice, Abby’s…” What the fuck did I list myself as? Boyfriend seemed so damn juvenile and though we were lovers, that was one detail Philip didn’t need to know about. “Fiancé.” The word was out before I could stop it. It served two purposes; one, he would back the fuck off for good if she was engaged and two, it was what I would eventually want anyway. I saw Legend’s grin and eyebrow raised at my word and shrugged him off. He’d give me hell later on, but I didn’t really give a shit. She was mine and I wasn’t about to let her go.
“What can I do for you, Brice? Is Abby okay?”
“She’s fine, but I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor and what do I get out of it?”
Shit, this was going to cost me and I knew it even before I called him, but I needed Philip if I was going to find out any information from afar. “The bar and restaurant were both vandalized and Abby was shot at. I need your help for confirmation that Abby’s parents are still in New York. They are checked in at the Four Seasons, but nobody’s seen them. I need you to see if you can draw them out to verify that they are in fact in New York. What will it cost me to get you to do that?”
“Nothing, Abby’s in trouble. I’ll help any way I can. How am I supposed to draw them out?”
“I don’t give a fuck how you get it done. You have their company, the money they want, power, and status. I use one or all of those things. Just get it the fuck done as fast as you can.”
“I’m doing this for Abby, but you will not talk to me like that and you definitely will not order me around.”
“Yeah, yeah. Look, I don’t like you and you don’t like me, we both know that, but we both also have feelings for Abby. I don’t like what your feelings are and I’m sure you don’t like mine either. Frankly, I don’t give a shit. She is mine, get over it and move on. You can be her friend and we will try to get along for her sake because I am not going to lose her over your ass. Now, can you get it done?”
“Yes.” He hung up without another word, which was fine by me.
“Prick,” I muttered and hit end on my phone. I looked up and Legend was grinning. “What?”
“Fiancé, does she know that?”
I didn’t even dignify his question with a response, instead, I turned to go to the kitchen only to meet blazing blue eyes. Fuck she was hot when she was riled. “Did I miss your proposal because I would have sworn you just told Philip you and I were getting married?”
“Gavel, Legend, get McKenzie and leave.” I didn’t look at them as I spoke. My eyes were locked on hers. She had been wanting my attention since she had told me about her stunt, and she was about to get my undivided attention.
After they had left, I turned and walked away from her. She followed like I knew she would. We entered her bedroom and the smell of our lovemaking was still in the air from the night before. The sheets were still in tangles and the comforter was on the floor. I actually loved how she didn’t need everything to be perfect. If she left a dish in the sink, she didn’t care. She was laid back, but assertive and anal when she needed to be.
As I walked into the room, I decided that she enjoyed punishment too much, so not punishing her would be a punishment in and of itself. “Strip and lay down.”
She hesitated for the barest of minutes, but then she started to remove her clothes. Her jeans were unbuttoned and she was pushing them down when my phone rang. “What?” I growled at Legend. He spoke rapidly into the phone. “FUCK! Get dressed.” I barked at Abby. She quickly did as she was told, not knowing what was going on. “No, don’t tell him,” I said before I hung up.
“What’s going on?”
“Where would McKenzie go to get away?” I asked her, trying to keep my voice steady and calm.
“The only places we really go are here, the bar, and restaurant, and the grocery store. We don’t go anywhere else, really.”
The excited fear that was in her eyes when we came into her room was being replaced by real terror for her friend. “I guess Gavel’s is a possibility.”
I was on my phone the second she said his name. “No,” she’s not there. “I ran my fingers through my hair. My last call was to Hack. Normally I let Legend get ahold of Hack, but this time I called directly.
“Long time no speak.”
“Hack, I’m sorry this isn’t a social call. I need your help. I need you to see if you can find out where a friend of mine has disappeared to. Work you magic. She could be in danger. McKenzie McAdams is her name.”
“I’ll get back to you in ten if I find anything.”
“Got it. Thank you.” I pushed my phone in my pocket, we were headed down the hall toward the stairs when my phone rang again. It was Philip this time. “They aren’t in New York.”
“You’re certain.”
“Yes. When I made contact, he said he was out of town for a few days. I also happen to know the owner of the Four Seasons, so I was able to have a look at the security feed. They checked in, went to the room, set out the “Do not disturb sign”, and then exited a back entrance. They haven’t been back. I’m getting on my jet, I’ll be there in a couple hours.”
“Good, if we don’t find McKenzie before then, you can help us figure out where the hell she has gone.”
“How the fuck did you lose her?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there. She was with a brother and I’m sure he’s going to get his ass handed to him later.”
“Fuck.” By the time we got to the front porch, Legend was pulling into the drive on an extra bike. His was still in the driveway. McKenzie must have made him take her car when they left, not a surprise given the way she acted when he pulled her on his lap this morning. She most likely wasn’t comfortable around him.
“Anything?”
“No, I came from the clubhouse and went by the restaurant. Her car wasn’t there. I came by here and didn’t see her car along the way.”
“What happened?”
“We walked in and Titan was with two of the girls on the couch. I don’t think he saw her, but even if he did, he didn’t let it stop him from what he was doing. Anyway, she acted like it didn’t bug her any, so I thought she was good. I set her at the bar and went to the restroom. When I came back, she was gone.”
“Where were Roper, Chink, Ink, or Dozer?”
Legend looked at Abby hesitantly and then continued. “Some of them were involved in what was going on and some were waiting their turns. They were all busy.”
Abby started laughing. I had not expected that, but it was more a hysterical laugh. Shit this wasn’t going to be good. “Why the fuck would you take her there, man?”
“Why? You fucking kicked everybody out of the house and I didn’t want to go sit in the bar and sit on my thumb. Don’t fucking put the blame on me, brother, this one belongs on you and Titan, even on her.”
“How is it Mac’s fault?” Abby had stopped laughing and her eyes were now blazing at Legend. At least it wasn’t me on the other side of her scorching gaze. “If you all weren’t a bunch of manwhores, then there wouldn’t be a problem.”
Fuck, if I lost her because of this shit I was going to kill Titan and Legend. “Abby, that’s enough. He has a point. If McKenzie would fucking act on her desire for him, a desire he shares for her, then he wouldn’t turn to other women, but she makes damn sure to hold him at a distance and not let him close. They want each other, we all know it and we have all seen it. She is the only one who won’t act on it.”
Her head was shaking. “You don’t know shit. You have no fucking clue what she has been through.” Her eyes were blazing again, her finger stabbed my chest as she bit out each word and her voice grew louder. “I can’t believe either of you.” She turned and directed her attention to Legend too, “would be stupid enough to say McKenzie was at fault for Titan being a dick. He couldn’t take that she had a fucking crush on a fictional character from a TV show, so he goes to the club and fucks around and Mac gets blamed. You fuckers don’t know shit!” She shouted.
“You’re right, I don’t know. I don’t know, because you and McKenzie would rather die than let someone in to protect you. I don’t know, because you won’t fucking let me in.” I was getting angrier at her, but I didn’t need this. We needed to find McKenzie.
Abby’s phone rang at the same time mine did. I saw Hack’s number pop up so I answered. “What did you find?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I even did a search for her phone number, and her phone is off. She doesn’t want to be found.”
I looked at Abby’s face and all the color had drained away as she clutched the phone to her ear. I hung up on Hack. “What is it?” I took the phone but the line was already dead.
“It was my dad. He said to come to him alone and if I brought anyone with me, they would kill Mac and anybody else.”
“Did you hear anything else in the background?”
“A woman, not my mother. He said I needed to bring money. 50 million in one bag and 10 million in two separate bags. Dad’s not working alone. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Where does he want you to go?”
Chapter 25
Abby
“He didn’t tell me. He said he would be in contact.” I went to Brice and wrapped my arms around him, clinging to him. My tears were soaking his shirt through. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have called him. You were right.”
“Shhhh.” He rubbed my back and tried to soothe me which made me cry harder. “He was already planning this, honey. He couldn’t have pulled all of this off since just this morning. No matter how you look at it, he was coming for McKenzie and you.”
“I love her, Grit, she’s like a sister. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken everything from them.”
Brice’s phone rang again and I pulled back so I could look at him as he talked. He didn’t look happy at whatever was being said. “Yeah, ok. Keep this shit away from Titan for now. As long as we can, we need to make sure that he doesn’t find out she’s missing. Despite his actions, he’ll go ballistic.”
“He’s going to kill you if you keep him out of this, Grit.” Legend countered as he hung up the phone.
“When we find her, do you think she’s going to want to see him after what she saw at the club?”
“No, I don’t. That is their shit to figure out, brother. We can’t keep him out of this and you know it.”
Legend was right. When Titan showed up ten minutes later he was on a warpath. “What the hell happened? How the hell did you lose her?”
“Grit needed time with Abby, told us to get lost. I took her to the club because of lack of places to go.” Legend paused at the look that came over Titan’s face.
“How much did she see?”
“Everything. She acted like it didn’t bug her, but when I went to the restroom and came back, she was gone. I take it you didn’t see her.”
“Fuck man, I had two women on me. Where the fuck do you think my eyes were?” He growled at him.
“That’s the fucking problem, man. You wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for Legend. I wasn’t going to call your fucking ass. Don’t fuck with her again. She is now off fucking limits to you.”
“Guys, we can throw blame around all day, but that doesn’t bring us any closer to finding Mac.” I needed to get their attention off of killing each other, which Titan and Grit seemed keen on doing at the moment.
Brice’s phone rang again. “What Hack?” I was really getting sick of not hearing the other side of the conversations he was having with Hack, whoever the hell he was. He stiffened at what Hack was telling him and whatever it was, it was bad. He hung up the phone and hurled it away from him. It flew through the air hit the porch and shattered. “SON OF A BITCH!!!!” he yelled. I stood in shock, watching him.
“Brice, what is it?”
“Fucking Monica.” He paused to run his hand roug
hly through his hair as he was prone to do when upset or angry. “Hack looked into Monica when she showed up out of nowhere,” he said to everyone at the same time, “her husband has a brother, and that brother happens to be Sam Tucker.”
“Mac’s restaurant manager?”
“Yeah. Hack took a look at his financials and apparently when he got hired on, your dad started paying him to keep an eye on you. When the cops removed them from the estate in New York, your dad must have decided to make his move.”
“How do you know this?”
“Hack is very good and can get into anything, including emails from Sam’s computer.”
“Well did he happen to mention where they are keeping Mac in those emails?”
“No, they didn’t. How long is he giving you to get the money together and when is he going to contact you again?”
“He said twenty-four hours for me to get the money together and he didn’t say when. Brice, what if they hurt her?”
“If they hurt her, they die.” Titan vowed.
“We need to call the police.” I didn’t want to involve the police because that meant possible media attention, but we needed to get Mac back and if it meant having a media circus over a senator’s step-daughter, then so be it.
“No,” Grit said, “we will take care of club business ourselves like always. No cops.”
I didn’t want them getting hurt and by them taking Mac, it showed that dear old dad was willing to hurt anybody to get what he wanted. “Brice, Mac isn’t club. Neither of us are. This is dangerous, Brice. I can’t let you put yourself or your brothers at risk. I won’t do it. I’ll do what he asks to make sure Mac comes back. I’ll pay the money. I don’t care about the money.”
He pulled me roughly against him and spoke angrily into my face. “You have been club since before we met. Gavel protected you. If anything happened to you, take a wild guess who Gavel would have come to, to have his back. Your life is tied to the club whether you want it or not, but you better want it, because I’m not letting you go. You’re mine, Abby.” His words came out forceful as he peered down at me. His molten chocolate eyes holding promise.
Phoenix Bar: A Steel Demons MC Novel Page 17
