Primal Need (Primal Howlers MC Book 2)

by Piper Davenport

  “No. He’s not freaking out. He’s gone.”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “He’s missing, Wyatt. We’ve called the police and we’ve started a search, but he’s not in the building.”

  I grabbed my purse and headed back out. “Did you check Sarah’s room?”

  “Yes. She’s here, but Teddy’s not. We’ve checked all of his regular hiding places, and all of the locked areas.”

  “How long has he been missing?”

  “Not sure. After checking his normal hiding places, I made the call to phone the police, even though we’re still searching the area.”

  I bit back tears. “How does a six-foot-two man just go missing, Justin?”

  “I’m really sorry, Wyatt, I don’t know. We’re looking into it and I promise we’ll do everything we can to find him.”

  “I’m on my way, but I’m going to expect more than lip service from you when I get there.” I hung up without letting him feed me more bullshit and made a run for my car.

  * * *

  Sundance

  “Sundance!” Aero bellowed from the great room.

  I was in the kitchen with my head in the fridge trying to figure out what I wanted to drink. “What?”

  “We got a problem at the gates.”

  “Deal with it,” I ordered, grabbing a beer and walking out of the room.

  “It’s Wyatt’s brother.”

  I frowned. “What about him?”

  “He’s here and apparently totally losing his shit.”

  “Jesus Christ,” I hissed, setting my beer down and heading to my bike. I drove the mile down to the gates and climbed off to find Teddy pacing outside, yelling ‘Sunny’ at the top of his lungs.

  “Let him in, Scrappy,” I ordered, and the gates creeped open. “Hey, Teddy.”

  His head whipped to me and he grinned. “Sunny!”

  “Yeah, buddy. You okay?”

  He walked through the gates and nodded. “I want to play pinball.”

  “Okay. Come on in outta the cold. Where’s your sister?”

  He didn’t answer me as he rushed toward the cabin.

  “Teddy!” I called, and he stopped walking, but didn’t face me, so I went to him. “Where’s your sister?”

  He shrugged.

  “How did you get here?”

  “I took the Five bus. Can I see your bike?”

  “The Five bus stops two miles from here. Did you walk the rest of the way?”

  He nodded and I suddenly realized he didn’t have a jacket or gloves.

  “Jesus,” I hissed. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

  “Jesus!” he parroted.

  I walked him back to the cabin, chucked my keys to Aero and ordered him to retrieve my bike, then grabbed a jacket someone had left here a while ago, hoping it would fit Teddy.

  * * *

  Wyatt

  I flew into Meteor House and found Justin speaking with two uniformed officers, so I headed that way. “Have you found him?”

  Justin shook his head. “Not yet. But we will.”

  “Where the hell is he?” I demanded.

  “This is Teddy’s sister, Wyatt Bates,” Justin said, and I turned to the police officers.

  “Do you have a recent photo of your brother?” one of them asked.

  I nodded, pulling out my phone, just as Sundance’s name appeared on the screen. I scowled and sent the call to voicemail before scrolling through my photos.

  He called again, so I ignored it, and once I found a good picture of Teddy, I showed it to the officers, just as Sundance called for a third time.

  “What?” I snapped, answering the call.

  “Teddy’s here,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Your brother’s here, baby.”

  “Bullshit. And don’t call me ‘baby.’”

  “Hi, Riot!” Teddy said into the phone.

  “Teddy Bear, where are you?”

  “Pinball.”

  “You left without telling anyone where you were going,” I admonished. “How did you get out of the building?”

  “I wanted Sunny!”

  “Okay, honey.” I squeezed my eyes shut. If Sundance took him to make me do something, I was going to lose my mind. “Put Sundance back on the phone.”

  “Hey,” he said.

  “I swear to God, if you hurt him—”

  “Jesus, this again?” he growled.

  “I told you I didn’t know anything about Sonja—”

  “Take a breath, Dimples,” he directed.

  “Don’t call me that either.”

  “Look, I get that you’re freaked. I would be too. Teddy showed up here about five minutes ago. He came here of his own free will, Wyatt. I swear.”

  “How?”

  “He said he took a bus. He’s currently playing pinball with Wrath. I’m gonna get him something to eat and we’ll keep him safe and happy until you get here,” he said. “Or I can bring him to you. Whatever you feel more comfortable with.”

  I walked away from my audience and hiss-pered into the phone. “I’m standing in the foyer of Meteor House with two police officers who will want to know exactly what’s going on, so I would suggest you have someone bring him back here right now or I’ll come with them.”

  “We’ll be right there.”

  “Not you,” I growled. “And not Aero. Send someone I don’t know. Someone who isn’t a complete asshole.”

  “Baby—”

  “Do not speak so familiarly with me. You’re twenty-five minutes away, so you have exactly twenty-two minutes to get him here or I’m bringing the authorities to you. This is my last shred of generosity I’m willing to give you,” I said, using the same words he had to break me.

  I hung up and walked back to the group.

  “He’s with a… friend,” I said. “They will be back shortly.” I glared at Justin. “He apparently took a bus to his destination, which means he got out of this building without anyone seeing him.”

  “We’re going to address that, Wyatt,” he said. “I assure you. I’m very sorry about all of this. It will never happen again.”

  “I’m glad to hear your brother is safe,” the older officer said. “We’ll just wait until he gets back here, then we’ll let you get back to your evening.”

  I nodded and walked to the windows to watch for Teddy.

  It took close to thirty minutes before Teddy came waltzing in…followed by Sundance.

  “Hi, Riot,” Teddy said, as if nothing had happened.

  I hugged him, relieved to know he was safe and sound. “We’re going to need to have a conversation about you leaving. This was not okay, Teddy Bear.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, dropping his head.

  “Okay, honey.”

  Justin walked up to us and smiled at Teddy. “Let’s get you back to the TV room, buddy? Sarah’s been worried.”

  Teddy frowned. “I love her.”

  “I know you do,” he said.

  “I’ll be right there,” I promised, and watched them walk away, before turning to Sundance. “I told you not to come.”

  “Miss Bates?”

  The officers approached and I forced a smile. “Right. Thank you both for coming down here so quickly. As you can see, he’s safe and sound.”

  “Would you like us to take a report?” he asked, studying Sundance.

  Shit.

  “No, I think we’re okay.”

  “Ma’am?” the female officer said. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Ah, sure,” I said, and we stepped away from Sundance, while her male counterpart stayed put.

  “Are you in trouble?”

  I frowned at her. “No, why?”

  “We’re well acquainted with Sundance Graves and his club, ma’am, so if you need us to intervene, we’ll be happy to.”

  I bit my lip. This would be my chance to truly fuck with him, but regardless of the fact he’d hurt me to my core, I would never lie to get him in troubl
e. I glanced at Sundance who was watching me closely.

  “There’s no reason to intervene,” I said. “Sundance brought my brother back safely. Thank you for your concern, but everyone’s good.”

  “These are not good people, Miss Bates.”

  “I’m well aware of their reputation, officer. Thank you.”

  “Well, should you change your mind, don’t hesitate to call us.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, and walked away from her.

  And Sundance.

  If this didn’t drive home my desire never to see him again, I didn’t know what would.

  * * *

  An hour later, after every promise in the book from Teddy not to leave, and assurances from Justin and the team that he’d be safe, I walked out of Meteor House and headed to my car.

  “Wyatt.”

  No.

  “Wait up.”

  Nope.

  No.

  “Baby.”

  Hell no.

  I kept walking.

  “Dimples, wait.”

  “I don’t hear you,” I snarled, walking faster to my car.

  His low chuckle enraged me, and I spun to face him, coming nose to pec with him and stepping back so quickly, I tripped on the pavement. His arm shot out and wrapped around me, keeping me from falling. “Let go.”

  “Give me five minutes,” he begged.

  “Did you give me five minutes when you kicked me to the curb?”

  He had the good sense to grimace and I pushed against his chest. He didn’t budge.

  “I fucked up,” he said.

  “Let me go!” I snapped.

  He reluctantly removed his arm and I turned to walk away again, but heard his boots behind me, so I stopped.

  “Wyatt, please,” he rasped.

  I faced him again and crossed my arms. “You have twenty seconds.”

  “I fucked up.”

  “You said that already.” I glanced at my watch. “Twelve seconds.”

  “I thought—”

  “I know what you thought. How about you tell me something I don’t already know?”

  “Because I don’t think that’s possible,” he admitted.

  “Okay, well, have a nice life. Thank you for bringing Teddy back safely.”

  “You really not gonna let me apologize?”

  I cocked my head. “You’re eighteen seconds in, buddy, and have yet to do so, so you tell me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Not accepted.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  He sighed. “Baby—”

  “Nope. We’re not doing that. I asked you not to break me, but you took the very first chance to shatter what we were building, so an apology means nothing to me.”

  “I should have—”

  “Shoulda coulda woulda,” I snapped. “It’s done.”

  “No second chance?” he asked quietly.

  “You were the one who said you were never going to get married again, and I want kids, which means a husband.” I shrugged. “This break is for the best. I really am grateful you took care of Teddy. But as far as you and me trying again? No.”

  “Okay, Dimples, I’ll walk you to your car.”

  “I’m good.”

  “It’s midnight. I’m walkin’ you to your car.”

  I sighed. “Fine.”

  He walked me to my car, held the door while I climbed in, then watched me pull away. I waited until I was past the stop sign before I completely broke down.

  Wyatt

  ONE WEEK LATER, I walked out of my office and found yet another asshole biker leaning against his bike which happened to be parked so I couldn’t back out. This time, however, I realized it was Aero, and since he both enraged and scared the hell out of me, I pulled my phone out and waved it at him, freezing in place. “I have 9-1-1 ready to call. Please drive away and leave me alone.”

  He shook his head and walked toward me.

  “Stop!” I ordered.

  “Babe, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

  “Well, past behavior would belie that statement.”

  “What the hell does belie mean?” he asked.

  “Contradict, disprove, deny—”

  “Do you study the dictionary in your spare time?” he asked.

  “Technically, it would be a thesaurus.”

  He grinned and I suddenly realized he was standing in front of me. I stepped back.

  “Jesus, sweetheart, I totally freaked you, huh?”

  I squared my shoulders in an effort to feel braver. “Please leave me alone.”

  “Look, I’m sorry I scared you,” he said. “I thought you were fuckin’ with my club and my prez, and I jumped to conclusions.”

  “What do you want, Aero?”

  “That’s it,” he said. “When I found out you didn’t know what Sonja was up to, I knew I needed to apologize. Believe it or not, I’m not in the habit of scaring women.”

  Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.

  I narrowed my eyes. “Did Sundance send you in some misguided effort to get me back?”

  His eyes widened and I realized I’d just given Aero information he didn’t already know.

  Shit.

  “He doesn’t know I’m here and now that I know what I think I know that I’m probably not supposed to know, if he knew I was here, I’d be deeper in the shit than you could know.” He dragged a hand over his face. “But that explains a lot.”

  “Like what?” I asked, only understanding about twenty percent of what he’d said.

  “Nothin’.” He shook his head. “Look, don’t hold my actions against him, yeah?”

  I guess that was fair. Sundance had enough of his own crap he had to own.

  I sighed. “Okay.”

  “Just so you know, I would never hurt a woman. It’s just that I thought you were in league with Sonja, and Sonja’s not, well, a woman, she’s more like a soul-sucking devil she beast… I don’t know. Fuck. She’s evil reincarnate.”

  Since words were obviously not his forte, I decided to let him off the hook. “Okay, Aero, I hear you.”

  “Thanks. I’m gonna head out now. Just wanted you to know I was sorry.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “You gonna hug it out with me?” he asked, his gorgeous face breaking out in a mischievous grin.

  I frowned, stepping back, and he laughed.

  “Too soon?” he asked.

  “Yeah, maybe.” I swallowed. “I’m also not a big hugger.”

  He shrugged. “Can’t blame a guy for tryin’. You stay safe, sweetheart.”

  Then he was gone. Just sauntered back to his bike and drove off, leaving me standing there, my mouth open in shock.

  I had to admit, for all the chaos the Howlers had introduced into my life, they were nothing if not unpredictably charming. I had a feeling tonight was going to be another sleepless one as I wrestled with this new information. Lordy, my resolve was crumbling.

  I shook off my surprise and climbed into my car, making my way home. Tonight was dinner with Teddy and I knew it would be an exercise in distraction

  Distraction meaning, I had to find something that would keep him from screaming down the building when I told him he couldn’t see Sundance.

  It was the same thing every time I visited now and had been since he’d ‘escaped.’ The staff was onto Teddy, so he had nowhere to hide, which I appreciated greatly, but it made my brother antsy.

  I changed quickly, then drove over to Meteor House, my encounter with Aero still rolling through my mind. This brought Sundance into focus which made my heart hurt. God, I missed him. But…I didn’t trust him. So, it was a moot point. I just had to learn to live with the hurt.

  Walking into the building, I was buzzed back by the evening security guard and zigzagged my way through the halls to the day room.

  Where I heard Teddy from down the hallway yelling at the top of his lungs.

  Crap!

  I quickened my s
teps and arrived to find Teddy being held by an orderly as he tried to fight his way out.

  “What is going on?” I demanded.

  “Riot!” he bellowed.

  “Okay, Teddy, I’m here.”

  “Sunny!”

  “He’s been freaking out for about an hour,” the orderly explained. “Sorry, ma’am, I didn’t want him to hurt anyone.”

  I nodded. “Teddy, can you calm down now?”

  He met my eyes and frowned. “Sunny.”

  “I’ll call him, okay?”

  Teddy nodded, and the orderly released him. I pulled my phone out and took a deep breath, then pressed the call button for Sundance.

  “You okay?” he asked, and my resolve crumbled a little more. He was worried about me and I liked that.

  “Yes. Teddy’s having a hard time, however.”

  “Right. Put him on the phone,” he said.

  I handed my brother the phone and he grinned wide. “Hi, Sunny.”

  I waited while Teddy chatted with Sundance, taking the phone back only when Teddy gave it to me. “Hi,” I said.

  “Hey, baby. You wanna bring him to the club?”

  “Now?”

  “Yeah. No one’ll hassle you, I promise.”

  I shivered. “The last time—”

  “Pinball!” Teddy demanded, clapping his hands.

  “Dimples, I swear to you, you’re covered.”

  I closed my eyes, his nickname washing over me, my resolve now in a fine powder on the ground. “Okay,” I whispered.

  “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  I nodded, hanging up and dropping my phone back in my purse. “Let’s get your jacket, Teddy Bear,” I said with a sigh and my brother took off at a run for his room.

  I followed, helping him into his warm coat, then we walked to my car. Teddy was as calm as can be as I drove us to what would probably be the worst decision I’d ever make. Pulling into the driveway of the compound, my heart raced, and my palms grew sweaty.

  What the hell was I doing?

  I was about to turn around when the gates creeped open and I knew I had no way out now. Teddy started jumping in his seat and clapping his hands. “Pinball.”

  “Yeah, buddy, we’ll be right there.”

  I drove up to the cabin and Sundance was waiting on the porch for us. I nearly burst into tears at the sight of him.

  Damn it.