Smolder: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (13 page)

“Goddamn it! Bulldog was just there a few days ago, and she was fine. We need to find her. Go through every minute of that surveillance. See if there is anything we can use to find her. I gotta let Bishop know what’s going on. Fuck, we have to hurry, Bobby. We can’t let them hurt her.” I growl as I race out of the room to find Bishop. He’s going to be pissed, but I can’t worry about that now. I have to save my girl.

“You got it!” I heard him call out. Damn it! I should have been monitoring this shit closer. This is a total clusterfuck. I thought keeping my distance would be the best thing for Taylor, but if I had fucking claimed her like I wanted, she would be here now, safe with me.

“Fuck! FUCK!” I’m yelling at myself, oblivious to who is around me. I screwed this all to hell, and I’ve got to make it right. I can’t let anything happen to her.

Bishop must have heard me yelling. How could he not? I have no control right now. He was at the bar talking with Doc and Sheppard, but he stood up as I got closer.

“We’ve got a problem, Pres,” I told him.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“The Red Dragons found the surveillance cameras we set up a few weeks ago. Their president was pissed and sent Taylor’s ex to go get her. They plan to get information from her about us,” I said. My hands were shaking. I was a mess. I needed to get a hold of myself, but all I could think about was Taylor, alone and defenseless.

“I knew this was going to come back and bite us in the ass. Damn it. The good times never seem to last around here. If it’s not one thing, it’s ten others,” he shouted as he slammed his fist on the bar. He took a moment before he turned to me and said, “We’ll figure this out, Renegade.”

“We have to, man. I can’t lose her,” I said, pushing my hands through my hair, trying to clear my head. “I’ve got Bobby going through the surveillance videos that we’ve collected over the past few weeks. Hopefully, we can find something that will help us. We’ve got to get up there. The longer we wait, the more time they have to hurt her.”

“Take Sheppard, Bulldog, and Otis with you and head over to her place. I’ll help Crack Nut go through the videos to see what we can find out.”

“I know a few guys from another MC in the area. I’ll get a hold of them and see what they know,” Sheppard said, standing up.

I nod, a little calmer because I know my brothers have my back. We’re a family. They’ll help me save Taylor… and I
will
save her. I can’t forget that. I fucking needed to hold onto that.

“Thanks man, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Chapter 20

Taylor

It didn’t take long for me to get back into my old routines. After I got unpacked, I made a run to the grocery store. I owed my neighbor, Louise, a batch of cookies. Who knows what would have happened to me if she hadn’t called the police! I baked a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies and took them over to her place while they were still warm. She was tickled that I was finally back home and invited me to dinner later in the week.

I called my boss the following morning and told him I was ready to get back to work. It would be a little difficult to type with my cast, but I could manage. He even said I could work from home for as long as I needed to. Being a book editor for a small publishing company had its advantages. Paducah was only a thirty minute drive, but it was nice to work from home when I could.

I also decided it was time to give my folks a call. I hadn’t really talked to them much since my stay at the hospital. I knew it was hard on my mom for me to leave town while I was still such a mess. She was more than a little excited to hear from me.

“Taylor! I was wondering when you were going to call me. Are you home? Do you want me to come over to your place? I’ve missed you so much,” she said lovingly. Just hearing her voice made me feel homesick.

“Mom, I’m fine. Really. You don’t need to come over. It looked a lot worse than it really was. I even get the cast off later this week, and they’re planning to give me a brace to wear. In a few weeks, I’ll be good as new.”

“I can’t believe that boy hurt you like that. I just don’t understand how any man raises his hand to a woman in anger. I want you to stay as far away from him as you can.” I could hear the worry in her voice, and I hated that she was so upset.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I have no intention of ever seeing Gage Davenport again,” I said firmly.

“Do you need me to come stay with you for a few days? I could help you around your apartment. Maybe fix you some casseroles to put in your freezer.” It was a sweet offer, but my mother’s casseroles were the last thing I needed.

“No, Mom. I’m good. Ms. Louise is fixing me dinner tomorrow night, so I’m all set.”

“Fine. But I’m coming over soon to have lunch with you later this week. I don’t like you being by yourself after everything that’s happened. You never said how things went while you were at Renegade’s. Did that go okay?” she asked.

“Yep. Everything was Hunky Dory. Now, I’ve gotta run. I have a ton of work to catch up on,” I clipped. I needed to get off the phone before she asked me more about Renegade. She always had a knack for knowing when something was wrong. It drove me nuts!

“Not so fast. I know that tone, Taylor. What happened?” she asked.

“Nothing. Really, Mom. We’ll talk more when you come for lunch this week. I’m tired, and I still have lots of work to do.”

“I’ll let you off the hook this time, but please call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks, Mom,” I said as I hung up the phone. I could feel the tears slipping from the corners of my eyes. There was something about my mother that brought out the sap in me. I just didn’t want her to know what an idiot I had been. How could I tell her about Renegade? The humiliation of Jessica? I didn’t even understand it myself.

The thing that pissed me off the most was, I was still in love with the jerk. I actually missed him. I couldn’t close my eyes at night without thinking about his lips pressed against mine. Dammit. There was just no hope for me.

After I hung up with my mom, I spent the next eight hours working on the final edits of two books that were due by the end of the week. I really liked the books, but there was a lot of work that needed to be done. There was always so much pressure dealing with authors. It was hard to tell them that they needed to make changes or that their grammar sucked. It was like telling them that their kids were fat. There was just no good way to say it.

The next night, I went next door to have dinner with Louise. Sweet Louise. She had quite a spread laid out for me, and it meant the world to me. She was like the grandmother I never had. Both of my grandparents had passed away before I was born, so I never got to know them. Being with Louise made me regret never having the chance to get to know them.

“There you are. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to make it,” she said looking concerned.

“Sorry, it took longer than I thought at the doctor’s office. They took off my cast and gave me this new brace.”

“Well, I’m glad you made it, and I know you’re glad to have that awful cast removed. I hope you like spaghetti. It was always my husband’s favorite. I never really have anyone to make it for anymore,” she said looking lost in her thoughts.

“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, but I’m glad you did. It looks wonderful.”

“I was happy to do it. Thank you for the cookies you made me. That was very thoughtful. Now, sit down and make yourself a plate. I want to hear all about your visit with that handsome man that came to your rescue.”

“You’re the one that came to my rescue. He just helped pick up the pieces. I was a mess.”

“Well, tell me all about it. And don’t leave out any of the good parts. I may be old, but I still like to hear a good story.”

“I think you may be a little disappointed. Hmm… maybe you could give me a little advice.”

“I’m not all that great in the advice department, but I’ll give it a shot.”

“The man that came to see about me is one of my brother’s best friends. They were both in the same motorcycle club, and I’ve always had a soft spot for him. To be completely honest, I think I’ve been in love with him since that first day I met him. There’s just something about him. He has this rough exterior and doesn’t let people in very often, but when he does, there’s nothing like it in this world.” I smiled, wishing he were there with me.

“I felt the same way about my husband. I don’t necessarily believe in soul mates, but there’s something about knowing you’ve found the one,” she explained.

“I hated that he had to see me like that in the hospital, but he was so sweet about it all. He made me feel so safe, and I just knew he’d make everything alright. We didn’t spend a lot of time together while I was gone, but the times we did were incredible. He just makes loving him easy.”

“Does he know how you feel about him?” she asked.

“I’ve tried to show him. I thought I’d broken through finally, but he pulled away again.”

“You need to talk to him. You have to find out what is holding him back.”

“I know. His friend, Goliath, said the same thing. I’m just not sure how. I don’t know if I will even get the chance again. I haven’t heard from him since I got back. Honestly, I haven’t even talked to him since we spent the night together,” I said, and I could feel myself blushing.

Louise patted my hand reassuringly, “Why is that?”

“When I woke up the next morning, he was gone. He left a note on the door, but other than that I haven’t heard one word from him,” I said, shrugging my shoulders and trying to ignore the pain I felt inside admitting that out loud.

“Give it time, honey. If it’s truly meant to be, you’ll see him again. When you do, you need make him listen to you.”

“I guess you’re right. I just… I guess I’m afraid. My emotions are so strong with Ren… I get afraid....” I trail off, not knowing how to finish. Louise goes back to patting my hand reassuringly, letting me know she understood. “Thanks for tonight. I really appreciate it. Plus, this spaghetti is amazing. You have to give me the recipe.”

“I’d love to share it. Maybe you can fix it for your Renegade sometime.”

“If this spaghetti doesn’t win him over, nothing will!”

After dinner, we watched a few game shows and ate a piece of her homemade chocolate pie. It was a really nice night, and I was thankful that I had her. I’d have to make more of an effort to check on her.

The next morning, I had to run to Paducah to turn in my revisions and pick up the next few books that needed to be edited. I was throwing my bag in the backseat of my car when I felt someone standing behind me. When I turned around, I was shocked to see Gage standing there. He was blocking me from the front door of my car.

“You headed to work?” he asked.

“What are you doing here, Gage? I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“I think we should have a little chat,” he said with a demanding tone. I could tell he was angry, and I hated the fear that went through me.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. They’re expecting me at the office, and I don’t need to be late.”

“You don’t have a choice. We’re going to talk, and we’re going to talk
now
.” He grabbed my arm and squeezed tightly. He pulled me around to the passenger door and shoved me inside.

I was in full panic mode by the time he got into the driver’s seat. He took the keys out of my hand and started the engine.

“Where are we going, Gage? You’re scaring me,” I pleaded.

“We’re gonna take a little ride, and then you’re gonna tell me everything you know about your friend’s MC.”

“What are you talking about? Why do you want to know about the Devil Chasers?”

“They’ve been watching my club, and I need to know what they’ve seen. I know that Renegade fucker you ran off with is up to something, and I plan to find out what.”

“I don’t know anything about that. He never told me that they were watching you or your club. There’s really no reason for him to go after you-- unless you try to hurt me again.”

“I’d never hurt you again, Taylor. I told you that was a mistake. You made me so angry. You shouldn’t have tried to leave me like that. What we got, babe, its special. I never meant for that to happen. I really do care about you.”

“If you really care about me, you wouldn’t kidnap me in broad daylight,” I spat.

“I’m not kidnapping you. I’m trying to help you, Taylor. If you work with me, you might actually live through all of this. If you don’t, there’s nothing I can do to save you,” he said sincerely.

“
Help
me? What are you talking about? I don’t understand what’s going on.” I had no idea what he expected from me
. Live through this
? What the hell was going on?

“The Red Dragons know that you and that asshole are responsible for the cameras around our clubhouse. They plan to use you to get to him.”

“He doesn’t care about me. Using me won’t work. If he cared about me, I’d still be with him!” I said, obviously without thinking, but I was panicking.