Chapter 54

WALKER

I glanced at my phone again, my frown deepening.

Dominic was still silent.

Hayden was out on the deck, doing push-ups to burn off his restless energy.

Dominic was our inside man, gathering intel on the Black Skulls and their plans.

Once we knew where the Black Skulls were meeting in town, we’d set up an ambush.

Taking out their leader would send a clear message: you don’t double-cross the Raffiel and get away with it.

“Any news?” Hayden asked, startling me.

“Damn it!” I snapped.

He just smirked.

I showed him my empty phone screen and watched his shoulders slump.

“Damn it, man!” he groaned.

Hayden was always up for a good ambush.

Guns and violence were his bread and butter.

“We need to plan the ambush first,” I reminded him.

“I know, I know!” he grumbled.

“Did you notice how Tayla completely ignored Dominic this morning?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he chuckled.

“They seriously need to just have angry sex or something,” I joked.

Hayden shot me a dark look.

“I could go for some angry sex right now. When’s our girl getting back? I need to fuck her hard.”

I laughed and shook my head.

“I need to do something!” he complained.

“Why don’t you go for a run on the beach? I’ll let you know if anything comes through.”

“A run? Alright, I can do that.”

Hayden headed back out onto the deck and jogged down the steps to the beach.

I pulled up the webpage I’d saved on my phone, looking at the ring I’d picked out for Tayla. I smiled as I hit the buy button.

Then a message from Dominic popped up.

Dominic

We have a problem.

Walker

What?

Dominic

I'm on my way to the meeting place to meet the leader, but Tayla is with me.

What?

My heart pounded in my chest.

Walker

Why is she with you?

Dominic

She saw me making the deal and assumed I was stealing from you.

Walker

If they find out who she is, they will kill her.

Dominic

I am pretending she is my girl.

Walker

Give me the address, I'll be there to get her.

Dominic

No!

Dominic

If you come now, then you risk us both being shot.

Holy shit!

Dominic

I will bring her back, trust me.

Walker

Dominic?

The line went dead.

If I called him back, they might realize he was working for me.

Damn it!

Tayla was there with them?

A sick feeling twisted in my stomach.

I had to get her out of there!

But how?

If they found out who they were, Tayla and Dominic could be killed.

I bit my lip, looking out at the deck.

If Hayden found out about this, he’d lose his mind!

Why wasn’t Tayla with Jess?

She must have seen Dominic in town and followed him.

Stupid girl!

Didn’t she realize the danger she was in?

I ran my hands through my hair, gritting my teeth.

When I got my hands on her, she’d be too sore to sit for weeks!

And Hayden would probably do something even worse!

I sent Dominic another message.

Walker

Do whatever it takes to get her home safe.

I went out onto the deck just as Hayden was coming back from his run.

He was panting a bit, but he looked invigorated.

“Good run?” I asked.

He gave me a thumbs up, still catching his breath.

“Any word from Dominic?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Damn it! What’s taking him so long?”

“Maybe he’s at the meeting place and can’t text yet?” I suggested.

The truth was, he was there with our most precious possession!

Hayden rolled his eyes, looking frustrated.

“I guess I’ll go take a shower then,” he said, storming back into the house.

I leaned on the railing, looking out at the sea.

I hoped Tayla was okay and not too scared.

Dominic had better be taking care of her, or I’d kill him, brother or not.

“Damn it!” I growled.

I hated feeling helpless like this.

Tayla was our girl, and it was our job to protect her, not let her fall into the hands of our enemies.

I just prayed that the man Dominic had caught wasn’t there to betray them.

I checked my phone again.

Nothing.

Suddenly, Jess came up the deck steps, her face pale and worried.

“Is she here?” she asked.

“Keep your voice down,” I said, firmly.

“I saw her get in a car with Dominic, and they drove off before I could follow them,” she said, her voice trembling.

“You need to leave. If Hayden finds out she’s there, he’ll lose his mind!”

“Please? We have to do something. She told me she suspected Dominic of plotting against you and Hayden,” she explained.

“No. He’s working on a secret mission for me, and she got confused and ended up where she shouldn’t be,” I told her.

I heard a noise in the house and gave Jess a warning look.

“Go! I’ll have her message you when she gets back!”

Jess turned and ran back down to the beach, and I headed into the kitchen.

Hayden was standing there with a towel around his hips, drinking milk straight from the bottle.

I needed a stiff drink, but if we had to move, we both needed to be able to drive.

And shoot straight.

Hayden grabbed an apple from the fridge and took a bite.

“We really need our woman here so we can have lunch,” he said, grinning.

“Let her shop. Who knows? She might come back with more sexy underwear for you?”

Hayden leaned against the island, smiling as he bit into his apple.

“I prefer her naked,” he said.

I couldn’t argue with that.

I loved her naked too, but right now, I just wanted her safe at home and out of danger.

Damn woman!

I checked my phone.

Still nothing.

This was torture!

“Want to play pool?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“I’ll get dressed,” he said, heading for his bedroom.

For the next couple of hours, we played pool, but there was still no word from Dominic.

What if they’d found out who she was?

What if they’d hurt her?

Hayden was becoming aware of the ticking clock.

“Jess is bringing Tayla back after their shopping spree, right?” he asked me.

“I believe so,” I replied.

“Are we still on for tonight with Dominic?”

“Should be,” I responded.

Suddenly, Hayden tossed his pool cue onto the table, his hands balling into fists.

“What the hell is happening?” he exploded.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, taken aback.

“You seem off. I’ve beaten you at pool four times straight, which never happens, and you’re giving me clipped responses!”

“Nothing. I’m just waiting for a text from Dominic,” I told him, which was the truth.

“Walker? We’ve been friends since we were kids. Is something up with Tayla?”

I sure as hell hoped not.

I bit my lip.

“Just spill it,” he demanded, his eyes darkening.

“She’s with Dominic,” I confessed.

“He went shopping with her?” he asked, clearly confused.

“No. They’re at the rendezvous point together. Tayla suspected he was stealing from us, and somehow they both ended up at the Black Skulls’ meeting place.”

“What. The. Actual. Hell!”

With each word, Hayden’s anger escalated, his face flushing.

“Calm down. Dominic promised he’d bring her home safe,” I tried to reassure him.

“And you trust him with her? The only thing that’s ever mattered to us is her, and now your damn brother has her at our enemies’ headquarters?”

Hayden’s voice reverberated through the house as he stormed out of the game room and into his bedroom.

“Damn it!” I cursed.

I heard him rummaging around in his room, and then he emerged with his handgun, checking the ammunition.

“What are you doing?” I asked, alarmed.

“I’m going to find her and bring her home!” he shouted back at me.

“Hold on. You don’t know where she is, and you can’t just barge in there or you’ll risk getting her shot!”

“I can’t just sit here doing nothing! They have our girl!” he declared, resolute.

Suddenly, the front door creaked open, and we both sprinted to the kitchen.

Dominic walked in, his face etched with worry, and he glanced out onto the deck.

“Tell me she came back here?” he asked us.

“No. I thought she was with you?” I said, my chest constricting.

Dominic shook his head.