TORMENTED

Finally, I was ready to call Ryder back. The phone only rang three times before he answered.

“Tell me you’re back and ready to help find Eva?” His voice was brusque and filled with worry. No greeting, no pleasantries.

Fuck. That could only mean he’d come up empty.

“Don’t tell me your club couldn’t come up with a single bit of information?”

Ryder sighed. “No. Nothing.”

I sucked in a breath. “And Bill? You’ve questioned him?”

“Yeah. He said he had no idea where Nolan took her. He hadn’t thought to ask at the time because he was just so relieved to get her away from you.”

I smirked. “That’s irresponsible and dumb.”

“Let’s leave the compliments for another time. The point here is getting to Eva. We’ve still heard nothing from her, and it’s worrying me.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “I’ll put out some feelers. I have a few informants who may be able to help.”

I didn’t tell Ryder that I had human sniff-dogs that could find a fucking needle in a haystack. He didn’t need the disappointment if my guys came up empty. For the first time since Jamie’s disappearance, Ryder and I were on the same page.

“Okay. I get what you’re saying. Let’s forget our differences and focus on Eva. For now.”

Ryder grunted, as if he was pained. “Yeah, I can work with that. For now,” he growled.

“I’ll let you know if I find anything. You do the same. That way we don’t waste time. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Silence fell between us before Ryder spoke again. “Thank you. Eva means a lot to me. I don’t want her to be hurt.”

That made two of us.

“We’ll find her, okay?” I was consoling myself just as much as I was Ryder. If Eva had been taken against her will—and I was suspecting it more and more—Senator Parker was in for a shock. The biker and the cop uniting forces to unravel his game wasn’t going to be fun for him when we found him. But he was mine. I was the one who was bringing him to his knees. The fucker had toyed with my life, but even worse, if our suspicions were right, he was hurting the only woman on the planet who really meant something to me, outside of my family.

I hung up the call with Ryder and made a few calls. I’d never put this high a price on information, so I was sure I’d get something back within a couple of hours. The underground grapevine worked fast and effectively, and for the right price, somebody was always willing to talk.

Shocked when my phone rang twenty minutes later, the value of the mighty dollar hit me hard.

“So

“Seems a few people don’t like the senator much. He’s not a nice man, from what I hear. But yeah, I got news for you.”

“Meet me at the usual place in thirty minutes.”

“I’ll be there. Bring the cash.”

It always came down to the money. Cold, hard cash trumped anything else.

I removed the duffle bag from under the floorboard and counted the money. I didn’t believe in putting my savings in the bank. Interest rates were so damn low that it wasn’t worth the effort. Besides, I felt more at ease knowing exactly where my money was. I didn’t want it invested in dodgy shares, or to watch its value tumble as I’d seen happen to so many of my father’s clients.

I’d been saving for a nice house closer to the ocean. This was my life savings, and I was just about to give almost half of it up for information. How fucking screwed up was that?

Thirty minutes later, I sat across from So

So

“Man, you’re a crazy motherfucker,” he said, laughing.

I wiped the sauce from the corners of my mouth and gri

I pushed the bag toward him. “Half now and half when I’m happy you delivered as requested.”

So

I shrugged. “You know it’s nothing personal.” I picked at something stuck between my teeth. I hated when that happened. “It’s also the most money I’ve ever forked out, so you gotta understand I need assurance first.”

So

I snorted. Yeah right.

I pushed the bag toward him and held out my hand. So

So

“Give me what I paid for,” I said, itching to get a look at the contents of the envelope.

He placed the envelope in my hand. With a slight tremble I ripped the envelope open and braced myself for the contents. Locking my jaw, I flicked through the pictures while keeping a poker face.

Pictures of Eva being carried into a place with whitewashed walls and tropical plants. Pictures of a huge motherfucker walking beside Parker with my girl in his burly arms, unconscious. Pictures of her wrapped in a sheet, her hair covering parts of her face.

What the fuck had they done to her?

Rage filled me, and I had a hard time controlling myself.

Ryder and Jade were right. No way in hell Eva was there out of her own choice. Fuck, why had it taken me so long to get that?

“You look shocked.” No shit. “What is this woman to you?”

I sucked in a breath.

This woman. She was everything to me. Everything.

I’d been a dumb-as-fuck asshole, too self-absorbed in my own fucking pain to see the truth stare me in the face. If something happened to Eva . . .

“She’s the sister of a friend.”

“Ah, that explains why you look so pale. It’s personal.”

“My friend won’t be happy when he sees these pictures.”

Ryder was going to go mental. And I wouldn’t blame him. As for So

Chapter 37 — Harrison

I sent a quick text to Ryder as I drove over to his and Jade’s house.

I’ve got information. On my way to your place. Talk soon.

Seconds later, the reply came through.

Hurry the fuck up.

Ryder would never change. I’d told So

It had taken Savage’s reasoning for the truth to finally hit home and break through my thick, resistant skull, and now a question as simple as So

A lightness of being that I hadn’t felt in years filled me. Was this really what love felt like? I felt invincible, infallible, and completely out of my depth.

Saving her was perhaps going to be the easy part. After all, it was what I did for a living, and I was the best at it. It was the part where I told her how I felt to her face, when I finally admitted what an asshole I’d been, that scared the living shit out of me.