Affliction

“How long until we can move?” she croaks out, her breath choppy as the movement sends pain to her face.

“The doc’s on his way back. Should be getting here in about thirty,” Beau answers her.

“He’s going to find me.” Her panic is not unwarranted. The asshole has instilled fear into her, but we will do everything in our power to make sure that won’t happen.

“No one is going to find you. This wasn’t in the plan, but we’re go

“You don’t know him like I do. He will find me. He did this because he knew I was leaving. I don’t know how he knew, but he knew,” she whispers.

“Listen, Mackenzie. We will do everything we need to do to get you out of here safely, but we have to get this arm set. It’s too badly damaged to move you to the next drop off. We have the co

A car pulling up into the gravel drive has me on alert.

“Did the doc call?” Beau asks, standing as I move through the cabin to get the guns.

“No, he said he would call five-minutes out,” I tell him as I retrieve my Beretta 92FS.

“Whatever you do, don’t make a sound,” he whispers to a petrified-looking Mackenzie as I pass him his weapon.

“Get her to the back room,” he instructs, moving to the front window.

“It’s him. I know it is,” she cries, not listening to Beau’s command.

“Woman, be quiet,” I growl, moving back through the cabin. She nods, silent tears falling down her face.

“I need to move you. It’s go

“What’s going on?” she asks removing the towel from her mouth.

“Whoever is out there is not meant to be here. We have to hide you ‘cause if it’s the police, they’re here for you,” I tell her, flicking the lock on the secret door hidden in the wall.

“I can’t go in there,” she shakes, looking at the dark space.

“It’s either in there or back to your husband. What do you want?” I ask, losing my patience, my nerves on edge. I need to get back to Beau. She nods, understanding it’s our only way.

“Okay,” she agrees, standing shakily from the bed and walks forward slowly, with every step the pain is evident on her face.

“Please don’t leave me in here long,” she pleads as I go to pull the door closed.

“As soon as we get rid of whoever is out there, we’ll be back,” I promise, closing the door. Pulling the closet back into place, I flick the switch off and walk back out to the front room.

“We’ve got two sheriff’s cars pull up,” Beau says, keeping eyes out the window. “Both about to approach. She secured?” he asks, placing his gun in the back of his jeans.

“Yep.” I take a drink from the fridge and pull up a chair around the small kitchen table. The knock comes next, and with a nod of our heads, we know shit is about to go down, and can only pray that they don’t find her.

“Sheriff, what brings you out tonight?” Beau asks, opening the door to three officers. I don’t know how I feel about this visit. Mackenzie has been out of her husband’s clutches for not even three hours and he has the whole county’s sheriff’s department looking for her. The fucker is dirty or the mayor has something on him.

“Evening, Sir. We have our men out searching for a missing woman, Mackenzie Morre,” he says, looking past Beau’s shoulder into the cabin. “You haven’t seen her around have you?” he asks and I can’t get a hold on if he suspects she’s here or if he’s just doing a routine door-to-door check.

“Nope, haven’t seen anyone. We’re just dropping in for a rest before heading back to Rushford,” Beau plays it cool, letting him know we aren’t pla

“Knights Rebels I see.” He nods down at Beau’s cut.

“Yep. Just had an out-of-town engagement. Go

“You don’t mind if we have a look around do you?” he asks. It’s not like we can say no without looking like we’re hiding something.

“Sure,” Beau steps aside, letting the three officers in.

“Evening.” The sheriff nods, walking into the kitchen and removing his hat. “Just a routine check,” he informs me, looking around the small space.

“No problem,” I reply, playing it cool. He stands in the entry as his officers clear the cabin.

“All clear,” they say, coming out of the room that Mackenzie is hiding in. Internally, I let out a sigh of relief. Thank fuck.

“Okay, well, thank you for your cooperation. You be sure to let us know if you see or hear anything.” He nods, replacing his hat and walking back through the door.

“Of course,” Beau replies, letting them out.

After a few moments of silence and making sure they have gone, Beau races to the back room to let Mackenzie out.

“She’s scared of the dark,” I tell him when we find a hysterical woman cowering in the dark.

“Fuck,” he curses, helping her out of the small space. Her screams fill the room as he moves her to the bed.

“Go get the meds the doc left,” he orders, placing her down on the bed and climbing in behind her. I don’t know what’s happening, but this shit is not normal. I’ve never seen Beau so protective of a woman before. Moving back through the cabin, I pick up the pain meds and pray whatever is happening here is just Beau comforting a broken woman and nothing more, ‘cause if it’s more, the club is about to enter a whole new world of trouble. With the likes of this Morre family, I doubt they’re going to stop until the woman is found, and knowing Beau, he won’t give up until this woman is safe.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Holly

“So, how far along are you?” I ask Kadence, trying my hardest to hold in the tight feeling putting pressure on my chest. I’ve been avoiding her the last week, blowing her off every time she has called. I know she’s been worried, concerned that her news has sent me backward in my recovery, and while the news came as a shock, hearing she is becoming a mom when I’m not, doesn't hurt as much as she thinks. Yes, a small amount of jealousy has stirred in me the last few days, but I think the panic that came over me after her a

“Twelve weeks,” she whispers, unsure.

“Twelve weeks? Wow!”

“Yeah, Nix wanted to try as soon as he put that engagement ring on my finger,” she laughs nervously. "We only found out the day we left for Cancun. I had no time to tell you.”

“Kadence, stop.” I hate she has to try and explain it to me.

“I wanted to tell you in private. I wasn’t sure how you were going to react,” she rushes out like she needs to get it off her chest.

“It’s okay, Kadence. I’m happy for you,” I smile, and I do mean it. It hurts to think that had things been different, I would have been doing this along with her, but I still love her, and knowing she is about to start this journey is amazing.