I twisted, scurried down the bed, snatched them up and ran the heck out of there.

24

You Live in the Sunshine

I was in such a state, it took me a long time to figure out where I was when I left Babić’s house.

This meant I got even more lost.

By the time I found my way to something familiar, I wasn’t in a state, I was a mess.

I’d been kidnapped.

Tia’s car had been found, filled with lots of blood.

Buck knew, and he didn’t tell me.

I drove through Ace in the Hole’s big parking lot, around back to the loading area by the warehouse where I normally parked.

As luck would have it, or maybe not, Buck was coming out of my office and spotted me.

I knew this because I saw him walking out the door as I parked, his gait swift and determined.

I set the parking brake, killed the ignition, and got out on jellied legs.

“Fuck, babe, where have you been?” he called as he approached. “You go to a Safeway in Tucson to buy—?”

He stopped talking when he got close enough to get a good look at my face. Then he started jogging as I moved out of the door and slammed it, my eyes locked to him.

I turned my body his way as he rounded the trunk, and then he was there, his hand at my jaw, the other one digging into my hip, his neck bent. I could feel the heat from his body and his eyes were sharp on my face.

“Talk,” he clipped.

“Imran Babić kidnapped me outside Safeway,” I whispered.

His hand tensed at my jaw and his eyes fired.

The snake was stirring.

“He told me about Tia.” I was still whispering.

At that, he closed his eyes, his lips thinned, and then he tipped his head back, face to the sky.

He knew.

He knew.

He’d known all this time.

Weeks.

And Buck knew that my best friend in the world, the sister of my soul, was either in danger…

Or worse.

“Buck,” I whispered, my hands coming up, fisting in his T-shirt, and his head dipped down, his eyes coming to mine. “Blood,” I whimpered then I pressed my face between my hands in his shirt. “They found lots of blood,” I sobbed into his chest.

His hand at my jaw slid to the back of my neck, and his hand at my hip slid around, pulling me close.

I threw my head back and screamed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“This, baby, this is why I didn’t tell you.” He squeezed my neck and his face got close to mine. “She wasn’t found. Just her car. I knew if you knew, it would mess with your head.”

“Was the blood hers?” I snapped, and he squeezed my neck harder as he pulled me closer.

There was my answer, but he confirmed it by whispering, “Yeah.”

I closed my eyes and dropped my head, my forehead colliding with his chest.

“Doesn’t mean shit, baby,” he said into the hair at the top of my head. “Not shit. Listen to me. It doesn’t mean shit.”

I jerked back again to look at him.

“Blood. Abandoned car. Her purse and bags left behind. What else could that mean?” I cried.

He gave me a gentle jerk and his face got in mine again.

“It means we don’t got a dead body. We don’t got a dead body, we got hope. And, fuck me, baby, but you’ve had enough of your hopes shit on and dragged through the mud and fucked over, I wasn’t all fired up to be the one who delivered another fuckin’ blow.”

My lips parted as I stared into his eyes as what he said washed over me.

You’ve had enough of your hopes shit on…

My world was collapsing, again, but here was Buck, tall and strong and capable and mine, here, right here, saying these things to me.

I wasn’t all fired up to be the one who delivered another fuckin’ blow.

Washing through me.

Warm.

And sweet.

One could say I wanted to know everything about my best friend, even if it was bad.

One could also say I got why Buck didn’t share it.

And he didn’t share, because from birth, I’d sustained blow after blow.

Thus, he was now the first human being in my life who moved to block me from one.

“Buck,” I whispered.

“So I got Tucker and Sylvie on it. And Gash has contacted every MC in every state in the country that we’re allied with and we got their asses on it. I got two men who rode out and stayed out, sniffin’ her trail, which is cold, but they’re still out there, turnin’ over fuckin’ rocks. I even called Scott, and he has the heads-up to feed whatever he may hear to me. And I did all that and I’ll keep doin’ it as long as there’s hope.”

As long as there’s hope.

“Tucker and Sylvie?”

“They’re private detectives. They’re good at what they do. The best in Phoenix.”

The best in Phoenix.

Which undoubtedly meant the costliest in Phoenix.

And they were trying to find Tia, likely not doing it out of the kindness of their hearts (meaning, free).

Not to mention, every MC the Aces were allied with.

Aces brothers on the road.

He’d even called Rayne Scott.

To give me hope.

Hope.

All of that just to keep me in hope.

Before I even knew my brain had told my hand to move, it moved, sliding up his chest, his neck, into his hair.

I then pulled his head the inch it had to go, rolling up on my toes at the same time, and my mouth collided with his.

His lips opened, my tongue slid inside, and I made every effort to communicate with my kiss just exactly how grateful I was that he protected me against the knowledge Imran Babić got off on telling me and that Buck was going all out to give me hope.

I succeeded wildly in this endeavor and we ended up making out hot and heavy in the dock area of Ace in the Hole Home Improvement and Contracting.

When our lips detached, his arms had closed tight around me and he let my head move away, but he didn’t release me.

“Thank you,” I whispered, feeling my lips quivering again.

“Those words are nice, gorgeous, and I appreciate them, but you got nothin’ to thank me for. You take care of my girl, my house, my business, and you take care of me. Deal was, you take care of me, I take care of you, and that’s all I’m doin’.”

“I don’t take care of you,” I said quietly.

“Baby, I got clean towels I didn’t have to clean. I can see the floor in my bedroom. You fall asleep with your hair all over my lap. My daughter finally has someone she can trust. My son can settle in knowin’ his old man is not home by himself when they leave me, but he has someone with him he digs having around. Every person I employ and every brother who swings into Ace comes in with a smile on their face ’cause they got coffee, cupcakes and you to look forward to. And they know what they ordered will be in the warehouse and their paycheck will come on time. You give it to me regular and each time is sweet. And a good life for you revolves around Pop-Tarts. You don’t get it, but that’s takin’ care of me, Toots.”

“Oh,” I whispered.

He smiled before he whispered back, “Yeah, oh.”

I dropped my head, turned it, pressed my cheek to his chest and moved my arms from around his shoulders to lock them around his waist.