Control (Blood & Bone Enforcers MC)

Damara frowned, quiet for a moment before shaking her head. “No, not since right after the fight yesterday when I checked on her. She’s probably in her room. She was pretty shaken up last night.”

Dread shot through her veins as she shook her head. “No, she’s not. I just knocked, and when she didn’t answer, I opened the door. She’s not there. You don’t think they got to her, do you?”

Damara’s frown deepened as she sent her a fearful look. “Surely not.” Turning to the rest of the room, she raised her voice slightly. “Has anyone seen Georgie since yesterday?”

Everyone shook their heads and panic hit Tarun with the force of a wrecking ball. “Neither have we, and she’s gone. I’m worried about her.”

Dmitri cursed and rushed out of the room, his boots clomping on the stairs, as Luke came over and took her hand. “You checked her room?”

Nodding, she turned into his chest, relaxing just a tad as his arms closed around her. His touch always had that effect on her. “Yeah, I went in when she didn’t answer my knock. She’s not there.”

Blake joined them, shaking his head at her. “I can tell what you’re thinking, but we’ve all been vigilant since the attack. If she’s gone, it’s because she left on her own.”

Dmitri came back downstairs and shook his head once. “She’s gone. I checked every room, just in case.”

“You don’t think she had something to do with the attack, do you?” Liam asked as he joined them.

“No,” Blake replied. “I considered it even before last night. She was too scared of us, plus, y’a

ll heard Tarun. This is personal against Luke. The fire happened when she was still trying to get with him. I could see it maybe after she knew he and Tarun were together, but not before. Plus, she was attacked as well, and she didn’t lie about what happened. I think she left because she just couldn’t handle what we are, and the violence our kind brought to her doorstep.”

“I’m not sure it’s all that safe for her outside of the clubhouse, though,” Tarun whispered.

Luke rubbed her back soothingly. “We can’t force her to stay, baby.”

Dmitri looked at Blake. “Do you want me to follow her?”

Blake exhaled, looking weary. “Yeah, but don’t engage. Make sure she got far away and then let her be. I think she’ll be okay, as long as she’s far enough away and Luke’s still here.”

Dmitri nodded and walked outside without another word. Silence reined and then slowly, everyone went back to what they were doing when Tarun interrupted them. Turning more completely into his arms, she buried her face against the hard muscles of his chest.

“I’m so worried about her. I hope she’s okay.”

“You’re so fucking amazing, you know that?”

Surprised, she pulled back and looked at him. “Huh? Why?”

“Think about it. She was rude as fuck to you when you showed up, then did what she could to make you believe me and her had a thing going on. And yet, despite that, you befriended her. You were nice to her. And now, you worry when she leaves. Most women would rejoice that she was gone.”

Exhaling, she shrugged, feeling her cheeks heat. “I was jealous of her at first. I thought she was telling the truth when she hinted about being with you, and I almost hated her for it. I even told you I was never going to be okay with her, and I meant it. But I realized that she did care about you. She went about her interaction with me wrongly at first, but she did it because she liked you. And I, more than anyone, get that. How could I stay mad? Besides, once I got past that, I really liked her.”

“See? You’re amazing, because there are a lot of women who wouldn’t have been able to get past that initial behavior to realize they liked someone. And hey, I really do think she’ll be okay. Dmitri’s our best tracker. He’ll find her and make sure she’s okay. And if he thinks she’s not, or won’t be, for any reason, he’ll bring her back.”

“Blake told him to leave her alone, though.”

“Dmitri’s sense of honor, of protectiveness, is too strong to allow him to listen. And Blake might be his boss, but he marches to the beat of his own drummer. Always has. I promise, she’ll be okay.”

“All right. I believe you. I just wish she’d talked to one of us before she left.”

“She might have been too scared to. She seemed okay with you and Damara, but she wasn’t with the rest of us, and she was far out of her comfort zone.”

“You don’t think she’ll tell anyone about us, do you?”

“No, because what human would believe her? Everyone would think she was crazy, and she knows it. It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”

She blew out a breath, surveying the room. “Maybe. Let’s get to work. I want to get my mind off this whole situation.”

Luke studied Tarun as they worked, worried about her. She was putting on a good front, pretending like she was totally absorbed in getting the bar fixed up, but he could tell her mind was still largely on Georgie’s disappearing act.