Lynch's Rule (Ruthless Sinners MC 9)

We stepped up the two-way mirror and found Kordarius secured to an old wooden chair with his wrists duct-taped to its arms and ankles bound to the legs, making it impossible for him to move. Kordarius had been locked up in that room for weeks, and you could tell by looking at him that his mental state and physical strength weren’t what they were when he was first brought in.

Shotgun had already started working him over, and he was bleeding from his mouth and cheek as he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Enough of the bullshit.” Shotgun knelt in front of him and looked him square in the eye. “We know you and your brother were working with Tully.”

Kordarius’s eyes widened with panic. “You got it wrong, man. I don’t know no Tully.”

“We know differently.” Shotgun took out his phone from his back pocket, then pulled up a video. As soon as he hit Play, he turned the screen towards Kordarius. “We also know about your son.”

You could hear the utter fear in his voice as he pleaded, “Noooo!”

“Afraid so.” The video continued to play, then Shotgun said, “He’s a cute kid. I’d sure hate to see anything happen to him.”

“You can’t hurt him. He’s got nothing to do with any of this.”

“Oh, we can, and we will.” Shotgun looked down at the screen as he told him, “You either tell us everything you know, or we bring the kid in, and I’ll—”

“Okay, okay. You win.” Kordarius couldn’t seem to talk fast enough as he rambled on, “It was my brother. He was the one who had the connection to Tully. The guy offered him a big payout if he caused problems for your club and that Dalton guy. I didn’t want no part of it, but Booker had me by the balls. I owed him for—”

“I don’t give a shit why you did it,” Shotgun interrupted. “Your brother has one of our girls. I need to know where he would’ve taken her.”

“I don’t know.” Kordarius thought for a moment, then added, “If I had to guess, I’d say he’s hiding out at Jenson’s place. He was the one who did the break-in with us.”

“What’s the address?”

“He’s got a duplex on East Main. Number two-twenty-three or two-twenty-four. I ain’t sure.” He thought for a moment, then added, “It’s green with a white door. Probably got a blue Dodge parked out front.”

If Kordarius was right, it’d be only a matter of time before we had Sophie back. My focus was still on Shotgun when Locke walked up and nudged me with a concerned look on his face. “I got something you’re gonna want to see.”

He handed me his phone, and when I looked down at the screen, I saw a message from Haleigh.

Haleigh:

Hey.

I’m going to have to cancel our plans for tonight.

Raelyn’s been in a car accident, and I’m on the way to the hospital.

Locke:

Oh, damn.

Is she okay?”

Haleigh:

I don’t know.

I haven’t made it to the hospital yet, and she isn’t answering her phone.

Locke:

Let me know when you find out something.

“When was this?”

“About an hour ago.” Locke grimaced as he admitted, “I would’ve said something sooner, but we were in the heat of it with Jagger and Tully, and I was hoping to hear back from Haleigh, but—”

“What about Davies? Why hasn’t he called?”

“He’s been trying to, but with everything that’s been going on, none of us answered.”

I glanced down at my phone and cursed when I saw all the missed phone calls from Davies. “Fuck.”

I pulled up his last voicemail, and my stomach twisted into a knot when I heard the worry in his voice, “Hey, man. It’s me again. I’ve been trying to call you about Rae... She’s been in a hell of a wreck. A black truck just plowed into her car. The ambulance came and got her, and I’ve been trying to find out how she’s doing. But that cunt nurse won’t tell me nothing. She keeps saying I ain’t family, and she can’t disclose...”

The message was cut short, but I’d heard enough. I shoved my phone back into pocket, then turned to Locke and said, “Damn, I gotta find out if she’s okay.”

I stood up but then immediately froze.

I was stricken.

I’d always believed that the club came first—no matter what.

But this was Raelyn—the woman I intended to claim as my own.

I had no way of knowing whether she was alive or dead, and it gutted me.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been standing there when Menace said, “Go.”

“But—”

“We’ve got it covered. Go!”

Without any further encouragement, I charged for the door and rushed outside to my bike. Seconds later, I was through the gate and speeding towards the hospital while dread washed over me.

I knew without a shadow of a doubt that when I reached that hospital, my entire world would be shattered, and yet, I didn’t stop or turn around.