Axle's Brand (Death Chasers MC 3)

I nod. “I’m positive. The factory is a smoke screen and probably a trap. That paper is, without a doubt, that hotel.”

Sledge slams his foot into the monitor one last time before sprinting out the door. We all follow, and Drex barks out orders to the others that have every man tossing away a beer or a girl and rushing to the hangar.

Maya is looking at me questioningly as I stalk to her, shakily taking in a breath, and doing all I fucking can not to lose it. Sledge and Liza have been on and off for over fifteen years. I can’t even fucking imagine right now.

“What’s going—”

“Stay here,” I say to Drake, cutting Maya off. “Stay with her, Eve, and the other girls. Keep everyone inside, and lock the place down. Do not take your eyes off the security cam until we return. Got it?”

He nods slowly, eyes wide as he swallows. “Yeah. Got it.”

“You got a gun in that purse?” I ask him.

“It’s a fucking satchel,” he bites out. “And yes. There’s a gun.”

Maya says something, but I can’t hear it right now. All I can see is Liza on repeat, the way her eyes teared up as she stared into the camera.

That could have been Maya. And that’s the most selfish fucking worry. I’ve known Liza for years, and my first thought is that I’m so fucking relieved it’s not Maya.

She doesn’t follow, knowing this isn’t the time, and I load up, hurrying the motions of revving my bike as Dash passes out guns.

Sledge tears out, leading the way, and I ignore the fucked up feeling in my gut that tries to get me not to leave.

CHAPTER 25

MAYA

Eve immediately walks toward the room the guys ran out of and took every other person with a penis—besides Drake—with them. They’re acting irrationally, running out half-cocked, and I’m too curious to find out why.

I’ve learned this is their routine—strike back immediately. No forethought. No planning.

Someone could easily be using it against them.

Eve doesn’t bat an eye when I join her, and I hear Drake trying to calm the girls down as Colleen jogs into the room. “I’ll handle all the girls if you’ll tell me what the hell is going on,” Colleen tells Eve.

Eve is typing a password onto the laptop, waiting for it to start. I move in behind her, and Colleen does as well. The second the image pops up on screen, Colleen gags, the scream from a woman sending her to her knees.

Eve cuts her gaze away, choking back a gag of her own. But I’ve seen worse. I’ve seen a lot worse.

“Who is that?” I ask them flatly, wondering why this woman’s eyes are glued to the screen and who she is to them.

“That’s Liza,” Eve says through strain, still averting her eyes.

A man comes into view, making threats. Apparently that’s the notorious Herrin.

“How could they do that to her?” Colleen asks, but I’m more focused on the woman I’ve heard about a few times.

“Liza is Sledge’s girlfriend who runs the bar, right?” I ask.

Eve shuts the laptop, standing up and breathing in and out harshly as Colleen wipes her mouth and eyes.

“Yes,” Eve says quietly.

“Somewhere they launder the money,” I say to myself.

Outside of the box, I’m not attached to this woman the way they are. I’m also really paranoid, so I could be wrong about my suspicions, and know how bad this could turn out if I’m wrong.

“What are you doing?” Eve asks as I pull out my phone.

Axle’s phone goes to voicemail, so I start typing a text, hoping he reads it.

“Liza’s been with the club a long time, hasn’t she?” I ask Eve.

She wipes her eyes and clears her throat. “Over twenty-five years.”

Twenty-five years of loyalty.

Blowing out a heavy breath, I send Axle that text.

ME: I think you’re driving into a trap!

This could go really, really badly. I call Axle again, hearing it go to voicemail. “Call me. I think you’re riding into a trap!”

“What?!” Eve demands as her head lifts from where she’s telling Drake what’s going on. I didn’t even know he was in here yet.

There’s no telling what Sledge has told Liza. I know she’s unaware of my origins, but hell, she may know a lot of other things.

That thought alone has my stomach plummeting.

“Would Liza know about the cars for today?” I ask Eve quietly, crowding her space.

She gets a quizzical look on her face. “Yeah. We’re having a party because of the big order, because the guys always do that for a big order, and it’s a show to the rest that the club is still in business.”

I turn and walk out, texting Axle again. Herrin never gave any indication verbally as to where they were, and there was nothing too obvious in the image as a landmark. Something got them running out of here with a direction in mind.