Desolation Road (Torpedo Ink 4)

Code’s message was to call. It was urgent. Absinthe did so immediately.

“Patching you in on a conference call, Absinthe, with Czar and Steele as well,” Code said. “I’ve got an alert on that bastard Holden any time he contacts his security company or his attorney, or Scarlet’s name is mentioned. Basically, any time he moves. He rages against Scarlet more and more. At this point, he’s obsessed with her.”

Absinthe clenched his teeth, wanting Code to get on with it. He felt like reaching through the phone, grabbing him by the throat and shaking the information out of him. Instead, he calmly picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip, looking out at the street. The umbrella over his head was striped green and white, casting some shade over the table and chairs. No one but Torpedo Ink sat at the tables in the outside patio, but several cars lined the outside drive-thru to get drinks.

“Seems to be half the world is obsessed with Scarlet,” he said.

“She’s that kind of woman,” Code conceded. “Holden’s offered a reward to the Venomous club to bring her to him. He wants her alive so he can make her suffer. He made that very clear, over and over. She is to be alive. He doesn’t much care what shape she is brought in or how badly used—in fact, the worse the better—but she has to be alive.”

Absinthe’s gut knotted. He glanced at Savage and Lana and then across to Mechanic and Alena. They would be sent a report. He could imagine how they would all take it. They knew what it was like to receive the kind of treatment Holden was paying to have Scarlet get.

“Holden waited for time to go by, and he’s done it carefully so law enforcement doesn’t get wind of it. His attorneys represented members of the Venomous club and another little-known club called Twisted Steel. They were on the same run we were on not too long ago,” Code reminded. “In any case, he made a very large offer to have the VCs pick her up, giving them first option before going to other clubs with his offer. He told them they had two weeks. I imagine they started out right away. He told them exactly where she was, her home address, her work address.”

Absinthe’s heart dropped. He actually started to rise as if he could outrun the order Holden had given. There were eyes on her, he consoled himself. She was a good driver and she was already very close to the coffee shop. Once she was there, Torpedo Ink would ensure she was safe.

“When was that offer made to the clubs?” Czar asked.

“The attorneys took it to the two clubs last night. I caught it because one of the attorneys always makes a point of recording anything Holden says because he’s afraid Holden is going insane and will turn on all of them. The moment it appeared in his files, the alert was sent to me. If Holden knew about those files, he would lose his mind. There’s some fairly damning evidence.”

“All of which I’m certain you have now.”

“That is correct,” Code said.

“Send the others the reports,” Absinthe ordered. “Thanks, Code. I really appreciate the heads-up. I hope she packed enough to stay with me for a while. She isn’t going back until I can sort this out.”

“We can get her things for her,” Code said.

“Don’t forget we have that job in Sacramento as well, Absinthe,” Czar reminded. “This is all hitting at the same time.”

“I’m in,” Absinthe said. He was part of team one and wasn’t about to let them down.

Absinthe didn’t dare warn Scarlet. She would turn around the moment she knew he was in her business. As it was, he was going to have to be careful how he revealed everything to her. He would be as honest as possible, but he wasn’t going to just let her leave and be killed because her feelings were hurt. Shit. He shook his head.

Savage looked down at his phone as the report came in and then up at him. He stood up and came straight to the table to drop into the chair across from Absinthe. He was a stocky, compact man, all muscle and steel, a scary, dangerous individual with the flattest, coldest blue eyes anyone might ever want to see. Absinthe was used to him, but being in close proximity with him, even outdoors, when his demons were riding him so hard, was difficult.

“I can take care of this for you,” Savage offered. “Holden is a piece of shit. He’ll keep coming at her.”

It was that easy. It was always that easy. Savage was the club’s go-to man. If not him then his brother, Reaper. Reaper had Anya now and Czar was doing his best to keep him from having to do so much of the dirty work. Absinthe could have told him; it was Savage who needed to be protected far more than Reaper did now that Reaper had Anya to anchor him. Savage had no one and he was being eaten alive.