Hostage (Predators MC 3)

It must be Hennessy she had been hearing. He was certainly large, and Shade had told her that he was next to Viper’s room so he could keep an eye on him.

Genny set an empty cup on the tray then turned to fry more eggs.

“His food is getting cold.”

“I thought Rider would have been back before now. If he doesn’t come back, I’ll put it in the oven to keep warm. I’d carry it up myself, but I’m not allowed upstairs.”

“I can do it.” Penni poured the hot coffee into the empty cup.

“Are you sure? You won’t get in any trouble?”

“They haven’t told me not to go upstairs.” It wasn’t an untruth, but it wasn’t strictly the truth, either. Usually when she had gone upstairs, it was when Shade or Winter had escorted her, and the men had all been told she was on the floor.

While she and Shade hadn’t been raised together, she had traveled with the band members, so she was sure seeing one of The Last Riders in their underwear wouldn’t have her screaming for help. And if she were lucky, she might catch a glimpse of Train.

“Whose laundry was in the basket?” Penni asked, hesitating before sitting on the chair.

“The same man.”

“I’ll kill two birds with one stone,” she joked, setting the tray on top of the folded clothes.

Penni had thought a couple of the T-shirts looked familiar, having seen him wearing them during the rally.

“It may be too heavy …”

Penni lifted the basket easily in her arms. Shade’s weight training had come in handy, and she hadn’t spilled a drop of the coffee.

“I’ve got it. Save me four of those cinnamon rolls for Shade and Lily in case Rider gets back before I come back down.”

“All right.”

Balancing the basket, she went through the living room and up the flight steps. The hallway remained empty as she walked to the door that was beside Viper’s. Damn, she had forgotten to ask which room. Viper and Winter’s bedroom had two doors next to theirs since it was at the end of the hall.

Left or right? Penni bit her lip in indecision then chose the one on the left, guessing it had a better chance of being directly over the kitchen.

She knocked on the door, hoping she had guessed right. If not, one grumpy biker was going to be pissed.

“Come in.”

Hennessy’s voice coming from inside the room had Penni opening the door. It was everything she could do not to drop the basket.

Shade had told her Hennessy was hurt, but she hadn’t expected how badly he had been incapacitated. Now she could understand why Viper hadn’t put a guard in front of his door. His arm was wrapped in a bandage and held in place with a sling. His ribs and upper body were covered with varying shades of blue and purple. It looked as if feet had stomped all over his chest, and his face made Jackal’s and Shade’s look like they had been done by an amateur. More than one person was responsible for the destruction she saw.

Barely able to hang on to the basket, she set it on the chair beside the bed.

“What are you doing here?” Hennessey tried to lift himself unsuccessfully into a sitting position.

“I thought you might be hungry.” She wanted to help him, but she wasn’t sure how without hurting him further.

Gingerly, she moved to the other side of the bed, gripping his good arm and helping him to rise to the mound of pillows at his back. When he was settled, Penni laid the tray on his lap.

Hennessy ate hungrily, devouring the cinnamon rolls.

“Did The Last Riders do that to you?” she asked.

“No.”

Penni let out a relieved breath. She had hated Hennessy for not letting her go, but what had been done to him made her sick to her stomach.

“Ice and Viper are the reason I’m still breathing.”

“Good. I mean, I’m glad you’re not—”

“Dead?” Hennessy finished for her.

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t mean I’ll be staying that way.”

“If Viper were going to kill you, he would have done it before now. He wouldn’t have bandaged you up. He would have let the Unjust Soldiers finish you off.”

“He would have done me a favor.” Hennessy’s grave expression had her wondering how he could eat. Had Viper told him he was going to be killed in retaliation for kidnapping her?

“I told Shade I would stay out of his clubs’ business. Jackal wanted me to try, anyway, to smooth things over between you two.”

“Don’t bother. I wouldn’t listen to anything a bitch had to say.” Hennessy grimaced in pain, trying to lift his arm into a more comfortable position.

“Fine. I’ll tell him you don’t want my help.”

If he weren’t already so hurt, Penni would have pounded him into the mattress.

Penni went out the door and into the hall. She was about to slam his bedroom door closed when she came face to face with Raci as she exited the bedroom across the hall.