Page 9 of The Big Bad's Claim
I burst into the main area of the bar, but it’s fucking empty. Too early in the morning, too early for a bunch of bikers who work night shifts or do odd jobs. Kenna’s name is on repeat in my head, pounding with the anxious beatings of my heart. The main door of the club is unlocked, so the owner’s already here. I dart into the kitchen after her. She’s not our cook, instead working as a barista, but she uses the kitchen to have breakfast when she shows up early.
She’s sitting on a stool, coffee mug in hand, her phone in the other. She arches an eyebrow the moment I burst in. “Morning,” she mutters, then sips her coffee.
“Where is she?” I blurt, like an idiot. There’s no place for niceties, no time to play it cool. She knows me, and she must be aware of whom I speak of. No one else matters to me, and everyone should know that already.
She cocks her head. “Kenna? Left some time ago. She was looking for the keys when I came in.”
My brows crease into a glare. “She left? Where?”
“How would I know?”
“You didn’t ask? You just let her leave?”
Both her brows climb her forehead now. “Look, Blaise, the woman is a grownup. She’s younger than you, but she’s an adult, and I will not be your accessory in the kidnapping. She can leave whenever she wants to.”
Holy shit, is this what she thinks is happening? I bare my teeth to reply, but when I think about it, she’s not wrong. I have been keeping Kenna locked up in here, even if it was for her safety. Fuck, I’ve been so jealous and so possessive I have thought little about it. I should have discussed that with her earlier.
I shake my head. “Her ex is out for her head,” I tell her. “We were keeping her safe. She came for a deal.”
Her lips form anOshape of understanding. “I see.” Then her face goes paler. The sight of it makes my stomach drop. “Todd, is it?”
I frown. “How do you—”
“You should go,” she cuts me in. “Her phone rang while I was opening the door for her. She seemed distressed. I thought it was her boss or something, but she said ‘I’m on my way, Todd’.”
The words hit me with the strength of a sucker punch. I stumble back a step. Fucking shit, he has her. He fucking has her, I know it. I feel it in how heavy my bones are, and how every beat of my heart becomes a struggle. I whirl around and leave the kitchen, running to the front door as I dig into my pocket for my keys. Thank fuck I didn’t change out of my clothes, or I’d have to dig into my stuff after them. The second I’m out in the open, I rush to my bike.
I’m parking in front of Kenna’s building when I miss my gun. Shit, it’s hidden in my dresser. I should have grabbed it before I left. But how could I have remembered, when the one thing that matters is seeing her? Fuck that. I’ll have to make do with my fists.
After bursting through the front door, I make my way to her apartment like a runaway train. I grip the doorknob and almost smash it in my fist before I realize it’s unlocked. I open the door and comb the space after her.
Kenna stands with her back to a wall, arms folded across her chest, her face contorted with pain. Fucking hell, did he hurt her? Did he fucking hurt her?
I swivel in the direction of the man pointing a gun at me. Todd Verner stands to his full height, which is unimpressive, but his aim is true. His posture is one of a natural gunman, unyielding as he holds the slick black pistol, silencer in place. My brain tells me to stop, to raise my hands. I brought no gun, no way to defend myself. I should not jump him.
Todd opens a smirk. “This was too easy,” he says in a voice a pitch too annoying. How the fuck did Kenna bear with this guy? “Easiest job ever.”
“Job?” I ask.
“Yeah. All I had to do was keep an eye on your little biker club. I knew that if Kenna figured me out, she would run to you.” He chuckles. “Kenna is that predictable. She wouldn’t put her mother or friends in danger. She wouldn’t go to the cops without proof.” He shoots her a glance without moving his aim. “And if I let her be in the club for a couple of days, she’d get attached, and she would do anything to protect you lot when I threatened blowing up the club.”
What the fuck? Was this all part of his plan? But for what?
Kenna makes a choked sound. “What do you want, Todd? I’m already here, aren’t I?”
“You’re not the one that I want, silly. I had you in my power all along.” He jerks the weapon in my direction. “Now, the captain of the biggest biker club in town? That one fetches a nice price.” The smirk broadens. “Why walk into the club and start a fight when I can trap you in here, exactly where I wanted you?”
My brows drop in a glare. “You were fucking using her?” I spit, still not putting my hands up.
He shrugs with one shoulder. “Pretty easy if you ask me. Women nowadays are taught it’s better to date a fucker than to be alone. It makes it easy for people like us.”
My heartbeat speeds up further. I shoot a glance at Kenna, her face stained with tears. The sight shatters my heart.
“I’m sorry,” she mouths. “I had no idea he wanted you...”
“No need for that, gorgeous.”
Todd chuckles. “And you worked out better than I hoped for, Kenna. I expected one of them would come after you, and I would have to kidnap them, use them as leverage... No. You brought me the leader. Captain Blaise himself.”
