Nothing.
Then he called his apartment, and once again, nothing. He didn’t even explain to any of his club brothers. Climbing onto his bike, he shot out of the private parking area, not caring about his own safety. Something had gone wrong. He knew it.
He’d been so fucking stupid not to have seen it or check out what the fuck was going on, but he’d been distracted.
Richard would never make that mistake again.
****
Temperance’s head was pounding, and when she tried to touch her face, she was stopped.
“Wait … what?” Her foggy brain was struggling to catch up with everything that was going on, and it only served to make her more confused.
“Ah, she’s waking up.”
Frowning, she opened her eyes and turned her head. Nothing was in focus, so she blinked her eyes to try to clear her mind.
“There she is.”
She remembered being in the kitchen with Jay, and having fun. As she glanced around the warehouse, it looked abandoned, and she couldn’t see any sign of Jay. Someone had broken into Richard’s apartment, and Jay had been shot. God, he’d been shot, and now he was bleeding.
Tears filled her eyes and started to fall. Jay could be dead, and no one knew.
“You’re starting to remember.”
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Opening her eyes, she forced herself to look at the man who was taunting her. She recognized him but didn’t know how she did. They had never talked before. There was nothing that stuck out about him.
“What am I doing? Let’s see, I’m trying to gain the attention of the billionaires affecting my business. Now, they make think they’re smart, but they haven’t got anything on the corporation as a whole.”
Temperance stayed silent as the man kept talking.
“Don’t you think it’s a little lame? A bunch of billionaires thinking they can save the world.”
“They’re not trying to save the world. Just the women and children you hurt.”
The man threw his head back, laughing. “They don’t need to be saved. They’re there to be used. If I don’t use them, someone else will.”
This man sickened her. “You will be stopped.”
“I doubt it. Where there are women, there will be men who can order them like cattle. Sometimes, we get a picture of the woman they want.”
“Why do you have me?” she asked.
“I needed to teach the little lame bikers a lesson. They seem to think they have their billions so they can do what they want.”
“You have nothing, and think the same thing.”
“I’m providing a service.”
“You’re a monster.”
“That I am. I won’t lie about who I am.”
Temperance looked around, and saw that she was sitting on a chair with her arms stretched out. She didn’t even want to think about what this man had in store for her. Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m thinking it’s time I made a call.”
The man turned away and left her.
Tears were pouring down her cheeks, and she was struggling to keep herself together. She was petrified, and she was trapped.
Stay calm, Temperance.
She kept repeating the same words over and over in the hope that she would eventually believe her own words.
****
Richard slammed into his apartment and found Jay lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.
Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed for an ambulance, checking Jay’s vital signs.
“My friend has been shot. I need an ambulance. His pulse is faint.” Richard told them the address, and rolled Jay over.
In the distance he heard his friends rushing into his apartment. Dropping his cell phone, he removed his jacket, pressing it to the wound.
Jay finally moaned. “Fuck me, please tell me I’m dreaming and I’m going to wake up to Temperance about to ride my face.”
“Now is not the time for jokes.”
“I’m not joking. Fuck me, that hurts.” Jay opened his eyes and started leaning against the kitchen sink.
“Colorful language for an accountant,” Lewis said.
“I’ve been shot, and I bet it’s your fault. Pissed off any employees lately?”
“None, but it is our fault.”
“Where’s Tempe?” Jay asked.
“She’s not here.”
“What do you mean she’s not here?” Jay stared at him, sweating. “Fuck, I can’t—did they take her?”
“I don’t know what the hell is going on,” Richard said.
“Do you have security cameras around the whole of the building?” Lewis asked.
“Everything is controlled with computers now.” Richard pressed the jacket while trying to think, and not panic. It was fucking hard to do.