Kodiak's jaw tightened underneath his beard. "Too close."
She hated the way her adrenaline spiked. Hated the familiarity of fear dressed up as anger. What if another person she cared about was taken from her?
"You're not leaving the compound," he said firmly. "Not for anything. Not alone."
Her instinct was to push back, but one look at his face told her there was no room for negotiation. His eyes were more complicated than usual, but beneath the authority, there was something else. Worry.
She swallowed everything—her panic, the argument—and nodded once. The rules were clear. He would put her on lockdown until the danger passed, like her dad had done in the past.
Satisfied, he let go of her arm. In return, she stepped closer, leaning against his side.
"Will you be safe?" she whispered.
His hand came up and cupped the back of her neck. "We might've found him."
"Who?"
"The one who killed your dad."
Roma's breath stung in her chest. "For real?"
For two years, she hoped for nothing else. If she could, she'd personally shoot the man responsible for taking her dad away.
"Could be bait. Could be a ghost chase. But if it's him..." His face hardened. "He dies."
His announcement wasn't a surprise. Kodiak had dedicated so much time to trying to find her dad's killer. He'd vowed to seek revenge for her father's death.
"Good." She wanted that more than anything. Justice. Punishment. Closure. She wanted the man to hurt worse than she had in the last two years.
The reasons why her father was killed no longer mattered. She only wanted the killer to pay.
"I need you to stay put until I'm sure there's no danger." Kodiak's thumb caressed the side of her neck. "Let me do my job."
She stayed silent, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on his. The internal struggle between wanting him to stay at the clubhouse with her so he wouldn't get hurt and hoping her nightmare would end made her obedient. She'd remain in the clubhouse and wait, as long as she knew he was coming back to her.
"I'll get him." Kodiak cupped her cheek. "And when I do, no more hiding. I want you to be free. Find your happiness. Make a life for yourself."
She feared being alone. Kodiak knew she only had the club. She could argue all day that Royalla was enough for her, and he'd tell her she could do better. In that way, he was very much like her dad. He always wanted her to have the best in life.
His hand gently squeezed her arm before he turned away. The touch was almost tender. She rubbed her arm, swallowing hard.
"Stay calm. Stay inside," he said over his shoulder.
Then he was gone, swallowed up by the others as they headed out the door. All she could hear was his deep voice shouting orders.
Roma stood there for a long moment, her heart racing. This was what she wanted—she wanted the man responsible for killing her dad to pay for what he'd done.
Chapter 5
With his men ready to ride out, Kodiak straddled the seat of his Harley. Before he led them toward the gate, he put in his earpiece to have contact with the others.
Rocco pushed the wheeled gate open. Kodiak rode out onto the road and opened the throttle. The wind hit his face like a flash of cold water, awakening all his senses. The rumble of horsepower- and the support of his men set the mood. Things made sense out here on the asphalt. The rules were simple. The mission was straightforward.
They rode hard and fast, twenty patched brothers in formation, cutting through traffic without losing track of each other. Kodiak took point, scanning the street with an experienced skill. The radio in his ear crackled with occasional updates from Duke and Vein, who were staked out at their destination, making sure they didn't ride into danger.
"Everything's clear," Duke's tense voice came through. "No movement yet."
"Let's keep it that way." Kodiak glanced in his side mirror and sped up.
