Steel 6: Blackthorne MC #6 Read Free Page B

her. If we don’t, I’m going to tell Victor who you are.”
    Jackson narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t respond to my shove. “You don’t have to threaten me, Steel. I want to find Ella and make sure she is safe just as much as you do.”
    I really doubted that. I physically hurt to think of her in danger. Imagining her somewhere I couldn’t protect her was driving me crazy.
    “I’m going to help you,” Jackson said. “But first there’s something I need to tell you.”
    I gritted my teeth as he looked at me, and I longed to land a punch on him…on anyone just to release some of this pent up frustration.
    “It was me,” Jackson said cooly. “I took Ella to the sheriff’s office.”
    I shook my head as I tried to process the information.  
    “ You took her?”  
    The very idea that Ella had chosen to trust Jackson over me twisted my gut.  
    But I quickly pushed those thoughts away. None of that mattered now. It only mattered that we found her.
    “Why didn’t you stick around to make sure she was okay?” I asked accusingly, feeling the anger surging through me.
    Jackson took a deep breath. “I should have. I wish I had.”
    Jackson must have read something from the expression on my face, and he looked at me with pity, reaching out to slap me on the back.  
    “We are going to find her,” he said.
    “How?” I could hear the desperation in my voice.
    Jackson ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know, but we need to make a start. If she was taken by Venom, we need to find out which of their properties is closest to the sheriff’s office.”
    I thought hard, trying to remember, and then it came to me.  
    “There’s a bar under their control about ten miles from Marcham. It’s called Sizzle.”
    Jackson nodded. “Then there’s a good chance that’s where they’ve taken her.”
    I nodded. He was right. I set off at a run towards my bike.
    Jackson called after me, “Hang on, Steel,” he called out as he followed me. “Aren’t we going to tell Victor?”
    Screw that .  
    “I’ll tell him when I get back,” I yelled, straddling my bike as it roared to life.

5

    Ella
    As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw Claire huddled in the corner of the room, sitting on an old, saggy bed. She leaned forward with wide eyes as if she couldn’t quite believe I was really standing in front of her.
    I rushed forward. “Claire, oh my God. It’s really you. What happened? What are you doing here?”
    Claire clutched my hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When they took you, I thought…” Her voice trailed away, and she shuddered.
    I sat beside her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll get out of this,” I said with more confidence than I felt.
    Hell, I’d been kidnapped twice . Could my luck have really gotten any worse?
    “Tell me what happened that night. I got your message — the one you left with the girl along with your phone.”
    Claire closed her eyes and smiled. “I’m so glad that worked. I was desperate to get in touch. I figured if you’d managed to get away you’d be trying to call me.”
    “How long have they kept you here?”
    “Only a couple of days,” Claire said. “But I don’t have a watch, so I lose track of time. But hey, at least I have a room with a view,” Claire said lamely, pointing to the small window that looked out onto the parking lot.
    I stood up and peered outside. It was already dark now. Nick would have realized I’d left. He would think I’d left of my own accord and that I hadn’t trusted him.
    Jackson was probably on top of the world, thinking he’d done the right thing and gotten me away from Blackthorne safely.
    I wondered how they would react if they could see me now.
    “You didn’t tell them you saw anything that night, did you?” Claire asked.
    I shook my head. “No.”
    Claire smiled and looked relieved. “That’s good because the Venom MC are known for being ruthless.”
    I cocked an eyebrow. “So