by Joanna Wylde
Goddamnit. Ruger turned and punched the wall, smashing through the sheetrock. Sharp pain hit, helping him focus. He pulled an unregistered .38 semi-automatic out of his bench drawer and shoved it into his ankle holster, then grabbed extra clips. Then he turned and went back down the hall to find Picnic and the others arguing over what they should do. Pic wanted to ride now—Horse, Bam Bam, and Duck all wanted to take the time to make a plan, which Ruger knew needed to happen. Couldn’t do shit in Spokane until they had more info.
Toke had lost the vote but he’d won the battle.
The Reapers and the Devil’s Jacks were going to war.
SOPHIE
I don’t know how long we rode in the back of the van. It felt like forever. Then I heard the sound of a garage door opening. We pulled in and it shut behind us. Hunter and the driver stepped out of the van, coming around to open the back doors.
Hard hands—not Hunter’s—grabbed my ankles, pulling me out roughly. My cheek scraped, and if the kidnapping hadn’t fully sobered me, the pain finished the trick. He half carried, half dragged me into the house. Then he dropped me down on the couch and I struggled to sit up. Hunter set Em down next to me, far more gently. He stepped back and joined his friend. Guy number two was Skid—the other Devil’s Jack I’d met in Seattle. They stood over us, faces grim, and I knew we were well and truly fucked.
My stomach twisted and I thought about Noah. Would I ever see him again?
“Here’s the situation,” Hunter said, his cold gray eyes flicking back and forth between us. Could he actually be Em’s Internet guy? She hadn’t been lying. He really was hot—even better-looking than I remembered.
Too bad he was a goddamned sociopath.
Or maybe he’d done something to Liam. For all I knew, Em’s online boyfriend was lying dead in the alley. Shit.
“You’re here as leverage. One of the Reapers down in Portland—Toke—made a real bad call tonight. He went to our house and started shooting, no warning, no provocation. He took a hostage when he left. One of our brothers is down and a second is probably getting tortured to death right now, so you’ll have to excuse us for being a little abrupt about this whole thing. Your daddy,” he nodded toward Em, “is gonna do what it takes to get our guy back for us. That happens, you go home.”
She glared at him, eyes full of betrayal. He leaned forward and pulled off her gag, whispering something in her ear. Em jerked away from him.
“You’re dead, Liam,” she said, her voice utterly serious. So that was one mystery solved … Poor Em. My heart hurt for her.
“My dad is going to kill you,” she continued. “Let us go now and I’ll try to talk him out of it. Otherwise it’ll be too late. I’m serious. He. Will. Kill. You.”
Hunter shook his head.
“Sorry, babe,” he replied. “I get that you’re scared and pissed, but I’m not going to let a brother die just because some Reaper had a tantrum.”
“Fuck you.”
He glanced at Skid, who shrugged. Hunter sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, looking tired.
“Okay, let’s go upstairs,” he said. He glanced at me. “We’ll take your gag off, but either of you starts screaming we’ll just have to put them back on. We’re in the middle of nowhere, so it’s not like you’re gonna get anywhere if you do. You two control how ugly this gets. Got me?”
With that, he pulled out a Leatherman multi-tool and cut the rope on Em’s feet. Then he started on mine. I heard a clicking noise and looked up to find Skid pointing a small, square pistol at us.
“You cause trouble, I’ll shoot you,” he said. “Hunter’s nice. I’m not.”
I swallowed.
Hunter pulled me to my feet and I rocked nervously, trying to get circulation back. It was hard to balance with my hands cuffed behind my back. He helped Em up and then they marched us up the flight of stairs off to one side of the living room.
The house’s second story was pretty typical, with a small landing at the top. Looked like there were three bedrooms, along with the bathroom, reminding me that I needed to pee in a big way. Hunter took Em’s arm and pulled her into a room on the right, kicking the door shut behind them.
“Over there,” Skid said, pointing to the door next to it. I walked in to find a queen-sized bed with a very plain wrought-iron frame, a battered dresser, and an old desk. There was a small window, which looked like it’d been painted shut. I wondered how hard it would be to get it open. If I did, could I manage a drop back down to the ground?
“Stand next to the bed, facing away from me,” Skid said.
Oh, shit … The bed took on a whole new meaning. I did what he said, my body bracing for the worst. Was Skid about to rape me? Would Hunter rape Em? He’d obviously been cultivating some sort of relationship with her. Was it all about the club, or was there something more?
Em was a very pretty girl. A girl who deserved better.
I trembled as Skid came up behind me, feeling the heat of his body and hoping to hell I wasn’t his type. I felt his hands touch mine, then he popped open one of the cuffs.
“Lie down,” he said, his voice unreadable. Should I fight him, or just close my eyes and take it? I wanted to live a lot more than I wanted to fight. I’d let him do it and just hope it ended fast.
I laid down on my back, focusing on the ceiling, blinking rapidly.
“Put your hands up over your head.”
I raised my arms as he leaned over me. He paused, looking me over, and I saw his eyes catch on the swell of my breasts. I bit the side of my cheek, trying not to break down and start begging. I didn’t want to give him that power over me. He reached down, catching my hands, and I felt a tug on the cuffs as he threaded the chain through the wrought iron. Then he snapped the second cuff back on me.
Skid stood back up and walked over to the window, looking outside, crossing his arms. My breath caught. Was that it? Was I safe for now? He glanced back toward me, thoughtful.
“The guy Toke took is my brother,” he said. “Not just my club brother—my half brother. Only family I have. Believe me when I tell you I’ll do anything to get him back. Don’t think being a woman protects you. Nothing will protect you. Got me?”
I nodded.
“Good girl,” he said. “Keep it up and maybe you’ll live.”
He turned and walked out.
I lay there forever, needing to pee so bad it hurt. I supposed I should’ve asked Skid to take me to the bathroom before he locked me down. Sooner or later I’d wet the bed. I didn’t care. I’d rather piss myself than call for Skid to come back and help me. Then I heard a scream and the sound of something shattering against the wall my room shared with Em’s.
I forgot all about my bathroom situation.
“You cocksucking bastard!” Em shrieked. I held my breath as I heard another thump. Oh, God. Was she fighting with him? Was he raping her? Her voice was full of pain and I felt sick to my stomach, because whatever was going on over there wasn’t good. The noise died down. I lay in the dark, counting the seconds. How had something this crazy happened to someone as normal and boring as me?
Goddamn Reapers.
Ruger’s stupid fucking club. First Em got stabbed and now we’d been kidnapped. It was like some horrible virus, creeping in and destroying everything it touched without warning.
If I got out of this alive, I was never touching Ruger again.
I couldn’t be with a Reaper, no matter how much I wanted him. I couldn’t allow this to be a part of my life. It couldn’t be part of Noah’s life, either. If Ruger wanted to see my son, he’d damned well leave the club out of it.
As for me? I was done with him. Well and truly done. I knew it in my gut and in my bones—any man whose reality included women getting kidnapped wasn’t good enough for me. He wasn’t right, no matter how he made me feel.
Period.
I closed my eyes tight as Em screamed again.
I woke with a start as the bed dipped.
Where was I?
&n
bsp; I heard Em’s voice and it all came back.
“You okay?” she asked. I opened my eyes to find her sitting next to me. I studied her, looking for signs of abuse or crying.
She didn’t look like a rape victim, though. She looked pissed as hell. If anything, she was prettier than usual, her cheeks full of color and her hair wild and free. Early morning light filtered in through the window. Hunter stood in the door, eyeing both of us, face unreadable. I couldn’t believe I’d actually fallen asleep.
“I need the bathroom,” I said, my voice hoarse. God, I felt hungover.
“Can she go to the fucking bathroom?” Em asked Hunter, her voice cold.
“Yeah,” he said, walking toward me. She stood and moved out of his way, putting as much distance between them as possible. I tried not to flinch as he unlocked me, rolling away as quickly as I could despite my aching muscles.
“C’mon,” Hunter said. “Both of you.”
Em took my hand and we walked out of the room together, her fingers squeezing mine. I wanted to ask if she was all right, find out what had happened. No way I was going to talk in front of him, though.
We turned into the small bathroom, which didn’t have a window. Em shut the door behind us, pausing long enough in the doorway to glare at Hunter in some kind of silent battle. Then the door shut.
I rushed over to the toilet, incredibly relieved.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, looking over at her. She ran her hands through her hair, then crossed her arms and rubbed up and down. “How are you? Did he hurt you?”
“My pride? Definitely,” she said, eyes snapping. “Not physically. I can’t believe this. Seriously—I can’t believe how stupid I was. I actually invited him to come and meet me. I made it so easy. Idiot.”
I didn’t reply, washing my hands as we swapped places, then cupping them to take a drink. My mouth was all cottony.
“Do you have any idea what’s going to happen to us?” I asked. “Skid scares the crap out of me.”
“Did he hurt you?” she asked, her voice sharp.
“No.”
“That’s good. This is a pretty fucked-up situation,” she said. “Toke—he’s the one who cut me at the party—he’s gone off his rocker. This shooting thing makes no sense to me at all, but if it really happened, we’re screwed. Nobody knows where Toke is, not even Deke, and he’s Toke’s president. They’ve all been looking for him since the party. Cutting me was not okay, and Dad wants to make sure he pays for it.”
“Shit,” I muttered. “So your dad couldn’t give them this Toke guy, even if he wanted to?”
“I don’t think so,” she said slowly. “I mean, he’s really protective of me. When Toke hurt me like that, Dad lost it. If Dad could find him, he’d be found already. We’re pretty fucked here, Sophie.”
“Do you think they’ll hurt us?”
She considered the question.
“Liam won’t,” she replied. “I mean, he won’t hurt me. I don’t think he’ll hurt you, either.”
I cocked my head at her.
“You do realize he was lying to you all along, right? Just because you liked him doesn’t mean you can trust him, Em.”
“Oh, I know that,” she said quickly, then shook her head ruefully. “Believe me, I’m well aware that I’m the fuckwit who got us into this.”
“You’re not a fuckwit,” I said forcefully. “He’s a liar and he’s good at it. Not your fault that he targeted you.”
It was the Reapers’ fault, but I figured rubbing it in wouldn’t be particularly helpful.
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “But I’m serious—I really don’t think he’ll hurt me. I’m more worried about Skid.”
“It’s his brother they’ve got,” I told her. “His real brother. I think he wanted to hurt me.”
“You guys okay in there?” Hunter called through the door.
“We’re fine,” Em snapped, startling me. “Give us a fucking minute, asshole!”
My eyes went wide.
“That was pretty bitchy,” I hissed. “Do you think that’s smart? Maybe I’m reading the situation wrong here, but don’t we want him in a good mood?”
She snorted sarcastically.
“Fuck that,” she replied. “I’m a Reaper and I’ll be damned if I’ll suck up to some Devil’s Jack dickwad.”
“Well I’m not a Reaper,” I said quietly. “And I’d just as soon not die here and leave Noah an orphan, so don’t piss him off.”
She looked chastened.
“Sorry. I guess I have my dad’s temper.”
“Too bad you don’t have your dad’s gun.”
“No shit, right? And I’m the good girl in the family. You should see my sister.”
“You have one minute,” Hunter called through the door. “Then I’m coming in.”
Em washed her hands and we left the bathroom. I avoided making eye contact with Hunter, who stood back and jerked his head toward “my” bedroom.
“Go in and lie down on the bed,” he said. “Both of you.”
We did what he said—although I could see it killed Em to obey—and two minutes later he had us both cuffed to the bedstead. Thankfully, he only did one wrist each, which was way more comfortable than Skid’s method.
“I’ll bring you some food,” Hunter said, tracing a finger across Em’s cheek.
She glared at him. “I’m gonna buy a bright red dress to wear to your funeral, Liam.”
“Yeah?” he replied, eyes narrowing. “Make sure it’s short and shows off your tits.”
“I hate you,” she hissed.
“Keep tellin’ yourself that.”
He walked out, slamming the door behind him. I bit my tongue, wondering what the hell that was all about.
“Don’t worry,” Em said after an awkward pause. “We’ll find our way out of this. We’ll escape somehow. Either that or the guys will find us.”
“Do you have any ideas?” I asked, wondering what the hell was going on between them. “Did he tell you anything, give you any hints or clues about where we are?”
“No.”
I waited for her to say more. She didn’t, and that worried me even more.
“So what did you do all night?” I asked slowly. Em ignored the question.
“I wonder if one of them will leave at some point,” she murmured. “If we wait until there’s just one in the house, I’ll bet the two of us could take him. Or even if we distracted him, at least one of us could get away. Go for help.”
“Do you think we’re really out in the middle of nowhere?” I asked. “Have you seen outside?”
“Haven’t seen outside, but we barely drove long enough to get out of the city,” she said. “There may not be any houses next door, but there has to be something within walking distance. We just need to find a way out of these handcuffs. If we can find a paperclip or a pin or something, I can pick the lock.”
“Really?” I asked, impressed. “Where did you learn that?”
“You’d be surprised at all the things I know,” she said, her voice dry. “Dad believes in being prepared.”
The door opened and Hunter came in balancing two paper plates. He had a couple bottles of water clutched under his arm and I suddenly realized how hungry and thirsty I was. My stomach growled. He set everything on top of the little dresser in the corner. Then he walked over and unlocked the handcuffs.
“You’ve got ten minutes,” he said.
We got up and grabbed the food. It was just plain peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, along with some chips, but it tasted as good as any meal I’ve ever had.
“In a minute, we’re going to call your dad,” Hunter said to Em. “Let him know you’re alive, and find out if he’s made any progress.”
Em glared at him darkly, chewing her food. He sighed, grabbing the chair from the desk and pulling it out.
“You want to sit?” he asked. She shook her head. Hunter spun the chair around and straddled it himself, his face blank. His eyes never stray
ed from Em’s face. Once we finished eating, he nodded toward the bed.
“Lie down again,” he said. We did. Hunter started with me, locking down my right wrist. Then he walked around the bed to do the same to Em’s left. As he leaned over her, I saw her free hand snake quickly around to his back jeans pocket, lifting something. In an instant she tucked it under her body.
Hunter froze.
Shit, did he feel that?
We needed a distraction. Now. I bit down on my tongue viciously, then shrieked and started spitting blood at him as hard as I could.
“Jesus Christ!” he yelled, jumping away from the bed like it was on fire. Em dove right in.
“Oh my God, are you all right?” she yelled. “Hunter, you need to get her to a doctor!”
I stopped spitting, choking on the blood. Ughh …
“I’m tho thorry,” I mumbled, trying to look embarrassed and shocked. “I bith my tongue and ith thcared me.”
Hunter looked at the gobs of blood and spit on his arm with disgust, then glared at me.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” he said. “What the fuck’s wrong with you? Shit, you got any diseases?”
“No, I don’t hath any ditheatheth,” I snapped. Or rather, I tried to snap, which backfired on me because my tongue was swelling so rapidly that I bit it again. “Owth!”
Hunter shook his head, and Em looked at me with wide, concerned eyes. Behind them, I saw laughter dancing.
“Drive me fuckin’ crazy,” Hunter muttered. “I’ll get you a piece of ice to suck on. Jesus, that’s fucking disgusting.”
He left the room, slamming the door, and Em almost lost it.
“That was brilliant,” she whispered. “Seriously brilliant. I got his Leatherman. I should be able to get us out of the cuffs with it.”
“We’re thucky he didn’th do both handth. Thkid did.”
“Oh, that sucks,” she said, wrinkling her nose at me. “Let me guess, did you have an itch on your ass or something all night?”
“No, thank fukth,” I replied. Shit, my tongue really hurt. “When will you thry to pick the lockth?”
