And I sure as hell don’t belong here.
I walk outside, and when I don’t see anyone, I smirk to myself. Everyone must still be sleeping—except Jill of course. Who knew whores were such early risers?
Darting my gaze around the exit, I walk briskly until I come to the fence. Making sure to lock it before I leave so no one else can get in, I slide outside and straight into freedom. I wouldn’t jeopardize anyone else in any way, and I wouldn’t take a chance with their safety. But as for me, I’m done.
D.O.N.E.
I walk up the street until I come to the main road. Sliding my phone out of my jeans, I call Lana.
“I’m escaping and I need someone to pick me up,” I say into the phone. I had messaged Lana and updated her on everything, the lockdown, Arrow, and why I was going to be missing in action. So she knows where I am, and why I’m here.
There’s a slight pause on the other end before she speaks. “Text me the name of the street you’re on.”
“Okay, ’bye.”
I hang up and text the name of the street, then press SEND. Phone in my hand, I look up at the sun in the sky. It’s a beautiful day and freedom never felt sweeter.
Who needs Arrow?
That was my last thought before everything went black.
ELEVEN
I WAKE up disoriented, my body resting on a soft mattress, my wrists tied together above my head.
Where am I?
My eyes flutter open as I stare at the ceiling, momentarily confused. What happened?
A man clears his throat and my body stiffens, my heart racing with fear. I slowly look toward the far corner of the room, at the man standing there, casually leaning against the wall. I’ve never seen him before in my life, and I have no idea what he wants with me now, but I know I am in a lot of shit.
Why did I do something so stupid? The Arrow situation was messing with my head and my common sense, and now I am fucked.
Great going, Anna.
“Good morning, sunshine,” the man says with a smirk.
I open my mouth to scream, but faster than lightning, he’s on me, covering my mouth with his hand. “I’m not going to hurt you, okay?”
I nod.
Isn’t that what they always say? How do I play this one out? I don’t know. I need to be smart about the situation, because I know that the wrong move can have deadly consequences.
Like my ending up dead.
Yeah—the stakes are kind of high.
He removes his hand.
“I won’t hurt you, I promise,” he cajoles.
Right, like I’m supposed to believe him.
“The bump on the back of my head says otherwise,” I grit out, licking my bottom lip. My mouth is dry and feels like I haven’t had any water in a long time. “Who are you? And what do you want with me?”
He stands there studying me. “Wind Dragons sent a shipment up north that we tried to intercept. Two of my men were captured. You, my dear, are all I need to make sure my men make it out of there alive.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. What did he mean I was all that he needed? Was he going to trade me—or do something to me?
“What are you going to do with me?” I ask in a small voice, my lower lip trembling slightly.
He tilts his head to the side, watching me with an intense expression on his face. “You won’t be hurt, Anna, as long as you listen to what I have to say.”
I consider what he’s told me. Rake has taken two men? To do what to them? Teach them a lesson for messing with his stuff? He never did play nice with others.
“What’s in the shipment?” I ask quietly, wanting to learn all I can about the MC I know nothing about. I regret the words, however, as soon as they leave my mouth. I really don’t need to anger this man right now, asking questions I know I have no right to know the answers to.
But lucky for me, the man just smirks, eyes brimmed with amusement. “Nothing for you to worry your little head about.”
It’s his amusement that makes me let out the next words from my mouth.
“Condescending bastard,” I mutter, showing him my displeasure by the look on my face. “You know, you don’t look like a kidnapping, abusive jerk.”
He was actually good-looking. Tall, lean, and covered in tattoos, he had shaggy white-blond hair and crystal-green eyes.
He grunts. “I didn’t do the kidnapping, and I told them not to hurt you, so I’m sorry for that.”
He sounds sincere; still something doesn’t add up. Why didn’t he want to hurt me? Just because I am a woman? I didn’t think it would matter, considering they’d had no problem shooting Mary.
“Wild Men MC, right?” I ask, taking a gamble. He isn’t wearing a cut, just dark jeans and a white shirt rolled up at the sleeves.
He nods, his eyes darkening. “I see our reputation precedes us.”
The way he says it makes it sound like that’s not exactly a good thing, and he’d be right.
“If I untie you, are you gonna be a problem?” he asks, staring at my tied hands. “There are other men around the compound, and I can assure you, none of them are as nice as I am.”
“I’ll be good,” I reply. “Can you just untie me? The ropes are cutting into my wrists.”
He quickly stands and cuts the binds. I consider kicking him in the balls and making a run for it, but I need to examine the situation first. If there are men out there, there is no way I can get out of here. I also have no idea which way the exit is. I decide to bide my time and suss out the situation before I get myself killed. “Can I have some water, please?”
He nods and leaves the room, returning about a minute later with a bottle of water and some painkillers.
“Thanks,” I say, taking both from him. “So who do I thank for the possible concussion?”
His lip twitches. “That would be Ranger.”
These men give each other the stupidest names.
“And what is your name?” I ask.
A strange look appears on his face before he answers me. “Call me Talon.”
“Talon it is.”
He tilts his head to the side. “I’d expected hysterical screaming, crying at the least.”
“Then you should have kidnapped a weaker woman.”
I am trying not to let him see that I am shit scared, because I am.
He laughs at that and points to the door on the left. “Bathroom is there. Don’t think of trying anything, Anna, or you will regret it.”
With that warning lingering in the air, he leaves the room and locks the door behind him. I check out the bathroom, finding nothing I can use as a weapon. There isn’t even a mirror in there, which makes me think that this is the room where they keep all their captives. Now that Talon has left the room, I allow myself to feel terrified. Rake will come for me, I know it. I just hope it will be soon. My stomach rumbles. It seems inappropriate to be hungry at a time like this, but unfortunately I have no control over it. Sitting back on the bed, my back against the headboard, I feel helpless.
I don’t like to feel helpless.
My gaze darts around the room, looking for anything that can help me.
When Talon says he won’t hurt me, I believe him. But if I push my luck I don’t know if that will stay true. What feels like an hour passes before Talon walks in with a bag of food.
“Thought you might be hungry,” he says, giving me a small smile.
He’d thought right, not that I was about to admit it.
“Are you the president?” I blurt out, wanting to know why it was him in here with me and no one else.
“I’m the vice president,” he says, biting his bottom lip. “My dad was the president before he was killed.”
“Oh. Family business, huh?” I say, not knowing how to respond to that. I take the bag from his hand and open it, peering inside to see a burger and fries. “Any idea when I’ll be able to leave here?”
His eyes shutter, expression darkening. “Told them we had you; they went crazy, as
we expected. Thought I’d make them sweat a little, so I said I’d meet up with them tomorrow and we could trade.”
I think about that. “That means you leave your men with them for longer than necessary.”
He resumes his spot against the wall, standing how he was when I first saw him. “They’ll survive.”
“Do the clubs always use their women against them?” I can’t stop myself from asking. This wasn’t a world I wanted to live in, yet was thrust upon me. It somehow didn’t seem fair that I was to be used as a bargaining chip in a world that I didn’t belong in.
A muscle tics in Talon’s jaw. “You haven’t known the club for long, have you?”
I shake my head. “Not at all. But I heard about Mary, the woman who was killed.”
Talon looks away then, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. “The men did that against their president’s orders. They went rogue, and our club suffered for it. My father would never have wanted an innocent woman harmed—he wasn’t like that—though that’s now our burden to bear.”
“What happened to the men?” I ask.
Talon clenches his fist. “All dead. My father died too, because of them. If they weren’t killed I would have done it myself.”
“Your own club brothers?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“They betrayed us,” is all he says. “Now eat, you must be hungry.”
* * *
I wake up, horrified with myself for falling asleep in the first place. I’m alone in the room, luckily, and seem to have been left alone. I walk to the door and try to pull it open, but it’s still locked and doesn’t budge. Of course I’m not that lucky, but at least no one has hurt me. I use the bathroom as quickly as I can, just in case they decide to come in, then sit back on the bed. With nothing else to do, my mind races, thinking up different scenarios. Where is Rake? I hope he is okay, and not too worried about me. He must think they’re doing God knows what to me, and I can only imagine how frantic he must be.
Where is Arrow? How is he reacting right now?
Probably back in bed with Jill.
Well, wasn’t that a mood killer.
The door opens with a creak and Talon walks in, followed by another man—a scary-looking one at that.
“We’re going to the meet,” Talon says, holding his hand out to me. I hesitantly take it and look up at the other man.
“Let me guess, you’re Ranger?” I ask, gulping. Dressed in all leather, he is a massive man with shrewd dark eyes and a Mohawk.
He laughs at me, his shoulders shaking. “No, sweetheart, I’m not Ranger. I’m Slice.”
“Slice,” I repeat, tasting the ridiculous name on my tongue. “I don’t even want to know why they call you that.”
“And I don’t want to tell you,” he replies smoothly.
With a man on each side of me, we exit the room and I get my first look at where I’m being held. The Wild Men clubhouse is different from the Wind Dragons’. Less homey for one, less clean for another. Men sit around a table, drinking and carrying on. I know it’s morning, although I don’t know what time, but I’m assuming they’ve been up all night.
“Well, what do we have here?” one man croons, making all the other men turn to look at me.
Just great.
Talon ignores them and ushers me into a garage and to an expensive-looking black four-wheel drive. He opens the door for me, waits for me to slide into the car, but hesitates as he’s about to close the door.
“Anna,” he says quietly, eyes boring into mine. “Are they good to you there? They treat you right?”
My brows furrow, wondering why he is concerned at all. “They’re good to me.”
He nods once, seemingly satisfied. “Good.”
Then he closes the door, leaving me even more confused. Slice gets into the passenger seat after me and Talon drives. The car ride is tense, the air thick between the two men, obviously anticipating facing the Wind Dragons face-to-face. Did they think this was going to run smoothly? Or were they worried that something might happen?
“Where are we going?” I ask nosily, breaking the strained silence and looking between the two men.
“A secure location,” Talon replies, his fingers squeezing the steering wheel. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe with your brother before you know it.”
“How does everyone know so much about me?” I ask him, frowning. It is a little weird. There are many people connected to the club, but it seems like they had homed in on me. Was I an easy target? I didn’t like the sound of that.
“You work at one of the most popular bars in town, and the club keeps an eye on you everywhere you go. Everyone knows who you are,” Slice says in a dry tone. “Don’t know why you were stupid enough to be walking around alone. I’d kick your ass if you were my sister.”
“Well, luckily I’m not,” I snap. “I’m not a club member, I live my own life. I work at the bar; I go to school. I’m a fucking scientist. I didn’t think anyone would do anything to me because my only crime is being related to Rake!”
The men go quiet at my outburst, and Talon uncomfortably clears his throat. “You should listen to your brother. Other men might not be as nice as I am.”
My eyes narrow. “What I should do is move back to the other side of the country and live a peaceful life away from overbearing assholes.”
Slice chuckles, a really annoying sound. “Sweetheart, we both have chapters over there. You can’t get away no matter what. If you think your brother didn’t keep tabs on you while you were living away, you’re one stupid scientist.”
I blink. It never even occurred to me that Rake would have an eye on me while I was living on the other side of the country, but it does sound like something he would do.
I rub my forehead. “I’ll move somewhere far away. Scotland maybe? How about Ireland? I heard Galway is a beautiful place to visit this time of the year.”
“Shut it,” Slice demands as we drive into a warehouse.
“Is this the place?” I ask, sticking my face against the window. It is a large, dark, empty space in the middle of nowhere. Perfect for such dealings as this.
“Quiet, Anna,” Talon says, looking around the warehouse. I follow his lead and do the same. Where are the men? Goose bumps appear on my arms as I wait for something to happen.
Then, one by one from the darkness, they appear.
First I see Arrow, then Rake. Tracker and Sin step out from the shadows.
They look pissed.
And I mean pissed.
Deadly.
My gaze lingers on Arrow, whose posture is rigid, his fists clenched at his sides.
Suddenly I can’t help but feel sorry for Talon. Why did they come with only two people? If it was me I’d make sure I had a man for each man I was up against, but what did I know?
The Wind Dragon men step toward the car, like a unit, united by their fury. What was I supposed to do? Did they want me to get out of the car? Talon and Slice both get out at the same time, and Slice opens my door and drags me out, nowhere near as gentle as Talon had been. I give him a dirty look that he doesn’t see because he’s staring over my head. Then I’m spun around and my eyes instantly connect with Arrow’s. His gaze scans me from head to toe, maybe looking for any injuries? His mouth is tight, and his eyes are narrowed but alert. He looks imposing, and ready to do murder. Something I probably shouldn’t joke about, seeing as it’s something he’s extremely capable of.
“Where are my men?” Talon asks, gritting his teeth. “You said they would be here.”
I look around and feel like something is going on.
Because the two men they were supposed to deliver aren’t here.
TWELVE
ARE you okay?” my brother asks, taking a step toward me. “Anna, answer me!”
He sounds panicked, so I quickly reply. “I’m fine, I wasn’t hurt.”
“You will pay for touching her,” Arrow grits out, and I raise my eyebrow. How nice of him to care. I cringe. Okay, that was
catty of me. There are bigger things to worry about right now than my unrequited love and the fact that Arrow fucked Jill instead of me.
Talon’s grip on my upper arm tightens, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Talon, you’re hurting me,” I say softly, and he instantly lets go of my arm.
“Where are they?” Slice demands, looking like he wants to hit something. “Or don’t the Wind Dragons keep their word?”
“In the van,” Sin replies, nodding toward the black van parked in the corner. “Let Anna walk to us, then you can go and get them. We kept our word, and we always do. This way everyone walks out of here unharmed.”
They wanted to control the situation. They did keep their word, but they also wanted assurances that I was going to be leaving with them today. It was a smart plan.
“Are they hurt?” Talon asks, staring toward the van.
Sin grins, all teeth. I never realized just how scary the man could be until this very moment. “They might be a little banged up, but they’ll live.”
Talon pushes gently on my back, silently telling me that I’m free to go. I step one small step forward, then another.
“Anna,” Rake says softly, making me look up at him.
I run to him, closing the space between us, and wrap my arms around him, finally feeling completely safe.
“Jesus, you scared me half to death. I’m so fuckin’ sorry, Anna,” Rake whispers in my ear. I squeeze my eyes shut and just hold on to him. Talon and Slice get their men and put them in their car.
“Be careful who you trust, Anna,” Talon calls out, sending me an apologetic look before he gets in and drives away. Be careful who I trust? What the hell is he talking about? I am going to let future me worry about it because right now I am where I want to be, in my brother’s arms, safe and untouchable once more.
“Come on. Let’s get you home, little warrior princess,” my brother says, leading me to the van. Arrow walks up to me, blocking my way. He has a cut lip, looks like he took a punch to the face. He reaches his arm out but then retracts it at the last moment. He curses and then takes another step to me, so close we’re almost touching. I can feel the heat from his body, smell his delicious scent. I stand still, not saying anything or moving.
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