For over a year, Leo had been living a lie while simultaneously hiding in plain sight. The men he owed money knew exactly where to find him. The only thing that surprised Leo was that they had waited so long come.
It just wasn't supposed to happen quite like this.
Leo had went over the scene over a thousand times in his head. He had planned to defend himself. To fight off the men who would eventually knock on his front door with their hands out. Maybe even kill them – if it got to that. Hell, it was the entire reason he had bought an expensive collection of rifles, which he kept tucked away in secret in the basement of his cabin. When the time came – he wanted to be able to defend himself properly.
He looked down at his watch as the sun began to set in the horizon before him. 7:30 pm.
He now had a decision to make.
He could forgot about Layla or he could go and get her and the answers he craved at the risk of something happening to Richie if he didn't arrive at his cabin in time.
Shit, Leo thought.
He pulled off the shoulder of the road with a vengeance and pushed down on the throttle until he was flying up the highway entrance ramp. He was going north. His cabin was south.
He had made his decision.
OVERBOARD
☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
Present
"Tie her up," the man said, tossing his second in command a thick piece of white rope. They were in the basement of Leo's cabin. It was where he had said the safe was located. In the center of the dimly lit room, a light bulb flickered above their heads. Layla swallowed hard, feeling beads of sweat forming on her forehead, trickling down near her eyebrows. She let out a soft yelp of fear, biting down on her bottom lip as the large man pushed her against a metal utility shelf in the corner, tying her wrists tightly behind her back and securing the other end of the rope to the shelf.
He was standing just a little bit too close for comfort to Layla, his breath hot against her neck. What happened next wasn't something she saw coming. The man grabbed her roughly by the neck as she choked and sputtered, her eyes wide with fear as she watched the second, larger man approach her. The man holding her neck released some of the pressure as Layla gasped for air.
"Money. Now. Or we have some fun with the girl," he bellowed in a heavy Russian accent, nodding at Leo, who held up his arms in surrender.
"Look..." he began, swallowing hard as he inched backwards towards a metal storage cabinet, "I don't have it right now..."
That was all the men needed to hear. Before Layla could process what was happening, one of the men was flush behind her, gyrating his pelvis against her tight fitting skinny jeans and reaching around her tense body to cup her breasts through her sweat stained tank top.
"Please–" Layla whimpered, looking over at Leo, who appeared visibly shaken by the scene unfolding in front of him.
"Here–" the man who had yet to touch Layla said to Richie, who was standing in the corner of the basement with a look of rage etched across his swollen face. He caught the gun tossed to him with shaking hands, nearly dropping it as the man snickered, a final ring of smoke escaping his lips as he tossed his cigarette to the concrete floor, stepping on it with his boot.
"Point that at him," he directed Richie sternly, nodding at the gun then at Leo.
"I can't do that!" Richie interjected.
The man laughed, pulling back on Layla's hair roughly.
"You'll do as I say," he paused, directing his intense glare from Leo back to Richie, "otherwise...she pays."
Richie swallowed hard.
"It's okay," Leo spoke up, "do as he says Rich."
A thin, sinister grin folded across the menacing man’s face as he watched Richie point the heavy gun at Leo with unsteady hands. The second guy – who had been quiet as the ordeal unfollowed – reached for Layla as she struggled in his partners arms, bringing the palm of his calloused hand roughly against her ass. She let out a cry of pain, tears brimming over the edges of her eyes. She flinched as the nameless man worked his hands over her stomach and under the hem of her tank top as the second intruder held her in place, the rope he had tied around her arms rubbing uncomfortably against her wrists. He thrusted forward from behind her and Layla could feel his cock ballooning in his pants. Bile surfaced in her mouth. She felt on the verge of throwing up, but swallowed it down, keeping her composure.
The other man pulled her forward as the larger man loosened the other end of the rope, offering just enough slack for Layla to bend over, her pert ass on full display. She cringed, unable to look Leo in the eye. This was all his fault.
"Don't do this man," Layla heard him beg, "look ill have your money. Don't do this to her. It's not her fault. Hell, I just met her."
His words were jumbled and frantic but both of the men ignored him, continuing their invasion of Layla's body. The man behind her pulled one of her hands backwards, forcing Layla into a semi-standing position as he simultaneously pushed her onto her knees – which were bloody and peeling beneath her jeans. She whimpered, placing her hands on the cold, dusty ground to steady herself as the man ran his hands down her back, pulling her tank top roughly over her head and tossing it aside.
Layla's heart stopped. She couldn't believe this was really happening to her. She had screwed dozens of men – she had even acted in rape scenes – but there was something beyond chilling about experiencing it firsthand. She glanced up at Leo, begging him to do something, but he was just as helpless as she was despite his bad ass demeanor. Both of the men moved in on Layla then, taking turns foundling her exposed breasts and uncomfortably hard nipples. It was freezing cold in the basement, making it impossible for her to fight off the reaction her body was having. The men grabbed her roughly, grinding their hard cocks against her tense frame.
Layla had never been sexually assaulted before. It was common practice in Hollywood, especially with child stars, but somehow she had managed to avoid it. Now, she felt as though she was getting a taste as to what it must have been like as the strange men roamed their hands over her exposed figure, pulling roughly at the fabric of her jeans. One began to rub at her womanhood, laughing as Layla did her best to fight him off.
She looked up at Leo, whose eyes were glued to the ground in shame.
"Look at me!" Layla yelled at him, her voice strained and angry. One of the men was behind her, grinding roughly against her ass through her jeans and the other stood in front of her, his cock standing to full attention in his pants just a few inches from her face.
Suddenly, Layla heard a loud bang sound from behind her, followed by another, and the men who had been touching her both fell limply to the ground. She let out a loud scream, hunching over in fear and covering her ears. When she turned around, Layla expected to see Leo, but instead it was Richie holding the gun, his hands shaking. Leo stood in the doorway, his eyes wide with shock. He rushed over to Layla, untying her hands as she began to sob.
They were dead, their blood mixing together on the ground and forming a puddle, which covered Layla's hands as she stood up.
"What did you do?" she yelled at Richie, who dropped the gun in shock before running up the stairs,“You didn’t have to kill them!"
"Shit!" Leo yelled, his hands buried in his hair as he paced back and forth. He dragged Layla up the stairs with haste, grabbing her tank top and working it over her head. Once in the living room, he grabbed his backpack, stuffing some clothing in it before looking around the cabin for Richie.
He was nowhere in sight. The front door was cracked, a light breeze leaking inside. Leo opened the door, pacing through the yard around the small cabin.
"Richie!" he yelled, frantic.
Realizing that he was long gone, he pulled out his phone, dialing his number.
It went straight to voicemail. Leo sighed, his eyes frantic against Layla’s.
"We have to go," he finally said, extending his hand to her, "come on."
–
Twenty-minutes later, they were back in LA
. They pulled up to a large brick building, climbing off of Leo's bike with haste as he parked it beside four other shiny motorcycles just like it. Layla had yet to process the situation that was quickly unfolding around her. She felt as though she was simply going through the motions. She followed Leo through the heavy front door of the building, swallowing nervously. She wanted to go home but she knew there was no way that was happening. Not now. Not after what had happened.
Two men were dead in the basement of Leo's cabin. Richie had killed them and now, he was nowhere to be found.
"What is this place?" Layla asked, her voice shaking.
On the way over, after searching the woods surrounding the cabin for Richie to no avail, Leo had pulled out his cell phone and made a phone call, telling someone on the other end of the line that they needed to meet.
Now, Layla found herself inside the foyer of a nondescript mansion. It was large and spacey and for what it lacked in grandeur, it made up for in age.
This place must be 100 years old! Layla thought, stepping inside.
The dark wood floors creaked beneath their feet as they entered a large dining room area where five burly men dressed from head to toe in leather were gathered tightly around a large table. Some of them had women on their arms, none of them doing much speaking as the boys murmured quietly amongst themselves, growing silent when they noticed Leo’s presence.
"Leo," the largest of the men said as he stepped forward, an angry expression etched across his classically handsome face. The patch of his heavy leather cut read ‘Chase’ and under it, in all caps, the words Master of Arms, "If I were you I would start talking."
He turned his attention to Layla then, his blue eyes intense and invasive. She shivered.
"Who is she?" he demanded.
Leo approached the group, grabbing Layla's sweaty hand and pulling her forward.
"Wait I know her!" a cheery blonde spoke up, "that's Layla Carter! She's famous!"
Chase shot her a stern look, silencing her.
"Get her out of here," he told Leo. Then, he turned to face all four of the other women, nodding his head at them, "all of you too. We need to have a meeting."
The the girls stood up without having to be told again and Layla followed them into the foyer obediently, feeling magnetized and incredibly out of place. Once they were in the hallway, the blonde who had spoken up before approached Layla with a smile.
"Well?" she questioned.
"Yeah?" Layla asked, confused.
"You're her right?"
There was a 'duh' look etched across her pretty face. Layla nodded her head.
"In the flesh," she joked.
"Oh wow!" the blonde exclaimed, bouncing up and down, her supple breasts jiggling in her tight shirt.
"That's so cool!
She turned to face the other three girls who had gathered on the bottom of the stairs.
"Isn't it?" she asked them.
They nodded obediently. It was clear to Layla that this girl was the leader of the pack.
"What's going on in there?" she asked, nodding at the dining room and attempting to change the subject. One of the other girls laughed.
"A better question would be what you are doing here?" she rudely interjected.
Their ring leader shot the girl a piercing glare before answering Layla's question.
"Oh their just having one of their meetings. The boys have them from time to time. We aren't allowed to be around when they talk though."
"Why not?" Layla asked, confused.
She was dying to know what was going on. Had they heard from Richie? Did they know about the men who were dead in Leo's cabin?
The girl laughed, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.
"You must not know much about biker’s honey," she said playfully.
Layla shook her head. The truth was, she had no idea. Out of curiosity, she peeked her head through the dining room door, but she was pulled back roughly.
"If Chase sees you sneaking you'll be better off dead," the girl said sternly.
Layla swallowed hard, deciding to head her warning.
"What's your name?" she asked.
The vibrant blonde smiled, visibly flattered that Layla had finally asked.
"I'm Laura Beth," she said cheerfully. Then she turned, facing the other three girls and pointing at them one by one.
"And this is Caitlin, Kristina and Stevie."
Stevie, the most unfriendly of the three girls, rolled her eyes at the introduction.
"I'm going to smoke. You guys coming?" she asked, standing up and facing the other two girls, who nodded, timidly following her outside and leaving Laura Beth and Layla in their wake.
"Oh don't mind Stevie," Laura Beth said with a laugh.
"She gets jealous so easily. She can't stand seeing Leo with girls."
Layla raised an eyebrow.
"We're not–" she began, but before she could finish her sentence, Leo entered the hallway followed by Chase and the three other men.
"What's going on?" Layla whispered to Leo.
"Don't you think I deserve to know?"
Leo nodded, a look of distress spread across his face as Chase’s eyes burned holes into the back of his head, "Richie is fine," he finally said, clearing his throat.
"But the boys...they've decided it's up to you and me to uh...dispose of the bodies."
Layla backed away frantically.
"No fucking way!" she shrieked.
Suddenly, Chased paced towards her, grabbing her roughly by the neck.
Leo reached forward to stop him but was held back by the other three men.
“Look, bitch," he began, his voice slow and menacingly.
"Chase! Stop it!" Laura Beth cried, grabbing for him.
He pushed her roughly off of his back, turning his attention back to Layla, who struggled to breathe beneath his grip.
"You'll do what you are told. Both of you. This is your fault," he looked up at Leo, hatred heavy in his eyes.
"You betrayed us," he said to him, "and you..." Chase looked down at Layla, his spit making contact with her face.
"I know your type. You distract men. Make them lose focus of what's important. And that's exactly what you did to Leo."
He paused, looking Layla sternly in the eyes before turning his attention over to Leo.
"Do this and maybe you'll still hold a place in this club. But consider yourself demoted."
Leo nodded as the three men roughly threw him forward.
"You're free to go," Chase said, nodding at Layla, who stumbled towards the front door behind Leo.
LUST
☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
Present
Stevie and the other two girls laughed quietly as Layla and Leo pushed past them, climbing on his bike. Layla braced herself as Leo sped onto the gravel road, dirt and pebbles flying around them.
About a mile down the road, halfway to his cabin, Leo pulled off onto the shoulder, climbing off of his bike and pacing back and forth.
"I just need a minute," he called out to Layla, his voice strained. Layla ignored him, setting his helmet on the leather seat as she slid off his bike, approaching him.
Leo glanced over at her, a glimmer in his eyes that was an odd mixture of fear, sadness and desire.
"I'm so sorry I dragged you into this," he finally said, wracking a hand over his face, "I fucked up."
He kicked at the ground, yelling in frustration.
Layla grabbed Leo by his jacket, forcing him to stop moving. His eyes found their way to hers and his breathing began to even out. There was something about her. Something soothing.
"Tell me why you did it," she said sternly, "I want to know why you came back for me. Tell me!"
Leo didn't answer. Instead, he pulled away from Layla sharply.
"After everything that's happened I think I deserve to know!" she yelled after him as he paced.
Layla yearned to understand him. Knowing so little about the man that had both save
d and threatened her life wasn't sitting well with her. Nor was the desire she felt for him.
The glimpse she had gotten back at the cabin of Leo's solid, smooth body had flipped a switch inside of her, sparking a reaction Layla wasn't sure she could ignore.
There was no going back to the way things had been before. They had witnessed a double homicide. They had fled the scene of the crime. And now, they had been put in charge of disposing of the bodies.
Layla shuddered, bending down to throw up, but the fact that it had been nearly twenty-four hours since she had last ate made it difficult. It didn't matter in the eyes of the law that the men who had died had technically been asking for it. Richie didn't have to shoot to kill them. And as much as it scared Layla to admit – she and Leo didn't have to flee the scene.
She was terrified beyond all belief but the only emotion she could focus on as she watched Leo pace was arousal. She could practically hear her heart pounding in her ears as she approached him, grabbing him roughly and forcing him to look at her. She needed to get her mind off of the situation. She needed a release.
A heat emitted from between Layla’s legs and Leo could practically smell her arousal, her breath warm against his neck. They locked eyes for what felt like an eternity, neither one of them speaking. They were tangled together by some kind of invisible electric force. Layla shivered, her pupils dilating against his. The desire in his eyes resonated not just in her body but in her soul. She could feel it practically cascading through her as Leo's glare intensified.
"We can't," he finally whispered, breaking eye contact with Layla and swallowing hard.
Layla shook her head, ignoring him. When Leo was at his most vulnerable, she pulled his heavy body to the ground, straddling him before she could second guess herself. His muscled arms reachrf forward, attempting to push her off of him, but she held tightly to his cotton shirt, refusing to budge.
From Layla's vantage point above him, she could sense a warmness radiating from Leo's body, his cock stirring below her from inside his jeans. He finally gave up his struggle, bringing a shaking hand to her petite waist. She let out a soft gasp of approval, biting down on her full bottom lip until all the blood rushed from it. Leo was tense, his brows furrowed, but he began to loosen up beneath her touch, his eyes softening.
Save Me (Disciples MC #1) Page 8
