by Anya Nowlan
Trapped is an awfully big word, Ruby, she told herself, trying to find the silver lining and failing miserably. Oh, who are you kidding. Yes, you’re trapped. Congratulations. You went from a father, who wouldn’t let you do anything, to a boyfriend, who is just as bad. Ex-boyfriend, she corrected herself, taking a sip of her Tequila Sunrise.
And who do you have to blame for all of it? Yourself. Excellent work, Ruby. Way to show everyone how good you are at controlling your own life.
Like every night, the bar was crammed full of bustling bodies, mostly clad in leather and chains, laughing their hoarse laughter and swigging their cheap ales. The Rusty Nail was on a barren, forgotten street in the worst part of town, and that’s how the patrons preferred it. No one came here to be found – they came here to lose themselves in a crowd of people, each more dangerous than the last. And Ruby was their queen, whether she liked it or not.
While the bikers that frequented the dive bar struggled to find space, Ruby seemed to have all the room in the world. There was always a respectful perimeter of a good few feet around her, as if an invisible force field pushed people away from her. She knew exactly what that force field was – Cable Bloodhowl, the head of the Crimson Fang Riders. Her ex-boyfriend. Only, he wouldn’t accept the ‘ex’ part of that arrangement, and that was where all her troubles began
Well, honestly, it went back a bit further. Ruby should have probably realized that dating a scruffy, ragged and intensely violent werewolf biker wasn’t exactly the safest way to a good time. But that hadn’t mattered then. All that had really been important was that dating a guy like him would royally piss off her father, and she had been right on the money with that assumption. And, that it would give her a breather from being so prim and proper all the time.
Ruby lifted her chin a little, reveling in the small bit of solace that this shitty situation provided her – at least there was nowhere to go but up. She’d just have to take things into her own hands now and try and make better decisions. It was no wonder that sometimes, grabbing life by the horns came with a difficult, impossible to reason with werewolf.
Like her family often reminded her, she was brilliant. Smart, fast on her feet and ready to roll with the punches, she’d soared through school and come out on the other side as a promising, soon to be young doctor. But that was where things got iffy, too. Was it really what she wanted? Sure, she loved medicine, but it left a sour taste in her mouth that it was her father’s dream for her. She’d gone back and forth on what she wanted out of her life until opportunity presented itself to forget all about it for a while – Cable. Going for the easy choice might have just been the worse thing she could have done.
Ruby sighed, glancing in the direction she knew Cable to be at. It was always the loudest, rowdiest bit of the bar that she could find her ex in. Given enough time, a chair would surely fly or a biker would be slammed into a wall like he was a little annoying gnat and Cable had simply brushed him off. At first, it had been exciting to be around him – so brutal and straightforward with everything he wanted, Cable had been everything the men around her father weren’t.
While the Italians could be harsh, they were never crass. One didn’t last too long in the mob business if they hadn’t learned a little about politics or how to hide one’s tracks. But Cable and his gang knew nothing about that. They took what they wanted, did as they pleased and answered to no one. It had been intoxicating when Cable took an interest in her, showing her how wild life could be and how little rules really mattered. But after a while, Ruby found herself wishing that the rules she had shunned so readily would make an appearance again.
Apparently she didn’t quite have the stomach to watch a guy get beaten to within an inch of his life just because he had taken the wrong seat at the bar. And as much as it surprised Cable, a life of hanging out in bars and going out for rides to hit up other bars or liquor stores that they weren’t involved in turf wars already, kind of got old for the mob princess.
When she tried to leave, she’d found it impossible. Not that she was overly fond of Cable anymore anyway – that had passed quickly – but he just wouldn’t let her go. So there she sat, like a permanent fixture on a bar stool at The Rusty Nail, drinking drinks with umbrellas and waiting patiently for another chance to escape. Just like she’d done all month.
“Don’t look so down, chica,” Yaya said, elbowing a big biker out of her way and plopping down on a seat next to Ruby.
Ruby glanced over to her friend, smiling mildly. Okay, so things could be worse. At least Yaya was there.
“I’m trying,” she confessed, leaning forward on one elbow and studying the bar.
She’d tried just about every conceivable and inconceivable way to break out of there, but Cable kept catching her at every turn. Ruby was starting to think that it was some kind of game to him by now.
“Still plotting your epic escape?” Yaya queried, receiving a pink drink from the barkeeper and taking a long swig.
She was completely unabashed about being the most colorful, cheery thing in a sea of doom, gloom and gruff bikers. That’s what Ruby liked about Yaya. She didn’t care about what others thought and just did her own thing. Ruby sometimes wished she could be more like her, minus the big biker boyfriend.
Yaya’s significant other was Trident, Cable’s second in command, and he seemed even harder and stricter than Cable. Yaya promised he actually had a big, softy heart, but after the second time that Trident had foiled one of her escapes, she wasn’t so sure anymore. But Ruby didn’t have the heart to badmouth Yaya’s man. If she was happy with him, who was she to judge?
Besides, wasn’t Ruby the one who’d decided to bag the biggest jerk of them all? Not exactly a great judge of character.
“Yup,” she replied, grinning a little. “I’m not sure if I have many options left before I really piss Cable off, though. You think he’d appreciate me hiding in a trash bag and hoping to get dragged out to the city dump instead of being with him?”
Yaya laughed, downing half her drink in one swig. “Nope. I don’t think he would. But do it anyway, it’ll make a great story. And, I keep telling you, if you want me to, I’ll call your dad. He’ll get you out of trouble.”
Ruby shook her head quickly. That was the last thing she needed. She’d rather try out her luck with Cable than go begging her father for help. It was her own mess and she had to unravel it herself, whatever the outcome.
“Oh, speaking of trouble, that’s my cue to leave. Good luck,” Yaya said, pointing at a rumble at one end of the bar.
She hopped off her seat and scampered away, giving Ruby an encouraging squeeze before disappearing into the throng. The bustle seemed to move from the corner of the bar that Ruby had been watching and slowly made its way through the bar towards her. Her expression soured even further, and she took a big gulp of the drink.
Maybe it will make him taste better, she thought bitterly.
Squaring her shoulders, Ruby sat upright as she saw Cable emerge from the crowd. He was a tall man and had a distinct look of ruthlessness about him. When she first met him, she thought that he was so cocky because he’d never tasted failure. She still wasn’t sure if it was that or the polar opposite – that he’d seen so much defeat that now the only way to deflect it was to pretend it never happened. Either way, he was difficult at best and a beast at worst.
“My little cherry!” Cable roared, garnering chuckles from his entourage of sweaty, leathery goons, all tattooed, pierced and scary just like him. “Are you having fun?” he queried, leaning on the bar right next to her.
His stench assaulted her nostrils, a mixture of stale beer and motor oil. Hard to believe she’d found it sexy at first. He seemed a bit rattled, like someone had thrown a curve ball at him, and he wasn’t exactly sure how to handle it. It made her wary.
“As always,” she replied blandly, trying to muster a smile.
He didn’t like it when she was pouting, and though he had never sunk to hitting her, she was
sure he wasn’t past that capability. Best not aggravate him further. She was already on thin ice with him after her countless attempts at escape.
“Good, good,” he murmured, receiving a shot of tequila from the burly red bearded barkeeper without having to ask for it.
He slammed it and tossed the glass behind the bar, shattering it into a million tiny fragments. Ruby jumped a little in her seat, glancing over her shoulder.
“What did you do that for?” she asked.
“Sometimes it just feels good to break something, you know?” he said, curling one finger around her long, auburn hair before brushing his fingertips over her cheek.
She cringed inwardly.
“I do,” she added darkly.
Cable inched closer, the curious looks of his men now scattering, all finding something better to do while their boss toyed with his current prized possession. He sniffed her hair, and Ruby bit her lip in an attempt to keep from gagging. She’d only made it to bed with him once, when she was drunk off her ass on tequila, and for such a big man, he had been surprisingly… small? Another reason why he overcompensated so much, she figured.
But it wasn’t just that. He had no idea what to do with a woman, and the more he touched her, the worse it got. Since then, Ruby had made it very clear that she had no interest in him, and that in turn seemed only to grow his affection for her.
“Have you been plotting to leave again, my little cherry?” Cable asked, his breath hot on her skin.
Ruby kept her eyes forward, knowing that nothing good could come from engaging with him on that topic. She already did as much as she could to appease him – wearing a tight little black leather skirt that hugged her ample ass and wide hips almost indecently, and a red top that was constantly threatening to let her tits bounce out for the world to see. He liked her dressed like that, and though she knew the easiest way to make him go away was to tell him what he wanted to hear, she couldn’t bring herself to doing it.
“Hmm, have you?” he asked again, kissing her shoulder and biting at it a little. A cold jolt went through her, spreading from where he touched her.
“Yes,” she admitted through gritted teeth.
And I’m not going to stop until I get away from you, she added silently.
He grabbed her chin and snapped her face around to look him in the eyes so fast and hard that she thought he’d snap her neck. His gray eyes were cold and dangerous, that predator that always lurked under his skin so close to the surface now that she could barely see the man behind the wolf.
“I thought we talked about this, Ruby. No running. Not now, not ever. You are mine, and that is how it’s going to be. The gold moon is soon upon us, and then, I will make an honest woman out of you. Nothing can break our bond then.”
He smiled wickedly, a certain tint of satisfaction making his rough, wide jaw contort in a smile. It always looked unnatural on him, like the boogeyman trying to pass as a Girl Scout.
“What!?” she gasped, her hazel eyes going wide with surprise. “I never agreed to that!”
“You didn’t need to. You are my girl. My woman. And I decided I want to make you mine for life.” His words grew louder at the last sentence and he glanced over his shoulder.
She frowned slightly, following his gaze and seeing the solemn, blue gaze of his second in command, Trident, staring back. He didn’t seem pleased.
“When the gold moon comes, Cable Bloodhowl will take a wife! And better yet, she is an Accardo!” he announced, so loud that it carried over the tin of the metal blaring from the speakers, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, he put his other hand behind her head and pulled her in for a wet, sopping kiss, completely ignoring the way she was pummeling at his chest to be let go. His tongue snaked into her mouth, and she thought she would gag in earnest now – it felt like being kissed by a trout. Ruby may have been over-exaggerating a little, but dammit if it didn’t feel like the most disgusting thing ever.
What the fuck have you got yourself into, Ruby!? Dammit, Ruby, what are you going to do to fix this?
When Cable pulled back from her, he was smiling brightly, showing his jagged teeth. His face was marred with countless cuts and bruises, just like the rest of him, and his big, impossibly strong arms were still cradling her like she was a delicate trinket and he a very careful bull in a china store. Ruby watched him remove a platinum band from his little finger, struggling to get it loose, and then slip it around her ring finger.
She looked at it in abject horror, disbelief mingling with rage at the thought that he would do something like that to her. He couldn’t be serious, could he? But one look at him told her that he was being dead serious. His last words rung in her ears – she was an Accardo. Was that all this was about? Getting close to the Butcher, never mind it called for a reluctant marriage and one less than happy bride?
Cable gave her a stern look, one that told her in no words to shut up and keep her opinions to herself, and then spun around to meet the clamoring faces of his buddies and gang members. All of it was so sudden, so… unlike him. He’d never given her any inclination that he wanted to marry her, just that he didn’t want her embarrassing him by leaving before he was well and truly done with her. The way he’d caught or chased her down a dozen times as she’d tried to escape had been evidence enough of that.
“Drinks on me!”
The bar erupted with screams so loud that Ruby thought the roof might just collapse on the little shack of a building. It was a shame it didn’t. It would have saved her from the horror of being Cable Bloodhowl’s fiancée.
She looked at the ring again and her heart dropped.
How am I going to get myself out of this mess?
CHAPTER THREE
Ruby
All night, Ruby had felt like someone was watching her. Naturally, everyone’s eyes had been on her after Cable’s grand announcement, but it wasn’t just that. There was more to it. Like someone was tracking her every move, studying her, filing away everything they saw to be used later. It was a bit eerie, though she’d dealt with creepier things lately. Like kissing Cable. Ew.
She shuddered at the memory, and the platinum band around her finger felt like it was sucking the life force right out of her. She glanced down at it and, with a sigh, ordered a tequila shot. Might as well get wasted, there wasn’t anything left to lose that night anyway.
“Another, please,” a deep voice said next to her, causing her to spin around to face the owner of such a damn sexy voice.
And there he stood, the most damnably hot man she’d seen in a long, long time. He was tall and built like a wall, but still had a certain catlike grace to his movements. Wide shoulders and a tapered waist that led into narrow hips, and she had to physically stop herself from allowing her eyes to trek any lower. Though they wanted to.
Damn, she thought, wetting her lips and turning away to eye her drink again.
It hadn’t been fast enough though. He’d noticed her looking at him. Her heart beat harder in her chest, and she could feel a blush coming to her cheeks as he seemed to take her in from head to toe, his mesmerizing green eyes considering her like she was the tastiest treat and he a man long unfed. When Cable wore a look close to it, it made her cringe with disgust, but when this guy gave her that bedroom look… Well, let’s just say she immediately wondered where the closest quiet corner was.
Joe the barkeeper handed the mystery man his drink, and he picked it off the bar.
“Drinking to your engagement?” he asked, a chuckle in his voice.
Well, there it was. All her girlish excitement flung straight out the window. Ruby barely suppressed a groan and threw him a look that could freeze hell over, but he seemed positively untouched by it. If anything, his amusement deepened, and that devilish smirk of his curved a bit at the corner of his mouth. He wore a black tank and a worn leather jacket with dark jeans that clung to his muscled legs, and boots that roped up all the way.
The only sta
ndout oddities about him were the thick gold cuffs he wore on his wrists and the several slim gold chains around his neck. She could spy the colored corners and edges of a few tattoos, but he looked a lot cleaner cut than most of the ruffians at The Rusty Nail. Definitely handsome. Definitely a heartthrob. Definitely off-limits. Wasn’t that just life for you? He didn’t exactly help his case by stepping on that festering boil on her soul called her engagement, either.
“Sure,” she offered noncommittally, raising her shot glass to him.
“Salut,” he said, and his soft, deep timber voice rumbled through her, making her core pulse.
She’d given up hope of seeing anyone that really caught her interest near Cable, but here he was, in all his gruff, slightly unwashed but incredibly sexy glory – a bad boy right to her taste. They both kicked back the drinks and put the glasses back on the counter, where Joe snatched them up before anyone else got the bright idea of smashing his wares.
“Again,” the mystery man said, throwing some bills on the counter.
“No, man, I don’t think you should be drinking with me. And in any case, I don’t need you to buy for me,” Ruby said, glancing at him from under lowered lashes.
His reddish-brown hair fell slightly on his forehead, and it looked so soft that she just wanted to run her fingers through it. Probably not a good idea. Unless she wanted to get his ass kicked by Cable & Co.
“Let me decide what I want to do, hmm, sugar?” he said, and the way he purred the last word made the hairs on the back of her arm stand up in excitement.
Where was he when she was looking for her adventure, huh? Ruby could bet he wouldn’t want to wed her to prove a point!
