by Carrie Cox
“I’d hoped you’d be gentlemen and take me back to the nearest town,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Either that, or let me use your cell phone. I seem to have lost my purse.” I gave a pointed look to the bearded man standing next to me, who I strongly suspected of stealing my purse.
“Cell phone?” He dug into his leather jacket and pulled out a tiny cell phone. He glanced at the screen and then thrust it in my face. “Look at that, no signal. How about you guys?” he asked the others. They all checked their phones in turn and then shook their heads, almost like a comic routine.
“So, Nick,” he said. “Are you going to be a gentleman?” The man with the shaved head smiled and his gold tooth flashed in the sun.
Nick walked forward and looked down at me with his piercing blue eyes.
There couldn’t have been more of a contrast between him and the other bikers. He could have been a model on the cover of GQ magazine. His features were even and his tanned skin was smooth. His lips look soft and kissable…
My gaze travelled down his neck, lingering on his broad shoulders. Last night we’d been so intimate, yet today he was acting as if he’d never seen me before. I swallowed and looked back up at his face. He was looking at me intently.
Then he turned back to the man with the shaved head. “She’s no threat to us, Damien. We should just drop her at the next gas station.”
But Damien scowled and looked scathingly at Nick. “Oh, we should, should we?” He looked around at the two bearded brothers and then pointed at Nick. “Nick thinks he’s the one giving orders now. He’s telling us what we should do.”
I understood in that moment that Damien was dangerous. He had a chip on his shoulder about something, and there were definitely power struggles going on in this group. A situation I really didn’t need to get into the middle of.
Nick jerked around to face Damien, but then he winced. I wondered if he was regretting telling Damien I wasn’t a threat or whether he was actually hurt, but a moment later, his expression cleared. “We don’t need any hangers on. She’ll just slow us down,” Nick insisted.
Damien looked sharply at him. “It’s not for you to decide. We are not letting her go, not without Victor’s say so. Now let’s ride. You take the girl.”
I stood there for a moment, blinking in the dazzling sun. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening to me. Were they expecting me to get on one of these bikes voluntarily?
The bearded man released his grip on my shoulder and trudged off, presumably to get his bike.
The other two men straddled their bikes, leaving Nick standing behind me.
He shifted his position so his back was facing the other bikers and he was looking down at me, and then he spoke to me softly, so softly I could barely hear him, “Ella, you are going to ride on the back of my bike and we will take you somewhere safe. You won’t be hurt, I promise you that, but you have to keep your wits about you, do you understand me?”
Understand him? There was nothing I understood about this situation.
As he started to turn to make his way towards his bike, I reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait, Nick, do you know what happened to my friend Claire?”
When he looked back at me, his expression clouded over and he seemed more guarded. He didn’t answer my question.
“Come on,” he said. “The others are waiting.”
4
Nick helped me onto the bike and I awkwardly slipped into position behind him.
“Who are these people?” I whispered urgently.
“The guy with the shaved head is Damien Blackthorne, and the two brothers are Chad and Tom Johnson.”
“Who is this guy Victor they were talking about?”
“Victor Blackthorne. He is Damien’s brother, and he’s the guy in charge.”
Before I could ask any more questions, he started up the engine. The vibrations from the engine shimmied up my body.
“Hold on,” he ordered, but I couldn’t see what to hold on to.
After a moment, he turned and raised an eyebrow. “Hold on to me, Ella.”
I held on loosely to his leather jacket, not wanting to get too close. I felt betrayed and way out of my depth.
I thought I could keep some distance between us, but as soon as he pulled away, I felt unbalanced, almost like I was going to fall off and I tightened my arms around his midsection.
It felt wrong holding on to this man who was holding me captive and yet it felt good. There was something about Nick that made me feel I could trust him, which was crazy.
I’d just finished my first year at medical school, and I started to think about the course I’d taken on psychology and tried to analyze why I was feeling like this. Nick was the only one who had made any effort to explain things to me, and because of that, I was creating some kind of intense emotional attachment to him. I would regret that. I needed to be more careful.
***
The road seemed endless, and I was sure we’d been riding for hours. The brief thrill I’d gotten from feeling the wind rush past me faded fast. My hands and skin felt chapped and burned by the wind. I couldn’t wait for this ride to be over.
When we finally pulled up outside a gas station, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere because I hadn’t seen any road signs for ages, I felt hopeful that my ordeal would soon be over. Surely they wouldn’t stop me making one phone call.
Nick got off his bike and his gaze followed mine to the store. He put a hand on my forearm and said, “Don’t try anything. Just wait.”
Damien came up behind us, looking at us both, and in that moment, I knew it wasn’t only me he didn’t trust. He had some kind of problem with Nick.
“What are you two talking about?”
“I want to make a call,” I said. “Can I borrow some change?”
Damien smiled nastily. “No. You’re not making any calls until after you’ve seen Victor.”
“Why? It’s just a phone call.”
Damien shook his head in disgust. “Don’t you do anything other than whine?” He turned to Nick. “Shut her up.”
Nick said nothing.
There was no reason for me to trust Nick. He could be a murderer for all I knew. I wasn’t going to just wait and hope that they would let me go eventually. I needed to be proactive. I only had myself to rely on. I would escape, and I was determined to do it alone.
After Damien left us, I turned to Nick. “I need to use the restroom.”
One of the bearded brothers spoke up. I didn’t know if it was Chad or Tom. I couldn’t tell them apart. “You can go by the side of the road so we can keep an eye on you.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
He leered at me. “Yeah, I’d like to watch that.”
“Then you’re a sick bastard,” I yelled at him, making his brother and Damien howl with laughter.
He scowled and made a move towards me, as if he’d like to throttle me. Nick stepped between us. “Just relax, Chad,” he said and put a hand on the big man’s chest.
Nick grabbed my arm, and then turned to Damien. “I’ll take her inside so she can use the restroom.”
“Make sure she doesn’t escape.”
Nick looked around at the bleak landscape surrounding the gas station. “She wouldn’t get far if she did.”
Damien grunted and continued to look at me suspiciously as Nick led me towards the store.
The bell above the door rang as we entered and the clerk looked up. He was wearing a baseball cap and chewing gum. I looked at him meaningfully, wishing that I could somehow communicate that he should call 911, but his bored eyes dropped back to the comic on the counter that he’d been flicking through.
“We need to use the restroom,” Nick said.
“Out back,” the guy said, jerking his thumb towards the door and not bothering to look up.
Nick kept a hand on the small of my back as we walked through into the dark corridor towards the restroom.
“Can’
t you just leave me here?” I begged, turning to face him. I had a feeling he might be slightly more open and receptive without the other bikers around.
Nick looked over his shoulder as if he was checking that nobody else was listening to us. And when he looked back at me, I could see pity in his blue eyes.
“This won’t be forever,” he said. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but please believe me when I say you need to keep your head down and do as I say.”
“Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything to you or them. Why won’t they let me go?” My voice caught in my throat as I spoke.
Nick shook his head. “They aren’t allowed to… Not without Victor’s say so.”
“I’ll wait out here,” Nick said as we came to a stop beside the restroom.
The room stank, but I bolted the door behind me and leaned back onto the dirty painted door. I looked around desperately for a way to escape.
There was a window above the toilet, but it was scarcely bigger than a cat flap, and there was no way I would fit through it.
I briefly considered staying locked inside the restroom and then screaming for help until the sales clerk agreed to call 911, but then I dismissed the idea. It would only take Nick seconds to break down the door, and I didn’t want to find out what would happen if I pushed the boundaries that far.
After I washed my hands, I rejoined Nick in the corridor and walked back to the shop. The other bikers were buying candy and sodas.
“Want anything?” Nick asked.
I picked out a can of Coke and handed it to him.
Nick handed the can to Chad and then escorted me out of the gas station back to the bike. It was as if he knew what I was thinking.
“I’m glad you didn’t shout for help in there, or do anything stupid,” Nick said.
I gazed down at the dusty forecourt. I was regretting not asking the cashier to help me. It could have been my only chance of escape.
“I should have done,” I muttered.
Nick shook his head sadly. “No, Ella, you shouldn’t have. If you had, they would have killed him.”
5
My pulse spiked when Nick said the bikers would have killed the gas station clerk, but I didn’t have a chance to respond before Chad lumbered over and handed me a Coke.
I took the can from Chad and drank it greedily. I was so thirsty.
It seemed we barely had a chance to finish our drinks before Damien was back on his bike and shouting for the others to do the same.
With a heavy heart, I let Nick help me back onto the bike. My mind was still whirring. Would they really have killed the gas station clerk or was Nick just trying to scare me into behaving? I had a horrible feeling he had been telling the truth.
It was ridiculous believing that I could trust him. Nick was holding me prisoner, and just because he was cute and said a few nice words didn’t mean he had my best interests at heart.
I couldn’t understand why they were taking me with them. And I still couldn’t figure out what had happened to Claire. If only I still had my cell phone. Perhaps at the next pitstop I might be able to find a phone without anyone noticing.
We rode for hours. I had never ridden on the back of a motorbike before and I was surprised at how physical it was. My legs ached from being in the same position. I couldn’t wait to get off the thing. As I grew more and more tired, I leaned forward, resting my cheek against Nick’s leather jacket.
We rode on into the night, and I started to shiver. Despite the heat during the day, the desert night was cool, and with the wind chill factor from sitting on the back of the bike in just a skimpy dress, I was absolutely freezing.
The monotonous rumble of the engine was lulling me to sleep, and every now and again, I’d jerk awake, gripping tightly to Nick’s jacket. I was emotionally exhausted.
We were on a straight section of road, where it seemed as if we could see for miles when Nick slowed the bike and then stopped at the side of the dusty road.
The bikes had been traveling in convoy with Chad at the rear, so Chad pulled up beside him and yelled over the roar of his engine, “Why are you stopping?”
Nick climbed off the bike and I did the same, taking the opportunity to stretch my legs.
He nodded at me. “She’s cold.” He began to shrug off his jacket, then flinched.
Chad grunted. “You better catch us up quickly,” he said and fired up the bike, traveling off after the others.
It wasn’t long until the roar of their engines became distant and Nick and I were standing there alone in the middle of the desert. There were so many things I wanted to ask him. I really wanted to trust him and believe he was on my side.
I had to choose my words carefully. If I wanted him to help me out of this mess, I had to be at my most persuasive.
I chewed on a thumb nail and then looked at him, but rather than asking my questions, I just stared at him.
He had removed his jacket and underneath I could see a distinct stain of blood on his shirt.
I walked up and tugged on the arm of his T-shirt. There was a makeshift bandage wrapped around his shoulder. He inhaled sharply as I touched him, and then took a step back, pulling his T-shirt back down.
“What happened to you?”
“It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing to me, Nick. You need to get to a hospital.”
“We don’t have time for a hospital.”
“I’m serious.” I may have only studied a year of medicine so far, but I knew enough to know that Nick’s injury looked bad.
“Who bandaged it for you? Was it sterile? It could get infected.”
Nick stared at me for a moment then smiled and shook his head. “We have just taken you across Nevada against your wishes, and you want me to believe that you’re concerned for my health?”
Of course I was concerned. I wasn’t stupid. If I could persuade any of them to let me go, it would be Nick.
“Fine,” I said, irritably. “Let it get infected. See if I care.”
He held up the jacket, and I folded my arms across my chest and shook my head. “I don’t want it.”
“You’re shivering, Ella.”
“I’m fine.”
“Just take it.”
Reluctantly I took the jacket, which was surprisingly heavy, and draped it over my shoulders. It was too big for me but at least it was warm.
“You know, you really should go to a hospital and get your shoulder seen to as soon as possible.”
I climbed on the bike behind Nick and wrapped my arms around him. Through the thin material of his T-shirt, I could feel the outline of his taut muscles beneath my hands. I was shocked at the thoughts that shot through my mind as I pressed myself up against him.
What was the matter with me? I was being held hostage, and yet I was having fantasies about one of my captors.
“There’s a doctor at the place were heading to,” Nick said. “He’ll sort me out.” And without waiting for a response, he turned on the engine and the noise drowned out any reply I could have given.
It was another hour before we reached our destination. As Nick pulled up outside, I frowned. It didn’t look like any medical centre I’d ever seen.
Neon flashing lights shone above the sprawling shack, and rows of bikes were lined up outside. Men with tattoos and scantily clad women stood outside, and I could hear the steady thud of music coming from inside.
This was a biker bar. Why on earth were they stopping here when Nick needed medical attention? They were wasting time.
I slid off the bike before Nick could do anything to stop me and stormed up towards Damien.
I didn’t give any thought to my safety as I pulled on Damien’s arm so he would turn and face me.
He snarled down at me, but I didn’t back down. I must have been delirious from so many hours on the road.
“He’s injured,” I said, pointing in Nick’s direction. “He needs medical attention as soon as possible. Why on ear
th are you stopping at a bar?”
Damien smiled, and his gold tooth glinted in the neon lights shining down on us. He looked me up and down, no doubt noticing I was wearing Nick’s jacket.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and turned to Nick and smiled, but it wasn’t a genuine smile. It was a cruel smile, full of threat.
“It looks like you’ve got yourself a fan, Nick. What have you been doing on the back of the bike?” He looked at me and winked. “Nick’s always had a way with the ladies.”
He reached out his hand to cup my cheek and then with his thumb he gently traced a path along my jaw and down my neck to my collarbone, and then lower still, dipping beneath my T-shirt to touch the swell of my breast.
Horrified, I took a step back and wrapped Nick’s jacket tight around me.
Before I could do anything else, Nick was by my side, leading me away from Damien.
“The doctor is here,” he said in a low voice.
“I’ll leave you two to get better acquainted then,” Damien called after us and cackled a horrible laugh.
Chad and Tom joined in, and I flushed as I listened to their crude jokes. I felt Nick tense beside me as he pulled me faster towards the entrance to the bar.
“Maybe you two can get a room,” Chad shouted at us before we slipped inside.
If I was expecting him to thank me for my concern over his health, I was to be sadly disappointed.
“What the hell was that?” Nick demanded. His bright blue eyes bore down into mine as he held me by the shoulders.
“What?”
“Why did you talk to Damien like that? He’s dangerous, Ella.”
I shrugged off his hands, yanking myself away from his grip. I was fed up of being kept in the dark and driven around the state as a hostage.
“Why is everyone so scared of Damien anyway?” I felt strangely betrayed, which was dumb as Nick had never really been on my side.
He was just some hot biker I’d hooked up with, I reminded myself. But he was right about one thing: I needed to be careful. The best chance I had to get out of this situation unhurt was to be compliant until I found a way to escape them.
