by Chiah Wilder
“Me too.” He laughed.
As the car rambled on, they chatted about music, and she told him about the best restaurants in town, the tourist places he couldn’t miss, and the best hiking trails in the area. Then, out of the blue, he asked, “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Taken aback, she nodded.
“He’s a lucky man. I have a girlfriend, but she’s not as pretty as you are.” He glanced at her, his eyes lingering on her chest, making Kylie extremely uncomfortable.
She looked around and noticed they hadn’t jumped back on the highway. “Are you taking a shortcut?”
He nodded. “There’s major construction going on the highway, so I found this detour. It beats just sitting and waiting in the snail-paced traffic.”
“I’ll have to remember that for tomorrow.” She glanced out the window as the dust from the road seeped in through the vents, sticking in her throat. After swallowing several times, the dry spot was still there. She coughed, hoping that would work, but it didn’t. She coughed again, and soon she had a coughing fit. She rummaged through her tote, cursing for having forgotten to bring a couple bottled waters.
“You okay?” he asked in a long drawl.
Shaking her head, tears running down her cheeks, she choked out, “Do you have any water?”
“I don’t. I have cough drops in the glove box.” He leaned over to open it, but Kylie had beaten him to it.
She saw a bag of cherry-flavored drops and took it out, hurriedly unwrapping one of the candies and popping it in her mouth. The cool menthol calmed her throat, and she sniffled as she tried to keep her nose from running. She placed the bag back in the glove box. And then she saw them: a pair of gold-framed sunglasses with mirrored lenses.
As she stared at them, time froze, and the only thing she was conscious of was the roar of her blood as it rushed to her head. Kylie looked out the window and realized the road Mr. Austin just turned on was in the opposite direction of the wildlife rescue. Slowly, she turned to face him, her heart thumping. His eyes were cold and dead, and ice ran through her veins. It’s him. Fuck! Don’t you dare panic.
He reached over her, his hand brushing her knee, and grabbed the sunglasses. He put them on, and memories of him watching her, trying to seduce her into his car, and hurting Ricky pierced her brain like jagged pieces of glass.
“This is better, isn’t it, Kylie?” His Texan accent was gone.
Terror gripped her like a vise, and she frantically felt for the door handle, but it was missing. A ghastly pallor spread over her face. I’m trapped with a psycho. Where the fuck is Johnnie?
“I knew you’d eventually take a ride with me, Kylie. You see, it’s all a matter of patience.”
“Who are you, and what do you want from me?”
A single finger trailed down her neck to the top of her breasts, and she heard him suck in his breath. “I think you know what I want, Kylie. Before we have some fun, give me your phone.”
“My phone? Why?”
He plastered a flat smirk on crooked lips. “You can’t be serious. Now give me the fucking phone.” His steely eyes made her flinch.
She dug in her purse, pretending to look for it while she coughed loudly. She turned on another phone she carried, hidden in the lining of her tote. Her dad had given her the second cell and told her it was only to be used in emergencies. No one had the number except for her dad, and she was the only one who had the number to his emergency line, as well. Since Kylie was the daughter of an outlaw MC’s president, Banger made it a priority to make sure she could contact him if she were ever in trouble. He’d installed a tracker app, and he made her keep it in the lining of all her purses. He’d even insisted she sew a second pocket on the insides of her pants. Right then, she silently thanked her father for his paranoia.
“Here.” She handed Mr. Austin her phone and he stopped the vehicle, opened the window, and threw it on the ground. He then ran over it several times. “That should make your dad crazy. Imagine him not knowing where his precious little girl is. Imagine him staying up nights wondering if you’re safe. Serves the bastard right,”
“My dad did something to hurt you or someone you loved, right? Is that why you want to hurt me?”
He smiled cruelly at her. “Something like that. We’ll have plenty of time to talk.” Then he gripped the steering wheel and continued driving away from Pinewood Springs.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“The sonofabitch is in Pinewood Springs. He’s been under our noses all the goddamned time!” Jerry pounded his fists on the table. “He fuckin’ killed my sister and Wanda. We gotta stop him before he grabs Kylie.”
“Calm the fuck down!” Banger glared at Jerry. “I’ll handle Kylie. You say the purple Corvette fucker is the one who killed your family?”
“Yeah. He started dating my sister to get back at me for being with Kylie.” Jerry ignored Banger’s flaring nostrils. “He did the same shit to Ricky. He thought the kid had something with her, so he beat the hell outta him, thinking he’d killed him. With me, he wanted me to know what it’s like to lose something dear, and that’s why he killed Kelsey and Wanda. He wanted me to pay for being with Kylie.”
“Quit fuckin’ saying that. You’re not with Kylie.” Banger rubbed his face hard.
“He thinks I am, and that’s all that matters.” Jerry smashed his fist into the palm of his hand. “We gotta find him before he hurts her.”
“I got Johnnie tailing her.” Banger turned to Rock. “Go in the other room and call him to make sure everything’s good.”
Hawk stood up. “I finally traced the purple Corvette. It was a pain in the ass because it was a salvage purchase, and originally the car was blue. Anyway, it’s registered to a Mark Dudley in Brainerd, Minnesota. Demon Riders territory.”
“Fuck! I know the sonofabitch,” Banger said. “That’s Tug’s boy. Shit, I haven’t seen him since before Kylie was born. Fuck! Where the hell is Rock?”
Axe jumped up to find him, and just when he opened the door, Rock walked in, his lips pressed together.
“Well, what did Johnnie say? Has he seen anyone trailing my little girl?”
“He’s not answering his phone.”
A somber silence fell over the members. They all knew that if Johnnie wasn’t answering the phone, it was because he couldn’t. Something was very wrong.
Banger furiously dialed Kylie’s number, cussing loudly when it went straight to voicemail. He reached in his back pocket and took out another phone, fiddling with it as Jerry looked on. “Fuck, she’s moving, and she’s getting further away from Pinewood. The fucker has her. Fuck!” The pounding of Banger’s fist reverberated off the walls of the meeting room. “We gotta find her before he…”
Hawk clasped the president’s shoulder. “We’ll get her. We need to organize and spread out. We know which direction she is going in, so I’m gonna put you in teams…”
Jerry tuned Hawk out; all he could think about was that his Kylie was in danger and he had to help her. He couldn’t let that animal do to her those unspeakable things he’d done to his sister. “I’ll help track Kylie.”
“Like hell you will!” Banger roared. “You’ll stay here in case we need some computer help.”
“Fuck no! I’m going after Kylie, damnit. I love her.”
“Man, this isn’t the time,” Hawk said.
“It’s the perfect time. Kylie and I love each other, and if you wanna beat the shit outta me and take my patch away, go right ahead and do it, Banger. I’d give up everything for her. And whether you like it or not, I’m finding Kylie.” Jerry stood, shaking with rage under his brothers’ startled gazes.
“I don’t have time for your shit when my girl’s in trouble,” Banger snarled, “but I will beat your ass when this is all done, boy. Let’s get moving.”
The brothers listened as Hawk gave instructions, and Jerry took some time to rein in his anger; he knew sloppy mistakes were made when emotions ruled. He had to be cold and calculating, esp
ecially when he gutted the bastard who had his woman.
“Kylie went to work this morning. Axe, you’ve been trailing her for the past couple of months. Did you see anyone else around her?” Banger leaned against the wall, his shoulders slumped.
“Just that punk, Marcus Westman, and you took care of that. I never spotted anyone else. Someone should go see if she’s at work. She’s been going to the Empire Building, room 317 for the past week. Maybe her boss knows something.”
Banger nodded. “Let’s get over there. The sooner we handle this shit, the faster we find her. As I remember, Tug’s kid was all kinds of messed up. Once when Tug brought his family to visit me and Grace, I caught the bastard hurting Gracie’s cat, Sparky. I blew my top and told Tug about it. He went ballistic and started to beat the shit outta the kid. I had to stop him before he killed him. The kid’s mom just stood there watching, never once saying a word. I couldn’t believe how fucked up they all were. Gracie was pregnant with Kylie at the time, and she was so freaked out by them that I told Tug he could come any time since he was a brother, but he’d have to leave the family drama behind.
“Then I heard years later that Mark had joined the Demon Riders, and Tug was pissed as shit at him. He saw it as a betrayal.” Banger wiped the sweat off his brow. “And then Tug went along with Dustin and Shack and ended up joining the Demon Riders and became their goddamn mole. Tug came into our club as nothing more than a fuckin’ snitch. I still can’t get over he stabbed me and the brotherhood in the back like that. He was an Insurgent for over twenty years. Fuck. Chigger must’ve told Mark we killed his dad.” Banger clenched his fists. “His dad knew the risk of being a goddamned snitch, and now his son’s out for blood, and he’s using my Kylie to get it. What a fuckin’ coward. Damnit!”
“I’ll head over to the Empire Building and see what I can find out. I’ll call you and let you know.” Axe moved to the door.
“Jax and Rags, you go with Axe. Let’s track this bastard down.” Banger pushed himself away from the wall.
They filed out of the clubhouse, their jaws clenched and their gazes steely; the seriousness of the situation was not lost on the brotherhood. The plan was for Jerry to go with Hawk and Rock, but he wanted to be the one to kick the fucker in the balls, so he told them he’d follow with his truck. He tried not to think about how scared Kylie must be; he didn’t dare risk losing his cool, not yet. Jerry couldn’t let himself feel the worst of his rage until he had blood he could spill, and that meant he had to find Kylie in time. He just couldn’t lose her.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Her stalker shoved Kylie on the worn-out mattress in the living room. He’d taken her to a dilapidated cabin, and judging by some of the dusty personal items on the mantel, she suspected it belonged to him, or at least to someone in his family.
“Are you going to tell me your name?” Kylie crossed her legs, furtively searching for a possible means of escape.
He had been staring at her since they’d come in, the hunger in his gaze making her shudder. Slowly, he inched over to her then sat next to her, the mattress sagging under his weight, a blond wig discarded on the floor. In the sunlight, she saw him clearly—black hair down to his collar, flat brown eyes, a strong jaw, and some acne scars around his cheeks. He looked to be about twenty-nine years old, medium build, taller than she was but not quite as tall as most of the men she knew.
She jumped when his fingers skimmed over her forearm. “You’re so beautiful. I knew your skin would be soft. I pictured it that way many times.” He curled his arm around her shoulders and forced her close to him. “I want to feel your lips.”
“No, please,” she protested, but he made her turn her head. He pressed his mouth against hers, pillaging it with his thick tongue.
She gagged and twisted from him, wiping him from her lips with her palm.
He raised an incredulous brow. “You’d rather have your fuckin’ Insurgent on your mouth? You know, when I first saw you at the university, you were like a glowing angel, so pure and innocent. I didn’t think you’d turn out to be such a slut. Fucking Ricky and Jerry.” He brought his face inches from hers. “Well, cunt, I want what you’ve been giving out so freely.” With a fierce grip, the black-haired man yanked her head to his and kissed her. “Fuck!” He raised his hand and wiped the blood where she’d bit him, then backhanded her hard. “You like playing rough? I can definitely accommodate you.”
Kylie scooted away from him but he grabbed her, forcing her down on the bed. Hovering over her, he put his mouth on hers again. She drew up her knee and slammed it right into his balls. He cried out and rolled off her, and she leapt up and made a dash for the door. She heard him rush behind her, and she whirled around and ducked when his fist came up to smash her face. She sprang up and kicked high, her foot landing against his jaw with a crack. The unexpected blow stunned him and he fell to his knees. Wildly, she tried to open the door, but there were too many damn locks. Picking up a lamp on an end table, she smashed the window with the base, the glass shattering.
But as she began to haul herself out the window, something hard plummeted against her skull, and blackness reigned.
* * *
Jerry answered his phone as he followed Hawk’s SUV in his truck, headed away from Pinewood Springs.
“What do you got?” he asked Axe, his eyes fixed on the vehicle ahead of him.
“The whole job was a fuckin’ scam. Shit. I shoulda investigated it, but it looked legit with a secretary and all.”
Jerry’s blood ran cold. “Did you talk to the secretary?”
“No one was there. It was dark. We had the super open the door and the office was empty. I bribed him to show me the lease, and it was rented for a month only by a guy named Steven Austin. We know that was a fake name. The asshole went to a lot of trouble for this. I shoulda looked deeper into it. But Kylie was going to so many interviews, and all the others were legit. Shit.”
“Don’t blame yourself. Banger didn’t suspect anything funny about it, either. Who would? Did you ever locate Johnnie?”
“Yeah. He was in his usual place outside Banger’s. He got out of his car because he heard low music from the bushes. He went to see what it was and found a CD player buried nearby. That’s the last thing he remembers before waking up with a big knot in his head. I was just able to get a hold of him a few minutes ago. Seems like the fucker ambushed him. Johnnie feels like hell for having this happen on his watch.”
Jerry breathed out. “I can’t let anything happen to her. I gotta find this guy and kill him. If he hurts Kylie, my life will never be the same.”
“I know, bro. Kylie is special to us all, but for you, it’s worse. When Baylee had that psycho after her, it turned me into a madman. I couldn’t stand the thought of something bad happening to her.”
“Yeah. I gotta get to Kylie before it’s too late, man.”
“You will.”
Jerry put the phone back in the cup dispenser and gripped the steering wheel. Fuck. Where did this psycho take her? He drove on, small dust clouds from the road rising up behind his rear wheels as the morning sun beat down.
* * *
Kylie opened her eyes and winced as pins-and-needles pain bloomed in her head. She tried to rub it, but realized she couldn’t—she was tied to the bed, each wrist firmly secured to the bedposts. Her legs were also tied, and she darted her eyes around the room, spotting her kidnapper sitting on a chair opposite the bed, staring at her.
“I’m disappointed in you. You shouldn’t have done what you did to me, but then you’re Banger’s daughter. I guess I was dazzled by your soft skin, your luscious tits, and your innocent eyes. But you’re just a piece of Insurgent ass, aren’t you?”
“You talk real big. Who the fuck are you? How do you know my dad?” She pulled at the ropes to test them.
“They’re very secure. You’re not going anywhere. You don’t remember me because you were still in your mom’s belly when I came to your house with my mom, my dad, and
my brother. My dad was an Insurgent, and he and your dad were buddies.”
“Who’s your dad?”
“Correction, sweet one. It’s who was my dad. Tug.”
Kylie blinked at him. “Uncle Tug? He’s your dad? Then why are you doing all this shit? He used to take me on rides around the neighborhood when he’d come visit my mom and dad. I don’t remember you, though. I do remember my dad saying Uncle Tug had two sons. Are you Mark or Pete?”
He laughed dryly. “Mark, and you wouldn’t, because he didn’t hang around his family. My dad preferred the Insurgents to his children, and the club whores to his wife. When he did come home, he acted like the meanest badass around. He used to beat the shit out of me and my brother. He’d tie us up in the garage. He’d put a beam up, throw a rope over it, and tie us up by the wrists. Then for the hell of it, he’d pull on it until only our toes would be touching the ground. He’d strip off our clothes and beat the shit out of us with a paddle, a whip, a belt. You name it, he used it.”
“How awful,” she gasped. A wave of nausea washed over her and she shuddered. She couldn’t comprehend how a parent could inflict such cruelty upon his children.
“I bet your dad never beat you once, did he? Your beautiful, soft flesh hasn’t been marked, has it? I bet it’d look so sexy with bright red lashes on it.” He licked his lips and his eyelids fluttered.
She noticed his bulge was bigger than it’d been when she’d come to. “If your dad was so mean to you, then why are you mad at my dad? Shouldn’t you be mad at yours?”
“I’m here for my mother. Even though he beat her to a pulp more times than I can count, she stood by my dad and loved him. Loved him more than her sons. Can you imagine that? She’d close the door and go up to her room when he inflicted his torture on us.”
“Please untie me. I promise I won’t try anything. My wrists are so sore. I didn’t know who you were when I kicked you, but now I do. We’re connected through the Insurgents.” Kylie hoped she sounded convincing. She couldn’t let this madman do what she feared he wanted to do. She’d seen the black bag on the end table when she regained consciousness, the handle of a whip hanging out of it.
