by Jenika Snow
“Wait,” she said.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, his short dark hair and dark eyes making him seem evil, like the very devil himself.
“I…” She looked around, first at the chain on her leg, and then at the wall where she was secured.
“You’re out in the middle of nowhere. Cry, scream, it doesn’t matter. No one will hear you.” He turned fully to face her. “And even if you did escape we are miles upon miles away from anyone or anything.” He took a step toward her. “I’d find you before you reached anyone.”
She started crying. She couldn’t help it. Damn her father and the life he led for putting her into this situation. “You’re a fucking asshole.” She wiped her tears away. “Terrorizing a woman because you’re nothing but a motherfucking bastard.”
He didn’t move, didn’t speak. She wasn’t afraid in this one moment, though. Her anger was controlling her in this second. She grabbed the chain around her ankle and started pulling on it at the same time she screamed out. “Fuck you, Fury.” It was the first time she’d used his name since she’d woken up, and it felt good to scream it out. “Fuck. You.”
Chapter Five
Fury shut the bedroom door, his blood boiling and his rage mounting. He stormed into the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of scotch again, and drank the rest of it. When it was empty he curled his fingers around the neck, reared his arm back, and threw the fucker against the wall. Glass shattered and liquor residue sprayed everywhere.
This isn’t who you are. You don’t make women cry. You don’t have them terrified.
He started going through the cabinets, needing more alcohol. He was a motherfucker, he knew that, but the tears he’d seen in Angelina’s eyes, the way she’d looked so scared, and the fact he had a good feeling she truly didn’t know shit about her father, made him feeling like he’d tear right through his skin.
She’s a Cardona. Don’t let the waterworks or her saying she doesn’t know anything, sway you from why she’s really here.
“Fuck,” he growled out. “What in the hell are you actually doing here?” With that he turned and stalked back toward the room. He threw the door open, and it slammed against the wall, startling Angelina. She had her hands wrapped around the chain, was by the lock in the wall, and clearly trying to escape. He grinned, knowing it was far from humorous. He saw the way her eyes widened, heard her inhale sharply, and watched her back away.
As retreated from him, her hands in front of her, the fear clear on her face, he felt his cock harden. She was gorgeous in every sense, even in the sweats and t-shirt he’d put on her before he left her place.
He took another step toward her, pissed with himself that he gave a shit about how Angelina Cardona felt.
“P-please,” she whispered.
“It’s because of your father that my club was compromised.” He kept advancing. “It’s because of your family that my friend got hurt.” He moved closer to her until she was forced to stop because the wall was right behind her. He was now only a foot from her now, the sweet scent of her filling his head, making him harder. He saw her gaze lower to his dick, knew she saw how hard he was, and he couldn’t help but grin wider. He placed his hands on the wall on either side of her head and leaned forward until their faces were only inches apart.
“I don’t care how I get the information out of you, but you’ll tell me whatever you know, even if you don’t think it’s much.”
****
Angelina held her breath, so afraid, but also feeling … arousal. It was misplaced, wrong, and she felt self-hatred over the fact. She should feel nothing but disgust for this man, but the smell of him, the size of his powerful body, and the intensity that came from him, had something deep inside of her coming awake.
He smelled of liquor, and she felt her body heat, despite the fact this man scared the hell out of her, had kidnapped her, and planned on getting information out of her by any means necessary. His hands by her head caged her in, and she tried to stay calm, to act like she wasn’t affected or afraid. But the truth was she couldn’t even control her breathing, let alone her emotions.
“Tell me the truth,” he said, his eyes locked with hers. “Tell me when you saw your father last.”
She swallowed, her throat feeling like razorblades were lodged in there. “I haven’t spoken to him in months.”
The corner of his mouth tilted in a sardonic smile. “Don’t fucking lie to me,” he said and leaned in another inch.
She pressed her back to the wall, wanting to get away from him, and feeling like an animal trapped. “I’m not lying,” she whispered, and found herself staring deeper into hi black eyes. He looked so cold, so heartless, and she didn’t understand why she found any part of this monster attractive. He didn’t respond or say anything for long seconds, so she continued speaking. “I ran from them, from that life. I don’t want anything to do with them.” She sucked in a lungful of air. “I wanted an out, and it was either run or die.”
Fury didn’t move away from her, but he finally moved away from her. He turned from her, his back taking up her entire view. He lifted a hand and ran it over his short dark hair.
“Fuck.” He turned and faced her. “Motherfucker,” he growled out the words, his voice raised, his anger clear.
She placed her hands flat on the wall behind her and breathed in and out. “I don’t want to be mixed up in any of this. I just want to get away from it all.” Angelina hated that she was crying, that she couldn’t control herself. Wiping the tears away, she stared at Fury, hating him, but hating her arousal more than ever.
“Fuck,” he said again and turned and left her in the room, but didn’t shut the door. She could hear banging going on, cabinet doors being slammed shut, and more cursing, but she stayed right where she was. After a few minutes Fury came back in, looking even more pissed.
“I can’t let you go until I take care of your family.”
She knew her eyes were still wide, not sure what she should say or do.
“Behave and don’t start shit and I’ll let you go once this is all said and done.”
Truth was she didn’t care what Fury did to her father or family. She hated them, had wanted them out of her life, and prayed for it even. It was sick and demented, but she supposed if being chained up in this cabin in the middle of nowhere was the only way for her to truly be free, well, Angelina would deal with it.
Yeah, she must have been so fucked up, the Family messing up her sense of worth and freedom on a level she may never go back to “normal”.
Fury didn’t move for several seconds, and she didn’t know if she should have said something. Of course she was still afraid, but if Fury wanted to hurt her couldn’t he have done it ten times over by now?
“Come on, I’ll show you where you can get cleaned up.” He left the room, and she couldn’t do anything but follow him, the long, length of chain clanking on the hardwood floor behind her.
The bathroom was just down the hall, the first door on the right. He turned on the light, and she looked inside.
“I brought some of your clothes. They are in a bag under the bed.” He turned and faced her.
“Can you at least unhook the chain?”
He was shaking his head before she even finished speaking. “Fuck no. Until I know your father is dead for sure, and the Family is taken care of, you’ll stay exactly like this.”
She could have cried and screamed out at him. But she was smart, needed to be in this situation, so she just nodded.
“The chain will give you enough leeway to go to the bathroom and even come out of the hallway. You don’t need to go any further than that.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. Fury reminded her of an animal that had been caged for far too long, and was now running free. It was such a strange analogy for her to think of, but he seemed so wild and untamed, and looked like the slightest provocation would set him off.
“You’ll let me go once it’s all said and done?” She couldn’t help but as
king again.
“If you can’t give me any information, then you’ll be used as leverage. You might hate your father and the family, but I have a feeling they’d do a lot to make sure you’re safe.”
She looked down at the ground. “I don’t know about that anymore, especially not since I ran from them. I betrayed them.” She lifted her head and looked at him. “If you could just let me go, I’ll leave, go far away—”
“Fuck no,” he said with a hardened voice. “I’ve told you once, and I won’t tell you again why you have to stay.” He looked down at her ankle. “And obviously that means keeping you locked up.” When he looked at her face again there was nothing but cold, hard brutality. “Either go take a shower or go back in the room.” And then he turned and left her standing there, feeling like she’d just been swallowed by the earth.
Chapter Six
“Where the fuck is he?” Birdie asked from the bed he was currently crashing on at the clubhouse. He’d checked himself out of the hospital. He hadn’t wanted to be held up in a sterile-like room. But then Fury had gone AWOL, and Birdie knew he couldn’t sit around and not figure out what in the fuck was going on.
“I don’t know. He just fucking took off, called and said he had business to take care of, and that was that.”
Birdie looked at Stone after he spoke, and he’d known enough liars in his day to know Stone was full of shit. He pushed himself up on the bed and winced as pain lanced through his whole body. But he pushed that shit back and focused on what needed to be done. Stone touched his shoulder, wanting to help, but Birdie didn’t need it. “I don’t want fucking help, man,” Birdie said and pushed Stone away.
“Yeah, you’re a fucking Bleeding Mayhem member, all right,” Stone said with a harsh growl. “Fucking cranky motherfucker and full of pride.” Stone mumbled out the words, his eyes narrowed and trained on Birdie.
“Fuck, man, I don’t need help from anyone.”
Stone grunted and flipped Birdie off. “Grumpy old bastard.”
“Tell me where Fury is.”
Stone had his back to Birdie now, but after a few moments finally turned around. The man had a head full of short dark hair, and his eyes, this intense green color, were trained right on Birdie.
“Don’t think about a lie, man, just fucking tell me where he is. He’s obviously going through some shit, and I want to be there for him. I’ve known him my whole life.”
Stone didn’t say anything for long seconds, but finally exhaled. “He’ll know I snitched him out, and then he’ll beat my ass.”
Birdie shrugged. “You’re big enough and look like you can handle yourself.”
Stone grunted. “Not the fucking point.” Another moment of silence passed, and then Stone exhaled and cursed. “He’s at a cabin out in the fucking middle of nowhere.”
“What cabin?” Birdie asked and was already sitting on the edge of the bed. He was slowly recovering, but damn did he hurt like a motherfucker.
“The club owns a cabin out past Route 26. It’s literally out in the fucking boondocks, but I know that’s where he’s at.”
Birdie nodded. “I need to get out there.”
“You fucking crazy?” Stone asked incredulously. “Not only did Fury want his fucking privacy, but you’re in no shape to go anywhere.”
Birdie flipped Stone off. “I’m fine.” Truth was he hurt like a motherfucker, but if Fury was dealing with shit he wanted to be there for him. They’d been through a lot of things back in the day, things the MC didn’t know about, and he wasn’t going to lie up here in this bed when things needed to get done. He held onto his side and breathed through the pain. This wasn’t the first time he’d been nearly down for the count, but the fact Fury wasn’t here, and hadn’t come by, told Birdie whatever the man was going through was deep.
“Are you sure you want to be moving around?” Stone asked. “Doc said you are lucky to even be alive.”
Birdie grunted. “This isn’t the worst shape I’ve ever been in.” He stared at the other man, and could see the annoyance on his face. Birdie chuckled. “You want to nurse me back to health or some shit?”
“Fuck off,” Stone said and walked closer. “Whatever Fury’s going through he hasn’t told the club. The only reason I know where he’s at is because I asked, and when he clammed up I knew.” Stone ran a hand over his face and breathed out. “President or not he shouldn’t be going rogue like this.”
Birdie braced his hands on the bed on either side of him. “If he did go rogue he has a good reason.” Birdie breathed through the pain and pushed himself off the bed.
His chest burned something fierce, but his recovery was going good, if slow. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move to go anywhere, but he needed to be there for Fury. Birdie pushed Stone away when the other man tried to help him walk. The pain had Birdie starting to sweat, but he slowly made his way into the bathroom. Bracing a hand on the wall he switched the light on and looked at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. His dark hair stood in strands around his head, and his face was ashen. Dark circles were around his eyes, and beads of sweat covered his forehead. He looked a fucking mess, but if Fury wasn’t going to answer his damn phone when he called, and was out being damn Rambo without the club knowing, Birdie was going to go to him.
Hell, he’d done ten years in prison to protect Fury, even though they’d killed that motherfucker together. He’d do anything for the man because Birdie saw him as a brother, and that’s all Birdie had in this shitty world.
****
Angelina sat on the bed and stared at the plate of food Fury had given her. Her stomach clenched and growled, and although she was hungry she couldn’t bring herself to eat anything. She thought about her father, about her life.
Her childhood hadn’t been shitty, and in fact she’d had a lot of opportunities opened to her because she was a Cardona. But it was when she got older that she understood why she got all the things she had. Her brother and father had run the family business, but until she was a teenager she’d just thought it was the stores around the neighborhood. Little did she know it was those stores that were used to do backroom deals, and even places where people were killed.
She closed her eyes and hung her head, breathing out. Being a Cardona didn’t mean she liked the life, or even wanted it. It was the hand she’d been dealt. It wasn’t until she saw her brother beat the shit out of some kid because he looked at him the “wrong way” that she realized she couldn’t be part of that world.
She pushed the plate away after picking at it for several minutes, her stomach in knots, but strangely not because she was currently in this situation. It was weird to be chained up in some stranger’s house, not sure of the outcome, but not be afraid of what might happen to her. Fury was huge and definitely scary, but he wanted payback for her father, and she guessed if she’d been in his shoes she would have done the same. If she had anyone she cared about she would go to great lengths to make things right.
But this is so fucked up.
Angelina picked up the chain that hung off the bed and ran her fingers over the cold metal. It started to warm in her grasp the longer she held it. She wanted to cry at the situation she was in, but what she found fucked up was her tears were over the fact it was her family that had her in this predicament.
She stood and walked toward the door. The sun had already set, and from what Fury said she was out for several hours. But the day had slowly worn on, and now with evening already upon them, all she should want to do was curl up and cry. That or figure out how to escape.
And where would you go? If Fury found you so easy then he’s right, your family probably knew where you were the whole time.
But if they had known where she was why didn’t they come after her? Angelina knew her father wouldn’t have just let it go that she left without a word to them.
She reached for the handle, but before she could open it, it swung inward. Retreating several steps and almost tripping over the chain, she tilted her
head back and stared up at Fury. He held two bottles of beer in his hand, but one was already being tipped back into his mouth as he took a hefty drink from it.
He handed her the other beer, and she took it, knowing she could smash the damn thing over his head, but also grateful for the small reprieve the alcohol would give her.
She drank half the bottle before she brought the tip away from her mouth. She didn’t even like beer all that much, but seeing as she never drank Angelina figured the alcohol would ease her up a bit. She hoped, at least.
“You hate your family that much, huh?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Yeah, that much.” She moved back toward the bed, the chain making a loud clanking noise on the ground. When she was seated on the mattress she held the bottle between her hands, looking at it. “My childhood wasn’t horrible. I had cousins to play with, but my mother and father weren’t really there for me.” She lifted her head and looked at Fury. He leaned against the doorframe, his expression unreadable. “My brother was an asshole for as long as I could remember, and it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I saw the kind of men that surrounded me.”
She lifted her bottle and took another drink, not sure why in the hell she was even saying anything to him. He didn’t care, especially not about her childhood. All Fury wanted was his revenge, and she was a means to that end. But she kept her mouth shut after saying all of that, because the less he knew about her the better. Angelina didn’t need any extra drama in her life … well, not anymore than she already had.
“And you waited so long to leave?” he asked, and she lifted her head, a little stunned he cared enough to wonder.
She shrugged and stared into his dark eyes.
“You’re only what, twenty-five at the most?”
She nodded. “But leaving the Cardonas isn’t the easiest thing.” He didn’t say anything in response. “My father never spent a lot of time with me. He was with my brother the majority of the time, showing him how things ran. But I always had someone watching over me.” Scrubbing a hand over her eyes, she hated thinking about the past. “My father cares about me in the terms of protecting an asset.” Angelina looked at Fury again. He stood there finishing off his beer, appearing like he didn’t give a shit about this. Which he probably didn’t, but it felt … nice, in a fucked up way, to talk about this stuff.
