My eyes sprung open and I whispered, “I hear you.”
He stared for several more seconds, his impossibly light eyes searching mine for some kind of answer. Once he’d seen what he needed to, he let me go, forcing my head back a little, then sauntered away from me. The door opened, music became louder, and then it shut, the scraping of the lock deafening.
I was alone again. Just like I always was.
Chapter Four
JAX
The clubhouse was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only time it was ever like this was after we had a blow out party the night before. Usually, I would have slept in until after lunch and then rolled out of bed and gone and tinkered with my bike for a while. But there was something about this particular morning that had me on edge. A heaviness in the pit of my stomach that caused me to roll out of bed at 7 am and go get some food out of the kitchen.
But it wasn’t food for me. It was food for her.
I shouldn’t have given a flying fuck if the girl hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning when I’d sent one of the guys to take her some breakfast. But I did. Fuck. I did care if she’d eaten. I didn’t want to do anything but the bare minimum. She was here to fulfill a purpose, to do the job we needed her to. The plan wasn’t to hurt—it was never to hurt her—just to keep her until her dad had done what we’d demanded.
Which was why I’d stayed away from her yesterday. I didn’t want to see her, not after catching Al down there talking to her. He’d undone her ropes which meant I was the one that had to redo them. I was the bad guy. Not him. Not anyone else in the MC. Only me. And I felt like a bastard for it. So instead of facing it head on, I’d left it to the prospects and Al to make sure she was watered and fed.
But now I was here, sneaking around before anyone else was up to bring her something to eat. I’d tried to keep myself occupied yesterday with cleaning my bike then taking apart the engine on one I was trying to fix up. I’d even gone over to Asher’s tattoo shop to kill a couple of hours. But still, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the girl we’d taken.
Fuck. She was just a girl.
I shook the thoughts from my head and unlocked the door to the basement. All I had to do was take the food in, let her eat, then leave again. That would be all she’d need today apart from a prospect giving her water.
My stomach rolled as I stepped through the door and closed it behind me. I had no goddamn idea what was going on, and I didn’t want to either. I had a job to do. A mission to complete. That was all there was to it. I couldn’t waste time thinking about the way my body and mind were reacting at the thought of seeing her. She was a meek girl, the total opposite to Reign from the strip club we owned.
Reign was my favorite stripper; the one I went to exclusively when I needed to get balls deep in some pussy. She was tall, thin, and had dark-brown hair so shiny you could practically use it as a goddamn mirror. Where Reign was alluring, Haisley was petite and…weird. But fuck me, I couldn’t stop thinking about her weird. The way she’d reacted to us—to me. Fuck. I needed to stop.
I ground my teeth together as I slowly moved down the stairs. I didn’t know what I expected when I got down there, but it wasn’t her curled up on a bed in the corner. What in the actual fuck was going on? Who had untied her? And who had brought a mattress down here for her? That wasn’t the fuckin’ plan. We weren’t a goddamn hotel.
“Get up,” I barked, pushing the toe of my steel-toe boot into her thigh. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been two days ago when we’d taken her. I swore that fuckin’ rainbow on her T-shirt was haunting me.
“Sorry. Sorry,” she blurted out and darted into a sitting position. Her T-shirt was askew, showing a sliver of the pale skin on her stomach. Another difference she had from Reign. Reign never went anywhere without her tan. Haisley rubbed at her eyes and I had to contain my grin at how her hair was sticking up on one side. She looked cute and—no, fuck. She didn’t look cute. “I’m awake. I’m…ah, crap. I forgot I was still here.” Her shoulders drooped and she inhaled a deep breath. It wasn’t out of fright that she did that though, more like…relief? I tilted my head and looked at her, really fuckin’ looked at her. Not once had she screamed for us to let her go. Not once had she fought us to not keep her here.
I frowned. Why wasn’t she fighting? Why wasn’t she desperate to leave?
“Jax?” she whispered, and my name coming out of her mouth had my pulse racing. I didn’t like it. I hated how it sounded—how it made me feel.
“Don’t call me that,” I ground out, dropping the tray of food on the floor next to her. The toasted bread bounced and teetered on the edge, but eventually stayed in place.
“I…isn’t that your name?” She was confused, and rightly so. What did I expect her to call me? I had no goddamn idea, but I couldn’t bear hearing my name with her voice. It was soft…too soft. It reminded me of my mom.
I jerked back, my entire body feeling like it was on fire. “I brought you some food. Eat it and shut up.” I spun around, not waiting to see if she would say anything else. I had to get away from her. I had to get out of here. And there was only one place which would get my mind off of her: Pink Feather, the strip joint. Reign would take my mind off of this—off her. She knew what I liked. She was simple. Effortless. Easy. The total opposite of Haisley.
HAISLEY
It hadn’t taken me long to eat the two slices of toast and banana that Jax brought me this morning. Mere minutes. And then I had the rest of the day to do…nothing. Boredom was the enemy. An enemy I never thought I’d have. I’d always kept my mind occupied on school work or painting in my mom’s old studio. That was probably the only thing I missed about being at the mansion.
I remembered times me and my mom would spend entire days in there, painting and laughing. She’d open the balcony doors and we’d eat sandwiches and drink iced tea. It was a happier time, one which was so faint of a memory I had to concentrate really hard to remember. It was the only wife my dad hadn’t divorced, but he’d still lost her, just like with every woman who came after her. He never stepped foot in her studio, so I’d claimed it as my own. My little slice of heaven.
Huffing out a breath, I sat on the edge of the old mattress. Al had gotten permission from the President of the club to untie me and give me a bed yesterday, so at least I could stretch out and be comfortable. But the problem was, with me being able to walk around the entire basement, it also meant no one was coming inside either.
I was lonely. More lonely than I had ever been.
I’d found a stone on the floor at some stage in the day—or was it night—and scraped it over the walls, trying to use it as chalk to draw a sun. But it barely made a mark, no matter how hard I tried. I was about to give up and try to get some sleep, then the sound of the lock on the basement door pulling aside sounded out. I jumped up, eager to see who it was. I wouldn’t deny that I was hoping it would be Jax again, but anyone was better than no one at this stage.
A few stairs creaked under the person’s weight, then Al’s face appeared. He placed his finger over his lips which were pulled up into a huge grin, and waved his hand toward me. “Quick, they’re all out and the prospect has fallen asleep.”
I hesitated, gnawing on my bottom lip. Was he telling me to come out of the basement? “I…what are you doing?”
“Giving you some fresh air.” His gaze darted to the pot they’d given me in the corner. “And the opportunity to use a proper bathroom.”
My eyes widened at the thought of not having to crouch over the pot. But was it safe to leave here? I had no idea, but I couldn’t miss the chance to get out of these four walls, even if it was only for a little while. I darted forward, but had to make sure this wasn’t a prank he was pulling on me. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” Al grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs. “Come on, let’s go watch the stars and pee in real toilets!”
I laughed at his words, feeling more carefree than I ever had before.
The darkness was still there in his eyes, the pain still a weight on his shoulders, but he was trying to ignore it. Trying to replace it with something else, and I was all for helping him with that. He may have been part of this entire plan, but I knew if he could, he’d set me free. I understood what they were doing, I really did. It just sucked it had to be me stuck down there all alone.
We moved through the basement door and into a hallway; the air was much clearer up here than down in the basement. Although there was a tinge of oil and leather too, a smell I’d never experienced but found comforting.
“You can use the bathroom in my room,” Al said, leading me down the hallway and to one of the middle doors. He pushed it open, revealed a room complete with basic furniture and a huge bed in the middle. He pointed to a door in the room, and waited near the main door while I rushed forward.
It only took a minute to do my business and to wash my hands, though I kept my gaze off the mirror above the sink. I didn’t want to see my face. I didn’t want to be reminded of the life they’d snatched me from. I wanted to live in the moment, even if that moment was one I wasn’t meant to be enjoying.
“Where to now?” I asked, pulling my lips up into a smile at Al.
“Come on.” He grabbed hold of my wrist this time and led me through the building. One room had loads of sofas and a pool table, another had a seating area and kitchen, and finally, he took me up a set of side stairs, to a lone door. He turned back, flashed me a wink, then opened the door, revealing the night sky.
Had I been in the basement all day? Had that many hours passed by since Jax had brought my breakfast to me? My stomach rumbled at the thought, and I clutched it, hoping Al didn’t hear.
“I come up here all the time,” Al murmured. He moved to the middle of the roof and my mouth dropped open at the view. You could see the entire city from up here, but more importantly, the stars shone so bright you could make out the constellations.
“Wow,” I whispered, in awe of the beauty surrounding me.
“I know, right?” Al sat down on one of the makeshift chairs—another crate—and patted the one next to him. “Come sit and watch.”
My legs burned as I moved over to him, and I winced. My body needed more food and water than they were providing, but I didn’t want to moan about it. It wouldn’t be long before I was out of here—I hoped. Or did I hope? I wasn’t sure what I felt any more.
“It’s beautiful,” I told Al, staring up at the sky. The wind whipped across my face, and I closed my eyes at the sensation. It had been days since I felt it whispering across my skin, and yet I thought I missed that more than anything else.
We sat there, side by side, watching the stars in silence. We didn’t need words to fill the time. We didn’t need anything else. We just needed the quiet and the night sky. I’d never felt so at peace, so when the roar of motorbikes rang through the air, getting closer to where we were, my heart lept in my chest.
“Fuck,” Al spat, shooting up and knocking the crate over. He pulled something out of his front jean pocket and it lit up the area we stood in. His cell. He had a cell. And I hadn’t thought once about where mine was. “They’re back already.” He stared at me in horror. “We’ve been out here three hours.”
Had that much time really gone by? It felt like minutes, seconds even. Not hours.
“Can you sneak me back in so you don’t get into trouble?”
Al shook his head. “No, they’ll all be in the main part of the building and that’s the only way in from the roof.” He started to pace. “Shit. Fuck. Shit.”
“It’s okay,” I murmured, holding my hands up. “We can work—”
“It’s not okay!” he roared, and for the first time since I’d been here, I was genuinely scared. His eyes shuttered, showing no emotion. “Dad warned me about what would happen if I crossed boundaries.” He muttered something else, but I couldn’t understand him. I couldn’t decipher what he was saying.
“Al,” I whispered, backing away from him. He was stuck inside his own head, trapped, a prisoner in his own mind. “It’s okay. Let’s just go back inside and—”
“It’s your fault!” he shouted, lunging for me. He grabbed my wrists much like he had earlier, only this time his grip was so much harder. He pinched my skin, causing my pulse to throb where he was holding me.
“Please, Al, you’re hurting me.” He didn’t answer me, instead he just yanked me over to the door, swung it open, and practically ran down the stairs. My leg caught on a protruding nail and scraped through my jeans and skin. I howled at the stinging pain, but still he didn’t acknowledge me. He kept on going, through the main part of the clubhouse and into the room with the sofas and pool table. Men were gathered in crowds and I tried to keep my mouth closed and my eyes on anything but them, but I was panicking. “Al, let go. Ow. Stop.”
He finally halted and turned to face me. His pupils were so large I couldn’t even see the color to his eyes any longer. I didn’t know what he was going to do, what he was going to say, but a voice demanded, “Let her go.” I’d never heard the voice before, but I knew as soon as it spoke that this was the authority here. This was the president, and as I turned to face the sound, I saw the patch on the front of his vest, and his unyielding face.
“She needs to be dealt with,” Al ground out, and my head spun. How had he gone from nice and gentle to this in the matter of moments? This wasn’t the Al who had been coming to talk to me. This wasn’t the Al who had dragged a mattress into the basement and untied me from the chair. This was a completely new Al. An Al I didn’t know. An Al I should have known was there.
These weren’t gentle men. These weren’t men who you wanted to spend your time with. And yet, I’d let myself believe I was safe here.
I wasn’t safe here.
I’d never been safe here.
I’d lulled myself into a false sense of security.
“Go get Jax,” the new voice told someone, and they rushed out of the room. “Come on, Son, let her go and we can go have a drink. Maybe even go on a ride.”
“Can’t,” Al croaked out, his grip getting even tighter. “I made a mistake. I have to fix it.”
“You don’t,” another voice said, and I recognized this one. Jax. “Let her go, bro. Come on. It’s all good. I was going to take her out of there for an hour today anyway.” Jax’s gaze flicked to mine, and his light eyes tried to tell me something. It wasn’t just the lighting in the basement, his eyes were really that light. A cross between a light-gray and ice blue. They were mesmerizing, and right now were drumming something into me I didn’t understand.
I winced again at the grip Al had on me and moved my leg up and down, trying to see where the screw had caught me. Blood dripped over my jeans and I wobbled. I wasn’t good with blood. I hadn’t been since the day my dad had ripped my skin open with the belt buckle.
“Whoa.” Jax darted forward, his hands grasping onto my hips and keeping me upright. His front met my back so I leaned all of my weight into him, needing something to keep me upright. “Stay with me, Hais,” he whispered in my ear, and all I could do was nod in response. “I got her now, bro.” Jax’s voice was louder, clearly not talking to me. “I’ll take her back down there.”
Al shook his head. “I’ll do it.”
“Nah,” Jax said, his tone easy. “You’ve had her for long enough. About time you took a break, huh?”
Al stared at me, but he wasn’t really looking. He was seeing through me. “I…” I waited with bated breath, hopeful Jax had managed to talk him down, and as soon as his hands let go of my wrists, I rushed behind Jax to put him between me and Al. I gripped onto his leather vest and a growl vibrated from him, but I didn’t let go.
His arm maneuvered behind him and he wrapped it around me, keeping me peeled to his back as he sidestepped us out of Al’s view. The President’s voice rang out and I heard him mention going on a ride, but anything after that was useless to my ears because I was too focused on getting away from the situa
tion.
We moved out of the room, and as soon as we were in the hallway, Jax moved me to his side but kept his arm around my waist. He pulled open the third door on the left, walked us inside, then shut the door behind us. The click of a light switching on sounded out, and I turned to face Jax. His head was pressed against the wooden door, his shoulders slumped.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, staring down at my wrists. The faded marks from the rope had all but disappeared thanks to Al’s grip, but in their place was bruising coming to the surface almost immediately.
“There’s a blanket on the end of the bed. Use that and sleep on the sofa.” His voice was rough and raw. “I’ll lock you in. Don’t answer the door to anyone.” He lifted his head off the door, slowly turned to face me, and asked, “Got it?”
“I…I got it.”
“Good.” His gaze drifted over my body and to my leg. “First aid kit is in my bedside table. Don’t try and escape. We got dogs guarding outside and they’ll rip you to shreds.” My eyes widened at his words, and my hand fluttered to my throat. Were there really dogs out there that did that to people? Or was he just trying to scare me? Either way, it worked. “I’ll be back.” He unlocked the door, yanked it open, then left without another word, leaving me in this room, all alone once again.
Chapter Five
HAISLEY
Sleep came better than it ever had. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable sofa, and the blanket was thin, but it was being in this room that calmed me. There was something about it that allowed me to let my guard down, even after everything that had happened with Al. Maybe it was because it was Jax’s room. Or maybe it was because it was a change to the dark, damp basement I’d been kept in up until now.
Forbidden: A Romance Anthology Page 3
