“What’s in the shipment?” I ask quietly, wanting to learn all I can about the MC I know nothing about. I regret the words, however, as soon as they leave my mouth. I really don’t need to anger this man right now, asking questions I know I have no right to know the answers to.
But lucky for me, the man just smirks, eyes brimmed with amusement. “Nothing for you to worry your little head about.”
It’s his amusement that makes me let out the next words from my mouth.
“Condescending bastard,” I mutter, showing him my displeasure by the look on my face. “You know, you don’t look like a kidnapping, abusive jerk.”
He was actually good-looking. Tall, lean, and covered in tattoos, he had shaggy white-blond hair and crystal-green eyes.
He grunts. “I didn’t do the kidnapping, and I told them not to hurt you, so I’m sorry for that.”
He sounds sincere; still something doesn’t add up. Why didn’t he want to hurt me? Just because I am a woman? I didn’t think it would matter, considering they’d had no problem shooting Mary.
“Wild Men MC, right?” I ask, taking a gamble. He isn’t wearing a cut, just dark jeans and a white shirt rolled up at the sleeves.
He nods, his eyes darkening. “I see our reputation precedes us.”
The way he says it makes it sound like that’s not exactly a good thing, and he’d be right.
“If I untie you, are you gonna be a problem?” he asks, staring at my tied hands. “There are other men around the compound, and I can assure you, none of them are as nice as I am.”
“I’ll be good,” I reply. “Can you just untie me? The ropes are cutting into my wrists.”
He quickly stands and cuts the binds. I consider kicking him in the balls and making a run for it, but I need to examine the situation first. If there are men out there, there is no way I can get out of here. I also have no idea which way the exit is. I decide to bide my time and suss out the situation before I get myself killed. “Can I have some water, please?”
He nods and leaves the room, returning about a minute later with a bottle of water and some painkillers.
“Thanks,” I say, taking both from him. “So who do I thank for the possible concussion?”
His lip twitches. “That would be Ranger.”
These men give each other the stupidest names.
“And what is your name?” I ask.
A strange look appears on his face before he answers me. “Call me Talon.”
“Talon it is.”
He tilts his head to the side. “I’d expected hysterical screaming, crying at the least.”
“Then you should have kidnapped a weaker woman.”
I am trying not to let him see that I am shit scared, because I am.
He laughs at that and points to the door on the left. “Bathroom is there. Don’t think of trying anything, Anna, or you will regret it.”
With that warning lingering in the air, he leaves the room and locks the door behind him. I check out the bathroom, finding nothing I can use as a weapon. There isn’t even a mirror in there, which makes me think that this is the room where they keep all their captives. Now that Talon has left the room, I allow myself to feel terrified. Rake will come for me, I know it. I just hope it will be soon. My stomach rumbles. It seems inappropriate to be hungry at a time like this, but unfortunately I have no control over it. Sitting back on the bed, my back against the headboard, I feel helpless.
I don’t like to feel helpless.
My gaze darts around the room, looking for anything that can help me.
When Talon says he won’t hurt me, I believe him. But if I push my luck I don’t know if that will stay true. What feels like an hour passes before Talon walks in with a bag of food.
“Thought you might be hungry,” he says, giving me a small smile.
He’d thought right, not that I was about to admit it.
“Are you the president?” I blurt out, wanting to know why it was him in here with me and no one else.
“I’m the vice president,” he says, biting his bottom lip. “My dad was the president before he was killed.”
“Oh. Family business, huh?” I say, not knowing how to respond to that. I take the bag from his hand and open it, peering inside to see a burger and fries. “Any idea when I’ll be able to leave here?”
His eyes shutter, expression darkening. “Told them we had you; they went crazy, as we expected. Thought I’d make them sweat a little, so I said I’d meet up with them tomorrow and we could trade.”
I think about that. “That means you leave your men with them for longer than necessary.”
He resumes his spot against the wall, standing how he was when I first saw him. “They’ll survive.”
“Do the clubs always use their women against them?” I can’t stop myself from asking. This wasn’t a world I wanted to live in, yet was thrust upon me. It somehow didn’t seem fair that I was to be used as a bargaining chip in a world that I didn’t belong in.
A muscle tics in Talon’s jaw. “You haven’t known the club for long, have you?”
I shake my head. “Not at all. But I heard about Mary, the woman who was killed.”
Talon looks away then, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. “The men did that against their president’s orders. They went rogue, and our club suffered for it. My father would never have wanted an innocent woman harmed—he wasn’t like that—though that’s now our burden to bear.”
“What happened to the men?” I ask.
Talon clenches his fist. “All dead. My father died too, because of them. If they weren’t killed I would have done it myself.”
“Your own club brothers?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“They betrayed us,” is all he says. “Now eat, you must be hungry.”
* * *
I wake up, horrified with myself for falling asleep in the first place. I’m alone in the room, luckily, and seem to have been left alone. I walk to the door and try to pull it open, but it’s still locked and doesn’t budge. Of course I’m not that lucky, but at least no one has hurt me. I use the bathroom as quickly as I can, just in case they decide to come in, then sit back on the bed. With nothing else to do, my mind races, thinking up different scenarios. Where is Rake? I hope he is okay, and not too worried about me. He must think they’re doing God knows what to me, and I can only imagine how frantic he must be.
Where is Arrow? How is he reacting right now?
Probably back in bed with Jill.
Well, wasn’t that a mood killer.
The door opens with a creak and Talon walks in, followed by another man—a scary-looking one at that.
“We’re going to the meet,” Talon says, holding his hand out to me. I hesitantly take it and look up at the other man.
“Let me guess, you’re Ranger?” I ask, gulping. Dressed in all leather, he is a massive man with shrewd dark eyes and a Mohawk.
He laughs at me, his shoulders shaking. “No, sweetheart, I’m not Ranger. I’m Slice.”
“Slice,” I repeat, tasting the ridiculous name on my tongue. “I don’t even want to know why they call you that.”
“And I don’t want to tell you,” he replies smoothly.
With a man on each side of me, we exit the room and I get my first look at where I’m being held. The Wild Men clubhouse is different from the Wind Dragons’. Less homey for one, less clean for another. Men sit around a table, drinking and carrying on. I know it’s morning, although I don’t know what time, but I’m assuming they’ve been up all night.
“Well, what do we have here?” one man croons, making all the other men turn to look at me.
Just great.
Talon ignores them and ushers me into a garage and to an expensive-looking black four-wheel drive. He opens the door for me, waits for me to slide into the car, but hesitates as he’s about to close the door.
“Anna,” he says quietly, eyes boring into mine. “Are they good to you there? They treat you right?”
My brows furrow, wondering why he is concerned at all. “They’re good to me.”
He nods once, seemingly satisfied. “Good.”