“I’m flattered,” I responded through gritted teeth.
“Thing is,” he went on. “Being who you are, it makes you a real good bargaining chip to a lot of people. I need leverage right now. For me, for Lou. The club turned their back on him and they’re gonna on me soon too now he’s gone. So, I gotta set up another life for us.”
He was clearly trying to keep things vague, but I wasn’t a fool. I could deduce very well. “This life,” I said, eyeing him. “It’s with the Rogues, isn’t it?”
He swung his head my way, his eyes wide with surprise. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”
“So, we’re headed to them right now? That’s where you’re really taking me?”
He looked away and continued on trying to justify it again, “Iron Kings have kept me hanging on for eighteen fucking months. I’ve been busting my ass for them and I’ve got nothing back.”
“That’s the whole deal of prospecting.”
“Yeah? Well, the Rogues are gonna give me an officer position, treat me like one of their own, give me the respect I deserve. All I gotta do is deliver you.”
He was unbelievably misguided and so naïve. He didn’t understand the meaning of brotherhood either. It was just all about what he could get. Power, prestige and whatever the hell else.
He looked over at me again. “They won’t hurt you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You have no idea.”
“What?”
“You have no idea what you’ve done, how bent they really are, or what they’re going to do to both of us.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m the daughter of their worst enemy. The way to get at the heart of him is to kill me. That’s what they want, to destroy my dad and everything he’s built. Of course they’re going to hurt me! As for you, you just betrayed another MC. Do you really think they’re ever going to trust you enough to make you one of them?” I scoffed. “Unbelievable.”
“Shut up!” he yelled. “Just shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
I watched his fingers tighten on the steering wheel, his knuckles burning white-hot from his intense grip as he struggled to control his rage.
After a few moments he said in a calmer tone, “Just a little ways to go now.” He pointed to the northern border straight ahead in the distance. I could just about make out a wall of motorcycles lining the road. Oh my God.
A shudder rolled down my spine.
I had to do something and I had to do it now.
I drew in a deep breath to try to force a calm that I really didn’t feel.
And then I started gagging.
Kyle jerked his head my way, looking equally agitated and grossed out. Good. It was working. “What the fuck is wrong?” he snapped.
I escalated it, pulling off some of the best acting of my life. Finally, high school drama class was coming in handy. I started some fake dry heaving, then slapped my hand to my mouth.
“You gotta calm down, that’s why this shit’s happening. Just breathe.”
I shook my head from side to side, then escalated the awful sounds and motions, really milking it for all it was worth.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “You ain’t doing it in my truck! Jesus. Just hold on.”
The next thing I knew, he was swerving off to the side and slamming on the brakes.
“Go on,” he said, as soon as the truck was fully stopped. He released the door lock and pressed, “Throw up on the bank there. You ain’t gonna go nowhere. There’s only forest for miles.” He was obviously trying to convince himself that that was true. He was worried and way out of his comfort zone. Kidnapping really wasn’t a skillset of his, which worked in my favor. He would be prone to mistakes and easy enough to catch off guard.
I bolted out of the truck and feigned doubling over. After a few moments, I heard his boots crunching on the road, coming over to me.
“Ain’t holding your hair back or nothing,” he muttered. “Hurry up, or those Rogues members up there are gonna think something’s wrong and drag us both over the border.”
I discretely retrieved Finn’s gift from my jacket pocket. I couldn’t even begin to quantify how grateful I was that he’d gotten me into the habit of carrying it everywhere with me.
Drawing in a centering breath, I spun and lunged at Kyle, shoving it at his chest, right at his heart.
He roared, his body jerking wildly. “Taser?” he managed to choke out before he collapsed into a shuddering heap on the dirt road.
“I’m a club princess, you shit. I’m far from naïve to the down and dirty world surrounding us, so I take precautions.”
The rev of the bikes up ahead thundered, reverberating the ground beneath my feet.
I snatched my phone out of my pocket and frantically speed dialed Finn.
He spoke before I could get a word out, his voice cold, calm and confident, “Get back in the truck. Pull a U-turn and drive like hell in a straight line. Put the phone on speaker on the passenger seat and maintain communication.”
I hesitated for a moment, fighting to absorb everything.
“Don’t think. Do. Move now,” he barked.
His brash, severe tone worked on me, providing the kick in the ass I needed to act.
I ran to the truck and hauled myself up into the driver’s seat. Thank God, Kyle had been stupid enough to leave the keys in the ignition. I slammed the door closed, placed my phone on the passenger seat, then gunned it.
I caught sight of the bikes in the distance crossing the border onto Ridgefield territory.
“No. No. No. No,” I cried, as I made the tight U-turn and hauled ass back the way we’d come.
“Ashley, I need you to ignore what you’re seeing. You freeze up and they’ve won. Help is four minutes out. You just need to keep your head in the game until then. Four minutes. That’s all.”
“Yeah. I
