Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

GNAW

Atomic hasn't toldme where we're going. I have a feeling he doesn't want me to speed off and leave him and King behind. He's not wrong in believing that. I am ready to get my woman back. I would rush in there, guns blazing, not giving a fuck about anything to get her, too.

She is officially mine. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on her. Claiming a stranger, a woman who you don't know, isn't normal. But I would claim her in front of my whole club right fucking now if I could.

Atomic guides his bike down a street, a regular neighborhood, upper middle class in Pineville, nothing as fancy as the one we were in, in Shreveport. But this is considered the nicest subdivision in Pineville. It's the most desirable.

We move down the street, riding up to a house and parking our bikes in the driveway. I pull up beside King and kill my engine. Looking to Atomic, I jerk my chin and frown. He kicks his leg over his bike and stands beside it.

I guess this is where we get off and go inside. But what the fuck are we walking into? I open my mouth to ask just that, when the front door swings open and a man takes a step out into the sun.

He's not dressed like the Southern Mafia men in Shreveport. He's wearing jeans and a T-shirt, with a canvas jacket. He jerks his chin toward Atomic and makes his way over. I open my mouth to ask where my woman is but decide to press my lips together in an effort to allow my president to control this and hopefully keep conflict to a minimum.

Although, inside I know this is a war. It has begun. Even if they end this here and now, I am not going to just let this shit go.

They took my woman.

My woman.

Mine.

Fuck that shit. And they knew who she was when they took her, because they don't have anyone else. Sal, Dennis, and Kyle. Those are the only ones they have right now under their control.

So, I won't be taking this shit lying down. I will be starting a war because fuck all of this. Fuck it completely, totally, and wholly. However you want to say it. Fuck this. And fuck the Southern Mafia.

"Thank you for meeting with me," the stranger announces as he approaches the three of us.

My fingers twitch to reach for my gun. My body, I hold loose, ready for any kind of action. Ready to kill, ready to fight. Ready in general.

But when he continues, I realize he's just the messenger, and my whole body jerks back in surprise.

"The Southern Mafia is aware of what's happened at their home in Shreveport. However, they will not hold it against you."

"As long as?" Atomic asks.

There is a moment of silence. The man dips his chin slightly, then clears his throat before he speaks again. I can tell he doesn't want to say the next words. His voice sounds almost pained, and I would feel sorry for him, but he's the messenger for the wrong fucking group.

"As long as you agree to the terms."

Atomic chuckles and runs his fingers through his hair, tugging on the strands. I watch as he takes a step toward the messenger. The messenger tilts his head to the side, and just when I think he is possibly innocent, he grins.

"You agree to the terms, and they won't die."

"How will you take control of Sal's if he's dead?" Atomic asks.

The messenger shrugs his shoulder, his smile staying firmly planted on his lips, and then he chuckles. "I don't know. I guess they'll just have to figure that part out. But it would be a lot easier if Sal were out of the picture. The rest of you, too."

Atomic leans forward slightly, wearing a smile of his own. "The Southern Mafia will never have a presence in Pineville. I don't know if you've made your way into Texas anywhere else, but you won't get into Pineville or any other city that we have a club presence in."

"Is that a threat to the Southern Mafia?" he asks, not responding to the rest of what Atomic has said.

"That is a fucking promise," I snap.

He doesn't even look away from Atomic to me. He keeps his attention on Atomic and only Atomic. His focus is on the president of the club. And I realize that this man is not just some messenger.

He's much bigger.

"You're the leader of the Southern Mafia," I state.

Only then does his gaze swing to meet mine. He narrows his eyes on me, curling his lip. He looks really fucking familiar. I just can't put my finger on it. But I've seen him somewhere…

"What the fuck do you know?" he snaps.

I've hit the nail straight on the head. This man is the head of the organization, trying to pass himself off as just some simple messenger with no information. I would pull my gun on him, but I have a feeling there are men with their guns already trained on me hiding somewhere, because that's what we would do for Atomic.

"I don't pretend to know much," I murmur. "But what I do know is that you're the leader. And I want my woman back."

He doesn't say another word. I watch as he takes a step backward, then turns to look over his shoulder. I'm not sure if he's sending some sort of signal to a man in the house, but I can only assume he is doing just that because in the next breath, five men walk out of the house, all wearing three-piece suits.

I could make fun of them for that, but they could make fun of us for our matching cuts, so I keep that shit to myself. All six men turn to face us. I'm sure they should look like some sort of formidable gang of men.

But to me, they appear silly as fuck.

KYLE

Matthew smilesas he shoves his phone into his pocket. His conversation was apparently finished. Xavier is pacing at the wall. I don't know what the hell is going on, and I don't want to know either. I could live my whole life without knowing what Xavier thinks ever again.

"Well, it seems as if your man and his friends have appeared at my boss' place. Negotiations are happening imminently."

Interesting.

Matthew isn't the boss-boss.

Xavier takes a step forward. His chin inclines, and he looks down his nose at Matthew. "What the fuck are you saying?" he asks. "Negotiations?"

"You shut your fucking mouth," Matthew snaps. "You're lucky you're still breathing."

Xavier stomps his foot, crossing his arms over his chest like the child he is. "No," he states. "You promised."

"She is here. I promised you nothing more than I would get her here, and I have delivered."

"She is mine to keep," Xavier shouts.

I can't stand it for another second. Not another moment. I cannot be forced to sit here and listen to them talk about me like I'm some kind of piece of furniture to shift around, to pass back and forth—to own.

"I am not yours. I am my own," I shout.

Both men look at me, but it's Matthew's expression that causes my heart to jump. He's smiling. It would be sexy, too, if he weren"t so damn terrifying. He thinks this is funny. Xavier is probably ready to beat the absolute hell out of me, but I can't look at him. It's Matthew whose gaze I can't shift away from.

"Indeed," he murmurs. "Except you are not your own," he begins.

"She's mine," Xavier shouts.

Matthew chuckles. "She is not," he says, his gaze focused on mine. "She belongs to the Dark Horse MC."

My heart slams against my chest. I want to deny him that, but I know exactly what he's saying. The name on Rider's vest says Dark Horse MC, and he does own me, but not the same way Xavier wants to.

The thought of never seeing Rider again makes me want to throw up. He owns every piece of me. This man I've just met, this stranger.

He owns me—and I want him to

"The woman has just realized that she is indeed… owned," Matthew murmurs, then lets out a chuckle.

He thinks this is funny.

I'm glad for it because at least he isn't looking at me with his calculating gaze. Sliding my tongue along my bottom lip, I think about Rider. I want him right now. I couldn't tell him that he owned me in any way, not yet, but I could at least show him.

I want to show him.

Sitting here in this chair, tied up like an animal, I don't know if I'll ever get the chance.

My heart aches at the thought. I try not to show it, but I'm sure I fail miserably. I want Rider. I want every part of him, and also, selfishly, I want him to save me. I wish for him to save me.

"She is mine," Xavier grinds out. "Nobody else's."

Then, as if it happens in an instant, Matthew reaches out and backhands Xavier, sending him flying to the floor. My eyes widen, flicking between the floor and Matthew. I don't trust Matthew at all, but right now, I have a little more respect for him than I did an hour ago.

"Shut the fuck up," Matthew barks. "Just shut the fuck up."

I wish I could stand up and walk away. I wish I could disappear. But I can't. I'm stuck tied to this chair. I'm stuck staring at them. I'm frozen. I want to say something, but I know I can't. I want to scream. But there is nothing I can do.

So, I sit in the chair and watch.

"Why did you bring me here?" Xavier asks. "Why did you want me to help you?"

Matthew smirks. "You were going to fuck everything up, boy," he sneers. "You were going to walk into that bar and kidnap my leverage."

Then I watch, in horror, pleasure, I'm not even sure what. A million emotions flash throughout my entire body. Inside and out, working their way through me as Matthew reaches into the jacket of his suit, brings out a gun, and points it at Xavier's head.

Before the trigger is pulled, the door to the room opens, and another suited man is standing in the doorway. "We need to pack her up and move. They are with the boss right now, and I got the text."

Matthew chuckles, putting his gun back in the holster. "Saved by the text… this time."

I'm gathered up, cuffed, but at least able to stand and move as I'm taken to the back of a van. I don't know where we are, but the van is in a garage, so even if I tried to look around, I'm not able to see anything or even guess at our locations.

I climb into the van. I want to scream, fight, and try to run. I can't. Unfortunately, Xavier is tossed into the back of the van as well. But fortunately, he is as tied up as I am. He can't hurt me except to say mean things about me and stare at me.

"I'll kill you," he hisses. "I'm going to fuck you, then kill you."

It's my turn to be a bit cocky. My lips twitch into a smirk. "You won't fuck anything," I say. "These men, they're going to fuck you."

And that is the last thing I say to Xavier. The van pulls away, and we're driven somewhere else. I hope that wherever we go, I am given the opportunity to know that Xavier has disappeared for good. No matter how that happens.

It's even clearer to me now that this man will stop at nothing to hurt me. To own me. To kill me. And I want no part of it. I refuse to die by this man's hand. I have been on the run for four long years.

I am not running anymore.

Now it's his turn to be the hunted.