Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

KYLE

I'm notsure how long I stay in this room. It's got to be hours. The sun is beginning to set. I stare out the window, wondering if there is anything I can see to identify my whereabouts, but there is nothing. It's just a backyard with a fence and some trees. There is a house on either side of the backyard and one past the back fence.

We're in some neighborhood somewhere, and I doubt anyone is going to see me in this room. The door swings open again. I turn around expecting to see the boss or maybe the guy who took me.

But that's not who opens the door.

It's Xavier.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

And I mean that.

I fully wonder what the hell he's doing here, and how he got here. Because the last time I saw him, he was tied up and getting shoved into the house just like me. He chuckles, his eyes finding mine, and I can tell he thinks he's really getting away with something.

"You don't think I am just going to let this shit happen and not be part of it, are you?"

"So, you're part of this group now?" I ask. "They just let you in?"

He shrugs a shoulder. "I've given them what they wanted. And they're going to give me what I want."

"So, you did all of this to get me?" I ask. "Why?"

He grins. That smile used to mean something. It used to be attractive. But I know who he truly is inside now. Nothing about him is attractive. I want absolutely nothing to do with this man.

In fact, I want to see him get his just deserts. I want to watch him crash and burn. But right now, I'm wondering if that's going to happen.

Why does this man get to come out on top? Why does he get to be an absolute nightmare and live?

I hate him.

Everything about him.

"You're mine, and no fucking woman is going to walk away from me like that. You should know that by now."

"I don't want to be yours," I grind out.

He shrugs a shoulder and takes a step forward. "I don't give a fuck what you want. It doesn't matter what the fuck you want. You are not in your own little world running and hiding anymore."

I open my mouth to tell him to kick rocks because I will never be whatever the hell he wants me to be. I'm done with him. I've been done with him for four years, and I'm not going to go down without a fight. Never again.

The words don't come out. I'm frozen as the man who clearly wields power—a lot of power, so much that it radiates from him—walks into the room. It's the same one as earlier wearing more casual clothes.

Xavier presses his lips together and steps to the side. I am shocked he shuts his mouth. He didn't when we were with that other guy, so this confirms he must be the big dog.

Like big-big dog.

He's handsome—almost too handsome. He knows it, too, but he's also charismatic, and I find myself staring at him, wondering what he's going to say next. This is a man who commands others and rooms all at the same time.

He brushes past Xavier and makes his way toward me. I watch as he stops in front of me, just inches from my body, his eyes searching mine in silence. Then he jerks his chin, laughing softly before he speaks.

"You're defiant. It"s no wonder the Dark Horse likes you, and no wonder they are willing to wage war for you."

Biting the inside of my cheek, I try to keep from saying something rude. I have so many things I want to say to him, to Xavier, to anyone who will listen, because I just want to go back to my motel. I want to hang out with Ophelia. I want to lie in bed. I want to feel safe.

I realize now that I will never be safe, I will never be free. Those words don't mean anything at all. They're just words. I've lulled myself into a false sense of safety. I knew that's what I was doing, as stupid as I knew it was.

Now I'm screwed. Completely and wholly. I should have kept running. I should have filled up my gas tank and driven as far as I could. What I should not have done was fall for anyone. Especially the man who I did, because falling for Rider made it impossible to walk away.

Rider is everything I've always wanted.

But it's too late.

I met him too late. I'm ruined in so many ways from the inside out.

He deserves so much better than I could ever be—than I could ever give him.

"I'm not defiant," I say. "I'm tired."

He hums. "You're tired, but you haven't given up yet. You still have strength inside of you. That Dark Horse gives it to you. So, you're not that tired."

I think about smiling, but while his words humor me to a degree, I have nothing to smile about right now.

"I will have strength until my dying breath. That doesn't mean I'm not exhausted."

He dips his chin in a single nod. "You have not been broken… yet."

"And I will not be," I snap.

He laughs at this. I suppose I'm glad he finds me funny, but I'm not trying to be. I will not be broken. I am not a wild animal. But most importantly, I am not his or anyone else's to break. I refuse. I do not belong to any of these men.

"But you will. I'm just wondering if the Dark Horse MC will leave you here long enough for me to break you."

I open my mouth to snap at him again, but this time, Xavier takes a step forward. "I thought the agreement was that she was mine. I am tired of being thrown around here. I've been working for you, tirelessly for years. I want what's due to me."

He sounds like a child. Although, to be fair, that's kind of the way he always sounds, so I don't really pay much attention to him, but the man in charge does not like the questioning. He spins around to face Xavier. I suck in a breath, waiting for what I can only assume will be a tongue-lashing.

I have a feeling that not many people speak to this man that way. I can't deny that I'm a bit excited to see what will happen. I want to hear it all. I want Xavier to be put in his place and maybe even bitch-slapped a few times.

"Talon," Xavier whispers.

Talon.

That is his name.

It fits him.

I'm sure his talons are sharp, too. I can only hope he'll sink them into Xavier. If nothing else, I want to see him suffer—greatly.

"You better think about your words," Talon warns.

And for the first time in my entire life, I watch as Xavier dips his chin and takes a step backward, his eyes on his feet and nowhere else. I wish I could make him do that a million times over.

GNAW

Clink ridesup to our group, but Talon and his men have already gone back inside, and I realize that this all means war. There is no negotiating. There is nothing except war. Because Talon wants something that we will not give them. It wouldn't matter who he had kidnapped.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I reach inside and slide my thumb across the screen before I hold it up to my ear. I don't even bother looking at the caller ID. I don't think I give a fuck who is on the other end at the moment.

"Hello," I bark.

There is silence. Then I hear a female's voice. It's soft, almost sweet-sounding. "Gnaw, is that you?" she asks.

"Who is this?" I demand.

"It's Bren. I just, the bar is completely empty, but Kyle's car is here. I went by the motel, and Ophelia said she hadn't seen her at all. I'm worried. Is she with you?"

The only good part of this conversation is that it seems as though Bren and the others are unharmed. It could be much worse.

"Listen, Bren," I begin. "You and the other girls go home. I'll call you when the bar is open again."

"So, it's closed?" she asks on a whisper. "And Kyle?"

I don't know what to tell her. But instead of lying to her, I decide to give her as much of the truth as I can without worrying her. The last thing I need is a bunch of strippers on my ass about this, not when I'm trying to figure it out myself.

"She's fine," I lie.

Physically, she seemed okay by the video footage Talon showed me, but I don't know when that was taken. I don't know if she's really safe. I don't know anything, and that pisses me off.

I tell Bren not to worry again, then turn to Atomic. Clink is standing next to him, his head dipped as he murmurs something. I don't bother attempting to eavesdrop. Not when I can just ask or get him to tell me without even asking.

"That was Bren. It seems as though none of the other girls have been taken," I announce. "Also, we're sitting ducks standing here with our thumbs up our asses."

"Agreed," Atomic states.

Clink takes a step toward me, and then he begins to speak, telling me what he was talking to Atomic about a few moments ago. I didn't have to ask. I didn't think I would, either. But I was willing to in case I needed to. I am not going into a damn thing blind, not when it comes to Kyle being in this situation.

"The girls in Shreveport wouldn't talk… much."

It's the emphasized much that has me pause and take notice. He smiles, knowing that my interest is now piqued. King is watching us as well. I can feel his gaze focused on our direction. I can't look away from Clink, though. I want to know what these girls know.

"They knew that Kyle was being held in a house just over the Louisiana border but that she was moved. I don't know how they knew. I didn't ask. And on top of that, it's clear this is all to get a foot in the Texas door."

The Southern Mafia wants in on this, on what our state has to offer, in a way that is not going to fuckin happen. I don't know if they've wrung their entire community dry, but they aren't going to come here and cause destruction, not if I have anything to say about it.

And I fucking do have something to say about it.

So does Atomic. So does the entire Dark Horse MC.

We are not going to accept any of it. Not in the slightest.

"Are we ready to take care of shit?" I ask, flicking my gaze up to Atomic's.

He jerks his chin but doesn't verbally agree to anything. Instead, he smirks. "Sending a group text out. We have church immediately."

Fuck. Yes.

Without another word, we all walk toward our bikes. I climb on, start my engine, but turn my head to look back at the house. I wonder if that fucker is watching me. I don't see him through any of the windows, but I have no doubt his eyes are on me.

If he thinks I'm sleeping at all tonight, that I'm just going to lie down and take whatever he and his group are trying to force us into dishing, he's got another thing coming. We will end this with Sal, Dennis, and, most importantly, Kyle home safely.

And I will end this with Kyle officially being my old lady.