Chapter Twelve

Kylie

T he van's tires crunch over potholes, jolting me against the hard metal bench running along the sidewall of the van. With my hands tied, there's not much I can do to blunt the momentum. I come back down on my ass hard, listing to the side.

Shelby watches me bounce around from her seat opposite me, amusement in her blue eyes as she clutches the gun Venom gave her.

I want to claw the smug smile off her face as I scowl at her.

"You can wipe that look off your face anytime," she says with a laugh. "You got yourself into this. I tried to warn you to stay away, but you decided to fall on his dick anyway." She rolls her eyes like I'm pathetic, but I see the anger she tries so hard to hide. She might not want Memphis or even like him, but it pisses her off that she couldn't tempt him. I don't think she's used to being told no. And I'm guessing he told her no far too often. "If you weren't such a bitch, you could have done better, just FYI. Memphis is an asshole."

"Having standards doesn't make him an asshole, Shelby. It just means he didn't want to sleep with you," I retort sweetly. Honestly, I don't think she even wanted to sleep with him. But I can't resist reminding her that he told her no. Considering that I'm tied up in a van and she's pointing a gun at me, I take perverse satisfaction in knowing that her feelings are hurt because she didn't get her way for once.

"He's a piece of shit," she snaps.

"You don't know anything about him."

"I bet I know more than you do." Her smirk widens, and I want to rip it right off her beautiful face. "I know where his skeletons are buried." She pauses. "And I know what he did to your brother."

"He didn't do anything to my brother." I grit my teeth as we bounce over another pothole, and I jolt upward before coming down on my tailbone.

"Is that what he told you?" Shelby laughs, a sultry, flirty sound that has no place in the back of a van like this. "You're really wrapped around his little finger, aren't you?"

I roll my eyes, refusing to respond. I'd almost have preferred if Venom had kidnapped me by himself. At least then I wouldn't have had to listen to her. If she was this freaking annoying when she worked for Memphis, it's no wonder he was so ready to fire her.

"Don't be stupid, Kylie," she says. "Everyone knows he wanted out of the MC. And everyone knows there are only so many ways out of an outlaw MC. His entire MC is dead, and he's got his freedom." She shrugs her shoulder, holding my gaze. "Seems to me he did plenty to your brother."

I turn my face away, ignoring her poison-laced words. I know she's just trying to turn me against Memphis, but I won't let her. He didn't turn on Jayson. He didn't get his MC killed just so he could walk away from the life. He isn't to blame for what happened.

I've seen his pain. I know how badly he still hurts over what happened to his brothers. I know how much guilt he still carries over what happened to my brother. And even if they kill me, I'll die trusting him all the way to my soul.

The thought of dying without seeing him again brings tears to my eyes, but I know it's a real possibility. Venom will kill him if he comes for me. And if he doesn't find me…well, Venom will kill me.

Either way, our story ends here.

Either way, one of us dies.

I can't let that happen. I won't let it happen.

We've been through too much to lose it all now. Memphis has survived too much to lose me now. I'm not letting this man take me from him. Not when I haven't even told him that I love him. He promised me a future, and I want it. So damn badly I can taste it.

I came to Nashville for answers about my past and about his. Instead, I found my purpose. I found my home. I need Memphis to survive.

He's my world, the one thing I didn't expect to need, but the only thing I can't live without.

I close my eyes, picturing his face—the way his cobalt eyes darken when he looks at me, desire and something deeper swirling in their depths. The way his lips quirk up in that devil-may-care smirk that simultaneously infuriates and arouses me. The way his calloused hands feel against my skin, setting me on fire. And the way only he manages to quench the flames.

I've hidden behind my walls for so long, afraid to let anyone see the vulnerable parts of me—the sad little girl who lost her brother and never understood why or how, and the angry teenager who spent years being told she wasn't good enough. But I don't have to hide with him. He's my anchor in the chaos, my port in the storm. He accepts me for who I am and loves me with a ferocity that takes my breath away.

"Aw. Are you going to cry?" Shelby asks, her mocking laughter echoing in the confined space.

I bite down on my tongue hard, refusing to let them see me cry. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth, but I welcome it. They may have me tied up, but they won't break me.

The van bounces over another pothole, knocking my head against the wall of the van. I grit my teeth, determined not to show any weakness. Shelby's laughter grates on my nerves, but I ignore her.

She gets bored of me after a few minutes.

"Are we almost there?" she asks the hulking giant in the driver's seat.

I crack my eyes open to find her turned toward him. The gun is still trained on me, but her attention isn't.

"Shut the fuck up and watch her," Venom snaps, his denim eyes flicking briefly to me before returning to the road.

"Ahh, baby. Don't be like that," Shelby coos, a pout forming on her pretty, vicious lips. She's distracted, trying to soothe him.

This is my moment, perhaps the only one I'll get. I lunge across the seat toward her, my heart racing. With my hands tied, there isn't much I can do, but my elbow digs into her side, knocking the gun from her grasp. It lands on the floor with a thud.

"Shit!" she screeches, trying to kick me away.

"Fuck," Venom curses, swerving the vehicle violently.

Shelby and I are thrown off balance, crashing onto the dirty floor. I scream in defiance, fighting like hell despite my bound hands. Every kick, every scratch, is for Memphis and for the future they're trying to steal from us.

"Get her under control!" Venom roars at Shelby, who's desperately clawing at my face.

Adrenaline surges through me as I shove her aside. She falls backward, her head smacking the edge of the hard bench. I don't stop to find out if she's still moving. I don't spare the energy to care if she's even alive. I can't.

I struggle to my feet, fighting to get to Venom.

I lunge forward, my teeth sinking into his muscular arm as hard as I can.

He howls in pain, his grip on the wheel faltering for a moment. He tries to pry me off with his free hand, but I refuse to let go. I can't.

"Get her off me!" he shouts, struggling to keep control of the vehicle.

"Kylie, let go!" Shelby cries from behind us, her voice thick and uncoordinated. But I won't let go—I can't give up now.

Venom swears viciously, yanking his arm hard to dislodge me. The sudden, violent movement sends me careening across the van. I land in a heap in the passenger floorboard, my head bouncing against the dashboard as the air rushes from my lungs.

Shelby cries out in terror, her panicked voice rising above the chaos. "Venom! Look out!"

He slams on the brakes with a roar of fury.

I look up just in time to see the world tilting as the van flips. Time seems to slow, stretching out the horrifying moment into an eternity.

And then metal screeches and glass shatters in an explosion of sound.

My body tries to lift upward, but I'm wedged between the dashboard and seat. I can't go anywhere. Pain radiates through me at the impact of the van landing. My head cracks against the dashboard. Something warm and wet trickles down the side of my face.

Blood, I realize.

The van tumbles over and over like some unstoppable force.

"Memphis!" His name rips from my throat in a raw, desperate scream as I'm thrown violently into the side wall of the van. Pain explodes through me, and everything goes dark.