Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Vienna

It seemed insane how obsessed I was with a creature as I was with the cat the second I spotted him.

Maybe it was something to do with having been left to try to survive on my own as well, with knowing how it felt to be saved, to be cared for.

All I knew was that the feeling seemed to be mutual as the sweet boy kept purring and massaging me on the drive.

I'd never had a pet of my own. All of the apartments I'd lived in as an adult had a no-pet policy. But growing up, my grandmother seemed to be the local cat whisperer. Strays from all over came to her yard to be fed and cared for. I'd fallen in love with each and every one of them. And I'd kind of always hoped I would be that old lady who the strays flocked to one day.

Somehow, it felt like the universe was giving me more soft and sweet after so much hard and cold.

The motel room where we were weathering the storm was a little more, well, dated than the last one. Which was saying something. There was paneling on the walls that matched the faux wood on the nightstands beside the beds, the desk, and the TV cabinet across from them.

The room was overstuffed for its size, and the covers on the bed looked straight out of the eighties. But it was surprisingly clean, the green carpet even having lines from the vacuum on it. Even the ancient bedding had the scent of detergent clinging to it.

I imagined in areas that didn't get much tourism like this town, it was easier to keep the rooms tidy.

I just prayed that the cat didn't ruin anything as I set up his litter box in the bathroom, then started to make up my bed with all of my blankets and pillow.

Riff was a little restless, likely from all of the hours in the car. I'd clearly been accustomed to being inactive, so I was actually kind of exhausted just from the walks around the rest stop and store. But he kept looking out the window, unpacking various items into the bathroom, then making his way back to the window, turning on the TV and watching the forecast, then going back to the window.

"Did you ever have a pet?" I found myself asking as I watched the cat licking his paws at the foot of my bed.

Riff turned, glancing between me and the cat. "Yeah. Our old man had lots of hunting dogs growing up. I used to get in trouble for sneaking them in to sleep in my bed."

"Why?"

"My old man didn't believe animals belong in the house," he admitted, shaking his head.

"That's sad," I decided, thinking of all those dogs outside in the heat and the cold with no respite.

"Yeah," he agreed, face dark when he spoke of his father. "At the clubhouse, we have a club cat."

"What's its name?"

"Cat," he said, shaking his head at my eye roll. "He loves men and tries to draw blood from every woman he comes across."

"That's unusual. It's usually the other way around."

"Yeah," he agreed. "And there's a revolving door of pets around these days. Some of the brothers and their women live at the clubhouse part-time, so their dogs come with them. One very friendly Corgi, a set of really well-trained German Shepherds, and one of those small fluffy dogs too. And there's a bunch of chickens."

"Really?" I asked, remembering the ever-present flock of chickens at my grandmother's house. Each summer, there were cute little babies, their overprotective mamas, and their strutting rooster dad.

"Yep. Crow's woman, Morgaine, lived off-grid for years before she hooked up with Crow. So she grows food and herbs and raises chickens for eggs."

"You said brothers," I said, confused by the term since it seemed like Raff was his only brother.

"Club brothers. That's what you call other members of the same bike club. Brothers."

"Are there a lot of them?"

"The club is always growing. It started with just Slash, Crow, Sway, Detroit, and us. Since then, they added Judge, Coach, Rook, and Colter. I don't think they've added anyone else since we've been back."

Maybe I should have been afraid of being around eight new strange men. Somehow, though, I knew that if Riff was around, I would be safe.

Plus, I mean, there were the women as well, right?

"How many of them are married or… committed?"

"Slash is married to Nyx, Crow is with Morgaine, Sway has Murphy, Judge is with Delaney, and Detroit somewhat recently got with a woman named Everleigh."

So there would be five women around.

There was safety in that.

"Do you like dogs?" Riff asked.

"I love all animals," I told him, meaning it. I could never pass by a dog without asking if I could pet it. Or hold myself back from going to the pet store to look at everything from the fish and reptiles to the birds and small mammals, even though I knew I couldn't have any. "I hope he gets along with dogs," I said, reaching out to pet the cat's head. "And other cats."

"If he's not, the bedrooms at the clubhouse are practically the size of small apartments, so he will have space where he feels safe. Do you have a name for him yet?" he asked.

"Vernon," I said, seeing the cat look over at the sound of my voice.

"Vernon," Riff said, a smile tugging at his lips. "That have some sort of meaning?" he asked.

"It was the street the rest stop was on," I told him. "And it suits him, right, Vernon?" I asked, reaching over to pet him, getting an almost immediate purr.

"He seems to like it," Riff agreed, coming over to sit on his bed, the restlessness seeming to recede. "Do you have any more questions about the club?" he asked, clearly eager to put my concerns to rest.

"They'll be okay with me coming?" I asked.

"Yes," he said before I could even finish speaking. "Trust me. They're a really welcoming crew."

"What is the town like?" I asked. "I've really only ever been to Arkansas and Oklahoma," I admitted, trying not to feel embarrassed about my lack of traveling. Work and money just never allowed me to stray far from my hometown.

"It's not like the California you see on TV," he warned. "We're far from the coast. Completely landlocked. And the clubhouse practically backs up to the Death Valley mountains. It's a very small, not very populated town. Oh," he said, tensing a bit over what he just thought of.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a prison town," he admitted. "Meaning, there's a big prison set back from the town a bit. It used to be a factory town. Then the factory shut down, and all the jobs dried up. Most of the people left. But the prison was built, and created work in the area again, so the town is coming back a bit. I just thought you might want to know that part."

"That… doesn't bother me," I decided. At least those bad guys were locked up, right? Not like my captor and his friends, out to roam free and hurt whoever they wanted to with no repercussions.

"I just didn't want you to go there without knowing all the details."

"I appreciate that," I said.

Though, honestly, what choice did I have? If I wasn't going to go to the police with my issues, what other path could I take but to go with him? I had no home, no family, no job, no way to get back on my feet.

I distinctly remember checking my bank account balance on the day I'd been abducted, hemming and hawing if I could splurge on one of those fancy frozen coffees or not. I never got to make that decision, as it would turn out. But I still remembered that I had less than a hundred dollars in my account to get me to my next paycheck, four days from then. Sure, I imagine my last paycheck had been put into that account, but that was only a couple more hundred. Not enough to start over.

I needed to go with Riff.

He would give me a chance to get back on my feet.

I didn't even know what that would look like.

I didn't even feel like any of this was truly real, to be honest. Riff, and now Vernon, were the only tangible things anchoring me to this reality. Where I was free. Where my stomach was full and no one was going to come in to abuse me anymore.

I couldn't fathom what it would be like to have things together enough to get up every day, go to work, do chores, exercise, prepare meals, have a social life, all the things that made, well, a life.

"You alright?" Riff asked, head tipped to the side as he watched me.

"Fine."

"Darlin'…"

"I was just… thinking about how I don't know how I am going to start over."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, get a job, an apartment, friends…"

"Vienna," Riff said, his voice a soft caress over frazzled nerves. "The only thing you have to think about right now is healing, getting healthy. That's it."

"I can't just mooch—"

"Yeah, I'm gonna stop you right there," he said. "You've been through hell, darlin'. You can take as much time as you need to get back on your feet. Months, years, everyone will understand."

"But—"

"What's the main concern here?" he asked.

"I have no money," I started.

"I have money. You can have as much of it as you want."

"I can't take your money."

He completely ignored that.

"What else?"

"I don't have a place to live."

"You do."

"I can't live in the clubhouse forever."

"You can stay as long as you want. But if you don't feel comfortable there, I'll get you an apartment."

"You can't just—"

"How about I decide what I can do to help you, okay?" he asked. "You don't have anything to worry about when it comes to a roof and food and bills."

"People don't just pay for other people's bills," I insisted.

"Sure they do. I have no living expenses, Vienna," he leveled with me. "I get a salary, but I live at the clubhouse or on the road, which is paid for by the club. I have plenty of money to spend however I want to. This is how I want to spend it."

I believed he meant that. I truly did. The thing was… for how long? He was feeling protective because he'd saved me, because we'd bonded by surviving together in the woods.

But, eventually, his life would open up and expand again. Leaving me… where?

Sure, I might be able to take a week or two to decompress, but I would need to start making plans to rebuild my life.

The idea of that made my stomach churn painfully, though, my mind flashing with images of a job full of men with roving eyes and dubious intentions. Walking alone at night. Walking alone… period.

"You alright?" Riff asked, brows pinching.

"I'm tired," I declared.

And, suddenly, I was. Down to the bone.

I pulled the blankets up over me, but the covers did nothing to chase away the chill. Because it seemed to be coming from somewhere deep inside.

"Okay," Riff said, reaching over to flick off one of the lights. "Do you want me to wake you if Raff finds any food?" he asked.

"I'm okay," I lied. Despite eating more in the past day or so, I felt emptier than ever. There was some cavern inside that seemed as if it might never be filled.

"Alright," Riff said, sounding unconvinced, but he wasn't going to press.

Vernon climbed up to cuddle near my face, nuzzling my face with his, and letting out little purrs, like he understood what I was feeling, like he wanted me to know I wasn't alone.

I was asleep within moments.