“I’m with the boys at Jagger’s club, why?”
“For fuck’s sake Daisy, I don’t know how to get you out of this mess.” His voice is a low growl, like he’s trying to keep it down.
“What mess?” I ask, wondering what he knows. Did they finally call him about what happened this morning, or is there something new to worry about?
“You can’t trust them. The Strykers are using you.” His words are like a bucket of ice-cold water being dumped over my head. “I was an idiot for ever thinking they could be trusted with your life.”
My skin prickles all over. I can’t believe the words coming from his mouth and even more how much they hurt. “You’re scaring me, Dante.”
“I’m in the middle of something, but I’ll get a hold of you soon to tell you more.” He’s whispering now.
My heart races in panic. He can’t drop a bomb like that then just leave me hanging. “Jagger has me locked in his office. I can’t get out.” I almost cry when sudden realization dawns on me. This might be worse than I originally thought.
“Has he hurt you?” he growls, sounding like he’s going to kill him.
“No, I don’t think he will.”
“As soon as you can, get away from them and run.” There is a commotion in the background, something smashing and a couple of men yelling. “I have to go, just get out of there. I will send someone to come find you.” He disconnects the call, leaving me feeling empty and more alone than I ever have.
I stare at my phone, my stomach churning uncomfortably. What on earth was that? Dante doesn’t know the Stryker brothers like I do, so he has to be wrong about them, doesn’t he? The violence I witnessed this morning and me now being locked up doesn’t help the uncertainty he has now implanted in my brain. How well do I really know any of them?
I move, shoving the chair back, and as I do, I knock the keyboard of Jagger’s computer, and the screen comes to life. Not his computer screen, but through my blurry eyes, I find six surveillance screens of what looks like The Precinct. I shouldn’t look, God only knows what I will see if I do, but I also can’t help myself. I need answers now more than ever, and this system might just show me where they have all disappeared to.
With a shaky hand, I move the mouse to zoom in on one of the screens that holds the main bar. There isn’t much to see except some emblem-wearing bikers drinking beer and playing pool. One of the other screens is from behind the bar, focusing on the staff. A youngish girl pours drinks in a skirt so short you can see her ass cheeks peeking out as she leans over the counter. Asher leans in on the other side, that damn charming grin on his face that he is supposed to save only for me. She flicks her long, chocolate-brown hair over her shoulder as she says something to him. He laughs and shakes his head before moving away from her. Irritation crawls down my spine. It shouldn’t; the reasonable part of my brain knows he is the flirt of the century, and it was probably innocent, but I hate how every other woman in town is so openly into him, and he has to be all charming back. She was probably asking for a screw, and he was telling her later, baby. Who would know?You can’t trust them,a little voice says.My brother is right.
One of the other screens is from the hallway, and I can see why no one let me out. There is a man standing at the door that I don’t know. He is huge and scary-as-all-hell looking, his oversized arms crossed over his chest as he leans into the office door. The question is, are they trying to stop me from running after what I saw today, or is he there for my protection from the man who is trying to track me down? Probably both! Jagger tried to make it out like this was all my choice, but there is no way in hell that’s true. If I tried to run, they would come after me. If I tried to hide from them, they would track me down. And again, that little voice tells me I never should have trusted them in the first place. Sickness washes over me.
I keep searching for clues. There is a blacked-out screen, and my curiosity gets the better of me, Jagger has said they get up to all sorts of things in this place, and I can’t help but wonder if this screen is hidden to conceal what that all means. But when I click on it, the window tothe room next door comes to life again. The man is gone. All that is left is a man in gray cleaning overalls mopping the floor while he whistles a tune. I can’t say I’m not relieved that I didn’t have to see that bloody mess again, but how quickly he vanished into nothing is disturbing. These boys have so much power in this town. If they wanted me to disappear, they could make it happen, and there would be nothing I could do about it.
A pain lodges itself in my chest. It’s relentless and all-consuming, stealing the breath from my lungs. I envision Asher’s smile and wonder how I could have been wrong about him. He sucked me in, charmed his way to my heart using his good looks and charisma to make me fall under his spell. Jagger practically bullied me into falling for him, but then I remember our night together at his property and how real it felt, and my heart aches even more. How could I have been so wrong about how that felt? And Cruz, from the moment I met him, he said he was trying to save me, that I was his, and when I looked into the depths of his eyes, I felt it. I’m sure I’m not mistaken.
I break into a white-hot sweat, my body freaking the hell out. Oh, dear God, I’m in love with all three of them, and they are using me. I’m just a bargaining chip to them, like I am my papa. How fucking stupid can I be?
I shift my gaze back to the main bar, and my heart nearly stops. There, talking to Jagger in a dark corner, is most definitely my big brother. What the fuck, he’s here in the States! Sweat drips down my forehead as fresh pain surges through my veins in a way I have never felt before, a million questions swirling through my brain. What the hell is he doing here? Is he here to save me? Why couldn’t he just talk to me if he was? Why didn’t he tell me he was coming to the States?
I stare back at the screen, searching for answers, when suddenly Jagger smashes him square across the face. I flinch back, my hand flyingacross my mouth in shock. Oh, my God. I need to get out of this room. I stand in a rush, but I can’t look away from the screen.
My brother stumbles back, then two other men step in at his side. I recognize them as his guards. He holds up a hand to stop them from going after Jagger. He spits something at him, words filled with hate from his expression. Then Cruz and Asher appear with a couple of bouncers. Cruz runs after my brother, thumping him repeatedly until the bouncers and his men have to pull the two of them apart. Asher holds him back as the bouncers toss my brother and his guards out of the bar.
Jagger turns around and throws his fist through the drywall, plaster splitting off in chunks.
Cruz storms back through the bar, looking like he’s about to kill all over again. It’s like watching a movie that doesn’t make any damn sense. They were working together, so what on earth went wrong?
Oh God, I need to get out of here. But there is no way out. All four walls are sealed. They have me trapped, and they know it. Was this their plan all along, to isolate me, stop me from working, scare me so I trusted them, then lock me up in this place? I know I’m not thinking rationally, but if it walks like a duck and quacks, it’s a fucking duck.
Even though I watch Cruz stride right past the bouncer on the video surveillance and shove his way back into the office, I still flinch when he bursts through the door. “We’re leaving now!” he calls in my direction, his eyes locked on me with an irrational psychotic stare that makes me tremble.
Asher is right behind him. He fakes a smile, I think, when he sees the horror written all over my face.
I’m not even going to hide that I was spying on them. If I can’t escape them, I want answers.
“Sorry we took so long, we can head back to the apartment now,” Asher says, trying to sound more friendly than Cruz. But I can’t tell anymore if it’s all just the Prince Charming act with him to lure me into a false sense of security.
“What were you doing?” I ask, trying to keep my voice light, not to show them how rattled I am. Even as I do, I scan over their shoulders, looking to see if that security guard is still lurking outside and if I could slip past them and make a run for it now. But the truth is, I know I wouldn’t get far in this place. They know it well, and I have no idea where I’m going.
“Dealing with a mess,” Cruz answers for him cryptically.
Asher’s eyes narrow, a flash of something unhinged crossing his pretty face. And it’s as if he’s just worked out what I have seen. “Do you have something to tell us?”
