“Hey, it’s okay,” Lynx murmurs, spreading her hand out over my chest. “It’s over now.”
“You shouldn’t be the one comforting me. God, Lynx, I’m so sorry you lived like that for so long.”
She shrugs, but I know my words meant something to her. I’ll remind my girl every damn day that she’s worthy of a safe, happy life filled with love.
“It wasn’t always like that,” she says, trying to reassure me. I hate that she feels like she needs to make her past more palatable for me. It’s something we’ll have to work on. “We went on lavish vacations, and I’ve seen a lot of the world. But… when things were bad, they were awful.”
“Is that why you ran? To escape his escalating abuse?”
“Not exactly. I… I found out my father was in quite a bit of debt. His last wife caught him cheating and took almost everything in the divorce. I didn’t know because he kept up all the appearances of having wealth. I guess it was all on credit cards, and when those maxed out, he went to loan sharks.”
I grit my teeth, hating her father more with every word from her mouth.
“His solution to his debt problem was to sell my virginity to the highest bidder.”
“What the fuck?” I sit up in bed, my heart jackhammering against my ribs. “Who? Who was he going to sell you to?” I swear to fucking God if it’s…
“An auction house that specializes in those kinds of… exchanges. He sat me down and just straight up told me I’d be fulfilling my highest purpose by clearing the family name of debt.”
“Your highest calling? Motherfucking dead man,” I grit out. We’re both sitting up in bed now, facing each other. Lynx has a sheet wrapped around her chest, while I’m too distracted by her confession to care about my own nudity.
“He seemed genuinely shocked and angered that I rejected his master plan. Like I was never a real person to him with my own thoughts and feelings. I was only an extension of him, a piece of leverage he could use when needed. When I told him exactly what I thought of his proposal, he snapped. It wasn’t the first time he attacked me, but I had never seen him so… devoid of emotion. His eyes were black and empty as he punished me for my disobedience and ungratefulness.”
“Lynx, I’m so sorry. I… I have no words.” I take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together to let her know I’m here, even through the rough parts of her past.
“My dad tired himself out after dealing with me, and fell asleep on the couch. He must have assumed I was too beaten up to run, but he was wrong. I grabbed what little cash I had, some clothes, and a few essentials, and left that night. I rented a cheap motel for a few days while trying to find a job, but my money was running out, so that’s when I…”
“Slept in the truck,” I finish for her. My heart is tattered and torn, especially knowing I added to her misery. I had no idea what she had just been through, but that’s no excuse. “I should have given you a job on day one. If I knew…”
“It’s over now,” she repeats, once again comforting me when she’s the one who has been suffering.
“Can you tell me more about the auction house? The Wicked Riders have been trying to take them down for weeks now. We know some of the players involved, and we have the location of their next auction.”
“This Friday?” I nod, thinking back to the details Shadow gave me. “Yeah. That’s the one I was supposed to be at.”
I growl and tug at my beard, needing to do something about this. I can’t just sit here while this kind of evil exists. Lynx, my precious, resilient dandelion almost got caught up in a human trafficking ring. That is unacceptable.
“Shit. What time is it supposed to start?” I’m already out of bed and tugging on jeans and a T-shirt. I need to get to the clubhouse and call church.
“Um… I can’t quite remember. I think it was late, though. My dad said something about picking up custom lingerie from a store in the next town over, and how he needed to have it by six on that Friday.”
“Six, seven, eight o’clock after drinks and cigars…” I mutter to myself, doing the mental math of when exactly the heinous activities will start. I’m already distracted, but I make a point to kiss Lynx on the forehead before leaving for the clubhouse.
10
LYNX
The front door closes, and I flop back into bed, not sure what to think. I won’t lie, I’m a little hurt and confused that Reaper left after so many of my firsts. First time seducing someone, first time having sex, first time telling anyone about my past, the first time falling in love…
But now he’s gone. The sound of his motorcycle fades into the distance, and I know he’s going to be spending the rest of the day with his brothers at the clubhouse.
Part of me understands the urgency and appreciates that everyone at Wicked Riders MC is just as disgusted as I am. I’m glad there are still men out there who are good and want good things for others. Another part of me feels a bit abandoned. I’m trying not to see a pattern of being intimate with Reaper just to have him leave, but it’s hard to ignore.
I’m not sure how long I’m in bed, but my phone startles me awake with a text. Strange, since I haven’t heard from anyone the entire time I’ve been away. Not many people have my number, and it’s not like I have any friends who would check up on me.
My phone dings with another text, and I drag myself out of bed. When I read the screen, ice floods through my veins. It’sfrom an unknown number, but the message is clear enough to send tendrils of panic swirling in my stomach.
I thought you were such an independent woman. That’s why you ran away, right?
