He speaks softly, as if I’m a frightened mouse that might scurry away at loud noises. “You don’t need to be scared of us. I promise you the only reason we bid on you was to stop some asshole using you.”
I turn my head to meet his gaze, and I am met with honest, hazel eyes. He looks kind.
Despite everything, I find myself believing him. However, that doesn’t solve the very real problem of the fact that they only postponed my fate by twenty-four hours. The Rusted Scythes still have my brother, and they still own me. “I’ll have to face them soon enough. This only buys me a day away from them,” I point out.
“Well, at least she’s grateful you blew all our money and started a war for her, Gage,” the other man says sarcastically. Cash, I believe Gage said his name was.
“Sorry to disappoint you. If you wanted some simpering damsel in distress who would be so grateful she’d let you fuck her as a thank you, so you feel less guilty about buying a virgin, you wasted your money,” I snarl, glowering at Cash in the rearview mirror. All I can see are his piercing ice-blue eyes that are as sharp as the angles of his face.
He chuckles and looks at me approvingly. “No. I’m beginning to think you were money well spent.”
I’m not sure what he means by that, and I’m annoyed at myself for feeling slightly flattered. I opt for lashing out further to give myself some semblance of control. “If you touch me, I’ll bite your cock off.”
Cash just laughs, the sound rich and full-bodied, as Gage says, “Ace is gonna love her.”
Cash looks serious now. “He’d better. He’s gonna be pissed as hell at you for spending our money and coming home empty-handed with a girl who’s trouble, and news that you’re about to throw a match into a gunpowder keg.”
The way the guys talk tells me they’re close. The banter between them is easy and familiar. I also feel more at ease now that my refusal to fuck them has been well-received. Either that or they find it amusing that I think I have a choice in the matter.
“I’m sorry, who’s Ace?” I ask, looking between the pair.
“Ace is the Prez of the Road Renegades,” Gage explains.
“He sent us to buy guns tonight. He reckons the Rusted Scythes are gonna make a move against us. Romeo here went and spent all our money on you instead, and he has no intention of giving you back to them after twenty-four hours, which, as you well know, means he might as well have declared war there and then.” Cash’s tattooed knuckles flex on the steering wheel. “So Ace is going to be pissed, and that’s an understatement.”
I briefly wonder what he means by calling Gage, Romeo. Is he just teasing, or did he genuinely rescue me tonight out of some misplaced romantic hero complex fantasy? Though I’m more concerned by the fact I seem to have found myself indebted to not one but two motorcycle club presidents, and I don’t want to be stuck in the middle in their turf war.
“Ace will understand that we had no choice,” Gage assures me, before looking at Cash. “We couldn’t just leave her there.”
“Tell that to Ace, lover boy,” Cash quips.
Gage’s cheeks flush adorably, making me blush too. Pushing that ridiculousness aside, I ask the obvious question. “So if you’re not gonna fuck me, what are you planning on doing with me?”
“That’s up to Ace, so you’d better play nice,” Cash warns. I’m not sure if he’s being serious or not.
A look of annoyance flashes across Gage’s face, and he barks at his friend. “Fucking hell, Cash, the poor woman is traumatized and has been through god knows what, and you’re trying to scare her further!”
I feel touched by his anger on my behalf. Perhaps he is really telling the truth and simply wanted to help me.
Cash has the decency to look embarrassed. “Sorry, Naomi, I didn’t mean to scare you. Ace is a decent man; he’s not gonna throw you to the wolves, none of us will.”
Scarcely able to believe it, I ask hopefully, “So you won’t take me back to them in twenty-four hours?”
“We won’t take you back ever, not if you don’t want,” Gage assures me.
I nod, holding back the tears that sting in the corner of my eyes. I refuse to cry. “What about my brother?” I ask.
“You mentioned that they had him. What happened?” Gage gently probes.
I find myself opening up and telling him the whole story, right up until we met. When I finish, Gage hands me a tissue. I didn’t even realize I’d been crying. “Thank you,” I say, my voice thick and nasal.
I feel slightly embarrassed that he’s seen me cry, but Gage doesn’t look at me with pity, only sympathy and understanding. “It will be okay, Naomi,” he says softly, and for the first time tonight, I find myself believing it might be.
***
I was so emotionally drained and exhausted I must have drifted off, because I have no idea what time it is, where I am, or how long we’ve been driving for. When I finally wake with a start, we’re pulling into a sleepy neighborhood. Gage jumps when I open my eyes to look at him, caught red-handed watching me sleep.
“You shouldn’t watch people sleep, it’s creepy,” I tell him with no real venom in my voice. I don’t mind, in fact, it’soddly sweet. Again, he flushes, a reaction that is so unusual and adorable on such a rugged man, I know I’ll continue to search for ways to provoke it. “Where are we? This can’t be your clubhouse,” I ask, confused, as we pull up outside an unassuming-looking house.
