He leaves me with one last smirk, “You’ll learn to love me, princess.” He says over his shoulder as he walks out of the room and closing the dingy door closed. The room I’m in is disgusting. The space is littered with trash and dirty clothing. The only furniture, other than the chair I’m sitting on, is a discolored, cigarette-burned mattress and a tiny nightstand missing its drawer. I feel anxiety settle under my skin as I get a glimpse of what looks like blood splattered across the brown carpet. Tears burn my eyes and start to spill over onto my cheeks. My breathscome in short and choppy as I finally allow myself to break down.
I take in large gulps of air, trying to calm myself. Death’s words repeat over and over again in my head:I’m not allowed to touch you yet. That means they need me for something, and I need to use that to my advantage. I have to hope Marley got my text and that they find Axel.
The thundering pain in my head takes over my ability to think. My head falls forward, my chin resting on my chest. I finally let sleep take over, hoping that when I wake up, this will all have been a dream.
I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep, but I wake to warm breath brushing over the side of my face and a hand wrapped around the back of my neck, supporting my head as I’m lowered down. The overwhelming scent of masculine cologne fills my nostrils, making my eyes fly open. That scent is one that has haunted me for the past year and is permanently seared into my brain. Jack.
Warm orange light filters in through the window, and I gather it is the sunset. I’ve been here for more than half the day.
“Hey, baby,” he coos as he buries his face in my hair, taking a deep breath. Jack finally pulls back and leans against the wall, lighting a cigarette. His blonde hair is greasy and messy, and his usual bright blue eyes are bloodshot and unfocused. He’s high or having a mental breakdown—or both. I let my gaze travel from his face to his torso and suck in a sharp breath as my eyes catch on his leather vest.
“You’re a Reaper?” I say, almost in a whisper.
Flabbergasted that my prick of a businessman ex-boyfriend is now part of a motorcycle club, I wait for his response, but he just tips his head back against the wall and lets out a bone-chilling laugh.
“Oh, you have no idea who the hell I am now, Jenna,” he says as his eyes rake over my body. I follow his gaze, watching as blood drips from the wire digging into the soft flesh of my arms and legs. He retied the wire around me after taking me out of the chair. Lovely.
“When you left…” He stares off into space for a moment before shaking his head and continuing. “I couldn’t handle it. You were my life. My everything.”
“I meant nothing to you,” I spit at him, my voice coming out as a hiss. As quickly as the words leave my mouth, a knife presses under my chin, digging into my throat.
“Shut the fuck up. You have no idea what hell you caused, and now you are going to be a good girl and make everything right again.” Spittle flies in my face as Jack spews his words. I may need to approach this differently. He clearly isn’t of sound mind, and antagonizing him is only going to make this worse. I muster all the courage I have left and try again.
“I’m sorry, explain to me, please,” I whisper, letting my body tremble in his hold. Fear that he will see through this tactic settles in my gut, but he relaxes a bit. This clearly pleases him as the knife leaves my neck and he starts trailing kisses along my jaw. I feel a bead of sweat slowly move down my neck, continuing between my breasts. A metallic scent fills my nostrils, and I realize he cut me. I take deep breaths through my nose, trying not to gag as I watch him lick the blood from my chest before licking his lips and smiling up at me.
“Mm, this is going to be so sweet, baby. You and I… we’re so good together. I’m glad you finally came back to me.” He groans as he backs away. Jack returns to his leaning position against thewall when the door opens. The man who betrayed Axel and his club stands before us with a smug expression on his face.
“Glad to see the reunion is going so well,” he taunts as he nods to Jack. “Prez wants to see you. He wants you to bring Teach.”
I snap my head toward him at the sound of my nickname—the name my friends use, not this slimy man. He doesn’t so much as look at me again, but turns and closes the door, leaving me here with my psychotic ex. Jack lets out a heavy sigh and circles around me with his switchblade twirling in his hand.
“I guess we will have to finish our conversation later,” he says, slowly sliding the sharp blade down my upper arm. I watch as it leaves a deep red line that starts to seep blood. I wince at the sight, trying to keep my breathing even. Play his game, Jenna. You have to make it out of here alive.
“Can’t wait,” I reply, flashing a grin that promises revenge.
This must take Jack by surprise because his brow furrows only for a moment before he recovers. The corners of his mouth curl as a smile spreads across his oily face. He grabs small wire cutters from atop the nightstand and slowly clips each ring of wire that restricts my legs. Another man walks into the room.How many of them are there?He isn’t someone I’ve seen before, but he refrains from looking at me. As Jack fully removes the wire from my ankles, I visualize bringing my knee up into his face, but without my arms free, I’ll just be a sitting duck. I wait as he frees the sliced skin along my forearms. Almost immediately, the man who entered the room grabs them and pulls me into a standing position. Without thought, I scream at the sting from his grip, making my knees buckle under me. He still doesn’t look at me, his face unmoving, almost as if it is made from stone. Pulling my wrists together, he secures handcuffs to me. Jack stands off to the side, watching us. As soon as his buddy finishes putting on my handcuffs, he leans forward, placing his handon my lower back. The room quickly goes dark as something is secured over my eyes.
“Time for you to meet the big boss, baby,” Jack grunts in my ear.
CHAPTER THIRTY
blaze
“Hello everyone!Thank you for being so patient. We are waiting for a few more people in the wedding party, and then we will begin. In the meantime, please enjoy a refreshment and mingle with the people around you!” the peppy wedding planner Marley just had to hire says into the microphone at the front of the room. I nod to her in agreement with her distraction plan for the guests as I walk around the room, checking in with my brothers to see if anyone has heard anything.
A hard slap lands on my shoulder. “How’s Marley doing?” Prince asks as he shakes hands with the men around me.
“She’s all wound up about not hearing from Jenna, but she’s hanging in there.” I let out a heavy breath, thinking about the look on her face when I’d told her I hadn’t heard anything. “She’s more stressed out than I’ve ever seen her, and I just want her to relax and enjoy the day. Fucking Axel. If we find out they are somewhere fucking while we’re all running around waiting for them, I’m going to beat the shit out of him.”
“We’ll find them,” Prince nods at me as he heads over to talk to D. He looks exhausted, and I know he’s been working his ass off to make sure we’re ready if the Reapers make a move. Their silence these last few months is unusual. We haven’t seen one ofthem since the incident at the club. I know they’ll attack sooner or later, but just sitting back and waiting is pissing me off.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of white charging toward me. I turn just in time to catch Marley, who slams into my chest. She looks up at me with glassy eyes and a look of bewilderment. Holding up her hand, the screen on her phone lights up to display a message from Jenna. I hold her shaking hand still as I read the plea Jenna has sent to her: Help. Realizing there’s now a small crowd around us, I glance to my right and see Prince looking at the phone screen, too.
“Heard anything from Shiny?” I ask in a low voice. He shakes his head, no. We all know this has to be the Reapers. Our enforcer and his girl go missing, and all we get is a one-word text before radio silence? Not likely to be a mistake.
I look back down at Marley and cup her face in my hands. She’s pale and shaking, her eyes unfocused, and I can tell her thoughts are racing. “Hey, Mar. Look at me, Babe.” Her eyes lift to mine, and tears start streaming down her face.
“I’ve been sitting here worried about our wedding while my best friend is out there in danger,” she whispers. My need to rip apart the people responsible for making her feel this way takes over. I’ll do anything to ensure she never feels this way again.
