He didn't even look back."You won't need it where we're going."
Panic surged hot and sharp through her chest.Her job was the only thing keeping Sonny's hands off her and making her useful to him.Without her job, she'd never get away from him or Cusclan Motorcycle Club.
"Please," she begged, stumbling as he hauled her outside."I don't want to lose my job."
"You're coming with me."He shoved her toward the motorcycle."Get on."
She froze."Sonny, please—"
"Shut the fuck up."He grabbed her by the back of the neck and forced her forward."I said get on."
Her legs trembled as she climbed onto the seat behind him.The leather was hot from the sun.She gripped the sides of the seat, her nails bending inward.
The bike roared to life, drowning out her thoughts.Sonny was ruining her life.
He didn't wait for her to settle before he shot out of the parking lot.Wind whipped her hair back, stinging her cheeks.She clung to the back of his leather vest.The road blurred beneath them, a rushing smear of gray and white lines.Every bump jolted her spine.
Her anxiety rose.She hated fast speeds.
They were heading in the same direction as before.
Her heart hammered.The last time he'd forced her on a ride, they'd ridden over two hours away and came back the same night.Her legs had cramped so badly she could barely walk afterward.And the interstate—God, she hated the interstate—was bumper to bumper.Sonny rode as if he were invincible, weaving through traffic, pushing the bike faster than it should go.She never trusted him not to do something reckless that would send her flying off the back.
He wouldn't stop to see if she was okay.He wouldn't even care.Her mom would wonder where she went, maybe.If she ever came back.
She squeezed her eyes shut as they merged onto the highway, joining more Cusclan members.The wind slammed into her so hard it stole her breath.Her fingers ached from holding on.Her thighs burned.Every mile was too far.
When Sonny finally slowed down and turned off I-5, her muscles were shaking.They rolled into another empty lot.A small one surrounded by scrub trees and cracked asphalt.
There were a lot of bikers already there.
A lot of them.
Her stomach knotted so tight she thought she might throw up.She recognized the patches.More Cusclan members, who must've arrived earlier.And across from them, members of the Royalla Motorcycle Club.The same men who'd shown up last week at the abandoned Kmart lot.
Sonny parked and jerked his chin for her to get off.She slid down, legs wobbly, hands trembling.She stayed close to him, not because she trusted him, but because she didn't trust anyone else.
The presidents stepped forward.Cusclan's leader was tall, broad, and mean-eyed.She stayed far away from him whenever he came around the apartment, or Sonny dragged her to the clubhouse.The other man from Royalla was equally tall and big.He had dark hair and never looked to his left or right, where his men stood.They moved to shake hands.
But before they did, the Royalla member on the side pointed, his eyes flicking toward Lydia.
"I'll give you cash for the girl," he said casually, like he was offering to buy a used motorcycle.
Lydia's blood turned to ice.She stepped behind Sonny so fast she nearly tripped.Her breath hitched.Her heart slammed against her ribs.
The girl?
Her throat closed.While she was a grown-ass adult, she was the only girl here.
Sonny stiffened, but he didn't say anything.Didn't laugh it off.Didn't tell the man she wasn't for sale.
He just stood there like the asshole he was.
Lydia's heartbeat roared in her ears.He couldn't possibly be thinking of...of...of selling her.He wouldn't.No way.Who would clean his apartment and pay most of his rent?
No, he wouldn't.She wasn't for sale.
She wasn't.
