And frankly, none of them were as bad as Gabriel.
Through his mask, the skinnier but still insanely built biker nodded toward me. “What’s happening, little lady?”
My eyes rolled at the nickname, immediately annoyed by the damsel in distress treatment.
But to be fair, it was accurate. At least for that moment.
As soon as I got away from Gabriel, I was done being fucking weak. There was no more room for that push-over shit in my life,and I was making a pact with myself right now. Whatever else happened, I wouldnotbecome like my mother.
“My boyfriend’s being an asshole, I want to get out of here. Just take me home.” I clenched my jaw shut tight, not wanting to answer any more questions.
The broad one tilted his head, the huge helmet making it hard to read his tone. “Where’s home?”
Opening my mouth to answer, no words came out. Home was a bit of a myth. The reality of what I was doing started to set in: there wasn’t a single place I could go that Gabriel didn’t own or have access to.
I knew it was a mistake, letting him have so much control over my life. After I sent money to my mom, there was hardly any left over for myself. Gabe had been thrilled to offer his help — I had been an idiot for thinking it was out of the goodness of his heart.
My body shuddered at the memory of his sinister smile offering to let me move in.
“I’m not sure.” I stammered. He would be out here at any second, and then my options would dwindle to zero. All of them worse than letting these two, mysterious bikers whisk me away fromhim.
The lean one reached behind me and grabbed a spare helmet from the blue Suzuki, its black metal frame sleek and nimble. As he leaned in, a waft of musk washed over me. Despite the heavy, zipped leather jacket, the smell of his cologne found its way to my nose — hints of fresh laundry and sweat mixing into a lovely melody.
But before he could hand me the helmet, Gabriel’s voice sounded from the door to the bar. “Kiera! I swear to fucking god.” Frantically, his eyes searched the crowd of bikers for my face.
As soon as his gaze locked with mine, he marched over.
The two bikers stood in front of me, a wall of leather and muscle that any rational man would have feared.
But the drinks had Gabe bold tonight. His hand darted into the gap between them, grabbing my bicep with bruising force. “You’re so fucking ridiculous.”
“I’m done, Gabriel.” My voice shook, more from rage than loss.
His scoff only made the rage burn brighter. “Done? Kiera, don’t be so childish. You’re nothing without me.”
“If you don’t take your hands off this girl, we’re going to have a problem.” The lean one growled through his mask.
Apparently Gabe was at least a little afraid of them, because he dropped his hand from my arms.
“That’s not true.” I crossed my arms, making it harder for him to grab me again. But the damage was already done. My skin stung where he’d touched, and I could already tell it would leave a bruise that would take weeks to fade.
With a laugh, Gabe leaned in. “Oh, but it is. You don’t deserve better. Any other guy is going to treat you like the trash you are. Really, you should be fucking grateful I’ve given you so many chances.”
From my sides, I felt the bikers bristle, exchanging a look under their visors. The broad one’s hands clenched into fists as he watched my boyfriend yell at me.
Gabe hissed back at me. “You’re no better than your whore mother. And if you want any sort of decent life, you’re going to go back inside and apologize to my friends for spilling their drinks.”
Before I could answer, the masked bikers gestured for me to get on their bikes. Clearly, they were not enjoying Gabriel’s spectacle.
But as I turned to move, Gabriel’s fingers shot toward my arm, digging deeper into my skin this time. He yanked metoward him, forcing me to stumble away from the bike. The bikers tensed as my ankles buckled and I crashed to the ground.
Instincts kicking in, my palms slammed down into the pavement to catch my weight. I winced as I felt a sharp pain in my hands.
Shit.Looking at the dirty sidewalk, I saw a shattered glass bottle under my palms.
As blood started to seep out of the cuts, a pair of hands gently rested on my arm. Looking up, the dark visor hid the eyes of the biker trying to help me up.
But before they could lift me to my feet, Gabriel barked at them as he pulled me closer. “Leave my girl alone, you fucking creeps.”
