“You don’t think she’ll be safe here?” James asks, sounding just as concerned as his wife.
“I think it would be better if I go with Ryder,” Penny chimes in.
Laura and James exchange looks before returning their attention back to me.
“We’ll trust you. Just stay safe. Both of you.”
After a long twenty minutes of goodbyes and promises that we will be back soon, we are finally out of the house.
Just as we climb in the truck, Maddox sends me a text.
“Mojo is doing good,” I tell Penny. “He has to stay at the vet for a few days, though.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
I watch her buckle up before backing out onto the road. “Tucker broke into my house, destroyed it while he was there. We can’t go back there.”
“Oh… where are we going?” she asks, and I already know she will not like the answer.
“I’m taking you to the club. It’s the safest place.” It’s true. There is nowheresafer. Not only does it have a security system and cameras, but it is also where you can find most of the brothers. Some actually live there, but most of us just have a room to crash… or fuck.
“I know you don’t enjoy going there, but it’s safe, and that’s all we need right now.”
Chapter 23
Penny
We don’t walkinto the front of the club this time. We park around the back, close to a large metal door with a keypad attached to it.
Before we get out of the truck, Ryder turns to me. “Listen, no one in there is going to touch you… but you have to do exactly what I say. To everyone else, you are nothing more than someone who owes the club money. Do you understand?”
I nod my head furiously.
“That’s the way it’s going to have to be. Especially with this Tucker shit going on. I need all my men trusting me, and they are not going to do that if they think I’m distracted.”
“I understand.”
I climb out of the truck and follow Ryder. He punches a bunch of numbers into the keypad, and the door clicks open. Taking my hand, he pulls me inside and shuts the door behind us.
We move through the long hallways, and I suddenly feel like I’m a calf being led to slaughter.
Stopping in front of a door, recognition sets in. I’ve been here before. This is where Ryder took me the first time.
“You finally ready to share?” some guy yells down the hall.
“Fuck off,” Ryder yells back and grabs me by the arm. He pulls me into the room roughly and slams the door shut before letting me go.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I look around the room. I hate being in here, and I hate how Ryder acts when we are here.
Then something catches my eye. There are clothes lying next to the bed… my clothes. I don’t remember taking them off in here.
“How did these get here?” I ask, pointing to the pile on the floor.
“Last time I brought you here, someone slipped something in your drink. I tried to get you to sleep it off in here, but you wouldn’t, so I took you home.”
“I walked out of here naked?” I ask in complete horror.
“You didn’t walk out of here at all.” He chuckles. “I wrapped you up in the blanket and carried you out. No one saw you naked, little owl.”
