by Romi Hart
“Is something wrong?” she asked with blatant concern.
“Yeah, something’s wrong.” He shook his head, vowing to himself to finish this, aiming for quick and painless and knowing he’d miss the mark by miles. “I’ve dedicated my life to the MC, Leigh, and while I was away on business, all I could think about was that I’d left you here, wondering where I was. And I’ll have to do it again and again. I can’t be plagued with that guilt.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just text me when you’re leaving town. I’ll be fine. As long as I know you’re safe, it’s okay.”
“That’s just it, Leigh. It’s not always safe. We’re above board, but not everyone is.” He went for the final blow, swallowing the bile that rose in his throat. “You don’t understand, and you never will. You don’t belong in my world, and I sure as hell can’t fit into yours. We’ve had a good little run, and I’m glad we met. But it’s time to move on.”
She gaped at him. “You can’t be serious. You’re just scared.”
Squeezing his fists until his nails bit into his palms, he forced himself to hold back the truth. Of course he was scared. He didn’t want her to get hurt. Instead, he said, “Scared? Yes. I’m scared that I’m going to make a mistake because I’m busy thinking about getting you back in bed rather than paying attention to my club. It’s over, Leigh. Thanks for the good time. I’ve got to go.”
He turned on his heel and left, trying to erase the hurt he saw in her eyes as he went. But it was burned into his brain, and he could never unsee it.
14
Several emotions swam in Leigh’s heart and head as Zeke walked away, his back ramrod straight and his stride filled with purpose. She wanted to believe something or someone had forced him to do this, but who? And why? And if that was the case, wouldn’t he have seemed more distraught about it? He’d been poised and calm, and that was what hurt the most.
Pain, disbelief, anger, and an overwhelming sadness roiled inside, the waves so strong they nearly knocked her off her feet. She was supposed to be making rounds, but she needed a minute. She couldn’t face another patient until she processed what had just happened.
Zeke had just broken up with her.
She stumbled to the bathroom, nausea thick and heavy, and she barely made it into a stall before she lost her lunch. And she still felt sick. She realized as she sat back against the stall door, breathing heavily, that tears poured down her face. She’d truly believed him when he’d called and told her he missed her, that he wanted to see her. Had he been lying? Or had something changed? She had no idea what to think, and she had no clue what to do.
Obviously, she’d have to move on, but how was she going to do that? She’d begun to invest in the idea of a future with Zeke, and now, that dream was shattered, a million pieces that dug into her skin like slivers of fiberglass, leaving no part of her that didn’t ache with need and loss.
“Leigh? Are you okay?” It was Anna, one of her coworkers. Oh, god, everyone on the floor had to have seen what happened.
“I’m fine,” she croaked, her voice breaking.
“No, you’re not,” Anna called. “Leigh, open the door and let me help you. I’m going to tell Rick you’re sick and need to go home, and I’m going to call you an Uber. You don’t need to drive right now.”
“No, I’m okay, Anna,” she insisted in a gravelly voice, pushing to her feet and ignoring how wobbly she was. She opened the stall and averted her gaze from the sympathy in Anna’s expression. “I only have about an hour left. I’ll make it.”
“Honey, trust me. Heartbreak is harder to work around than the flu. You need to get off your feet and just wallow in it for a while.” Walking with her to the sink and turning on the warm water, she asked, “Is there anyone you want to call? Someone who can stay with you and hate on men for the evening?”
Leigh laughed through the tears before starting to splash the water on her face. “I’ll call my best friend. I owe her a lashing anyway. She’s the reason I went out with him to start with.”
Anna chuckled. “Hang in there, okay? He didn’t look convinced, from where I stood. Maybe he’ll change his mind and come crawling back with an epic apology and vows of devotion. And trust me, if he does, I think you should take it. He’s incredibly sexy, and you’ve been happier than I think I’ve ever seen you these past couple of months.”
Leigh’s head snapped up, and she stared at Anna with wide, swollen eyes. “Really?”
Anna nodded. “You’ve practically glowed. Just remember, men are like cats and horses. They spook easily. At least, the good ones do. Just give it some time and see what happens.”
Leigh nodded, but she didn’t put much faith in the idea. After all, this was Zeke, and he did have a reputation as a womanizer. She wasn’t going to hold her breath. At the same time, she didn’t want to go home and feel his presence missing. She’d never make it through the night that way. “Thank you, Anna. For coming to check on me and talking me down a little.”
She grinned. “Of course! We all care about you around here. Now, I’ll cover the last of your rounds. You go home. Call your friend and tell her to bring two bottles of wine and a lot of chocolate ice cream. It’ll get you through the night, and tomorrow morning, you’ll wake up fresher and more prepared to face the world.”
Leigh noticed she didn’t say a miracle would happen overnight. She was glad. She needed honesty right now, not empty promises.
As she collected her things and headed out, she thought about how hard it had been to be alone after she’d left Chris, how much she’d hurt from his betrayal. And she hadn’t even really loved him. She was admittedly head over heels for Zeke. If she’d nearly lost it trying to recover from her breakup with Chris, how was she going to survive this?
One thing was certain. Wine and chocolate weren’t going to cut it tonight. As she drove, she dialed Rory, who picked up quickly. “Are you off early or something?”
Swallowing a fresh set of tears and more bile, Leigh replied, “Or something. Are you home?”
“I just walked in the door. Why?” She must have heard something in Leigh’s tone because she sounded worried.
“I’m coming over now. Pick something out of your closet for me to wear, and get dressed. We’re going out, and I don’t mean for dinner. We’re hitting the bar and partying.”
“Wait, Leigh, what…” That was as far as she got before Leigh clicked off the line. She wasn’t prepared to talk over the phone, and she didn’t want to talk at all about it until she’d had a couple of shots to ease the pain.
* * *
“I think you’ve had enough to drink.” Rory took the shot out of Leigh’s hand and passed it to someone walking by.
Leigh glared at her, not quite steady on her feet and sort of struggling to focus on her friend. “I was drinking that.”
“I know. But you’ve already drank about six of them, and you’ve had about six other drinks. You’re barely standing. I think it’s time to quit.”
“And I think you should stop mothering me.” Leigh knew she was bombed, but she didn’t care. She could still feel the pain of loss and regret, her chest aching at the idea of never seeing Zeke again. Or worse, seeing him around town with some other bitch on the back of his bike. That was her spot. She couldn’t fathom another woman putting her arms around Zeke’s waist, or lying in his bed with her legs wrapped around him.
The image nearly killed her buzz and launched everything out of her stomach again. “I need some fresh air,” she said, fighting tears.
“Come on, we’ll go out to the balcony.” Rory grabbed her arm and guided her. Outside, the cool night air helped her breathe better and settled her stomach, but it also reminded her of riding the bike and having the wind in her face.
“Why, Rory? Why did he do this?” She’d spilled everything after her second shot of tequila, and her friend had been absolutely shocked. She’d had no words, and Leigh couldn’t remember the last time Rory had been speechless, about anything. “He to
ld me he wanted to see me, and that he missed my voice. And he asked me to be ready to have dinner and talked about getting naked and going to bed. What would change his mind?”
Rory shook her head. “I don’t know, Leigh. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Sure it does,” she slurred, sniffling a little. “I mean, he couldn’t call and say he wanted to see me because he needed to break up with me. So he made it sound like all fun and games to get me excited to see him. And then, he just couldn’t wait and showed up at work and did it right away.”
Shaking her head, Rory looked confused. “Maybe there’s something going on you don’t understand,” she suggested. “Bikers are complicated. Maybe he’s worried about something going on at the clubhouse and doesn’t want to risk you getting involved. Or maybe someone threatened him directly, and he doesn’t want you around him until the threat is neutralized.”
Leigh snorted. “Neutralized, huh? You sound like some cop show on television.”
“You know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“I know what you mean. But why couldn’t he just tell me? Why the elaborate scene at work? You think he did that to make sure anyone following him would believe it?”
“That would make sense. He needed it to be real, so he couldn’t tell you. Watch, you’ll hear from him in a couple of days, and he’ll explain it all with a huge apology.”
Leigh thought about it, but something just didn’t add up. and she was still so hurt, so devastated. Even three sheets to the wind, she saw nothing but Zeke’s smiling face, and she couldn’t make it fade. Her chest hurt, and her stomach sloshed with all the liquor she’d consumed on an empty stomach. “I can’t bank on that, Rory.”
“Try, Leigh. You have to give it a chance. He showed up last time, when you thought it was over and done. After three weeks. He showed up this time after one week. Why can’t you expect him to at least contact you and let you know what the scheme is?”
But suddenly, she was angry, and she glared at Rory. “Why should I listen to you? Every time I listen to you, I get hurt. I should never have listened to you about Zeke to start with, and my heart wouldn’t have been crushed today.”
“I’m sorry, Leigh. Please, calm down. You’re not yourself right now.” She grabbed Leigh’s arm, a pleading look on her face.
But Leigh pulled away, nearly toppling over. “Don’t touch me. You’re not my mother! You’re the worst friend. You give me the worst advice, and it gets me hurt and leaves me lonely. I don’t want to be here right now. I’m going home.” She turned and held her arms out to steady herself, and then she headed for the door inside. She still had stairs to descend, but she’d manage.
“Leigh, wait! Let me call you a cab or something. You can’t drive.” Rory followed her in.
Pulling her phone out of her clutch, she shook her head. “I can take care of myself. I know how to call an Uber. I just need to be alone, okay?” She’d unloaded on her friend, blamed her for everything, and that wasn’t fair. She’d have to apologize in the morning, but right now, she could barely hold the railing and get down to ground level. When she left the building, she realized that Rory was gone, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was on the verge of another breakdown, and her friend would never let her go alone if that happened.
Squinting at her phone, she tried to read the screen, looking for her Uber app, but everything was so blurry she couldn’t figure out where to press. “Damn.”
“You looking for a ride?” The man’s voice was deep, and Leigh glanced up, squinting at him, too, as she tried to make out his face. He wasn’t very good looking, or at least, not when his face was a big blur. But he wore an ill fitting sports jacket, and she frowned at him. “I’m an Uber driver. I’ve been waiting ten minutes, and my fare is nowhere to be seen. I’d like to not waste this trip, and you look like you’re ready to go.”
Sagging with relief that she wouldn’t have to stare at her phone till things came into focus, she nodded. “Thank you.” She followed him to a car around the corner, a small, black something, and even inebriated, she remembered to look for the Uber sticker with the driver number. “Wait, where’s your sticker?”
He didn’t answer, and before she could get her bearings to move, someone caught her from behind, his arms tight around hers so she couldn’t move. One hand covered her mouth so she couldn’t scream, not that she had managed to make a sound yet anyway. She didn’t even struggle against him, her body too limp and uncooperative and his grip too firm, holding her tight against his chest. He smelled like motor oil, and she nearly gagged.
She probably should have. He might have let her go if she’d vomited all over him.
The poser in the sports coat opened the door to the backseat, and she was shoved inside, so dizzy she couldn’t even sit up and rolled into the floorboard, banging her knee and her head. She winced, but they didn’t seem to notice as they shut the door and quickly got in the front seat. “Don’t speak, and don’t try anything stupid,” said the guy who’d approached her. “You cooperate, and you won’t get hurt.”
She desperately wanted to ask what they wanted. She didn’t have much, just her two credit cards and some cash in her wallet. Her paycheck wouldn’t drop for a couple more days, so her checking account was practically useless, and there was no way to access her savings without going into the bank.
The guy’s driving was erratic, and she was still drunk, even though she felt like she’d sobered greatly under the circumstances, so it took her a long time to get into the seat. By then, the nausea was overwhelming, and she lay down, barely able to open her eyes without the world spinning. At what she assumed was a stoplight, she peered through one cracked lid at the second man, and terror gripped at her heart.
He had on a cut, but she didn’t know him from the Devil’s Flames. He had to be with a different club, and considering that they’d kidnapped her for whatever purpose, she knew without a doubt it couldn’t be another morally sound club like Zeke’s.
She suddenly wished she was sober. But then, even without the haze of the alcohol, she could maybe best or outsmart one of the two, but she would never have managed both. She couldn’t even reason with them if she didn’t know what they wanted. But she couldn’t ask, either, or they would hurt her. They’d made that clear. They might hurt her anyway, but she wasn’t going to push any buttons.
She considered telling them she had to puke and making a run for it when they stopped the car. But how far would she even get in this condition? Tears began to fall, and they were still streaming down her cheeks when the car finally stopped. It hadn’t been a short ride, and she was starting to sober up, which left her head throbbing on top of everything else.
Each of them took her under an arm, and they practically carried her into what looked like an abandoned hotel that should have been condemned a decade ago. As if that wasn’t terrifying enough, there were a bunch of angry looking men milling around inside, all wearing cuts. She got a good look at the insignia on the back, hoping she might get a chance to call for help later. If she did, she’d be able to at least describe the large black bird – a crow or a raven, maybe – against a dark purple moon, with a silver cloud partially covering the satellite.
“Put her down in one of the chairs and get her some water. I don’t want her boyfriend seeing her in this condition. He’ll think we did it.” Leigh followed the voice as she was dropped into a hard chair, seeing a short but decent looking man with tanned skin and black hair slicked back from his face walking toward her, wearing a disapproving expression as he eyed the two men who had brought her.
He straddled another chair facing her, and he put on a smile that she assumed was genuine but still gave her chills. He looked menacing and ruthless, and there was something missing in his eyes. If she was superstitious, she would have said he sold his soul to the devil some time ago, and that he had no conscience left. “Well, my boys weren’t kidding. You are absolutely beautiful. But you’ve been drinking tonight, and
you’re a little subpar for a good photo. We can’t have your boyfriend seeing you like this, can we?”
That was the second time he’d said ‘boyfriend’, and she had to assume he was talking about Zeke. “I don’t know who you are, but my so-called boyfriend broke up with me today. That’s kind of why I was drinking. I don’t handle breakups well.”
“Well, isn’t that convenient?” He shook his head. “Well, for your sake, you better hope he has a conscience, and that he doesn’t hate you. Because you’re my insurance to ensure that the Devil’s Flames cooperate and do what I’ve asked of them.”
Swallowing her panic, she shook her head. “Give it a shot. You won’t get anywhere. Zeke’s not in charge, and he doesn’t care about me. I was a fool with a dream, and I thought I could change him.”
The guy snorted and shook his head. “Typical woman. Can’t live with the fact that you’re just a good lay. Well, hopefully you were good enough to crack that wall around his heart because that’s the only way you’re getting out of here. Now, drink the water so we can have ourselves a little photo shoot. I don’t have all night.”
15
Zeke slapped the packet down on the desk in front of Corey, barely in control of his actions. “The son of a bitch has her. We have to go get her.”
Corey blinked at him. “What do you mean, he has her? He said two days.” He opened the envelope and flipped through the pictures. Leigh, with Gomez next to her, his arm around her as he smiled and she leaned away. Leigh, with some ugly jackass licking her cheek as she winced and ducked her head. Another of her from a distance, showing her in a skimpy dress, the likes of which he’d never seen her wear, with her hands bound and her ankles tied to the chair.