by Zoey Parker
I couldn’t even force myself to meet Ryan’s eyes. Even though he’d barely touched me with his hands, every inch of my body felt violated. I felt like Ryan had somehow managed to turn me inside out, to expose my guts and my thoughts and my nerves.
I’d always thought I was stronger than this.
As Ryan climbed back towards the front seat of the van, I sighed. I knew I should be relieved that he’d left me alone for now. And besides, I had to start thinking of a plan. If he made good on his threat to take me across the Mexican border, I was really going to have to make a fuss. I wondered if the border officials would search the car. I wondered if I’d be able to scream, to let a cop know that I was there, hidden in the back of the utility van like a sack of cargo.
Ryan was coming towards me again, with something shiny and made of rubber in his hands. He held it up and grinned.
“You ever worn a ball-gag before, baby?”
Panic seized me. I’m not sure what it was about the sight of the gag that set me off, but something inside of me snapped, and I started screaming and thrashing and kicking around as soon as I saw the device clutched in Ryan’s hand.
“Come here,” Ryan said in a menacing voice. “Come the fuck over here!”
“No!” I screamed. Ryan came straight at me. He dived towards me, pinning me to the floor of the van. As I felt his hands wrap around my wrists and pin them over my head, I shrieked and twisted under his soft, lumpy body. The foul scent of tuna and sweat washed over me, and I gagged as Ryan pushed me down to the floor with all of his weight.
Ryan clipped me on the jaw, and my head snapped back on my neck, bouncing painfully on the floor of the van. I cried out in pain as blackness momentarily overtook my vision. As Ryan pinned my arms down with his body, I tried to buck my hips and throw him off. But he was stronger, and he shoved the gag in my mouth and buckled it around the back of my head. It was so tight that I could barely breathe and I moaned softly as the foul-tasting ball of rubber wedged over my tongue and under my top row of teeth.
“That should keep you quiet for a while,” Ryan said. He was sweating, and his chest was heaving with the effort of knocking me to the floor and pinning me down. I wanted to knee him between the legs, but he rolled off of me and got to his knees.
Just then, he grinned. The same fire inside of me that had sparked when Ryan had first come at me with the gag returned. Before I knew what I was doing, I’d rolled to my knees and raged towards Ryan with my nails extended. I hadn’t had a fill in weeks, but the acrylic was still strong. As I scratched Ryan’s face, aiming for his eyes, he let out a cry of anguish. I savored the sensation of the skin under his eyes ripping. Thin lines of blood appeared on his cheeks, and he screamed in pain as I raked my nails down his face.
“You fucking bitch!” Ryan screamed. “You’re a fucking bitch, do you know that?” He lurched towards me, falling on his hands and knees. For a moment, I thought he was going to shock me again. Instead, Ryan lifted his hands to his face and held his mauled skin. I hadn’t managed to scratch his eye out, but he was bleeding profusely. I could tell the cuts were shallow, but Ryan seemed truly enraged by what I’d done.
“You’re a fucking cunt! That’s fucking it!”
I cowered on the floor of the van and put my hands over my face, trying to keep myself protected. The ball-gag was making me drool everywhere, and a tooth towards the back of my mouth throbbed; I wondered if Ryan had broken it when he’d hit me before. Ryan made his way back to the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition. The van roared to life, and I shrieked as my body rolled across the floor, slamming into the side of the van’s wall.
I could tell that Ryan was now driving faster than ever before.
Please, Dante , I begged silently. Please hurry .
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dante
By the way Ryan was driving the van again, something bad had happened in the back. I’d winced, listening to Katia’s screams. It sounded like they’d had a fight, and the sides of the van had actually rocked back and forth on the pavement. For a moment, it had come dangerously close to tipping over. But now Ryan was gunning the van off towards the south, faster than ever before, and I was struggling to keep up.
The sun was peeking through a hazy layer of early morning clouds, and I knew that I had to act fast or else Ryan would know he had three very angry bikers chasing after him. Gritting my teeth, I gripped my handlebars and forced my bike forwards on the road. I knew he couldn’t see me, but it was damn frustrating trying to outrun someone who didn’t even know that he had a captive audience.
I leaned forward, lowering my head and trying to break the wind resistance. As I pulled alongside Ryan’s van, I managed to speed up until I was alongside the driver’s side.
“Hey!” I screamed. “Pull the fuck over!”
The time had come and gone for intervention without violence. I’d been tailing Ryan’s van for hours now, and unless I did something drastic, that asshole was going to drive off with Katia. She’d be lost to me forever.
I knew what I had to do.
Speeding up as fast as my bike could go, I drove alongside the van and finally pulled in front. Ryan honked. I wasn’t sure whether or not he recognized me, but I knew that I had to try. Gritting my teeth, I swung my bike out in front of the van and braked to a stop.
If Ryan stopped, Marlo and Tristan could grab Katia from the back of the van.
If Ryan didn’t stop, well, it had been a real nice time on Earth that I’d had. I’d even gotten to sleep with a beauty queen, and I don’t think that’s something most people can say.
The brakes on the utility van squealed as Ryan slowed to a stop. I saw his beady eyes through the tinted windshield and his fat frame driving the van. He scowled at me from behind the wheel.
I know you hate me, I thought as I stared right at him. But trust me, you asshole. You don’t hate me nearly as much as I hate you.
Finally, the van skidded to a complete stop. I heard Katia’s muffled screams coming from the back of the van, and Ryan’s loud curses through the thick glass of the windshield.
It was over. I’d done it. I’d saved Katia.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Katia
When the van stopped again so soon after taking off, I knew something was wrong. For one, Ryan had killed the radio, and the only sound I could hear besides my own heartbeat was the sound of his furious, angry cursing. He skidded to a stop, making the tires screech, and soon, my nose was filled with the odor of burning rubber.
I gagged, feeling my nausea return. The slimy ball-gag was sliding around in my mouth, and I groaned, reaching behind me and trying to fumble with the buckle. Now that the van was stopped, I was finally able to get a grasp of one of the fake leather straps. I yanked hard, and the gag shot out of my mouth, bouncing over the floor of the back of the van.
I screamed when the doors to the back of the van burst open. Two men were standing in front of me that I’d never seen before. One of them was tall and bald, the other was short with brown hair and a scruffy chin who looked almost like a younger version of Dante.
“Help,” I whispered.
That’s when I saw him. Dante. Walking towards me, slowly. He was wearing a T-shirt I’d never seen and had big dark circles under both of his eyes. As I watched him approach, my body shook. I was still sitting in the back of the van. But the closer he got, the more I realized that I wanted to be in his arms, safe and happy.
I sprinted out of the van. My legs were weak and shaky, but I made myself run on the pavement until I reached Dante. I couldn’t even look at him as I threw my arms around his neck and pulled myself close to his body.
“You’re safe now,” Dante whispered. To the guys, he said: “Keep her safe.”
Dante pulled away from me. I watched in horror as he pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed it towards the front of the van.
“Dante, please, don’t shoot him,” I begged. “Please let the cops get him. Please m
ake sure he goes to jail!”
Dante smirked. “I ain’t gonna shoot him. I just gotta make sure he does what I want him to.”
I watched silently as Dante walked along the pavement to the front of the van. There was still no sign of Ryan. I was almost surprised that he hadn’t leaped out of the van and tried to make a run for it.
Dante rapped the driver’s side door with the gun in his hand. The two guys holding me back were watching with just as much rapt interest as I was.
Ryan didn’t open the door. Dante growled, then wrapped his hand around the metal door handle and yanked it open. Ryan tumbled out to the pavement with a grunt. The way Ryan looked next to Dante made me almost embarrassed about the way I’d begged and pleaded for my life. He looked so worthless like the loser he really was.
“You.” Dante snarled. He grabbed his gun and jammed the barrel against Ryan’s neck. “Get the fuck up. Walk. Come on, porky,” he added when Ryan failed to move. Dante kicked Ryan, and I felt such satisfaction at his groan of pain. I was clenching my hands into fists so tightly that I felt tiny cuts on my palms from my manicured nails.
Dante grabbed Ryan by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to his feet. Standing next to Dante, Ryan looked so short and harmless that I almost laughed. His face was ashen white against the bloody claw marks that marred his face, and he looked like he was going to be sick. I saw him trembling from where I stood, twenty feet away.
“My gun,” Dante growled out. “Give me my fucking gun.”
Ryan whimpered and sniveled. “I don’t have it. I mean, I don’t have your gun!”
“Bullshit!” Dante roared. He grabbed Ryan by the scruff of the neck. “If you keep lying to me, I’m gonna fucking kill you!”
Ryan made a sound that sounded halfway between a grunt and a sob. He reached down into his pockets and grabbed two small guns, then tossed them to the ground. Glaring up at Dante, he narrowed his tiny piggy eyes into slits.
“You fuck. You fucking ruined everything. You ruined my plan.” Ryan moaned. He covered his face with his hands when he saw me. “I had everything worked out!”
“I bet,” Dante said dryly. “Marlo, Tristan! Over here!”
The two bikers standing next to me gently released my arms from their grip and walked towards Dante and Ryan. Marlo and Tristan each grabbed one of Ryan’s arms and tugged him towards me.
“Are you gonna say anything?” Dante asked, still snarling. “Because I think you owe Miss Reynolds an apology.”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I said firmly. I turned away from the men and rubbed my face until my fingers were covered in the cheap makeup Ryan had forced me to wear.
“I’m s-sorry!” Ryan stammered. There was a loud smack, and I couldn’t help but grin. I guessed one of the men had slapped him.
“Shut up, you pig,” Marlo said. “The lady said she didn’t want to hear it. You gonna try anything else on our watch?”
I turned back around. Seeing Dante so close was torture; I wanted to bury myself in his chest, to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him so close that he’d never be more than a few feet away. I needed to talk to him before I did that. So many questions needed answering. Why did he leave me? Where did he go? How did he find me?
Just as I started walking towards the men, I heard the sirens behind me.
“No!” Ryan wailed. “No, not the cops!”
“Yeah,” Dante said. He raised his eyebrows and grinned at me. “And I have a feeling they’re going to take Katia’s word over yours, don’t you think?”
I swallowed nervously. E ven though my torture and imprisonment was over, I still felt shaky and nervous. My hands were shaking so badly that I twisted my fingers together and twined them behind my back, so no one, especially Dante, would see.
“I think they will,” I said with confidence that I didn’t truly feel, stepping closer to where Ryan was behind held by Marlo and Tristan. “After all, I’m a beauty queen. And you’re nothing but a judge.”
After that, everything happened quickly. There were at least six cop cars that pulled onto the road, one ambulance, and even a fire truck. I laughed uncontrollably when I saw the whole entourage spill out. Ryan started crying and sank down to his knees, snuffling into the sleeve of his shirt. I couldn’t find an ounce of pity for him anywhere in my heart; I felt pleasure at seeing him cry. I know that’s probably a bitchy thing to say, but you can’t tell me I didn’t deserve to feel like that.
One of the cops approached me nervously. “Katia Reynolds?”
I nodded.
“Can you tell me exactly what happened?”
“I can try,” I said softly.
The cop nodded. He had soft brown hair and kind blue eyes. I could tell that he was young and that he actually gave a damn about his job. The badge on his chest read: Officer Stevens . While the other cops pulled Ryan into the back of a cruiser with his hands bound behind his back, I led the bikers over.
“They saved me,” I said simply, pointing to Dante.
The cop narrowed his eyes. I could tell he didn’t like the idea of bikers doing anything good in the community.
“Is that true?” Officer Stevens directed towards Dante and the other guys. “Is what she said what really happened?”
Dante nodded soberly. “Yep. Ask her anything, and she’ll tell the truth.” He raised his eyebrows and smirked. At that moment, he looked so kissable that I wanted to run to him and cover his face and neck in kisses. Somehow, I managed to restrain myself as best I could.
“Well,” Officer Stevens said. He turned back to me. “And why did this guy kidnap you? Did you know him?”
I nodded solemnly. “He harassed me before at a pageant a long time ago, and he kidnapped me because I rejected him.”
The cop’s eyes narrowed. He stared at my face for so long that I began to feel slightly uncomfortable.
“Wait,” he said. “You’re the Katia Reynolds?”
I nodded. “Yes. Just like I told you.”
“My daughter…” The cop trailed off, looking slightly flushed. “My daughter loves you,” he added. “Do you think you’d be able to give me an autograph to take home for her?”
“Well…” I paused to glance over my shoulder at Dante at the other guys. They were all watching me with stony expressions on their faces. I
“Please, Miss? She’s a huge fan,” Officer Stevens said. “It would mean the world to her.”
I grinned. “Yes. As long as you give these guys a break for me. The whole reason Dante was guarding me was because he said the cops were coming down too hard on his completely legitimate MC.” I trembled as I spoke. A wave of exhaustion came over me, and suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to lie down in my soft bed and sleep for days.
Officer Stevens sniffed. “Well, I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’re a good man,” I told him. I reached out and touched the cop’s arm, squeezing his muscle under the thick material of his uniform. “I know you believe me. Just trust me, okay?” I batted my eyelashes, well aware that again I was using my charms to get what I wanted.
Officer Stevens nodded with a slight smile, clearly trying to remain professional. “Okay, you’ve got my word.”
“They’re good men,” I repeated. “Thanks so much, officer. Who should I make the autograph out to?”
Officer Stevens blushed. “Tony.”
I grinned. As I signed To Tony, with love from Katia on a piece of police blotter paper, I had a feeling the autograph wouldn’t be going to his daughter after all.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dante
After the whole damn thing was over, I went home and slept for what felt like a week. Turns out it was only forty-eight hours, but damn. That’s still the longest consecutive sleep I’ve ever had in my life.
Katia did us a solid, getting us off with the cops. I knew that after that, it was my responsibility to clean up the club and make sure the cops never had a reason to fuck with us again. After all, L.A.’s a
big city. There were lots of ways to make legitimate money, right?
When I called the guys to order, it was Troy’s first day out of the hospital. He was still bandaged up, but he was paler and shakier than he had been before the whole thing went down. I welcomed him back to the club with a night full of strippers and booze. The strange thing was he didn’t even seem interested.
“Man, you okay?” I sauntered over to Troy and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “You’re barely drinking. They still got you on meds?”
Troy shook his head. “Nope. Just got somethin’ on my mind, that’s all.”