by Jenika Snow
“I told the waitress what you wanted and to keep it until you made it back.” She tucked some hair behind her ear, and a hint of arousal struck him. He finally knew what it was like to grip that hair, and fuck her roughly.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.”
“About what?”
“Are you sore?”
Her cheeks went a beautiful shade of red.
“Erm, it’s fine. It’s better that we’re no longer on the bike. The car is easier.”
Shakes hadn’t given the bike a thought. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. What’s happening now? What do we do?”
“We’re going to have to spend the next couple of days stopping in hotels. I know it’s not ideal but the more distance we put between ourselves, your father, and the club, the safer it will be for all of us.”
She took a bite of burger and Shakes picked up his own. This really wasn’t the best situation for either of them.
“When we’ve put some distance between us, we can settle down. Find a place, and we’ll be okay. I’ll get a job,” he said. God, he was really doing this, really rung off and risking everything.
“I want to work as well.”
“You don’t have to.”
“We’re no longer in a world where it’s dangerous for me to work. If we’re going to do this together, then that’s exactly what we’re going to do.” She looked up and Shakes was lost once again.
He wasn’t about to tell her that the world was dangerous even though they ran, in fact it was more dangerous because of that. They’d never be safe, and he had to keep looking over his shoulder. Zeke would never stop trying to find her. Daniella had ruined him for every other woman. No, she wasn’t beautiful in the classical sense, but she made him stop to look and take notice. It would have been easier for him if he didn’t want her, but she’d ensnared him, consumed his thoughts.
“Do you know how to work?” he asked.
She shot him a glare. “I know how to work. I’m not lazy.”
“I didn’t say you were lazy. I don’t see Zeke allowing his little princess to work.”
“I started working in a restaurant near the college. I worked three weeks before Zeke put a stop to it.”
“I’ve noticed you don’t call him dad very often. Why?”
She put her burger down, and turned to stare at him. “He’s not been much of a Dad to me.” She bit her lip. “It’s hard to call a man who kills without care a father.” She picked her food up and started eating. “I believe he killed a guy who wanted to ask me out.”
Shakes froze and stared at her. “What?”
“One of the guys who worked for him was nice to me. I overheard him telling one of the other guards that he wanted to ask me out. The next thing I know he’s no longer working for my father. Then I overheard a conversation that Zeke had the guy killed. None of the guards were allowed to touch me.” She smiled over at him. “I guess he doesn’t want me to find someone for myself.”
“He cares about you,” Shakes said.
“No, he doesn’t. He only cares about improving himself. I’m happy we’re running away together.” She reached over and took hold of his hand. “Thank you for taking a chance with me.”
That confirmed it. He wasn’t going to tell Daniella that Deanna would die if they didn’t find them. Shakes would live with it. He didn’t have a choice.
Something was definitely up with Shakes after he came back into the diner from making a call. He seemed harder, had this edge to him, and the tenseness in his body was tangible. But she wasn’t going to pry, not just yet. She knew how dangerous this was, but she’d gone into this fully knowing the risks. If Zeke found them, he’d kill Shakes and put her in a box where she’d never be free again.
Resting her head on the back of the seat she stared at the scenery passing them by. They’d been driving for hours, and the scene before them was nothing but trees and nothingness. She knew her father would chase them until they were found or he died. Zeke was resilient, and when he wanted something he didn’t stop until he got it. Then again, there wasn’t much that he’d been denied. A dangerous man, he had people at his beck and call that could dismember a person and no parts would be found. He was a sick bastard, one that she’d shared blood with, and if she were being honest, was a little scared of.
Looking over at Shakes, she stared at the man she loved, the man she was throwing everything away for. What if he decided this wasn’t going to work, that she was too much trouble? He had given up everything: his club, his life…everything. She wished she had a mother she could talk to about this, but she hadn’t seen or spoken to her mom in a very long time. It wasn’t as if her mom had been there for her anyway. She’d been horrible to Daniella, verbally abusive, and made her home life unbearable. But Daniella had taught herself to close off to that abuse, to not let it shape her, not let it make her be the person her mother had claimed Daniella was.
Was she this beautiful girl that thought she’d get the most gorgeous man, a man that would only have eyes for her? No, she’d never had delusions like that. She was overweight, or so her mother had constantly told her. Wearing glasses, having a body that most guys saw as chunky, fat, unattractive, had made dating hard enough with Zeke being in the way. And although she hated him for the life he lead and how he smothered her and exerted his powerful, she saw a small glimmer of the love he spoke of frequently.
He wasn’t a good man, not in any sense of the word. And although she despised him, hated what he did and the fact he thought he could control her just because he’d been a sperm donor, and just because he decided one day he wanted her in his life, she also could see that he did care for her.
It pissed her off even more.
“You’re thinking pretty hard over there,” Sakes said, keeping his attention on the road. “You want to talk about what’s on your mind?”
Did she? Daniella wouldn’t know if he’d really want to be bombarded with what she thought about her father. Hell, she didn’t really want to talk about him. He’d already sucked up so much of their time together, and put this hard edge to trying to be with a man she loved.
Looking over at him again, she stared at his profile. He had a strong, square jaw and the day or so they’d been on the run—God, that sounded like they were fugitives—he hadn’t shaved. “I sometimes wish my mom hadn’t been the way she was.” She saw him shift on the seat, his body tense. “I just wish I had a mom that cared about me, that wanted to hear what I had to say, and didn’t cut me down at every opportunity.”
He didn’t say anything for the longest time, and finally pulled into a gas station. “I need to get something to drink. You want anything?”
He sounded hard, closed off even.
“Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” She stared at this man that she loved so much, a man that she’d thrown everything away for. School was out for the semester, but leaving had pretty much meant she’d put her old life behind her.
He didn’t respond for several seconds, and the tension in the car grew. “You weren’t close with your mom,” he said without question.
“No, I wasn’t. She was horrible while I was growing up, in fact.” What was he getting at here? Why did he want to ask about her mom all of the sudden.
He turned to face her, this serious, hard expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?” she felt her eyebrows knit as confusion filled her.
He didn’t respond for several seconds, but then he exhaled, faced forward again, and tightened his hands on the steering wheel hard enough his knuckles turned white. “Nothing. I’m going to get us something things to drink and eat for the road. I’ll be right back.” He climbed out of the car and she could see him through the front windshield. He scanned their surroundings, clearly making sure they hadn’t been followed or weren’t being watched. He’d taken off his cut when they’d gotten to the hotel, and she knew keeping it on could have meant he’d been spotted a hell of a lot more
easily.
He looked at her for a second, gave a smile, but it was tight, forced. He turned and walked into the gas station, and she leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment. Her life moved through her mind in rapid succession. Daniella couldn’t help but think about where her life was headed, and how it would be once they finally did stop running.
Do you really think you’ll ever be able to stop running?
Thinking about what she was going to do about work, school, everything, made her feel exhausted. She could start school again at another school, but first they’d have to get settled. And would they even be able to use their real names? It seemed so much more complicated than she’d ever thought this would be, but then again she supposed being with the man she loved meant major sacrifices had to be made. She just hoped she hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of her life.
Shakes looked through the gas station’s main window, saw Daniella sitting in the passenger seat, her eyes closed, her head resting against the seat. He’d felt the tension fill him when she started talking about her mom. She clearly didn’t know she was dead, taken out by The Soldiers because her father had ordered the hit. Although Shakes felt no regret or emotion over the loss of that woman’s life, not after she’d verbally abused Daniela and made her feel less than she was, he felt bad his woman wished she’d had a better relationship with her mom. It broke his heart, made him feel like a bastard that he’d taken something away from her, even though she’d never had anything meaningful with her mom.
“Anything else?” The older man working the register asked.
Shakes looked back at him, shook his head, and threw down a twenty for the items. It was a bunch of junk food and a few bottles of water, but it would do until they got to where he was headed. He hadn’t told her he knew a guy from back in the day that dealt with fraudulent paperwork. They’d need new identities, and he’d been hesitant to tell her about it right away because he hadn’t wanted her to freak. Having her realize that they couldn’t stay who they were and be safe was a very real thing in their lives now.
He also worried that once she realized that, she’d decide this wasn’t for her. Although he understood that she had every right to feel that way, he would tell her once they were there, and let her know if she really wanted to be with him this is how it would go. Would he keep her with him against her will? God, he really didn’t fucking know. What he did know was that she was his. He owned her, just like she owned him, and Shakes couldn’t just walk away from her.
He wouldn’t.
“He cleared out his bank account, and as of right now the trail is cold, but I am working on finding out where he went after the motel.”
Zeke sat behind his desk, listening to the tracker he’d hired to find that worthless piece of shit Shakes and his daughter. “I want him found, and I want him brought back to me alive,” he said through clenched teeth. “My daughter is not to be harmed, not even touched. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.” The tracker said.
“You find him, because I’m going to make that bastard pay for brainwashing my daughter into thinking he could take care of her, into thinking he fucking loves her.” Fuck, he was so pissed, so on edge and enraged at that piece of shit. He disconnected the call, feeling the need to slam the phone down hard enough that the shit broke He didn’t though, and kept himself collected.
For several minutes he just sat there in silence, not allowing his anger to make him unstable. Instability meant mistakes were made, and he couldn’t afford any of those.
“Gregoff,” he yelled out, curled his hands into fists, and breathed out, needing something to take the edge off.
One of his guards came in, his posture stiff, severe. “Sir?”
“Bring me Elena.”
Gregoff nodded, turned, and left. Zeke closed his eyes, needing this to relieve some of his steam. He stood, walked over to the armoire that held his toys, and pulled the doors open. Inside there was an array of whips, chains, belts, and punishment implements. He pulled out the thick leather belt with the holes into it, holes that would make beautiful marks on flesh.
A few minutes later Elena walked in. her long blonde hair in a braid, twisted around her head, and the skimpy outfit she’d been wearing as she danced on stage showing her assets.
“Stand in the corner and grab the rail,” he said without emotion. She did as he said, her head downcast in submission. When she was in the corner, her hands gripping the metal pole he’d had installed for these moments, he moved toward her.
Zeke didn’t wait, didn’t prepare her. Elena was a masochist, a woman that enjoyed the pain that he’d deliver to her. Because he was a sadist, giving her the pleasure she sought from the pain would help relieve his anger and frustration over all of this. This option was better than the other, which was going out and killing someone. He tore away her top, smoothed his hand down her exposed back, along her smooth, creamy flesh, and the tightness in him intensified.
He brought the belt down on her back, saw her rise on her toes, and heard a gasp of pleasure and pain leaving her. Zeke felt the rush of power fill him, felt the release of striking her flesh consume him, and his rage started to be overshadowed by the pleasure. He whipped her over and over again, and saw the way she released and tightened her hands on the bars.
This was what he needed, what he’d always need. This was the only thing that could keep him stable; if not for this he’d be even more dangerous then he already was.
“We’re getting new identities?” Daniella all but screeched at Shakes. They’d pulled up outside of a regular looking house. She figured it was one of his friends or something, but no. The guy who lived there was in fact a forger of fake identities.
“Yes.”
“No. You didn’t say anything like this. Is it really necessary?”
“It is necessary. Your father’s not going to stop looking for us. I don’t want to end up dead. We’ve got no choice,” he said.
She hated it, glancing up at the house. “It shouldn’t be this way.”
“I know that and so do you. We both know it shouldn’t be this hard, yet that’s exactly what it is.”
She ran her fingers through her hair. “If we’ve not got a choice then let’s go.” She opened her door and climbed out of the car. Her father could be gaining on them as they spoke. She wouldn’t be responsible for Shakes’ death.
Zeke couldn’t handle her falling in love or leaving, especially with an MC member.
They made their way up to the front porch. Shakes knocked, and he placed an arm around her shoulders.
A thin man with glasses opened the door.
“Sean, it’s me,” Shakes said.
“I know. Come on in, the kids and wife are in bed.” Sean opened the door wider, letting them inside.
Daniella rubbed her arms feeling a slight chill at what she was about to do.
“I’ve got everything ready. I just need your pictures. I can put the finishing touches then.” Sean led them down a long corridor toward the kitchen. There, he opened a door leading to the basement. It was like any other basement she’d ever seen, filled with lots of crap that no one wanted.
Sean took them to the back, behind a large steel shelf; he opened another door that was easily disguised.
“It’s going to cost you,” Sean said.
“I’ve got the money.” Shakes pulled money out of his pocket. The notes bundled up had her eyes going wide. There was easily over a thousand dollars in his hands.
“Good. I’ll make sure it’s my best work.”
“I don’t want any doubt with these identities, Sean.”
“It must be bad for you to need fake shit,” Sean said.
She was pulled in front of a camera, and Sean told her to smile like she would for any other driver’s license or identity cards.
After Shakes went through the same, she blew out a breath, leaning against the wall. Once Sean got to work, Shakes joined her, locking their fingers together.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing. Are you going to tell me about what happened earlier?” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You do; you’re just keeping it to yourself.” She tried to pull away from him, but Shakes wasn’t letting her go. He held her hand a little tighter.
“I’ll tell you about it, just not here,” he said, nodding toward Sean.
She wouldn’t argue with him.
“You could have told me we’d need these identities.”
“I didn’t want you to be worried about it.”
“Why? Springing it on me didn’t exactly help.”
“I know but you didn’t spend the whole ride scared. I’m not here to scare you, Dani. I want you to feel secure with me, safe.”
“While Zeke’s running around looking for us, we’re never going to be safe.”
Shakes cupped her cheek, and she turned toward him, giving him her full attention.
“And that’s why we need new identities. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She believed him. Daniella wasn’t scared of him. He loved her, and she loved him. What scared her the most was Zeke finding them. They were not smarter than Zeke. He had so many resources at his fingertips. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to Shakes if she could stop it, and so she understood why they needed to do it.
An hour later, they were back on the road. It was nearing midnight before Shakes pulled into another hotel room. He parked the car and walked into the reception to get them a room. Daniella stayed in the car watching him. Letting out a breath, she sighed, and rubbed her temples. She was so tired, exhausted, and drained. Running away for love was supposed to be fun, only this wasn’t fun. This was turning into a really bad crime movie.
Shakes came out, and she climbed out of the car. He took her arm, locking the car, and leading her toward the bottom room near the edge of the lot.