Snake (The Road Rebels MC Book 3)

by Savannah Rylan

  “Come on,” I said. “Just one little kick for momma.”

  “Shut the fuck up!” the man roared.

  I bit down on my bottom lip as my hands roamed over my stomach.

  I felt the van roar to life, moving as I braced myself against the wall. I tried to remember the turns the van took to calm my nerves as blood continued to trickle from the gash in my leg. Focusing on the movement calmed my nerves and settled my mind, and I hoped that the decrease in my heartbeat would somehow signal my child to start moving. I wasn’t sure how all of that worked, and I was kicking myself for not paying more attention to my fucking doctor’s appointments.

  “Come on,” I whispered with tears in my eyes. “Just once.”

  Then, I felt it. The smallest kick right into my bladder. I could feel urine trying to break free as my little boy continued to kick, but I didn’t care. He was still alive, and it swelled my chest with hope.

  My baby boy was still alive.

  Even though my hands were in front of me, they were ziptied. My ankles were bound with something I couldn’t figure out, but my hands were definitely ziptied. And tight as well. I was losing feeling in my pinky fingers, and if I weren’t careful, I’d lose all blood circulation in my hand. I twisted them around to see if I could break free, but the harder I tugged the more the plastic cut into my skin. I could feel the blood rising to the surface on my wrists, so I dropped my hands back onto my stomach.

  “That was a good decision,” the man said.

  I jumped at his voice, and he chuckled.

  “It’s good that you’re scared. Your father should be, too. I’ve got no issues slitting your throat in front of him if he doesn’t come with his money.”

  “Not if Cade kills you first,” I said.

  “Cade. Huh. You called that name out in your room. He your special someone?” the man asked. “Perhaps the father of your child?”

  I kept my mouth shut and continued to work on the zip ties, hoping I could break myself free. But before I could make any progress, the can came to a halt, and I heard a gun cock.

  “That gash in your thigh will be the least of your worries if you don’t stop,” he said.

  I drew in a shuddering breath and ceased my movements. But instead of the van continuing to move, he got out of the car. I held my breath, listening to him walk around to the back, and I tried with all my might to break free.

  I bent over as far as my stomach would let me go, but I couldn’t reach my legs. I twisted and turned at my restraints, trying to wear the plastic down. The pain ricocheting up my arms was fiery, robbing me of my breath as I panted in the back of the van. My little boy was kicking and tumbling now like he was trying to break free himself.

  I know how you feel, my boy. I know how you feel.

  I was sweating before I had to stop. The zip ties were too tight, and I could feel blood coating my wrists. I leaned back into the wall of the van as tears burned the back of my eyes. How the hell was I going to get out of this? How was I going to get back to Cade? Was he coming for me? Was he trying to find me?

  Did my father even care that I was gone?

  All of these questions were running through my mind. The night was silent, and the man hadn’t come back to the van yet. Had he left me to die? Was I going to starve to death out here? I had to find a way to get out. I had to find a way to get home.

  If no one was coming for me, then I was going to have to do this myself.

  I scooted on my ass, trying to ignore the pain coursing through my body. My hands felt along the wall as I rolled onto my knees. I got myself upright and smiled as my hands continued to run along the wall, but then I heard the opening of the back door and froze.

  “I figured you’d try to be a little shit.”

  He clamped his hand over my mouth as I tried to struggle against him. I felt the cool blade of that fucking knife press against my throat. I stopped in an instant as it hovered over my vein, and I knew he was about to kill me. This was the end for me. I had failed in protecting my child.

  My body started to shake with fear as tears poured down my cheeks.

  Without another sound, the blade was removed from my neck. I heard something shifting and zipping, then I was pulled upright. I was pulled onto my stomach as I screamed out, shouting that my child was going to get hurt if he didn’t stop.

  But all the man did was laugh as he manipulated my hands.

  Once the man was done, he closed the doors on me again. I scrambled to my knees, crying as I tried to move my hands to my stomach. But instead of moving where I needed them to go, they stayed right up against the door.

  That fucking asshole had zip-tied me to the damn door, and all hope I had of escape drained from my body.

  Just like the blood that trickled between my thighs.

  Chapter 22

  Cade

  We all arrived at the park at three in the morning. Ryan and Patrice were sitting in their car waiting for our signal while the rest of us staked out the place. The gang and I walked all around the park, clocking all the entrances and exits before posting a couple of people in the shadows next to them. The entire gang was in all this. All one hundred of us. If this man was coming into the park, he sure as hell wasn’t getting away. When someone fucked with one of us, they fucked with all of us.

  And with Harper carrying my child, this man had officially fucked with one of us.

  The park was dark and had a surprising amount of entrances and exits. Those who weren’t stationed at an exit took off their leather cuts and sat on benches, acting like homeless people or stumbling around like drunks. They peppered the entire park as Ryan and Patrice sat off to the side, right near the meeting place this asshole suggested.

  But with every passing minute, I was getting more and more nervous.

  “Hey, Cade. You okay?” Ink asked.

  “Yep.”

  “You look nervous,” he said.

  “Then why the fuck did you ask if I was okay?”

  “Because I wanted to see if you would admit it.”

  “Asshole.”

  “You know we’re gonna get her, right?”

  “Blade sort of destroyed my faith in that avenue,” I said.

  “You can’t blame him for what happened. You know he’s not perfect. None of us are perfect. He did the best he could. Popped off rounds. But in the dead of night without his scope, he’s practically useless.”

  “Wish I would’ve thought about that sooner,” I said.

  “Stop worrying. We’re gonna get her out alive.”

  “If we don’t, I’m slaughtering that man limb by limb in the middle of this fucking park.”

  “I don’t doubt it for a second. Just leave the bloodbath for when it’s necessary,” he said.

  Time passed by, inching along as we kept watch. Four in the morning came and went, and I could see Ryan and Patrice nodding off. Of course, they’d fucking be nodding off while their daughter was being held captive. The fuck was wrong with these people? I stayed in the shadows with Ink and Blade, my gun at the ready just in case this asshole showed up early.

  And just as I thought, he did.

  I watched as a van pulled up with its high beams blaring. It was a black van with dirty ass trim, and I started seeing red. The mother of my child was in there somewhere. Cooped up, pregnant, and scared while she inhaled all that disgusting dust. A man got out and came around to the back, sitting in the van as he waited.

  I aimed down the sights of my gun and readied myself for a shot.

  But just before we gave Ryan and Patrice the signal, something happened. The van began to rock on its chassis. Holy fuck, Harper was in there. She was alive, and I jumped at the ready to go get her.

  “Keep a lid on it,” Ink said. “Not yet.”

  “She’s fucking in there. He’s about to open that damn-”

  The van door opened and I whipped my head around. I listened as Harper screamed, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. Something about the baby?
Or being hurt? I couldn't tell, but I was shaking. Seething and dripping with fury as I watched him zip tie the mother of my fucking child to the damn van door.

  “We gotta get this right,” Ink said. “We’ve only got one shot.”

  “I’ve got a bullet with his name on it,” I said.

  I looked over at the car and saw Harper’s parents panicking. They had watched the scene unfold as well, and they were ready to go. Doc was holding them off, watching the clock tick down to five before he released them. Ryan slowly pulled his car out of the shadows and up to the van, which gave Ink and I time to wrap around to the front of the van.

  Everyone had their guns trained on this man. He was none the wiser that everyone in the park was one of us. He had no fucking idea what was about to creep up on him. Ink and I got to the front of the car just as Ryan got out to approach the man, and we stopped in our tracks to listen to what they were talking about.

  “You got the money?”

  “It’s right here. All of it,” Ryan said. “Now where’s my daughter?”

  “Where she deserves to be.”

  “Give me my daughter, and I’ll give you this bag,” Ryan said.

  “Not how it works,” the man said.

  “I don’t even know if my daughter’s alive,” Ryan said.

  Way to play it, Ryan. The first smart thing you’ve fucking done since I’ve known you.

  I watched as the man raised his gun to Ryan’s head and I saw people in the shadows draw their guns. This man had a gun trained on Harper’s father, but there were eight guns trained on him. Even if Ryan went down tonight, he was not fucking getting away.

  Harper was safe, even if Ryan wasn’t.

  “If you stop with this fucking election, I’ll give you your daughter first,” the man said.

  “Fine. The election is stopped,” Ryan said.

  I snuck up behind the guy as the two of them stood at a standstill. Ryan wasn’t giving up that money, and this asshole wasn’t giving up Harper. I knew both of them wouldn’t budge until the other did, and they’d kill Harper in the process. I watched as Ink slid into the van slowly, inching his way into the back of the van as I approached the man from behind.

  It wasn’t until I had my gun pressed to his temple that he tried to turn around and look at me.

  “What the-?”

  The van began to move as the man scrambled for his gun. Ryan tossed the bag of money behind him as everyone came out of the woodworks with their guns. I wasn’t going to shoot this man if he backed down. I wanted to see him rot in jail. I wanted to pay some fuckers off to make his life miserable for the rest of it.

  But the moment he cocked his gun, I fired.

  Straight between that motherfucker’s eyes.

  Chapter 23

  Harper

  A gunshot went off, and panic rushed through my veins. Where the hell did that come from? Who just got shot? Was it my father? Was it Cade? Had someone shot that man? I tried tugging at the zip ties again, but the only thing that happened was the door jiggled.

  I could hear commotion outside of the van. I had heard my father’s voice, but he wasn’t talking anymore. I could hear guns cocking and people bustling, but no one had opened the van doors yet. Didn’t they know I was back here? Didn’t they know I was alive?

  I started rocking the van before I heard a sound behind me.

  “Hello!? Who’s there? What do you want!?”

  Someone was in the back of the van with me. I could hear them crawling along the floor. I felt heat approaching me as I pressed myself into the door, trying desperately to get it open. I couldn’t hear what was going on outside anymore. The voices in my head were screaming too loudly. My arms were restrained, and someone was approaching me, and my ankles were bound.

  “Just hold on,” the voice said.

  The voice I heard was different. Kinder than the man that had been talking with me before. I felt a pair of hands come down onto my ankles, and I tried to get away, struggling underneath the crumbling weight of my body. My entire being was alight with pain. I was hungry and thirsty, and I had urinated on myself. I was embarrassed at my state as the pair of hands pinned my legs to the floor, but then I heard a sound that frightened me.

  It was the sound of a blade sliding from its home.

  “No, please. Stop. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt me, please.”

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” the voice said. “But you’re bound pretty tight. Just keep still. Cade’s right outside.”

  Cade? This man knew Cade?

  I relaxed into the man’s grasp and I heard him cutting through the substance that bound my legs together. They were freed within the span of a few seconds, but the man continued to hold me. His hand slid up my leg, and I panicked, thinking the worst of him. But then he picked up his hand and laid it on the small of my back.

  “My name’s Ink. What’s yours?” he asked.

  “H-Harper. Um… are you with… with the-?”

  “I am, yes. Just hold still. You’re still bound to the door.”

  I heard my father’s voice pierce the air outside and I braced. He sounded frantic. Panicked and shaken. I wanted him to know I was alive. I wanted him to know I was okay. Even though he was a terrible man with shitty morals, I was beginning to understand the fear of a parent. There had been moments where I thought that man was going to harm my child, and with my body being restrained I wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing about it.

  I got a dose of the panic my father was experiencing now, and I wanted to alleviate it.

  “Please get me out of here,” he said.

  “Just one second.”

  I felt the blade scoot underneath my wrist, and I hissed. The cool metal stung against my broken skin. The zip ties fell free, and I dropped to the floor of the van while Ink helped get the bag from over my face. My hands gripped at the blindfold, ripping the fabric from my face as my eyes tried to adjust.

  I looked back and saw a man hovering above me, his leather cut boasting the Black Angels logo.

  “Is everyone okay?” I asked breathlessly.

  I watched him nod before he threw open the van door.

  “Harper!”

  I heard my father’s voice, but I still couldn’t see him. The morning was still dark, and I was frantically searching for Cade. I poked my head out of the van as I drew in a sweet breath of fresh air as my eyes searched the park. I could tell there were a lot of people standing around, but I still couldn’t make out their faces.

  “Why can’t I see?” I asked. “I still… I can’t see anyone.”

  “It’s okay. It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

  I heard Cade’s voice and instantly crumbled. I fell to the floor of the van before I felt a pair of arms scoop me up. The moment I descended against the man’s chest, I knew it was Cade. I would know his touch anywhere. If all of my senses failed me at this moment, I would still know the touch of his skin against mine.

  “Give me my daughter.”

  I heard my father’s voice growling, and I pressed myself deeper into Cade.

  “Ink. Get rid of that before she sees,” Cade said.

  “Get rid of what?” I asked.

  “Nothing. Just stay close to me. That’s it. Such a good girl,” he said.

  “I want to see my daughter!”

  My mother’s voice caused me to jump as Cade tightened his grip on me.

  “The two of you are startling her. Just give her a moment,” Cade said.

  “Take me away,” I said breathlessly.

  And without another word, I felt his body move.

  I kept my eyes screwed shut as I heard people grunting. My mother was protesting something, but I didn’t catch what she was saying. I felt myself being carried in Cade’s arms as the sounds of the night fell into the background. This was the only place I wanted to be right now. This was the only area of my life that made sense at the moment.

  I felt Cade sitting down on a bench before I li
fted my gaze to him.

  His piercing green eyes looked down at me, a mixture of anger and relief ebbing behind them. His eyes raked down my body, taking in every bruise and scab I had on me. I felt his hand grace the dried blood on my thigh, his head whipping down to my leg as I whimpered.

  “I’m just going to take a look,” he said. “Nothing else.”

  I felt his hand pulling up my nightgown as he surveyed the gash in my thigh. I felt his entire body pull taut with anger as his jaw clenched. My eyes were finally focusing as his strong, chiseled features came into view, and I raised my hand to cup his cheek.

  That drew his attention away from my wounds, and I could’ve sworn I felt him nuzzle into me.

  “I will always come for you,” he said. “I will always do whatever it takes to protect you.”

  “I know,” I said breathlessly. “I know you will.”

  “I thought that-”

  I watched him swallow hard, trying to keep his fiery emotions at bay as he held me close.

  “Cade, look at me.”

  His eyes drifted back up to mine as I raised myself in his lap.

  “Kiss me,” I said in a whisper.

  And for the first time since I’d known him, he did as I told him to do.

  Epilogue

  Cade

  Six Month Later

  I could hear our son crying in the other room as Harper stirred.

  “You got bottles in the fridge?” I asked.

  “Uh… huh…?”

  “That a question?” I asked.

  “Uh huh,” Harper said again.

  “Lay back down. I’ve got him this time.”

  I slid from our bed and headed for the kitchen. Our bouncing baby boy had a lot of fucking energy. I opened the fridge, shielding myself from the light as I pulled a bottle of breastmilk from the back of the fridge. Our little man was still squealing like a stuffed pig, and I knew if I didn’t get up there quickly, Harper would get out of bed anyway.