by Laura Avery
Gross.
“What did they say?”
Snake lit up another cancer stick. “Fire wasn’t a full member, he was still in the middle of his probation period. Hence, why he was stupid enough to come into our territory and start something with next to no backup.” More smoke left his lungs. “Now, the guy who was shot in the leg, on the other hand, he was a member. A newer member but a brother none the less, they’re pretty pissed about that.”
Cutter looked unfazed. “Like he didn’t deserve it.”
“Regardless,” Blaze glanced at me. “You should get lost.”
“Good thinking,” I agreed happily, heading toward the door.
Cutter pulled me back toward him for the second time in the last few minutes. “No, she stays.” I tried to squirm out of his grasp but it was little use, one of his arms probably outweighed my entire body. “What do they want?” He tossed my body back and I stumbled onto his bed.
Wow, totally uncalled for.
Like I was going anywhere with the death grip he had on me.
Blaze and Snake exchanged an uncomfortable look. “We really should be alone if we’re going to talk business,” Snake said. “Can’t you put her in the closet or something?”
The closet? What the hell was wrong with these guys?
Cutter slammed the beer bottle down and it chipped into two huge chunks. “I don’t give a fuck where you think we should talk about business, I’m telling you to tell me what the fuck they said.”
The fear that was missing moments ago suddenly reappeared when I saw how pissed off Cutter was. I snapped my mouth shut, knowing better than to make any more smartass comments when he was already on edge.
It was kind of comforting to see his emotions running so high. He had seemed way too calm to me for someone who had just killed someone. Seeing him this way reminded me he was human.
Snake ran his hands in and out of his beard. It was long enough to hit his chin and looked messy and dirty. “Suit yourself. They already have the feds on them for that little murder they pulled off last month at the docs, they aren’t looking to attract any more unwanted attention on them and seeing as how Fire wasn’t a real member… they’re willing to let it go.”
“Oh, thank God.” I shot up from the bed, feeling relieved. “Well, then, if there’s nothing else I’ll just be on my way now that that’s all sorted out.” I made it one inch before Cutter shoved me back down again.
“We parade their boy through the streets like a roasted pig and they’re willing to ‘let it go’, huh?” He tightens his grip on my wrist. “What’s the catch?”
“Well, there are a few minor conditions, of course. Nothing unreasonable.” Snake threw his cigarette on the floor and stomped on it. A huge burn hole emerged from the carpet. No concern for other people’s property. “Just a few technical things.”
Cutter released me. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
Blaze ran his hand through his dark hair and his deep eyes darted around the room a few times. “They want the body so they can give him a proper burial, the guys got a family after all.”
Good luck burying him in the condition he was in.
Cutter huffed. “Suddenly The Misfits care about family values?”
“There is one other tiny thing…” Blaze looked at Snake.
“What?”
Silence.
“WHAT?” Cutter demanded again.
“They want the girl,” Snake admitted. “They want us to deliver her to them before sunrise tomorrow.” He lit up another cigarette like the fact that he was making negotiations about my life was a casual thing.
I jumped up. “WHAT? What girl?”
Blaze, at least, had the decency to look a little sorry for me; Snake just smirked like I was an idiot. I glanced at Cutter, fear taking over my body. I knew that I should be used to high stakes. I chose to work for these men after all but none of them had ever wanted me for property before.
“What do they want with me?” I demanded.
“Apparently, they blame you for what happened.” Blaze was talking to me but his eyes were on Cutter. “They want to mark you as official Misfit property.”
“YOU CAN’T!” I felt lost and frantic. “You can’t give me to them!”
“Cutter?” Blaze asked.
Cutter had turned away from us, his gaze locked on the city whirling around below the window. You could still hear the screams and cheers of his fellow brothers celebrating their recent addition to their death toll.
“And if we don’t agree?”
“If we don’t agree!” I threw my hands up in the air. “I can’t believe you’re even considering this! Why did you even save me in the first place, then?”
Cutter spun around, his face emotionless.
“SAY SOMETHING!” I demanded but he didn’t. I looked at the three of them, surveying the distance between them and the door. I wouldn’t make it, they would grab me before I was anywhere near it.
“If we don’t agree?” He asked again, his eyes were locked on my face.
Blaze took a step toward his brother. “If we don’t they will come for her anyway and bring their army on ours full force. They made it clear it’s not a negotiation… the girl is a deal breaker.”
“The girl has a name!” I moved closer to Cutter before Blaze could block his body from mine any further. “You can’t! You can’t do this! Cutter?” He looked lost, not concerned. “CUTTER?”
“Hey,” Snake snapped. “Shut up before I shut you up.”
“You know what they’re going to do to me, right?” I slammed my hand into his chest. “You might as well of let them rape me! That would have been better than whatever the hell they’re going to do to me!” I balled my fingers up and pushed him as hard as I could.
Blaze made a move toward us but Cutter shook his head, holding him back. It was pointless anyway; even with all my strength, Cutter had barely moved an inch.
Tears stung my eyes but I pushed them back. No way was I going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I cursed myself for getting involved in this type of thing to begin with. Yeah, I really needed the money but how naïve was it to think that getting involved with the Red Sin meant they would protect me?
“You should have just let them kill me,” I mumbled, backing away.
It was stupid but I felt like I needed to make an attempt anyway. If I didn’t, at least, try to save my life I would regret it later on. So, I waited for a fraction of a second and then I dodged for the door.
Snake had me by the back of the hair within seconds, pulling me so hard back that I let out a high-pitched scream without even realizing it. He let go of my head and pushed me backward too hard.
I stumped over my own feet and started to crash down but Cutter caught me by the back of the arms before I could land on my ass. “That was foolish,” Cutter whispered in my ear.
He sounded all husky and deep and I felt hot electricity spring up between my legs. It caused my knees to buckle all over again and he had to catch me again.
I detangled myself from him and pushed him off me. “Don’t touch me!”
Anger flashed through his features. “I don’t have time to deal with you acting like a child right now.” He turned around and started digging through a drawer next to the bed. “You clearly can’t act like an adult so I won't be able to treat you like one.”
He emerged a second later with a huge roll of rope.
My eyes grew wide. Why the hell did he have a thing of rope on hand?
“You’re going to tie me up then drop me off to them?” I gasped.
Blaze and Snake chuckled but Cutter just rolled his eyes. “Get on the bed.”
I shook my head.
“Get on the bed, Grace.” Cutter wasn’t asking me, he was telling me.
“No!”
Cutter moved closer to me. “Really? You’re going to make me do this the hard way?” He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me closer to him before I had a chan
ce to answer.
I tried not to get turned on at his touch. Ugh, I swear he was like a walking sex machine. As soon as he touched you all you could think about was getting all sweaty while he made you scream his name.
It was infuriating.
He was the last person in the world I wanted to be turned on by.
Snake moved closer to me but again Cutter waved him off. “No, I got her.” Snake looked unsure but backed away anyway, letting Cutter continue to detain me on his own.
He pushed me down onto the bed and buckled my hands over my head, dragging me further toward the headboard. God, he smelled so good and his breath smelt like mint and sex. I imagined what it would be like to have him climbing on top of me naked, holding me in place while he made love to me.
I tried to push down the flush I felt come over my face.
“Stop! No! Please!” I risked looking up into his brooding eyes and immediately regretted it when I got lost in them. “You don’t have to do this! I’ll be good! I promise!”
Cutter snapped my wrists to the top of the wooden frame. “It’s too late for that.” He looped the rope in and out around my wrists. “You can’t control yourself.”
“I can! I can control myself! I’ll be good!”
“You were already told to be good.”
“No, I wasn’t!”
My other wrist got wrapped up tight.
“Is it wrong that this whole thing is turning me on?” Snake asked.
No, that made two of us.
“Yes,” I say out loud instead.
Cutter stood up and moved down to my legs, pulling them apart and looping more black rope around them. “Just relax, you need to just calm down for a while.”
Tying someone up isn’t a good way to calm them down!
“LET ME GO! NOW!” I started kicking and screaming in every direction. Begging and trying to be reasonable with him clearly wasn’t going to work, maybe if he saw how crazy I felt he would think I’d really lost it and let me go.
It had the opposite effect.
“See, this is why you need some alone time.”
“Some alone time TIED UP?”
Cutter climbed off the bed and grabbed a gun out of the drawer next to the bed, sticking it into the waistband of his jeans. “I’ll be back soon.” Then he paused. “Don’t you go anywhere now.”
His brothers laughed and I kicked the bottom of the bed too hard, sending a pain shooting up my leg. Good to know he was still keeping his sense of humor through all this.
“LET ME GO!” I screamed. “I’m going to scream so loud someone will call the cops!”
Snake laughed. “In this neighborhood? No one's going to call the cops.”
They pile out the door one by one. Cutter stopped and looked at me one last time before he left. His features looked worried, deep in thought and consumed by whatever realizations he was coming to in his own heavy mind.
“Be good.”
And then he slammed the door and left me all alone, defeated.
Chapter Six
CUTTER
I threw my fist through the wall outside of one of the rooms on top of the bar, letting some of the anger flowing through my bones out on the drywall. What hadn’t I just left her there? Yeah, they were in Blaze’s dad's bar and I knew she messed with some of my brothers but still; I didn’t have to stop and help her.
Shit had nothing to do with me.
And now look what I had gotten us into.
A full on war unless I handed her over to them to rape and torture for as long as they deemed fit, she would be their prisoner for years before she was eventually murdered.
“Cutter,” Blaze pulled me away from the wall. “Get a grip. We don’t have time for this. We need to figure out how we’re going to handle this and fast.” He slapped my on the back of my head and focused my vision on him. “How do you want to play it?”
Blaze wasn’t stupid; he had known me too long.
He knew.
He knew I didn’t want to give up the damn girl.
And he was right.
I couldn’t put my finger on why exactly but I didn’t want to hand her over to them. I glanced at the door we had just emerged from. I didn’t want her going anywhere. I wanted her to stay right there… tied up on the bed I was calling mine for the night.
“How do you want to play it?” Snake looked shocked. “There is no how do you want to play it. We give them the fucking girl. Are you joking?” He took a few steps closer to us. “It’s not even a question. We don’t even know anything about this bitch and you want to risk all the brothers for what?”
I spun around. “I’d watch how you talk to me if I were you.”
Snake rolled his eyes but took a step back anyway.
Blaze stepped between us. “Look, tempers are high. Everyone’s a little worked up right now, which is why The Misfits only gave us until dawn to figure this out. They don’t want you to have time to think about it.”
He was right. Blaze was always right. Most people didn’t believe that he was part of an MC at all. Not ruthless enough. But they underestimated him. I’d seen him do what he had to when the time came.
“I don’t want to give up the girl,” I decided. “She’s mine.”
Snake threw his hands up in the air. “Are you joking? She's yours? You just met the bitch!” He pulled on his beard in frustration. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
I pushed Blaze out of the way and yanked Snake toward me, pushing my nose against his. “Challenge me again. Go ahead. Do it. I want you too.” Snake looked back at me. I could tell he wanted to say something, wanted to tell me I’d lost it but he knew better. I had a way of accidently letting my gun off on someone when they challenged me.
Blaze tried to pull me backward but when I didn’t budge he settled on pulling Snake away instead. Snake was always trying to challenge me, always trying to act like he knew what was right. I would be bitter if a guy half my age had taken the spot as vice president over me, too.
But I couldn’t let that bother me.
I couldn’t let that affect the way I treated him or before you knew it you were doing that with everyone and they thought they were in charge when I was the one who ran the day to day and made the tough choices.
The choices no one else wanted to have to make.
And I didn’t want to give the girl up.
I just didn’t.
And I knew myself well enough to know that wasn’t going to change.
Snake mumbled something to Blaze and Blaze shook his head.
I was a little sick and tired of this.
I had made my choice.
“Snakes right,” a voice behind me said. “The girl needs to go.”
The three of us swung around.
I immediately felt Blaze and Snake stand up straighter.
“Hello, Son.”
I gulped. “Hi, dad.”
***
GRACE
I pulled on the ropes for about the one millionth time, trying to get at least one of my hands free so that I could squeeze the other one out and make a run for it.
It was no use, though.
Just like the times before nothing happened, the knots aren’t anywhere near looser. If anything, they seem to be growing tighter. How could I have been stupid enough to get myself into something like this?
The door handle jiggled and my heart leaped in my chest.
He was back.
But Cutter doesn’t come into the room, instead, a small girl with dark hair and tan skin does. She shut the door behind her, not fully paying attention to anything besides whoever she was texting on her phone.
She took a few steps toward the bed and looked up.
And then she let out a high-pitched scream.
“HELP ME!” I shook my hands back and forth. “Please!”
The girl looked startled. She was about the size of my pinky. She opened her mouth then snapped it back shut again. She looked down at her phone and star
ted typing in a number.
“No!” I begged. “Please! Don’t call the cops! Just let me go!”
The girl ignored me, bringing the phone to her ear and bouncing back and forth uncomfortably. “Come on, pick up.” After a few seconds, she let out an annoyed sigh and clicked the end button. “Damn it, Cutter,” she mumbled to herself before letting her eyes rest back on me.
The little hope I had escaped from my body as I realized she wasn’t going to help me. She was one of Cutter’s girlfriends, she was there to fuck him and do whatever the hell he said. She wasn’t going to look out for me.
“Who are you?”
I shook my legs against the bottom of the bed. “Please untie me.”
She looked me up and down helplessly. No doubt taking in my messy appearance. “Is this… is this some kind of weird fetish thing you and my brother are playing around with?”
Her brother?
She was Cutter’s little sister!
I hated the part of me that took satisfaction in the fact that she wasn’t a girl he was messing around with. I didn’t have a right to feel happy about that but I did anyway.
Fetish?
She thought I was tied up like this so Cutter could do things to me?
The idea was thrilling but not the case.
“Yes,” I lied. “We were trying something new out but then he got a phone call and had to go handle some business and… and the ropes are so tight.” I tried to jiggle out of them again. “This was a mistake. I know he’s really into it but…”
The girl put her hands over her ears. “Ugh, enough, enough!” She looked like she might puke. “Like I want to hear about the sex games by brother likes to play.” She moved closer to me. “I’ll untie you if you agree to stop telling me the details of what you two do on your own time.”
I nodded frantically. “Yes, yes, just please hurry.”
She made her way over to me and started working her small hands around the knots. “I don’t know why he always brings girls up here. It’s so gross; I mean Blaze is like our brother. Who could have sex in their brother’s house?”
Something about the way she said brother made me feel like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince me. I was pretty sure a blush crept into her face at the mention of his name as well. I rolled my eyes, now definitely wasn’t the time for her to be worrying about her crush on her older brother’s best friend.