by Zoey Parker
“Is that why you quit?” he asked.
“Yep. I was going to take my savings and go stay with a friend while I went back to school. I was going to use that cash to live off and pay off anything I owed after financial aid. In fact, she was expecting me to call her back after I left the office, but my father turned my phone off before I even made it to the car.”
“Sounds like he has screwed us both pretty well today.” He chuckled, but it turned into a groan as he ran a hand down his face. “He’s been screwing his employees for a while now. I saw the house you guys live in. He makes enough to afford to live like that, but he pays us next to nothing.”
“Yeah, well, to be fair, I don’t think much of his money comes through his contract work. You follow me?”
“True.” His eyes grew distant again.
I decided to take a different approach to earn his trust, or at least get his interest back on me.
“So, Brawn, I couldn’t help but notice you noticing me over the last several months. Like what you see?” I felt so corny trying to approach him this way, but talking about money only seemed to bring him down. I wasn’t going to get anywhere being a downer.
“Yeah, sorry. I bet you get a lot of guys gawking at you,” he said.
“I do, but none of them have tried to kidnap me just to make time with me,” I joked. There was no point in lying and pretending Brawn was the first guy to ever check me out, but there was something different about the way he looked at me. His eyes were usually full of a creepy, unsettling desire. I wouldn’t have expected him to kidnap me for money. If I had ever thought he was going to take me somewhere, my money would have been on something much more carnal.
“Believe me, if I just wanted to get you in bed, I wouldn’t have done it this way,” he scoffed, but he opened the door for me to come right in and make myself comfortable.
“How would you have done it?” I asked.
He looked at me and took a moment to size me up, as if he were trying to figure out why I was asking. “If I knew that, I might have approached you differently,” he said, getting up from the couch again. He walked out of the room with his glass of bourbon in his hand, leaving my full glass sitting on the end table.
“Where are you going? Was it something I said?” I called after him, but he didn’t respond. He just left me sitting in the living room again.
I sighed and shook my head. I tried my ropes again to see if they were giving at all, but they wouldn’t give. I was stuck. I was alone with a man who obviously wanted me and who apparently felt like all his options were running out. I seriously didn’t know whether to pity him or fear for my safety.
I figured my best bet was going to be to convince him I could help him with his dream of opening his own shop. I didn’t have anywhere to go once he let me go, and he didn’t seem like he had any other plans for me.
The only thing was having to wait until he came back in so we could talk some more. I did feel a little sorry for him, but it was still amusing that today had gone so completely wrong for both of us. I had no idea what time it was, but I was pretty sure I could have been settling in with Elissa by now. Chances were it was late enough that Brawn would have been getting off work to go hang with his biker friends.
I wondered why he didn’t turn to them for help. That was what a lot of these little riding clubs did for each other. They helped out and created their own support groups when members needed help. Hell, sometimes even when non-members needed it, they would come together to create a greater sense of community. It seemed like one MC or another was always in the news helping the underdog, the downtrodden.
I was pretty sure Brawn didn’t belong to one of those clubs. It seemed like he was trying to fill some shoes that didn’t fit by being a badass and kidnapping somebody so he could get the money he needed on his own.
I rolled my eyes and groaned.
“Lord, what the hell is going on here?” I asked, looking up to the ceiling. It was like something out of a comedy: the big bad biker kidnapped his boss’s daughter, who never gave him the time of day before, only to find out his boss had just disowned her, so he couldn’t get any money, and eventually they became good friends, partners in crime who took on the world together. Except with big names acting out the parts and great comedic writers throwing in one-liners and gags to make it downright hilarious.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t living in a movie, and despite how ridiculously inept my captor was, there was a hint of danger underneath it all. I knew if I didn’t play my cards right from here on out, I was probably going to be in trouble. If I did play them right, and I felt like I had been, I stood a chance to come out better than I would have had none of this happened.
I almost laughed out loud when it hit me. We both stood to benefit from his botched attempt at holding me for ransom. He wasn’t much of a criminal, but he was a very talented carpenter. He had the support of the MC, if he’d just open his eyes and realize it. And he had me. But I also had him. I could ride with him for a while until I was on my feet. Then, we’d be able to part ways, and we’d both be better for it.
“You’re not the only one who can hatch a plan, Brawn,” I said under my breath.
Chapter 6
Brawn
“Well, I guess there’s no point in keeping you tied up in here,” I said as I grabbed the knife from the table next to the couch.
“I’m sorry, what?” she asked, and for the first time, there was some measure of trepidation in her eyes.
I was finally inspiring at least a little fear in her. It was funny, I was coming in there to untie her, and she was worried I was actually going to hurt her.
I walked around behind her and grabbed her wrists. I looked down at her thin hands, tied together. She wasn’t fighting. She wasn’t trying to get me with her nails or anything like that. She waited patiently for my next move. I liked it. I liked having that kind of control over her.
I was used to getting women to do what I wanted them to do, but I had always been able to make them want to do it. Maria was reluctant in her submission to me, but she had at least come to accept her position. I felt myself twitching awake with renewed desire for her. As I took the knife to the rope binding her wrists, I felt my desire growing harder at the sight of her freed hands.
“Why are you untying me?” she asked as she brought her hands around in front of herself and rubbed her wrists.
“Why not?” I asked as I cut her ankles free.
“You’re not afraid I’ll run off?” she asked me. “You’re not afraid I’ll attack you again?”
“Right now, I have a knife, so I’m not that worried about having to fight you off. Also, remember I don’t have anything to lose at this point. It’s not like I’m waiting for any ransom money, so if you want to give it a shot, we can go ‘round,” I explained, changing my grip on the knife.
“Fair enough.”
“Besides, where are you going to go?” I asked. I had thought about it after leaving the room earlier. She didn’t have anywhere else to go. We were stuck with each other until we figured something out. I wasn’t about to kill her unless I had to, of course. I didn’t really want to, though. Hell, I liked her. It was important to remember that all of this started because I was attracted to her. I probably wouldn’t have noticed her otherwise. I had to admit, though, kidnapping her was one hell of an icebreaker.
“Yet another good point,” she said as she stood up and stretched. I watched as her blouse lifted above the waist of her jeans to reveal the soft, light skin of her stomach.
I kept my knife ready just in case she tried anything. After all, she had attacked me initially. She’d taken me by surprise in front of her father’s house. I hadn’t expected that from her. I had expected her to be a little brat, not to be a strong-willed, intelligent, and funny woman. But that was exactly who she was.
“You can put the knife away, Brawn. I’m not going to try anything stupid. But you can hand me that glass of bourbon.”
&n
bsp; “Now you can get it yourself,” I told her, unable to resist the urge to take a jab at her now that she was free.
She took a couple of cautious steps over to the table next to the couch and grabbed her drink. I watched as she downed it in one gulp.
“Can I use your bathroom?” she asked. There was no worry, no fear in her voice. She honestly needed to use it.
“Yeah, it’s through the kitchen and to the right,” I told her.
“You’re not going to follow me and make sure I don’t try to escape through a window?” she asked as she walked into the kitchen.
“I wasn’t planning on it, but should I?” I cocked an eyebrow. “I was going to fix us more drinks.” I grabbed both of our glasses and followed her into the kitchen.
She seemed unsure of herself, walking around the corner at the other end of the room. She lingered with her hand on the wall as she turned the corner and stood directly in front of the bathroom.
“No tricks. No surprises,” I assured her. “If I haven’t done anything yet, you can be sure I’m not planning on anything now.”
“Okay, just…just stay right there,” she said, motioning with her hand for me to stay put. I couldn’t tell if she was afraid I was going to follow her into the bathroom or abandon her in the cabin.
I laughed as she walked away. “Now you’re scared. Now that you’re free to move about as you please. Why not? Everything else about this situation has been backwards.”
A couple of minutes later, she came back into the kitchen. She was taken aback when she saw that I was still waiting for her next to the counter by the fridge with two more glasses of bourbon.
“Thanks for waiting,” she said, but when I turned to offer her one of the glasses, a reluctant smile spread across her face. “Do you have anything besides bourbon to drink?”
“Sure. I’ve got water, and there might be a few beers in the fridge,” I told her. “I just figured since we were going to be here for a while, alone, we might as well enjoy it the best we can, right?”
“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” she agreed, taking the glass. “Cheers.”
I walked with her back into the living room, where she paused for a minute to try to decide between the couch and the armchair. She settled on the armchair and collapsed into it.
“This is so much more comfortable than that thing you had me tied to, but I guess that was the point, huh?”
“It had crossed my mind.”
She laughed. “You know, you’re not so bad, Brawn. You didn’t have to tie me up in your living room to make time with me. You should have just approached me like you would have anyone else.”
“You tell me this now.” I laughed. “I mean, it’s easy now. You’re no longer my boss’s daughter.”
“Well, regardless of how he feels, I’m still his daughter,” she said.
“But he’s no longer my boss,” I said slowly as it sank in that neither one of us could go back to him. She didn’t have a home to return to. I didn’t have a job to return to. The only real option I had anymore was going to be to accept Shift’s money and go into business for myself.
“What are you thinking?” Maria asked me after a few moments of silence.
“I’m thinking we might be able to help each other out,” I told her.
“Oh?” She cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I can trust you with plans after you botched this kidnapping attempt the way you have.”
“I get it, you have jokes. Very funny. Just hear me out.” I sat down on the couch and leaned forward. “My brother has offered to give me the money to start up my business.”
“Okay, so hold up,” she said immediately, holding her hand out to stop me. “You mean to tell me someone has already offered to help you start up your new business, but instead of taking their money, you thought it would be a better idea to kidnap your wealthy boss’s daughter to try to get ransom money out of him so you wouldn’t have to get anyone else’s help, knowing your boss is rumored to have mob ties?” She rolled her eyes. “You’re a special kind of stupid, huh?”
“Yeah, when you put it that way, it sounds pretty bad. But I didn’t want to be indebted to my brother or the MC. I wanted to handle everything on my own. Besides, let’s be honest. Your father could stand to lose some of his fortune. Call it an asshole tax.”
“And you failed,” she reminded me.
“Right again. Thanks.”
“No problem, just trying to help you keep some perspective.”
I looked at her, and she smiled. It was such a sarcastic smile, but then she laughed, and I knew that even though she was busting my balls, she wasn’t trying to be mean about it.
I was starting to like her. I had already been guilty of checking her out and gawking at her, but I was starting to like who she was as a person. She was strong, and she had a very independent spirit. She was smart and funny, and she seemed to be driven. She’d been driven enough to tell her dad she was quitting the company to go off and do something else.
I found that one hundred percent relatable. I wanted to do the same thing, even though there was no way in hell I could just quit the MC. There was no walking away from The Twisted Ghosts.
“So, yeah, I’m going to put myself in debt to my brother, possibly even to the MC, so I can open up the shop. There’s no other way now. I sure as hell can’t go back to work for your dad, you know?”
“Right. So, how is this an example of how we can help each other?” she asked me. “So far, you’ve just been telling me your plan to pursue your dream. What about mine?”
“Save your money,” I told her first. “Save what you’ve got, and save anything you earn.”
“Earn? Are you just giving me advice on how to save money?” she asked incredulously.
“No, you haven’t let me finish. I’m telling you what to do with the money I pay you,” I told her, revealing the big part of my plan.
“Wait, the money you pay me? What are you talking about?”
“Look, I’ve got the skill to set up shop and do the work. My brother has the money to make it happen. And I need someone who can help me run the business side of it. I can hire you to do that for me, and anything you earn while you work for me will go to your schooling,” I explained.
“Wait, so you’re offering me a job?”
“No, I’m not offering, because you can’t afford to decline,” I told her. “I’m giving you the job. It’s yours.”
She tilted her head like she didn’t know if she could believe me. “What’s the catch?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s always a catch, Brawn. What do you want in return?”
Of course, one thought did cross my mind. I could have asked for sex, but I didn’t need to make some shady sex-deal with her to make that happen. I knew once we started working together and spending more time together every day, it was only going to be a matter of time before I got her into bed with me anyway.
“There’s no catch, Maria.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Well, where will I stay while I’m working for you?”
“You can stay at my place. You can even have your own room,” I told her. I knew she didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I wanted to make sure I took good care of her myself.
“Fine. Let me think about it,” she said, and she rested her head on the back of the chair, closing her eyes to relax.
While she lay back on the chair, I got up and went into the kitchen. It was time to cook dinner. Neither one of us had eaten all day. She hadn’t said anything about it, but I knew she must have been hungry. I was starving. I left her sitting back quietly.
Chapter 7
Maria
The smell of food woke me up. I was still sitting in the armchair in the living room at the cabin. I could hear Brawn in the kitchen. It sounded and smelled like he was cooking.
I pulled myself out of the chair and tried to fight off the groggy feeling in my head from exhaustion and alcohol as I stumbled into the kitc
hen.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I told Brawn, who was standing over a pan and a couple of pots on the stove.
“No, it’s fine. You were only out for maybe ten, fifteen minutes, something like that.
“Oh.” I felt like I had slept for hours. “What’s for dinner?”
“Pork chops, green beans, and mashed potatoes. It’s not anything special, but it’s sustenance,” he said.
“It sounds and smells really good,” I told him.
“Thanks. Go ahead and sit back down if you’d like. I’m almost finished in here.”