Silence fell over the room and we waited for something to happen. Jameson looked at me and raised an eyebrow. We weren’t used to someone knocking before entering a room. When no-one appeared, I was about to shout for them to come in already, but remembered our oath to Cherrie: ‘not a loudly spoken word’. I shook my head and stood to answer the door.
It opened before I had the chance to take a single step.
Fuck!
The woman before me was not what I expected. Cherrie called her a girl, because of that and her being a runaway, I’d pictured a minor, but this woman... fuck... This woman was all woman. She was beautiful. I flicked my gaze down her tall, slender body. Long brown hair hung in a braid over one shoulder. Despite her height, she seemed fragile and small. The baggy T-shirt she wore over loose-fitting jeans looked like some expensive shit that came from a high-end boutique and did little to conceal the curves beneath. Most remarkable of all, were the big green eyes that popped out of her head, making her look like a motherfucking doe caught in the headlights.
All people may belong in the place they choose to make their home, but this woman screamed innocence and purity. She also screamed money, like some fucking debutante on her way to a ball. Even if she was trying to hide the fact. She sure as hell didn’t belong in a bar like Midnight Anchor, and she certainly didn’t belong in a room with the likes of us.
But fuck! Every time her eyes landed on me, the thought of licking from her goddamn nipples to her pussy surfaced in my mind.
I opened my mouth to say something, though damned if I knew what, when she squeaked some barely audible words.
Only when Jameson ordered a beer did I register she’d asked if she could get us anything. It took Bono to order another for me to come to my senses and suggest we all have the same.
I couldn’t get thoughts of her and what I’d like to do to her out of my mind. We’d sworn not to lay a finger on her. A brief moment of weakness told me my cock sure as hell wasn’t my finger and no-one said anything about that, but I shrugged it away. It was the spirit of the promise that counted, not the words. Although, if she threw herself at me, that would be a different matter. Damn, I hoped the look she gave me when she entered meant she’d do just that.
It felt like forever before she returned. This time there was no knock, but she fumbled at the door and it opened just a crack for a few seconds before she entered. I couldn’t get my eyes from her delicate face as she walked around the table, placing a beer in front of each of my brothers. Her gaze never left the floor, but she hesitated for a moment when she put mine down. Fuck, she was so close I could feel her body heat, and practically taste her scent of milk and sunshine in the air.
Before I knew what was happening Rex snatched out his hand and grabbed her by the wrist. A burning rage built inside me. Not only had he broken his promise to Cherrie, but he’d also placed his hand on a woman I’d already decided was mine.
The events that happened in the next few minutes were a bundle of confusion. I wanted to rip Rex’s fucking head from his shoulders and shove it up his ass. But as soon as he’d told me the girl wore a tracker that rage shifted to her. Rational thought left my head and worry for the brotherhood kicked in. She’d been sent to spy on us and follow our movements. No wonder she was jittery, she was shit-scared of getting caught.
A roar of accusations left my lips, but when I turned to face her, I knew I was wrong. This woman was more than jittery, she was a shattered mess, just like the bottles of beer she dropped at her feet.
All color left her face and sweat slicked her skin. I’d never have thought it possible, but her eyes got wider. She slid down the wall to the floor and clawed at the tracker’s chain. We stood frozen to the spot, but the sight of it cutting into her neck and drawing blood kicked me into action.
“Jameson, get Cherrie,” I said as I rushed towards the girl and, despite my promise not to lay a finger on her, grabbed her hands to stop her from doing any more damage.
“It’s alright, sweetheart,” I said. “We’re not going to hurt you. I need you to stop doing that, okay? Cherrie’s coming.”
My hands completely enveloped her slight ones. Even though I held them still, they trembled within my grip.
Shit! Cherrie had asked us to take it easy on the girl and we’d fucking broken her.
And I’d practically turned into a motherfucking pussy. All protective and shit over some fucked-up bitch. But when she raised those eyes to look at me and I saw the innocence and pain behind them, that protective instinct locked forever into place and I knew I’d do anything to keep her safe and make the bad things go away. She couldn’t be, what... twenty, twenty-one? But those eyes carried more than a lifetime of hurt.
“Get it off,” she muttered, and I wanted to rip the motherfucking tracker from her neck myself.
I could have kissed Cherrie when she barreled into the room and took control. Although when the girl’s anguished scream to get it off came, the need to wrap her in my arms and keep her safe forever was overwhelming. Only Cherrie tossing the god damn tracker to me stopped me from doing just that.
I ground it beneath my bottle until it fell apart and I spotted the SIM card within. I’d half hoped Rex had been wrong and the thing wasn’t a tracker. At least that might have given the girl a little relief.
I lifted the SIM card to be sure and instantly regretted doing so.
“He knows where I am. He’s always known. He’ll come for me,” the girl said in a hollow voice.
“Not if I have anything to fucking say about it.”
Even before the words left my lips, I knew I was gonna find this fucker and rip his motherfucking head off. A promise that seared into my soul as the girl pulled herself into a tight huddle and buried her head in her knees.
Cherrie comforted her. There was no sound but there was no mistaking she was crying.
“I wish you hadn’t done that,” Rex said as he sifted through the remains of the tracker. “Ah, here it is. I might have something at home that can check the charge on this.” He rushed to the door, but I yanked him back. “It’s like your phone,” he explained, holding up a tiny battery. “It’s got a charge of a day or two tops.”
I glanced at the bundled girl in the corner and wrapped in Cherrie’s arms. There was no fucking way she’d been charging it. If the battery life was non-existent, I might have a glimmer of good news to share with her after all.
I released Rex and told him to call as soon as he knew anything and told Jameson to update Greg on what was going on. He was probably wondering where both Cherrie and the girl were by now.
“I’ll go with him,” Lucky said. “See if he’s seen any strangers around lately.” He glanced at the girl and back at me. “Besides, I think the less people crowding around her the better.”
I clapped him on the shoulder to show my appreciation for his thoughtfulness and they both left the room, leaving me alone with Cherrie and the girl.
I walked over and crouched on the floor beside them. Cherrie gave me a look that was half blame and half pleading.
“Hey, sweetheart. It’s just me, you and Cherrie here now, okay? Nobody’s gonna hurt you.”
Cherrie rubbed her back. “Jess. This is Cane. We’re going to help you if we can, but we need to know what’s going on.” When she didn’t answer or move a muscle besides the involuntary shaking of her body, Cherrie turned to me and said, “I’m not even sure she can hear us. What the hell happened?”
“I’ll be damned if I know. Rex recognized that heart pendant as a fucking tracker. As soon as he said as much, she had a mental breakdown or something. Rex has gone to check its battery life. The fucking thing might not even be charged.”
A slight shifting of movement drew both our gazes back to the girl, and she lifted her head again.
“Hey,” I said, glad to see a little color returning to her cheeks. “Jess, is that your real name?”
She shook her head and glanced at Cherrie as though she were ashamed to have
lied.
“Oh, honey,” Cherrie said, wiping the tears from her face. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell us your real name if you don’t want to, but we do want to help, so if you can tell us what happened and who you’re afraid of, we’ll be better able to do so.”
The girl’s eyes darted from Cherrie to me and back again. When she spoke, her voice came out a croak. “Thea,” she said. “My real name is Thea.”
Chapter Four
Thea
Daniel knew where I was. He was coming for me.
Cherrie sat beside me, telling me everything would be fine, but what did she know? Greg was a good man. She’d never met Daniel, never spent a session in the basement clamped to a chair, her mouth filled with dirty rags and taped over, along with her nose. She’d never had tears streaming down her face, trying desperately to move, to break free. Not knowing if this was the time, he was going to let her die.
Then Cane came. His voice tried to break into my thoughts. It felt strange, but knowing he was near made things a little better. I didn’t know the first thing about him, but I did know, he was everything Daniel was not, and his presence made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time... safe.
“... the fucking thing might not even be charged,” he said, and I wanted to scoff.
It was charged.
I thought I’d made a solid plan. I’d thrown away my phone, changed cars, traveled on buses and trains, went to places they would never think to look. Used a fake name. I traveled thousands of miles, but circled back to around two-hundred-miles from home, just to throw them off track.
Daniel planned better.
A stupid sixteenth birthday present from my Mom. She told me it was a locket, sealed tight. She said she’d found an old brush Dad had used and a tiny sample of his hair alongside it. I was to never try and open it in case the hair blew away and was lost forever. I’d believed her, cherished the gift. The one and only thing I kept with me always.
I should have known better. She never loved me. All she cared about was keeping her fancy house. That meant keeping Tony happy and by extension, Daniel. No matter the cost to me.
When Cane asked if Jess was my real name, a wave of guilt washed over me. Cherrie and Greg had taken me in when they had no reason to. They’d done everything they could to help me, and how had I repaid them? By lying. It didn’t matter that she said it was okay. After all the trouble I caused, I owed them that much at least.
“Thea,” I said. “My real name is Thea.”
Speaking came hard, as though I had to push through an invisible barrier to be heard, and my thoughts seemed slow. All I could think was that Daniel was coming and I had to get out of here as soon as I could, but Cassie would try to stop me.
Cane crouched so close; I felt his hot breath like fire on my skin when he spoke. But I wasn’t afraid. Not of him. He reached his hand forward, but hesitated. This made me want him to touch me even more.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant to cause you any trouble.”
The look in his eyes when he said, “It’s no trouble at all,” nearly broke my heart. No-one had ever looked at me with such love and kindness before.
I suddenly became aware of the beer soaking through my jeans and onto my skin, and the shards of glass we were all sat amongst. “We need to stand,” I said before standing. The others followed.
Cane was a head taller than me and easily twice my weight. His solid presence struck deep in the center of my core, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. Daniel could never get past such a man.
Who am I kidding? Daniel could do anything.
“We’re gonna need to get you cleaned up,” Cherrie said, glancing toward the door. “You think you’re up for a walk through the bar?”
I straightened my spine, lifted my chin high, and walked to the door. “I’m fine,” I said before opening it. The only thing that mattered was getting away from here as quickly as I could.
Cherrie and Cane escorted me through the bar area and toward the back stairs. Whenever one of the customers came within ten feet of us, Cane would glare at them or tell them to get the F out of the way.
Heart pounding, I stopped at the door to the stairs and turned to face them. “I’ll be fine by myself.” I pointed to the crowded bar. “Greg could use another pair of hands and well...” my eyes lifted to Cane. “I’d rather not have you with me when I change,” I said despite the fact the thought of being away from him made me feel as though my insides would shrivel up.
“If you’re sure,” Cherrie said.
“I’ll be right here,” Cane added. Muscles corded in his neck as though he was tensing for a fight. His eyes bored into me and I feared, even after I shut the door, he’d see my actions.
His phone rang, and I tried not to huff out a breath of relief at the distraction. With a quick smile in his direction that I hoped was reassuring, I opened the door and closed it quietly behind me.
I took the first four steps at a snail’s pace, worried that someone might try to follow, but when it became evident they wouldn’t, I raced up the remaining steps to my room. Gathering nothing but the stash of money hidden in my drawer, I left the room and traveled to the far end of the hall where a fire escape offered a way down to the parking lot at the back of the bar. I hadn’t bothered collecting my car keys as Frank’s still rested in my pocket.
I yanked the window open and stepped outside into the night air. A cool wind blew strands of hair loose from my braid and whipped them around my face. I shivered and regretted my decision to not even grab a jacket. But there was no going back now.
I raced down the fire escape and into the parking lot. There were few lights on the surrounding buildings and in the alleyways, and no windows overlooked the lot. Menacing shadows filled every space amongst the silent cars, noise filtered outside from the bar, but not a person was in sight. The back of the club left me secluded, vulnerable. I steadied my breathing. A large group of motorcycles sat idle by the far wall, and I guessed some of them must belong to Cane and the other guys. The thought of Cane brought an image of him to mind and I froze for a second wondering if I was making the right choice; if he could really keep me safe. Wondering if I cared or if I just wanted to be near him again.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, allowing the gentle kiss of the night air to order my thoughts. No-one could protect me. The only thing I could do is get away from Midnight Anchor and this town as quickly as possible. I had to keep going, keep moving, and never stop. If Daniel hadn’t noticed the tracker wasn’t working by now, he soon would.
Opening my eyes, I delved into my pocket and pulled out Frank’s key. I dashed between the parked cars, clicking the button and looking for any flashing lights. Eventually, a Jeep Wrangler responded to my call.
I jogged towards it when a figure stepped out from behind a dark van four vehicles ahead, blocking my way to the car.
I didn’t need to see a face to know it was Daniel.
My whole world came crashing in. I couldn’t move... couldn’t breathe. I’d made a stupid, stupid mistake.
“Hello, Thea. It’s good to see you,” he said as he walked toward me. “Though not quite the reunion, I imagined.” His lips tilted in a smile that made black spots swim in my vision.
He pulled something from his pocket that even in the poor light, I saw was a syringe.
Still, I couldn’t move. My heart raced and my breaths came so fast, I feared I’d hyperventilate and collapse before he reached me. Not that my fate would be better when he did.
“What no greeting for your dear brother?” he asked.
“Hello, Daniel,” I said, the words ringing hollow in ears overwhelmed by my own pulse.
He tilted his head to the side. “Is it not good to see me?”
“It’s good to see you, Daniel. M-might I ask, what you have in your hand?” I asked, although I knew the answer.
He stopped before me and lifted the syringe in front of my eyes. “This is ketamine. The sam
e as last time. I am surprised you’d be so forgetful.”
“Please, no. I don’t want to. I’ll come, but please?”
“Oh, dear, dear, Thea. If you didn’t want to take the drug, you should never have left. Besides, it will make you happy. Don’t you want to be happy?”
I shook my head, no, but Daniel reached out and grabbed my chin, digging his fingers in tight. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I can assure you any happiness will be short-lived.” He grabbed my arm and pushed the sleeve of my T-shirt up onto my shoulder. “It’s been fun playing this little game. Watching you sleep and run around in your own little world. But it’s time we returned to the real world, don’t you think?”
My mind was already too numb to wince when he pushed the needle into my bicep and pressed on the plunger.
“We should move while you still have full function of your limbs,” he said as he pulled it out. “I don’t think you’d like what would happen should I be forced to drag you.”
My body buzzed like I had pins and needles all over, and nausea built in my stomach. Daniel gripped my hand, but it felt like his touch wasn’t really there, like my hand had an outer layer five inches from the skin and it was that he grasped on to. I stepped forward, one foot after the other, but the floor moved, and I didn’t know where my foot ended and it began.
“Thea,” a voice sounded behind me as the word floated in bubbles around my head. “GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF HER.”
I giggled and tried to snatch the bubbles from the air before glancing at Daniel’s face. It twisted and turned as his features distorted, but one thing was clear. For the first time in my life, I saw something other than anger, lust, and joy at my pain in his eyes. I saw fear.
I giggled some more and lifted my finger to point at his face. “You’re in trouble,” I said.
The words echoed back at me, louder and louder, filling my head. They floated in angry bubbles that tried to knock me off my feet.
“You’re in trouble. You’re in trouble.” They no longer came to me in my own voice, but Daniel’s. His face appeared angry and flushed in another bubble, then another and another. “You’re in trouble,” each head snarled.
Forever Midnight MC Collection: Books 1-3 Page 3