Mine Now (The Phantom Vipers MC)

2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Blake

Ambulances blare in the distance as I look at the crumbled motorcycle that I hit with my car just moments ago. The rider is a groaning heap on the side of the road. My child is screaming in the back seat of my car.

He came out of nowhere. One moment, we were driving along this old highway, listening to our favorite music, and the next, I was slamming on the brakes, trying not to kill this poor man.

As the sirens get louder, I snap out of my shock-induced haze and quickly rush to the rider's side. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

He rolls onto his back, and I am met with a pair of vibrant green eyes and a long, scraggly beard. Stunned by his handsome face, I almost miss the scowl he has pointed directly at me. “Do I fucking look okay?” He glances down at himself.

His pants are shredded from sliding across the asphalt. His helmet is all scuffed up, and he only has one boot on. “Is anything broken?”

He scoffs and sits up. Then, he slowly stretches out each arm and leg, testing each limb.

“It would seem not,” he grumbles, slowly getting to his feet after putting his boot back on. For a moment, he stares at the heap of metal that is now his bike. I think I see sorrow in his expression as he leans down and touches the metal.

By the looks of it, the bike is a black Harley with purple undertones that glistens in the sun. A large phantom sits on the side of his gas tank, and he has huge saddlebags on the back.

He surveys the roadway and then looks at my vehicle. He points at it. “Does it still drive?

I look over my shoulder and see the bit of smoke coming from the hood. “As far as I know.”

He walks over to his bike, grabs something from the satchel on the side, and then comes back to me. “Good, get in the driver's seat.”

Huh? “Wait, the police are almost here. You need to be seen by a medic.” I reach out and grab his arm as he brushes past me.

Quicker than I anticipated, he whips his body around and grabs me by the throat. “That is precisely why you are going to get your ass in the car and get us out of here.”

My breath hitches as fear radiates from me. “But—”

His grip on my throat tightens. “No buts. Either get in the car, or I’ll take your car and leave you here.”

Panic blossoms in my chest as I quickly shake my head. “No, you can't. My child is in the backseat!”

He looks through the front windshield of my car. “God damnit.” He releases my throat, and I take in a much-needed breath. I immediately step back from him. He lets out a long sigh. “Listen, just get in the car and take me where I need to go, and no harm will come to you, okay?”

I bite my lip, weighing my options. I don't think I can run fast enough to get to the car and drive away before he catches up with me, and I can't leave my car behind or let him have it.

Tired of waiting for me to make up my mind, he lets out another sigh and reaches behind his back. Pulling out a pistol from his waistband, he points it at me. “There, you have your answer. Now get in the fucking car.”

“What are you doing? There’s no need for a weapon! I… I was just worried about my kid, okay?” I hold my hands out in front of me in surrender. Charlie is screaming in the back seat when I reach the driver's door, and I try to calm her before the biker gets in the passenger seat. But when the door behind me opens, and the car sinks under his weight, I make eye contact with him in the rearview.

“Why are you back there?” I try to keep my voice as calm as possible.

He smirks and holds his gun up so I can see it, but instead of pointing it at my child, he puts it in a pocket in his vest. “So you don't try to do anything stupid. Just listen to me, and everyone will be fine.”

In the distance I can see the blue lights in my rearview as I glance behind the bearded man, and my heart rate picks up. He follows my gaze and then quickly turns back. “Go!”

I panic, put the car in drive, and press the gas. I don’t know where he is having me take him, but he keeps looking over his shoulder to see if the police are following us. I find myself hoping they do, to save me from this man. His handsome features don’t sway me from the piece of metal in his pocket, just inches from my daughter.

Surprisingly, once we start moving, Charlie calms down enough to glance over at the guy sitting next to her. Her tears have dried up, and now she looks perplexed.

The biker looks behind us again, bringing his face closer to my daughter, and without hesitation, she reaches out to grab at his beard. Even at five years old, my child has zero concept boundaries. I gasp, ready to beg him not to hurt her. But to my surprise, he gives her a genuine smile as he scoots closer to her to let her play more freely.

“I’m so sorry. She is just curious.” I say softly, praying he isn’t too upset.

He slightly shakes his head as he meets my gaze. “She is no bother.”

What the fuck is happening right now? This man basically takes us hostage but has a soft spot for my daughter? I am so confused.

“Where do you want me to take you?” I ask.

He nods forward. “Take a left up there.”

I see the next road and take the left, bringing us down an eerie dirt road with a canopy of trees looming over each side. No houses are in sight as we drive down the darkening road, and I can’t help but wonder what awaits us at the end of this trip. He said nothing would happen to us, but I saw his face. I know how green his eyes are in the sunlight and how his graying beard looks in my daughter's hand. I grip the steering wheel tighter. There is no way he can keep me alive.

His sudden chuckle brings my attention back to the rearview mirror, and I catch him tickling Charlie. Warmth blooms in my chest at the sight. Why am I feeling like this? He just pointed a gun at us and threatened our lives. Am I that fucked up from Craig that I think even a hardened criminal like this man is some how sweet? How is it that a kidnapper is showing Charlie more attention than her own father?

I check the clock on the dash and see that it is now an hour after I am supposed to have already been home, and I grimace. I will pay for it once I get there, if I make it. My husband hates it when I’m late. He expects me to be home by the time he gets off work and to have his dinner cooked and prepared for him by the time he sits on his favorite seat on the couch. As if summoning him, my phone lights up in the seat next to me with his face. Great.

Charlie gets so excited when her father comes in from work, but it’s been a long time since I have felt joy. Years of abuse will do that to a person. He hasn’t gotten physical with me yet, but his words hurt worse than any fist ever would. Sometimes, I wish he would just hit me and get it over with. I feel like I am no longer the woman I used to be before I met him. I am too torn down over the years to resemble even a sliver of my old self.

A smack on my seat brings me back to the present, and I find the biker glaring at me in the mirror. “I said to turn back there. Didn’t you hear me?”

I press the brakes and mutter a curse word before turning the car around. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry! Please forgive me; I will listen. Just don’t hurt us.”

“Damn, calm down, woman. You just missed a turn. Just don’t let it happen again.”

I attempt to look at him in the rearview, but when our eyes connect, he looks away quickly.

I take the turn he points out to me and continue down another endless road. My phone vibrates with another call from Craig, and I squeeze the wheel tightly.

I hear him clear his throat before his voice fills the car. “What has you so lost in thought?”

A hystericaI chuckle bubbles out of my mouth before I can stop it. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the man with a gun in my backseat, forcing me to drive him somewhere after I accidentally hit him with my car.”

I hear his scoff before seeing his physical reaction. “You have been driving fine this entire time, so that can’t be it.”

I let out a breath. Fuck him for already seeing right through me. “Look, I am taking you where you want to go. I’d rather not get into my personal issues with a stranger. Okay?

He leans forward, his face now between the front seats. “We have about another thirty minutes left to drive. You have plenty of time to tell me what's going on in here.” He taps his gun against my head.