Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Skylar
I wake in a confused fog. My eyes are so dry, my lids feel like they’re glued to my eyeballs. Instinctually, I try to rub them, but my hand—which I just notice is above my head—can only move a couple inches because it’s stuck on something. I switch to the other hand, but that one won’t move either. What the hell?
Looking up, I blink a few times and see they’re tied to a metal headboard with rope. The more I struggle to get them free, the more it abrades my wrists. Moving around has also made me aware that my ankles are secured to the footboard by the same rope.
How did I get here? The last thing I remember is sitting on the couch, waiting for Walker to get home. What happened after that? Sprocket was on my lap, and I was scared because Walker was confronting Klutch. Shit. Aunt Amy . She tricked me and injected me with something.
I look around the room and see what looks to be a cabin, but there are hundreds of cabins near Culver Springs, so that’s not exactly a clue. Without knowing how long I was stuffed in that trunk, I could be anywhere. My heart starts to pound, and my throat gets tight. Why did she bring me here?
I want to shout for help, but chances are there isn’t anyone else around, and I don’t want Aunt Amy to know I’m awake until I can gather more information.
Lifting my head, I see that other than the bed, there’s a cozy-looking chair and end table in front of a window looking out into the forest, a quilt ladder in the corner, and a chest of drawers against the opposite window. Straight ahead of me is a door. I hear whispered voices coming from the other side, but I can’t recognize who they might belong to.
Walker must be losing his mind. I never should have come here to see him. Now he’s all mixed up in my mess, and knowing him, he won’t stop until he finds me. But if Klutch is behind this like I think he is, then Walker’s life is in as much danger as mine.
I don’t know how long I lie there, but it’s long enough that I become so panicked, I don’t even feel the pain of the rope slicing up my wrists. I pull and twist anyway. I think the knot on my right wrist is loosening, but it might be all in my head. At least I can say I tried and didn’t just wait for my future to be dictated to me, even if that’s what ends up happening anyway.
Blood drips down my arm, and my fingers tingle, so I switch to my feet, tugging and twisting. At least I have socks on so the rope isn’t directly on my skin. Logically, I know I can’t get free, but anxiety isn’t logical, and right now, my anxiety is screaming at me.
I freeze when the doorknob turns and the door slowly creaks open. Expecting to see Aunt Amy, I’m surprised when, instead, it’s Klutch. There’s my confirmation he was behind this.
“You’re awake.” He states the obvious. The way he looks at me makes my skin crawl.
“And you’re a sick fuck. Why am I here?”
“You spend a couple weeks away from me and forget your manners. Maybe you need a reminder.”
“Maybe you need a lobotomy. Why am I here?”
His face reddens. I never speak to him like this. It wouldn’t have done me any good before and would’ve resulted in pain, so what was the point? But I’m done appeasing him. It’s gotten me nowhere, so I might as well tell him how I really feel.
I’m confident in that decision until he pulls out his knife. “My plan was to have Amy take you so I could be the one to kill you, but then I was told you’ve been hiding something from me.” He lifts my shirt and drags his knife across my belly, barely breaking the skin. Tiny dots of blood pop free.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play coy. You’re carrying my baby. So congratulations, you saved your own life. For now, anyway. Once you give birth, that’s a different story.”
“You’ll keep me alive just to take the baby? And who will raise it if you kill me?” It makes me sick to even think the words, let alone say them out loud. I shouldn’t be raising issues with his plan, but at least I know I’ll be safe for the next six months.
“Amy’s always wanted a baby. You know she and Loner tried for a lotta years. She’ll raise it.”
I saw the look on her face when she saw my bump. She must be the one behind this plan. “And what will you do with me for the next six months? Keep me chained to a bed?”
“Maybe.” He lifts my shirt up and over my head, leaving it stretched between my raised arms and exposing my breasts. I regret not wearing one of the many sports bras I purchased with Jazzy. Instead, I have on the black lacy one I was wearing when I came to Culver Springs. “There are other things you can be good for.”
“Because Lord knows you can’t find a willing partner, not when you gave up showering and brushing your teeth.”
He slaps me across the face so hard, I see stars. My cheek instantly swells, red hot. “Watch your mouth.”
“It’s not too late to let me go. I’ll disappear from your life, and you can go on like this never happened.”
“You think I want my kid to be raised by that pussy? Fuck no. And to think, you weren’t even going to tell me. Who’s the fucked up one now?”
“So I could share custody and have you poison my son’s mind? No. It’ll never happen.”
“Son? You’re having a boy?” He lights up, and I mentally kick myself for giving him that information. “Even more reason for me to keep this kid. The club’ll be so happy to have a prince born. A boy to take over when I retire. It’s perfect.”
“Right, because girls have no value.”
“I’ll still want it if it’s a girl. Pussy has value.” He traces the curves of my breasts with the tip of the knife, and tears prick my eyes. I’ve never been more vulnerable in all my life, and I hate it. He could do anything to me right now, and I couldn’t stop him. “Like when your dad was going to be voted out after he made some bad deals that pissed people off. He came to me and made a deal. I gave him my vote and convinced Loner and Tweak to vote with me, and in exchange, I got you.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not. And when I told him you’d never stay with me willingly, he gave me the house.” He cups me between my legs. “Like I said, pussy has value. And fuck, if yours ain’t the best I ever had. So tight.”
“And dry as the desert because you make me sick. Walker, on the other hand, I just have to see, and I’m dripping wet.”
He slaps my other cheek, harder this time. “What did I say about your mouth?”
“Prez.” Loner appears in the doorway. “We should think about moving soon.”
“In a minute. I’m teaching this bitch a lesson.” He pinches my nipple through the lace. “She’s got nice tits, huh? They’re bigger than the last time I saw ’em.”
“Fuck yeah.” Loner’s mouth hangs open, and he adjusts himself, making my stomach turn.
In this five-minute conversation, so much has come to light, and any affection I had for the club is gone. If what he’s saying about Dad is true, then I will spit on his fucking grave. What he did to me with the house was bad enough, but if it was payment to keep his rank as Prez? These people are repulsive.
“You ever fucked a pregnant woman?” he asks Loner.
“Never. You?”
“Not yet, but I’m looking forward to it.” He traces my nipples with the knife, and I squeeze my eyes closed, not wanting to watch them leer at me. “I’ll let you have a turn when I’m done. Hell, I’ll keep her legs tied open until she pops this kid out. She can be the club slut.”
“The guys’ll love that.”
“Yeah, they will.” He stands abruptly, pulling my shirt down. “But you’re right. We should move. I don’t trust someone didn’t see us come up here.”
“Want me to get her ready for transport?” Loner asks with sick hunger in his tone. I swear to god, if that man touches any part of me, I’ll throw up. He was my uncle growing up. He held me as a newborn. Now he wants to fuck me.
How is this my life?
Klutch flings the knife at Loner. It barely misses his head, embedding itself in the wall behind him. “She’s mine until I decide otherwise. Keep your fuckin’ hands off her.”
“Shit, man. I wasn’t gonna do nothing to her.”
“Keep it that way,” he says. A loud sob comes from the other room, drawing both men’s attention. “You have your own problems to deal with.”
“Yeah, yeah. Fine.”
“Is that Amy?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“Why is she crying?”
“Why the fuck do you care?” Klutch walks over to the knife and pulls it out of the drywall, and then he’s back at my side, cutting through the rope holding my arms.
“Just asking.”
“The bitch didn’t think about the goddamn cameras. Now everyone knows what she was driving and that she’s the one who took you. If she’d parked five feet away from where she did, we wouldn’t have to be scrambling to get out of this fucking town unseen.”
“What did you do to her?”
“Exactly what stupid bitches deserve.”
Once my hands are free, I tug down my shirt, the muscles and joints complaining after being held in one position too long, not to mention the abrasions around my wrists that are still bleeding.
“Gimme your hands.” He pulls out zip-ties.
“Please don’t. I won’t give you trouble.”
“Yeah, right. I’m not an idiot.”
“What do you think I’m going to do? I’m outnumbered and don’t have any weapons.”
He frees my ankles. “One misstep and I’ll hogtie you naked. You get me?”
I nod and stand. He shoves me toward the door, and I nearly trip and fall but catch myself and walk into the main area of the cabin. There are instructional papers all over the house on how to use different features, leading me to believe this is a vacation rental.
My eyes land on Amy, who’s sitting on a leather sofa. Her eyes are nearly swollen shut, and she has a blanket wrapped around her bare shoulders. I don’t want to know what they put her through while I was asleep, though I wonder if she has changed her mind about the women being the ones with the power. She doesn’t look very powerful.
“Are Rocker and Socket back with a car?” Klutch asks.
“Almost. They’re five minutes out.”
“Can I use the bathroom?” I don’t like how quiet my voice is. Seeing Amy has sapped some of my fight.
“Through there. And if you try to pull anything, remember what I said. Rocker, Socket, and Loner would love to break you in before we get to the clubhouse.”
The threat hits me as hard as a fist to the gut, sucking out all my air. I’m hunched as I walk to the bathroom and shut the door. My reflection shows two swollen cheeks, bruises already forming. As if they were waiting until I was alone, unwanted tears spill down my face.
I was fully prepared to wait for Walker to rescue me, but after hearing what Klutch wants to put me through for the next six months, I can’t hope for the best. It’s time I help myself.
“Thank you, Rowan,” I whisper as I reach into my bra. The switchblade that had originally been tucked into the front of my bra had worked its way down and under my pregnancy-enhanced boobs. Klutch must have missed it earlier. Thank god for the crazy man who gave me the blade when I spent the day with him.
A knife won’t save me, though. However, if I can get outside, I might be able to survive until help comes. The window lifts with ease, and I flush the toilet just as I punch the screen out. As fast and as quietly as I can, I lower myself to the ground and take off running.
With it still being winter, I haven’t been outside to explore the terrain. Even if I had, this isn’t Walker’s side of the mountain. I have no idea where I am. All I know is I need a good hiding place that isn’t too far away. If Walker shows up here, I need to be able to hear him.
Once I’m in the trees, I slow, trying to leave clues without being obvious. Walker and his friends are trained to find people. I have to trust they can find me. My instincts tell me my chances are better out here than in that cabin.
I don’t get far when I hear Klutch cursing up a storm, heading right for me. Fear makes me want to run, but I have to leave clues, so I disturb the land, carve little chunks into trees with the knife, breaking branches as I go.
I feel like I have a good lead until the crack of a gun going off sounds, and the trunk of the tree in front of me splinters. That’s when I pick up my pace. Weaving through the trees, I try to keep as much cover as I can. The cold air burns my lungs, and my exposed fingers go numb. The sun can’t reach through the thick tree cover, and it’s getting late; it’ll soon be dark. That thought scares me because hypothermia is a real concern if Walker can’t get to me tonight.
It hits me that I might’ve saved myself six months of torture only to die alone in the forest.