Chapter 15
15
A Year Later…
I was in the trunk of a car.
It had been a recurring nightmare for me ever since they’d found my brother’s body in the trunk of a car, but I tried not to think about that as I got tossed around in complete darkness. I’d climbed in here on purpose after all.
The car jostled over a particularly bad bump, and I nailed myself in the face with my engagement ring. With a diamond that size, it was a wonder I didn’t hit it on things more. I switched it to my right hand and turned the stone towards my palm, tucking it in where people wouldn’t notice it if I kept my palm down.
I should’ve left the damned thing at home, but I’d been in too much of a hurry, afraid to miss my chance.
Home.
Was that really how I thought of Kevin’s house now? I’d been living there for almost nine months, and it was more of a gilded cage than a home—a lavish monstrosity where it didn’t matter how many rooms there were, I was never truly alone.
I swore the walls watched me when Kevin didn’t. And if the walls weren’t watching, Eric certainly was.
But Kevin was out of town this weekend, off to his private island for his bachelor party and he’d taken Eric along. He’d made it clear he expected me to stay home, had left some of his goons to make sure. But I’d managed to pretend I’d gone to my room for the night, and then I’d snuck to the garage and hidden in the trunk before one of his drivers left for the weekend. I’d spent months studying his surveillance systems just to pull it off, and I was still crossing my fingers I hadn’t missed something.
I didn’t know where I’d end up, so I’d spent weeks studying bus routes and had memorized multiple taxi numbers so I’d be able to get back in a way that wasn’t traceable. It was rash and dangerous, a half-cocked plan that could go wrong a thousand different ways, but I needed to know I could do it. When my chance came, I’d grabbed some cash and made a run for it.
Josh was my unwitting getaway driver’s name. He’d driven me everywhere for months, and the only things I knew about him were that he liked dogs and was a Virgo. The former I assumed because he always offered to walk Lola, the dachshund puppy Kevin had given me when I mentioned that I missed seeing my friends. And I only knew he was a Virgo because I’d complimented the sapphire in his pinky ring. He’d told me his mother had given it to him because it was his birthstone.
Josh was sweet. Protective. The kind of guy I might’ve dated in another life. He was the only one who still met my eyes after the especially bad days with Kevin. To everyone else it was like I was invisible. It was easier for them to pretend they didn’t see.
Kevin didn’t like it when I got too friendly with the staff anyway, and I was pretty sure they’d been told not to talk to me more than they needed to in order to perform their jobs. I didn’t want to get anyone fired, so I hadn’t pushed.
But I was so fucking lonely. All I wanted was one unsupervised visit with my little sister before the wedding, one night of freedom. Kevin had seen to it that I hadn’t been alone with her in months, always accompanying me or sending someone from Eric’s security team to watch over me.
Watch me was more the truth of it.
I had no idea where we were driving, but that was a problem for later. I’d have to be back before anyone noticed I was gone, or all hell would break loose. I’d deliberately left my phone at home since Kevin always tracked me with it, so I wouldn’t even know if they discovered I was missing, not until they caught up with me.
One night. One night to feel like a person again. One night of hugs and movies and uninhibited girl talk. If no one knew, I wouldn’t get anyone into trouble.
A year had been enough time to realize King was more dangerous than my father. He was volatile like a volcano that could be triggered at the slightest provocation—or no provocation at all.
I was used to being tightly controlled and watched, but I wasn’t used to the casual cruelty that had become a part of my daily life with him. He constantly found new ways to strip away my self-esteem and erode my confidence.
I was always compliant and attentive to him in the bedroom, and I was thankful that was where he was the least cruel. It wasn’t usually terrible, but it was an unwelcome burden I had to attend to. He’d never once given any thought to my pleasure. I didn’t dare ask because I wasn’t even sure I wanted him to touch me in that way.
Surely the novelty would wear off, and he’d begin to take mistresses, if he hadn’t already.
We’d been driving for what felt like half an hour when the car made a turn and stopped abruptly. The driver’s door opened, then slammed closed. I didn’t dare move.
Please don’t open the trunk. Please don’t open the trunk…
I made myself wait twice as long as I thought I should before I pulled the emergency release handle to pop the trunk. I peered carefully out of the crack, trying to make sure no one was about to see me emerge.
I climbed out awkwardly, relieved to find there wasn’t anyone nearby. It took me a second to get my bearings, but when I did, nervous butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
Josh had come to a biker bar on the outskirts of town, a bar with nothing else around it. I’d never been somewhere this seedy before and had only ever seen bikers on TV. A biker gang was a key component of the shadier side of my father’s business, but I only knew that from snatches of overheard conversations. He considered them the lowlife expendable infantry who’d take the fall if there was a failure at that level of their operation. He was deeply insulated from the illegal branches of his dealings, so I’d never been allowed anywhere near people like this.
There didn’t appear to be a bus stop nearby, which complicated matters, but I was sure someone at the bar would let me use a phone to call a cab. I just needed to make sure Josh didn’t spot me and keep my head down enough not to be recognized.
I looked nothing like the Juliet Bryson anyone had ever seen in public. That Juliet Bryson was the epitome of subtlety and class, always wearing soft pastels and demure clothing tailored not to hug too tightly. I’d opted for casual denim cut off shorts and Reaper’s tank top; then, at the last moment, I’d dug Reaper’s leather jacket from its hiding place in my closet and pulled it on. I hadn’t gotten caught that night; maybe it could bring me luck again.
Reaper hadn’t been in touch. It had been a year, and I hadn’t heard so much as a whisper from him. But the idea had left him as a specter in my life. I waited for a call, an email, a letter…anything. I began to think he was waiting until King and I were married to hatch some kind of nefarious plan. If only that were the only reason I was dreading my wedding day.
As I encountered the first bikers milling about outside, a flare of fear reminded me just how risky this was. I was a public figure they could easily recognize even if I’d attempted to copy Reaper’s makeup handiwork, with slightly less dramatic results.
I’d been too scared to practice doing my makeup like this during the hours other people were awake, so I’d waited until the middle of the night and shut myself in my closet to practice once. Kevin didn’t like to share a room, so I at least had my own bedroom he visited only when it was convenient for him, but I didn’t trust that he didn’t have cameras in the bathroom. It seemed unlikely he’d bother with my closet. The next morning I woke up feeling victorious, like that minuscule act of defiance meant something. It gave me the confidence to study his security system more closely, testing it in small ways to see what he noticed.
When I walked towards the bar, my heart thundered even faster. Kevin was in a completely different time zone, partying with his friends. With any luck, he’d done a bunch of drugs or was too hammered to even think about me. If he assumed I wouldn’t leave the house, there was no reason to waste his bachelor party watching me.
Maybe some twisted part of me wanted to get caught. Would he call off the wedding if I disobeyed him? I knew in my bones that there’d be no sending me back to my father in shame. I’d simply become the next victim of the Bryson Curse.
But my instincts told me King wouldn’t call it off. He’d be angry, but once he knew I’d just gone to see my sister, he’d calm down enough to see reason. He’d face a scandal too if we called it off two weeks before, and he’d been enjoying making the political rounds with a Bryson on his arm. In this instance, the public interest worked in my favor because they were ravenous for our love story. Parts of our wedding were going to be televised, and no matter how much money he had, Kevin couldn’t buy the positive press that came from being with me.
As long as I didn’t cause a scandal, he’d still marry me.
I didn’t need to worry. Not yet anyway. These men didn’t care who I was any more than they cared about the identity of the beers they were holding. I was an object to them.
“Goddamn, look at the legs on that bitch.” The muscular man who’d spoken elbowed the one next to him, who bit his fist in response. The second man had a tattoo across his throat that said Die Free .
“You here with someone, sweetheart?” He eyed Reaper’s jacket.
Who owns you? That’s what he was really asking.
“No,” I said simply, too worried my voice might tremble with fear if I said more.
Their eyes lit with interest, and the youngest one took a step towards me. I backed up a step and ran into a wall of a human. When I turned, I found a hulking bearded man who was attractive in a gritty, imposing way. He had salt-and-pepper hair, sharp blue eyes, and broad shoulders. He looked fully capable of tossing me over his shoulder and taking me back to his cave and seemed to be considering doing just that as he flicked his eyes from my legs, to the sliver he could see of my breasts, then finally to my face.
“Only one reason a girl like you comes to a place like this.” His voice was like a rumble of thunder, and he stood there with the self-assurance of a man who was used to being in charge. The patch on his cut denoted his role as president of the Serpents of Death MC.
Shit . That was the gang that worked for my father. There was no reason for a man like this to care enough about Nathaniel Bryson’s middle daughter to recognize me, but it raised the stakes if he did.
The other guys watched us with smiles on their faces, eager to see me submit meekly to their leader. Like I’d been meekly submitting to Kevin for months.
Fuck that. Not tonight.
“You seem to know an awful lot about me when I don’t even know your name. I’m…Julie.”
“Thor,” he said, and I fought a smile.
Of course your name is Thor.
“I was just about to grab a drink, Thor. Care to join me?” He absolutely didn’t need to know I was stranded there and needed to use the phone. Something in my lizard brain screamed at me not to show him weakness.
It was clear I was being viewed as fresh, very available meat. Might as well head in there with the apex predator.
I was so scared, my lower back felt like it was going to spasm from the tension…but I’d chosen this. It was the first thing I’d chosen in a very long time.
He put a hand at my back and steered me inside the noisy, filthy bar. It was a huge, sprawling building with rooms off to the side and a large back area that had at least a dozen pool tables. It was dark and loud and uncomfortably crowded…which meant no one had any reason to notice me specifically in there.
Two guys moved out of the way when we got to the bar to make space for us to sit. The bartender dropped what she was doing to come over, but to her, I didn’t exist. She looked to Thor and only Thor, who said, “Whiskey.”
Two shots appeared in front of us. For a split second, I debated explaining that I didn’t drink whiskey but decided it was better not to push my luck. I wanted to look like a normal girl… He was certainly treating me like one. In this situation, a normal girl would take the drink she was offered.
We clinked our glasses together, and I knocked the shot back, cringing at the sickly-sweet taste. I choked a little on the cough I tried to hold back and caught the way a hint of a smirk played across Thor’s face. He immediately signaled for another, and two more shots were set down in front of us.
I knocked that one back too, beginning to wonder if this was Thor’s idea of foreplay. When he signaled for another, I put my hand on top of his. “I’m kind of a lightweight. If I don’t slow down, I’ll be puking soon.”
He grasped the hand I’d touched him with and slid the rock of my engagement ring around to the top of my hand. “You married, Julie?” He said it lightly—or as lightly as a man who sounded like thunder could ever say anything.
Something told me lying to this man was a bad idea. Cunning intelligence flashed in his glacial-blue eyes, just waiting for me to slip up.
“Does it matter?”
He shrugged. “Not to me. Not like we haven’t seen your type here before.”
The warmth of the back-to-back shots was settling into my belly and perhaps loosening my tongue. “Oh yeah? What type is that?” I sounded flirty and unconcerned…which was exactly how I was beginning to feel.
“Bored housewives with more money than sense, looking for a good time.”
I laughed and took the third shot, feeling more than a little reckless. Liquid courage couldn’t hurt at this point.
“I’m not married. Not for another two weeks.” I glanced at my watch and realized I was going to have to show my hand a little with Thor. “My phone is dead, and I need to get somewhere. Any chance you could help me call a ride?”
He held out a hand to help me down from the stool. “Got nowhere to be. I’ll give you a ride.”
Walked right into that one, dipshit.
I automatically took his hand and followed him through the bar as I mentally scrambled for an out. “My fiancé won’t like it if I ride with you.”
Thor paused and turned back to cock an eyebrow at me. “Is he here?”
I drew a breath to respond but spotted Josh and three of Kevin’s enforcers making their way towards us, and I practically shoved Thor in my urgency to get out of there before they saw me. A motorcycle ride with Thor was better than getting caught.
“Thank you for the offer. I’d appreciate a ride,” I blurted.
I was in such a frantic rush to get away from Kevin’s men that it wasn’t until we were already on the road that I realized Thor hadn’t asked where I was going before he started driving.
Doesn’t matter. We’re going towards town, which means closer to Jacque’s apartment, and I got away from the immediate threat.
Minutes later, we were flying down an empty road. I clutched Thor’s muscular torso as his motorcycle roared under us, and the wind whipped my face. Getting on a bike with some random dude, who may or may not have been inebriated, was one of my more questionable life decisions, but in that exhilarating moment, I didn’t care. I’d escaped.
Thor kept driving until he turned into what looked like a compound with huge gates and barbed wire fences around it.
“Where are we?” I asked when he’d parked and taken my helmet back.
“Clubhouse,” he said. Then he grabbed my head and kissed me forcefully.
After nine months of living with Kevin, I was all too used to having to endure the attentions of a man I wasn’t interested in. Kevin kissed like I was a possession he expected to please him. Thor kissed like he was trying to take something from me. He held the back of my head so I couldn’t pull away, then pillaged my mouth with his tongue, depriving me of the ability to breathe.
When his other hand slid down the front of my top to cup my breast, I managed to thrash out of his hold.
“Come on,” he said with a hand at my lower back to guide me towards the building.
I twisted away. “I need to get home. People will be looking for me.” I put some force into my tone, daring to challenge him.
People would be looking for me if I didn’t make it home, but they’d never find me there.
“Didn’t ask,” he said, grabbing my arm this time and all but dragging me forward.
It was only when the gate to the compound slid closed that it truly sunk in how fucked I was.