Lakelyn Chapter 10
It was hard not to give in to despair. We’d been stupid to remain near Turmoil.
We’d thought there was no way the Kings could find us.
The size of North Platte and the number of people that no one sees on the street gave us a false sense of security.
We’d only been able to catch a ride to North Platte, but we thought since it was a different town, we were safe.
All we needed was a few days to figure out where to go.
Running without a plan landed you in trouble.
For example, we’d ended up in Turmoil rather than getting our asses out of Nebraska altogether the first time we ran. It was a mistake I was about to regret.
Tyrant and his guys might’ve gotten our guns, but it didn’t matter.
Eventually, even after we were given to the Jacquots, I’d find a way to end it.
They couldn’t keep an eye on me twenty-four-seven.
I doubted they’d think of us killing ourselves.
They didn’t know how far we’d go to stay out of their hands or to avoid our fates.
I fought not to hyperventilate or vomit on the ride.
I’d choke to death with my mouth gagged.
That might be preferable, come to think of it.
I met River’s gaze. I shook my head. He had his whole life ahead of him.
He didn’t deserve what the Jacquots had in store for him.
If anything, I wished he hadn’t been caught up in this.
Maybe I could bargain with them so he could go free.
If he did, I might be able to keep going for his sake.
“Lakelyn, what the hell has gotten into the two of you? Why did you run? Your assumptions about us are fucked up,” Satyr said abruptly. He was in the second row of seats. My brother and I were in the back cargo area.
I ignored him.
“He’s right. We were all getting along great, and then you do this. Or were you pretending all along while you planned to run?” Blood asked. There was a bite to his tone.
It wasn’t as if I could answer with my mouth bound.
They made it sound as if they were the injured party in this.
I didn’t see how that made sense. They said this to fool us.
I’d let myself believe that, despite being bikers and one-percenters, which I’d learned meant they broke the law, they’d been more than decent to us.
All their actions pointed to them becoming our friends and people we could rely on.
I had to hand it to them. They were grade-A actors. I never saw their betrayal coming.
Thank goodness they stopped talking. The silence stretched until we were pulling through the gate of their compound.
My heart pounded. Oh God, here it came. I wondered whether Tyrant had called ahead, and the Jacquots were waiting for us.
I broke out in a cold sweat. When the van stopped, and the back door opened, I was hyperventilating.
Tyrant came inside and took me out first. I couldn’t fight him.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I bent over, sucking as much air into my lungs as I could to catch my breath and quell the urge to puke. It wasn’t enough.
The next thing I knew, the gag was gone. I inhaled through my mouth and nose and then spewed up the tiny bit I had in my stomach all over the ground. I missed Tyrant’s boots. Too bad. I heard cursing and my brother’s urgent, muffled sounds.
Suddenly, I was swept off my feet again by Tyrant, and he raced into the clubhouse. It vaguely registered that the rest of his men were there. Their chatter died away.
“Cardiac, I need you,” Tyrant barked.
He didn’t slow down until I was in a room resembling a doctor’s exam room.
I knew this was Cardiac’s office. I’d been shown it one day.
I thought it was cool that he could treat his brothers.
He wasn’t an actual doctor, but he knew a lot.
I was gently placed on the exam table. Tyrant stayed on one side of it, and Cardiac was on the other.
“What’s wrong?” Cardiac asked.
“She fell down an incline, and then when I got her out of the van outside, she couldn’t catch her breath and then vomited.”
“Well, if you want me to examine her, she needs to be untied. I can’t do it this way. Is she dangerous?”
Tyrant scowled at him. “They tried to run, and when we caught them, they held guns to their heads and were going to shoot themselves. They’re tied so we could get them out of there before the cops came, smartass.”
Cardiac smirked. Then, there was a clicking sound, and Tyrant held a wicked knife. I gasped louder. My breathing hadn’t fully settled. In a blink, he cut through the zip ties holding my wrists and legs together. The relief was welcome, but I was still frightened. My eyes kept darting between them.
Cardiac gave me a reassuring smile. “Lakelyn, honey, I need to know if you hurt yourself when you fell. Did you hit your head?” As he asked, he ran his fingers through my hair, feeling my scalp.
When I didn’t answer, Tyrant gruffly said, “Lakelyn, answer him. He’s trying to help. Hiding your injuries will only hurt you.”
“As if you care,” I mumbled.
“You may not fucking believe it, but I do! Whatever bullshit you and your brother think you know about us, we need to clear the air. They’re convinced we plan to give them to someone.”
He added the last part for Cardiac’s sake.
He’d moved to my neck and now my shoulders.
Cardiac was pressing along them. I had sore spots from hitting the ground, but refused to react when he hit one.
I stayed silent, even if Tyrant was glowering at me.
Finally, Cardiac was done after touching most of my body and moving my limbs.
“She’ll have bruises and tender spots, though she won’t tell us where.
I could tell by feeling. There’s no indication she hit her head.
Her pupils are equal and reactive to light, and she has no bumps on her head that I can find.
I don’t think the breathing and vomiting were due to a concussion.
You got scared and hyperventilated and then puked, didn’t you? ” Cardiac asked me.
When I didn’t speak, he chuckled.
“You’ve got a stubborn one, Pres.”
“You’re sure she’s alright?” Tyrant asked him.
“As sure as I can be. We’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Okay, well, let’s go get this conversation over with. I won’t go to bed until I understand what the fuck is happening with her and her brother.” Tyrant barely ended his words before I was scooped off the table into his arms. When he didn’t set me on my feet, I broke.
“Put me down. I can walk.”
“Not on your life. If you’re in my arms, I know where you are. I’m not letting you out of my control,” he stated gruffly.
I tried to struggle, though I knew from before that it was useless. This time, it earned me a hard swat on my ass. I gasped, but as much as I wanted to be outraged, it made my body feel alive. I subsided. I didn’t need Tyrant messing with my head more than he already did.
“At least let me rinse my mouth. It’s gross.” I hated to ask, but it was terrible.
I was given a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash. Tyrant let me stand to do that, but I was back in his arms as soon as I was finished.
He took me back to the common room, and I was relieved to see River there. When he saw me, since his gag was gone, he anxiously asked, “Is she okay?”
“As far as I can tell. She refuses to answer me,” Cardiac answered.
“Lake, are you hurt?” River asked.
I couldn’t let him worry. “I’m fine, River. Some bumps and bruises, that’s all. You?”
“I’m good.”
I saw they’d removed his restraints as I looked closer at him. Guilt hit me again. “River, I’m sorry that I ever dragged you into this. Forgive me,” I pleaded. Tears threatened to fall again. I forced them not to. Why was I turning into a watering pot? It wasn’t me.
“For God’s sake, let’s get this done. They’re killing me,” Howler barked.
Tyrant had stood, holding me this whole time. I realized it when he kicked a chair away from the table and sat in it. He kept me firmly on his lap.
“I want my own chair,” I demanded.
“Too bad for you. I don’t give a shit what you want. You’ll stay here until I say otherwise. Now, we have privacy. I want to know, why did you run Friday night, and what was all that talk of not going with someone and killing yourself?”
I wiggled anyway and then froze when I felt a lump growing underneath my ass. When my wide eyes met Tyrant’s, he smirked. I gulped. He was getting hard. I was back to having mixed feelings about both him and it. God, I needed my head examined. He was an outlaw and our enemy.
“Which one of you wants to start? I want to know why you ran and why you were on the streets in the first place. Anyone with a brain can see it wasn’t your usual home,” Tyrant demanded.
The silence was deafening until my brother broke it. “We might as well humor them. We’re done for anyway. What difference does it make? Maybe if they know what the men they’re working for are really like, they’ll reconsider working for them again.”
I shook my head. “No, River, don’t,” I pleaded.
“Yes, Lake. I’m tired of running and hiding. At least this way, it’ll be over soon.” He wore a defeated look. My heart broke seeing what I’d reduced my sweet brother to.
“Fine, but I’ll do it. It’s my story and fault anyway,” I told him.
He frowned. “No, it was never your fault or mine. We didn’t ask for this.”
“Tell us what sent you running the other night,” Cobra demanded. He was seated next to my brother.
“Why were you in the clubhouse when you were supposed to be at the house?” Tyrant added. I wasn’t sure how he knew, but it didn’t matter.