Chapter 9
Nervously, I swallow the lump in my throat as we enter the casino elevator. His eyes roam over my body hungrily, and I stare up at him, getting lost in his dark eyes. He’s so glorious like this, confident, but there is a nervousness about him as well. That tells me he wants this to go well. He likes Vivian, and she apparently likes him. A lot. I’m so fucking screwed. I have no idea how I’m supposed to do this without him seeing my body. Maybe I can tell him I’m shy and need the lights off. But after what we just did downstairs, I already know that option is a slim one. Maybe I could tell him I have to keep my dress on because I have some horrible scar I don’t want him to see? My brain races with scenarios, even though I know he will do whatever the fuck he wants.
“You’re so beautiful.” The words are almost whispered by him, but I manage to hear them.
A deep blush rises over my cheeks. Why do I want his praise so badly? I know who he really is, and this isn’t it. This is just the side he reserves for seducing poor innocent women who don’t know better. But you do know better, Harley. And you’re still here because you fucking like what you see. All of it. You want this powerful man to control your body. You want to taste his cock and have him fuck you senseless. You want it so badly your uncovered pussy has its juices running down your legs as we speak.
The elevator doors ping open, and we step out into the hallway. There is only one door at the end of the void, and I know we’re at the penthouse. This is where the three of them took me less than two weeks ago. So much has changed since then.
As we arrive at the door, he turns to me, gently holding my face in his hands, tracing a finger over my painted red lips. Frozen to the spot, I stare up at him, feeling a mix of fear and awe. His intensity makes my heart race uncontrollably. I crave him so badly, I want to throw myself at him and kiss his intoxicating lips again. Tell him to fuck me right here in the hallway because I can’t wait a second longer to have him inside of me.
I don’t have to, because before I know it, his lips press to mine, stealing a kiss. With a sweep of his tongue, he invades my mouth, melting my insides. I know I shouldn’t, but for just a second, I let my eyes close, remembering how fucking good we were together. His hands roam up my sides, and I lace my fingers around his neck, kissing him back deeply.
When I’m a panting needy mess all over again, he reluctantly pulls back from me. “We should go inside,” he mutters, but something tells me he doesn’t want to. He could stay out here just kissing me for hours, and I could too. This moment between us is the closest we have been in so long. I had forgotten how good it was to swoon over this man without all the shit that’s really in between us now. To just be a man and a woman relying on their intuition and a gut feeling that the chemistry between them is worth exploring. I snuggle into him, a calm washing over me, remembering why I fell for him in the first place. If only our lives could be this simple in reality.
He lets us in, flashing a card at the door, keeping me close as we enter the room. When the door clicks locked, a wicked smile paints his handsome face, and when I rise my eyes to the room before me, I see why. He’s not the only one I’m locked in this hotel room with. Ricky and Maddox glare at me from across the room as well.
In a panic, I spin back and bump right into the solid brick wall of Alessandro’s chest, my heart racing out of my chest. He fucking tricked me.
“Where are you going in such a hurry, princess? Thought you wanted to have a little fun tonight.” He tilts his head, looking every bit the fucking psycho he is. Then he brings his fingers to his lips and sucks my juices from them. “You taste so fucking good, let me share you with my brothers.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “Fuck you,” I spit back at him, dropping the charade as angry tears well in my eyes. He fucking knew all along, that’s why he was so easily seduced by me. I should have fucking known. I go to step around him. There is no way in hell I’m staying in this room and playing whatever fucked-up game they have planned for me. I have way too many questions I need to answer, and I’m not telling them shit. Especially with Sloane in my earpiece. Oh my God, Sloane, what she must think of me right now? I cringe at the thought but part of me hopes she’s still on the line because I might just be in real trouble and need her to bail me out.
Alessandro lets me by, but as my hand reaches the door handle, someone grips me from behind, forcing me into the solid door, and I know this isn’t Alessandro. I flick my angry gaze over my shoulder to see Maddox raging like a wild bull.
“Temptress,” he growls out, his nostrils flaring and eyes narrowing in a way that scares the shit out of me.
“I’m sorry, what?” I play dumb. But I know it’s too late for that shit. The minute I made eye contact with him in the bar, I had a sinking feeling he knew it was me. But that was days ago, so I thought I got away with it.
He spins me around and shoves me back into the door, his hand clamping down around my waist, lifting me off the ground and pressing me against the solid wood frame. He stares at me, and I’m not sure if he wants to kill me or kiss me. “Don’t fucking mess with me, Harley.”
I glare back at him, trying to suck in ragged breaths, his eyes murderous.
“Let me go,” I warn him, my head feeling dizzy. This is all my fault, I know it is. I didn’t expect him to be happy with me when I saw him next, but I had hoped he would let me explain.
His hand comes to my wig, and he pulls it off my head, letting my red curls fall free. “I fucking thought so.”
“Maddox, I…” I don’t know what to say or how to explain myself. “I told you not to try and find me,” I say instead, putting it back on him, because when I see the depths of how badly I hurt him, the way he’s holding me means nothing. I did the one thing I promised him I wouldn’t and now he has every right to hate me.
He’s joined by his brothers now, the three of them crowding me. “How could you, baby doll,” comes Ricky’s sad voice. My eyes shoot to him, my heart breaking all over again hearing his pain. I didn’t want to hurt him. Or any of them. But this is the only way.
“Let her go,” Alessandro’s commanding voice fills the room, and Maddox loosens his grip on me, so I drop back to standing on my own. But the way he stalks toward me doesn’t make me feel any better. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, running around with Sloane Stryker? And attending my parents’ parties?”
“Sloane’s a friend of mine,” I say back, knowing how vapid I sound, but right now I don’t give a flying fuck. He tricked me, and I need time to come up with a fucking plan to get out of here before I end up stuck with them again.
Ricky moves to my other side, and I meet his piercing blue eyes; they’re cold and detached, and I feel the distance between us. “We have pulled this fucking town apart trying to find you because we were so worried, and all this time you were playing dress-up and hanging out with a gang member.”
Alessandro takes hold of my hands pinning them above my head. His solid body smashes me against the door. “Stay and play with us, princess,” he purrs seductively, and I know this is turning him on. He’s that fucked in the head.
But I’m not. A cold shiver runs down my spine, and I know playing with these guys tonight is the last thing I want to do when they’re like this. They’re angry and maybe they have every right to be, but they caused this just as much as I did. I fight against him in a panic, trying to buck my hips so I can kick him. Or do whatever it takes to get out of his crippling hold on me.
Alessandro doesn’t budge a bit, instead he knocks my legs out wider with his knee, making it impossible for me fight back.
He’s not affected by my hostility toward him. He grins back at me. This really is some kind of fun to this messed-up motherfucker. “Isn’t that what you told Enzo you would do?” His free hand runs down my side, gathering up the fabric of my dress until he reaches the spot where my knife sits. He slips it from the holster, his lips coming to my ear. “Seduce his son so you can be his little spy.” Anger drips off his every word. And I wonder how the hell he could hear that conversation. He flicks my blade open and moves it to trail up my arm ever so lightly. “Love the new additions. Very gangster,” he says, trailing the blade up and over my ink. “Most people don’t surprise me, Harley, but you. You’re full of fucking surprises, aren’t you? Making new friends all over the place.”
My heart races in my chest so hard I think it’s going to burst right out of it. What the fuck is he doing with my knife? He threatened me once before with what he would do if I ran from him again. Is he about to make good on his promise and actually kill me? “Get your fucking hands off me, asshole,” I seethe, bitterness dripping off every word. I buck against him, trying to get some leverage so I can escape.
Laughter vibrates through his body. “You won’t escape me this time, princess.”
I look over his shoulder to see Ricky and Maddox caging me in as well. Predators ready to eat their prey alive. They’re not going to save me from him. Not this time! They look angrier than I have ever seen them, even Ricky looks dead inside. I pushed him too far.
“Hold her,” he directs them, and I flinch in fear.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” I warn them. But my words do nothing to stop them advancing on me. Maddox takes hold of one of my shoulders and Ricky the other. They drag me further into the room, my heels catching on the carpet. There is no fucking way out against three of them, they’re too strong for me.
Alessandro runs the knife up over my torso, tracing the line of my breasts ever so lightly with the tip. He sucks in a breath before stepping away from me, moving around behind the three of us. What is he doing? I feel him right up behind me, brushing my hair over my shoulder, he places a delicate kiss to my neck. I try desperately to pull away from him, panic racing through me. I don’t want to continue what we started, not like this. Not when I know how furious they all are with me. “If you’re going to kill me, hurry the fuck up and do it.”
A dark chuckle reverberates through the room. “Tell me what you really think of me, princess.” He takes my knife and holds it to the strap of my dress, slicing right through the silky fabric, then he does the same with the other. It falls to the floor, leaving me bare. Stretched out before the three of them, completely naked. He planned this all along, he knew what he was doing removing my panties downstairs. I hate him even more.
My heart races erratically. Before tonight, I never would have thought they would hurt me, but now I’m not so sure. “What the fuck are you doing?” I cry in panic.
“Checking for a wire. It’s amazing what can be hidden these days, even under the finest of fabrics. His fingers trail over my legs and ass then up over my back.
I feel Ricky suck in a sharp breath as Alessandro reaches for the gold heart chain I have wrapped around my holster. “You were right, she didn’t take it off,” he says, glancing back to Maddox.
My heart hurts. I thought Maddox was different, but he was tracking me all along. Deep down I knew I should have left the locket in Dani’s car with all the other shit, but I couldn’t. The sentimental part of me needed to keep something from my time with them. Just like the engagement ring that’s in my backpack at Sloane’s place.
My heart sinks a little. He’s not going to find it staring at my mostly naked body, but fuck, he could find the device Malachi attached to my ear, then I really would be on my own. “What the fuck do you assholes want with me now?” I snap back angrily, trying to distract him before he locates it. I’m ready to lash out. To hurt them the way they’re hurting me by having me restrained again and taking away all control.
Ricky’s eyes meet mine, the warmth they used to hold for me is gone, and I want to cry. Want to fall apart right here, but I know I can’t. I started this, and I’m doing it for a good fucking reason; I won’t let them weaken me. I can’t afford feelings for them. I tilt my head up high, defiantly. “What do you want with us? Seems you’re the one making deals with the fucking devil himself,” he snaps, his voice like venom. Anger on him is the hardest to take.
I have to get the fuck out of here. Not even Ricky will save me tonight. I struggle against Maddox’s grip, my sweaty hands slipping, and I bring my elbow back and get Alessandro right in the face. There is a struggle, and for a second, I think I might break free of them, but heavy hands press into me, and without warning, I’m pulled back at the waist and forced back into the door, my ass hitting the solid wood with a smack. Maddox’s hands grip me tightly at one side and Ricky the other. A whimper flies from my lips. I’m fucked.
Alessandro stretches his jaw, massaging the spot I elbowed him. “That wasn’t very smart, princess.”
I smirk back at him, enjoying the slight flicker of surprise in his features. “I’m not letting you motherfuckers lock me up again, I’ll fight you until I escape.”
A deep, booming laugh vibrates out of him, shaking his broad shoulders. “Doesn’t look like you have much of a choice if we want you locked up. How are you getting yourself out of this mess? You’re a smart girl, Harley, you know you can’t fight off the three of us.”
Now it’s my turn to look at him like I have completely lost my mind because I think I have. I tilt my head, looking directly at Alessandro. “Is that what you want, to hold me against my will for the rest of my life? Or are you just like your papa and you’re going to slit my throat right here with my knife before I have a chance to make a run for it? Go on, Alessandro, show us all what a big fucking man you are now that you’re boss.”
I see the way he recoils as I say the last part. He doesn’t want to be compared to Enzo. Who would? His eyes narrow, and I know I have hurt him. “This is how things are going to go,” he starts.
I wrestle against the boys’ tight hold on me, thrashing around. “No,” I cut him off. “You’re not dictating shit to me anymore. I’ll tell you how things are going to fucking go. You’re going to give me back my knife, and you three are going to let me walk out of this place tonight or your alliance with the Strykers is fucked,” I spit out, even surprising myself.
He lets out a satisfying crack as he twists his neck from side to side.
A guttural growl, deep and threatening, escapes Maddox’s lips. “You’re not in any position to make threats,” he warns me, but it’s too late. I’m not going anywhere with them tonight.
My eyes, filled with fury, snap up to his. “Neither are you. Enzo is willing to pay the likes of me, some fucking stranger his wife just met, for a little information on his son because he knows he’s lost control of you, and he wants it back. If I return to him with information, he will start to trust me and then we have the upper hand. If you assholes lock me up again, you give all the power back to Enzo so he can fuck with the three of you for the rest of your lives. Is that what you really want?” My breath is ragged and crazy as I glare back at them. “What will the choice be, boys?”
“After everything we have been through, how can you turn on us, baby doll?”
I shoot an angry glance in Ricky’s direction. “Turn on you? I didn’t fucking turn on you. I asked for your help, pleaded with all of you to aid me in getting revenge for my ma and stop that asshole from destroying more lives, and you refused to help me. You did this to us, not me.”
Alessandro gets up in my face. “Ha. We didn’t refuse to help you. We have it handled. You need to trust us.”
“You don’t know the trouble you’re in, getting involved with the Strykers,” Ricky warns me.
“Yes, I do. I’m not a fucking idiot like you three think. I see and know a hell of a lot more than you’re aware of. As Vivian, I’m safe from Enzo and Valentina because the two of them have no idea who I really am. They’re too conceited to even notice. And as for the Strykers, Sloane has been a better friend to me in the few days I have known her than any of you ever were,” I spit out, ready to keep the venom up for as long as I have to. I’m not backing down today. This is me now, and they better fucking get used to it. Because they turned me into this.
Alessandro’s phone rings, and he glances at the screen, answering it immediately. “Speak.” His glare directed at me turns deathly as he listens to the person on the other end of the call. And I already know who he is talking to. Sloane. I knew she wouldn’t let this shit show go on forever. He disconnects the call without another word, the vein in his neck looking like it’s about to pop. “You’re starting a fucking war,” he hisses out.
“No, Alessandro. I’m fucking finishing it.” I glare back at him, matching his intensity.
“Strykers?” Ricky asks, trying to confirm all of our suspicions.
Alessandro comes toward me in a rush, getting up in my face in a way that causes my heart to race. “Sloane. We have been allowed five minutes to safely deliver Vivian to the front of the casino. If we comply, she will overlook this slip-up on our behalf.”
Maddox growls, and I feel his body tighten. They have me surrounded, caged in between them. “She can’t fucking talk to you like that. What fucking shit is she playing at?”
“She can because she knows something we don’t.” Alessandro’s eyes grow even darker. He’s a man on the edge, and I might have just pushed him too far. He moves the knife to right in front of both our faces as he inspects it like he’s looking for clues.
“What the hell did you do, baby doll?” Ricky gasps.
Sloane’s smart, she used what she knows about me as leverage, just like we talked about. Made it look like I owe her something, even though I know she will never come at me for that debt. She’s as happy that slippery pig is dead as I am. “Get your fucking hands off of me, and I will tell you,” I spit back. Two can play at this all fucking night. He’s not going to hurt me, I can see it in his eyes. He’s just pissed the control over me is slipping away.
With a hesitant step back, Alessandro gives a subtle nod to the boys, who reluctantly let me go.
I rub life back into my arms, stepping away from them, using the space to walk over to the window, looking out over the street below. I release a small chuckle when I see the army of Strykers gathered across the street, their heavy bikes lined up in a show of solidarity. Sloane really does have my back.
“I protected myself from a pig who was trying to hurt me.” I turn back toward them, needing to see their faces. “I was in the back alley of The Raven’s Nest when the asshole cop attacked me, and Sloane cleaned up the mess for me. I fucking owe her my life, and all she has done is be loyal to me from the second she told me she would.”
“You killed a fucking cop?” Ricky mutters, I think disgusted in me, or maybe it’s surprise coloring his words.
My eyes flick over to him. “A dirty fucking cop who tried to rape me in the back alley of a bar. Besides, it wasn’t me who did it, it was Harley. That girl doesn’t exist anymore, she died, remember? So stop your stressing.”
He closes the gap between us. “Stop my stressing? You’re going to get yourself locked up or killed for real, and I won’t stand by and watch you do it. Someone has to stop her.” He looks to his brothers who for once appear to be in shock. The surprise of little old me being able to take care of herself too much for them to handle.
“I’m sorry, Ricky, but you have no choice. I’m leaving here tonight alone. And tomorrow, I will go back and tell Enzo how much success I had seducing his son. What information would you like me to relay to him?” I look back to Alessandro, waiting for him to enlighten me. Waiting for him to say something, anything, that indicates he understands what I did and who I am now.
When he gives me nothing, I take my broken dress off the floor and slip it back on, tying the straps behind my neck like a halter. Then I collect my discarded wig, and finding a mirror, I twirl my long hair back up and underneath it, fixing it back in place. Next I approach Alessandro, holding my hand out for my knife. “You should have kept me pretending for a little longer, Alessandro, tonight could have been so fun. I know how desperate you were for more of me. Maybe you will learn to give me what I want, and then you might get what you want. This could be such a nice partnership if you just trust me,” I offer him, being a hell of a lot nicer to him than he just was to me, even if my voice is filled with the sass of a girl who knows there is an army of bikers on her side this time.
He runs his eyes down my body, eating up every inch of me. And I know he’s back in the hall with me, imagining just how fucking hot tonight could have been. He carefully closes my blade and retrieves his own, placing it in my hand instead. “Unlike yours, mine is not tainted with pig’s blood.”
I nod, accepting his gift, then prop my leg up on the bed so I can lift my dress and slip the knife back inside the holster safely. I stride toward the door, patting my leg where the tracker still is. I’m not going to bother taking it off. They know where we stand now. “You boys know where I am if you change your mind and decide to work with me.” I blow them a kiss and walk out the door with my head held high. And my heart racing like fucking crazy.