Chapter Thirty-Two
Macy
When Drew stepped out of the office and his gaze landed on me, I knew. This was it. Either I was going to confront Diego today, or I was going to die.
He gave me one short nod. Nothing dramatic or especially reassuring. Just truth. And it was that silent command that had me on my feet and moving across the room, closing the distance between us until his scent and his heat enveloped me. My heart was beating so fast it drowned out everything else.
“So?” I asked, even though I already knew.
“Come inside.”
I gave a short nod and followed him on wooden legs into the office.
Drew kept his hand in the middle of my back the whole time, steady and comforting, as though he was afraid I might float away if he wasn’t touching me.
The room was packed full of Steel Demons and the moment I stepped inside, all eyes were on me.
They wore serious expressions but there was no pity to be found.
To me, that mattered.
I listened and absorbed while they laid out the plan. I didn’t interrupt. I couldn’t, not yet. I was partially frozen with fear, my throat was too dry to speak so I just listened.
When they finished, I let out a shaky breath I didn’t remember taking. “That sounds fucking crazy.” My heart thundered in my chest as each detail played on repeat inside my mind.
A few deep laughs sounded around the room, and that seemed to relax me. Only a fraction but it felt like enough.
“But if they’re watching,” I added, forcing my voice to stay steady, “it’ll work.”
“They are watching,” Slate offered without hesitation.
That settled it. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll do it.” Not that I had much of a choice, but this was it. This was the end game.
One way or another.
I dressed carefully. Not because my outfit was anything special, just jeans and a sweater, but because everything about this felt final.
Like I was stepping into a moment I couldn’t take back.
I packed my lone duffel bag slowly and deliberately.
My hands were steady even though my chest was clenched tight.
I felt like I was leaving and I would never come back.
Drew picked up the bag, zipped it shut and dropped it by the door before he turned to me.
“It’ll be okay,” he said, his voice rough.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Mace.
I fucking swear it.” He cradled my face in his big hands, and the look in his eyes nearly broke me.
It was a mix of love and fear and rage, all tangled together in beautiful gray eyes.
“I know,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
The plan went into motion, starting with a loud display of bike engines roaring to life before they peeled out of the parking lot, two by two. Some went left and others went right, to keep the watchers confused about what was going on.
When the last two bikes left the property, I set a timer for three and a half minutes, and then I waited.
And waited.
It was the longest goddamn three minutes of my life.
When it finally buzzed, I sighed heavily as I picked up my bag and crept out of the clubhouse. I looked all around as I left, changing my pace so that anyone watching would think what we wanted them to think, that I was running off. That I was alone.
Unprotected.
My heart hammered so hard I thought it might crack my ribs, but I stood tall when I was clear of the clubhouse. I walked like I was alone. Like I wasn’t surrounded by eyes and weapons, and men who would burn the world down for me.
It didn’t take long before company pulled up.
A car turned onto the street. I heard it before I saw it because they kept just enough distance between me and them to pretend it was just a coincidence.
My pulse spiked like crazy, but I kept walking.
I counted my steps, my heartbeats, the sounds of car horns in the distance.
No matter how calm and cool I looked on the outside, my breathing was shallow and my palms were a sweaty mess.
The car got closer and closer, coming to a stop in the middle of a street filled with closed shops. I heard the footsteps as they moved into place behind me and when they grabbed me, I fought.
I kicked and screamed. I threw punches and I even bit one of those assholes. I put up a believable fight, but ultimately, I was overpowered—and punched a few good times—and tossed into the back of a van.
Before I could look around, something was yanked over my head. Another something tightened around my wrists. And the van took off, throwing me around in back as we made our way to wherever the hell we were going.
The engine screamed and my stomach dropped. Suddenly it felt like I was being driven to my own execution.
You’re fine, Macy. You’ll get through this.
I forced myself to breathe. In. Out. Do not panic. Do not spiral. My vision blurred anyway as fear crawled up my throat burning it like acid.
Eventually, the car stopped. Hands yanked me out of the van and onto a gravel lot that scraped at my knees every time I stumbled. Hands dragged me inside where the air was colder and heavier. It was too dark for daylight, and the difference forced me to squint.
And then he was there. Diego fucking Ruiz. The man who had haunted my nightmares for months smiled at me like we were lovers reunited.
“There you are.” He flashed that smile that at first glance looked friendly, almost charming, but a deeper look made it obvious that it was just surface. His eyes never quite matched his smile and the lines that bracketed his mouth had a menacing tilt to them.
I stepped back without thinking, a nasty snarl tore from my mouth. “I didn’t ask to be here.” There was no need to act like I was a willing participant in this reunion.
His smile faltered. It was just a flicker, but I caught it before he slapped that smile back in place. “Yet here you are,” he said softly. “As if fate herself has brought you to me.”
I barely suppressed my eyeroll.
“I have missed you, sweet Macy. You were memorable in all the right ways,” he grinned. “I am happy to have you back and if you go easily, without much fight,” he grinned. “I will leave your, ah, biker friends alone.”
His words gave me pause. He was not, as far as I could tell, a benevolent man so why would he make this offer? I tilted my chin up and stared at him. “Why?”
“Because you are mine,” he said. “That’s why. Now,” he snapped his fingers, pointing to the spot in front of him. “Come.” He crooked his finger as though it had some invisible tether on it.
My feet refused to move. I couldn’t go to him, couldn’t cosign all the sick shit he wanted to do to me.
Diego’s expression darkened at my silent refusal. A low growl escaped before anger flashed and he reached out, grabbing me and yanking me forward. “Mine,” he snarled, his grip tightening on my arm.
Then suddenly everything exploded, just like we’d planned.
Gunfire erupted outside, sharp and deafening. Loud grunts mixed in with gunfire, and though I couldn’t be sure, I heard the sounds of bodies falling onto that gravel lot.
Diego’s eyes widened. He swore loudly but he couldn’t hide the fear that blanched his skin. “Fuck!” he shouted and spun in a confused circle. He dragged me with him, pulling me in front of his body like a barrier between him and the Steel Demons.
The doors burst open just as loud as the gunfire. My heart jumped at the noise but then Steel Demons flooded the room, their guns trained on Diego, which meant trained on me.
I was shaking and terrified, sure that today was the day I’d take my final breath.
I was sure that after a lifetime of shit and then finding Drew, and having these wonderful weeks with him, that was all the happiness I’d be granted in this world.
My heart ached but I found a small smile because they had been incredible weeks.
My eyes stung, but then I saw Drew.
The moment our eyes met, something in me settled. My heart still raced but slower, as if it was working to find a steady rhythm.
He walked forward slowly and steadily. “She’s not yours,” Drew spat out, his voice cutting through the chaos.
Diego laughed, wild and desperate. “Funny,” he shouted. “Because she’s right here with me.” He held me closer, but I felt the way his whole body trembled with fear.
“I know that taking girls and women against their will is your thing, but you chose the wrong woman this time.” His gaze was pure fire. It was a burning, white-hot rage, so furious I almost felt sorry for Diego.
Almost.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” His grip tightened.
Drew flashed a half-smile, slowly closing the distance between us. “You don’t know Maria Sanchez-Martin? I bet you also don’t know Lisa Calhoun or Tameka Donaldson?”
Diego froze but only for a second. “Never heard of them.”
“Funny,” Drew barked out a laugh. “Selina Gonzalez? Yeah, you know her, don’t you? She’s the niece of one of your lieutenants, right?”
“Ha!” He threw his head back and laughed, jostling both of us. “I guess we all look alike to you, eh?”
Drew shook his head. “Not at all, but your boy Halloran wasn’t as loyal as he seemed. He collected a lot of evidence on your afterhours activities. Photos. Videos. DNA.”
“Fucking liar!”
Drew shrugged, still making his way towards us. “How would I know those names? Never even been to your bumfuck backward-ass state.”
“Well, he’s dead now so it don’t fucking matter!”
“Is he?” Drew teased, brows arched. He looked so relaxed but the stiff set of his shoulders and the way his free hand balled into a fist told me he wasn’t at all chill. “Wanna bet your freedom on it?”
“Don’t take another fuckin’ step,” he shouted, and pressed his gun to my temple.
Everything slowed except my heart. My mind raced with memories from my life, both good and bad, and I couldn’t seem to shut them off. I could only watch as the next few seconds unfolded over an eternity.
Drew’s eyes widened and then focused on the metal pressed to my temple. His body seemed to relax, and he didn’t hesitate as he lifted his weapon. “Last chance, Ruiz.”
“No. You kill me, you kill this bitch. Do it.” He taunted Drew, hoping to scare him into backing down.
Drew smiled. “You don’t know me well enough to say that. But if you insist.” He took aim and fired. Twice.
The sound was thunderous. Blood sprayed warm against my skin. Diego’s grip loosened as he fell, dragging me down with him. I screamed.
Then hands were on me. Strong and familiar.
Drew hauled me up, his voice low and steady in my ear, pulling me back into the here and now. “I’ve got you. You’re okay. You’re safe, Mace.”
I clung to him as Diego lay still on the floor.
Dead.
The threat was over.
At least I hoped it was.