Chapter Eighteen #2
“You’re all here. I was wonderin’ if you were gonna come down, Gary,” he greets us, grabbing the car seat from his wife’s hand and carrying Chayne inside.
Brick leads us to a table in the back of the common room before kissing Kimber and heading down the hallway. It’s only us in the common room as one of the club girls makes her way in the room looking slightly panicked.
“Can one of you take me to the store?” she asks, looking directly at me sending a tremor of terror through my body.
“Why can’t you take one of the club’s SUVs to the store yourself?” Kimber returns, her voice hard and cold as the girl hunches her shoulders just a little bit.
“I don’t have my license. We need a few things from the store and I can’t get anyone else to go for me or take me there. Please, I’m begging you,” she pleads, her voice grating on my nerves as the fear begins to bubble up inside me until I feel as if I’ll explode.
“I’ll take her,” I suddenly say, knowing the only way I’ll ever get past the fear of leaving the compound is by actually leaving.
“You don’t have to, Peyton. We all know you don’t want to be outside the gates of the compound. This bitch can figure out a different way to get to the store if she’s that desperate to get there,” Kimber says, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at the woman who’s now smirking at her.
Yeah, the feeling deep in my gut intensifies as I try to figure out what the hell is going on right now.
Kimber usually isn’t like this with anyone.
I mean, I’ve seen her give the club girls an attitude every now and then.
Usually that’s reserved for when they’re hitting on Brick or one of the other taken men.
Not when they’re trying to find a ride to the store.
“Let’s go,” the girl says, her voice trembling this time as I lean down to give my kids a kiss before turning to Kimber.
“I’ll be okay. We’ll just run to the store and come right back.
This is something I need to do if I’m ever going to get over staying here and not leaving the compound.
Especially once all this bullshit is over with. ”
“That’s the only reason I’m letting you go,” Kimber tells me, her voice losing the hard edge she just had. “Go to the store and right back. No other stops no matter what this skank tells you. And if my friend gets hurt in any way, I’ll make you pay. Do you fucking hear me?”
I don’t watch as the girl responds, already grabbing my purse from the diaper bag and taking the keys from my dad’s hand.
Without a backward glance, I leave the common room and head toward the parking lot.
At this point, I don’t give a fuck if the girl is following me or not.
Right now, my main concern is not having a panic attack and ending up passing out when I’m behind the wheel.
The last thing I want to do is hurt someone when I’m driving.
By the time I’m at the SUV, the girl is already inside and fastening her seatbelt.
I get in behind the wheel and start the engine before fastening my own seatbelt and pulling out of the space my dad parked in.
Seth opens the gate of the clubhouse for me and I give him a small smile as I pass him by.
It doesn’t take me looking in my rearview mirror to realize he’s already got his phone out and is calling Matt.
That’s just what he does because he knows how I feel about leaving the compound and no one is following me this time.
I keep my eyes locked on the road as I drive through town to the closest grocery store.
I’m not about to drive this girl all over town to accommodate her wishes.
She didn’t want to come to this store, but I don’t give a fuck.
It’s either here or she can walk wherever else she wants to go.
No, the girl didn’t like me telling her that, but I don’t care.
“Get out and get what you need,” I tell her, stopping in front of the doors to the store.
“You’re not coming in with me?” she questions me, her face filled with anger.
“No, I’m not. I don’t have to come in and hold your hand. You’re lucky I even brought you here,” I return, keeping my eyes on the parking lot in front of me as she finally gets out of the SUV and slams the door behind her.
Moving, I find a parking spot close by and pull in. I don’t shut the engine off as I wait for her to come back. There’s no way in hell she can’t see where I’m parked since I’m one of the only SUVs in the lot. I’m changing the station on the radio when my door is flung open.
“You’re coming with me,” a male voice says, terror running through me at the amount of anger he’s aiming at me.
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” I scream out, looking around the parking lot for any sign of help. I only see older women and moms pushing carts with their children in them. “Help! Someone help me!”
I try to fight against the asshole yanking me out of the SUV, but I can’t get out of his grip. He’s pulling my hair and the grip on my arm tightens to the point he’s pinching my skin and I know he’ll leave bruises behind.
“Shut the fuck up!” the man growls out, his voice hard and cold. “If you ever wanna see your kids again, shut the fuck up and quit fighting me.”
That gets my attention. Immediately all the fight drains from me and I let the man pull me from the SUV.
He wraps an arm around my neck and I have to fight to get the slightest amount of oxygen in my lungs.
I’m not about to let my kids or Matt get hurt because of me so I’ll go with this fucker.
At the very least, I might end up getting the answers about my stalker finally.
That’s the only positive aspect of this situation.