Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Amirah
After I passed out, I woke up strapped to some kind of target.
The room spins around and around. Everything becomes blurry, merging.
I squeeze my eyes shut and my stomach falls beneath me.
I’m going to be sick. I’m jerked to a stop, but my head feels like I’m still spinning.
Like I’m on one of those rides at an amusement park, except this one isn’t stopping, and it’s not fun. It’s torture.
My hands and legs are spread out, bound to a large, oversized target, the kind you’d find on a dartboard—and my chest is the bullseye.
The rope digs into my skin, burning my flesh with every movement.
Bear grins at me from the other side of the room, his eyes alight, his hand still on the lever that I’ve come to learn will send me spinning.
I take several fast breaths in and out. It takes me a second to calm down.
The door creaks open, then slams shut. Zion, another of Kai’s friends I’ve seen around the tracks a few times, stops just inside the door, staring at me with a blank expression.
Behind him, a familiar pair of dark-brown eyes meets mine. They belong to Kai, a guy I barely know but who my best friend trusts implicitly. They are wide at first, then turn to slits.
“What the fuck?” Kai growls, and I glance between him, Zion, and Bear, watching them closely. Taking in everything they do and say. My brother taught me to always be on alert, know where the exits are, and understand every situation.
Bear’s hand is wrapped around the lever, ready to pull at any second. He’s smiling and totally ignores Kai.
Zion watches me closely, his brows drawn in slightly, his head cocked to the side.
He doesn’t move his gaze from my face, and I feel like he’s looking into my psyche.
In the handful of moments I’ve seen him, he’s always been quiet.
There’s something about him that feels safe, like he wouldn’t hurt me.
I lick my dry lips and mouth the word help.
The corner of his mouth twitches ever so slightly, and for a second, I think I’ve imagined it. My head feels fuzzy, still spinning. He looks away, and my stomach drops. He’s not going to save me.
“Bear?” Kai’s voice turns deep.
“Oh, have you met the princess of The Brotherhood? This is Amirah,” Bear says, waving his hand my way.
Kai shakes his head. “I know who the fuck she is. I didn’t ask that. I meant, what is she doing here?”
“She’s your birthday present. I know I’m early, but you’ll forgive me?” Bear pushes out his bottom lip, and I fight the urge to throw up. Bile sits in the pit of my stomach, threatening to release. Preferably all over Bear.
“I don’t want a spoiled Brotherhood princess for my birthday, you idiot. Let her go.” Kai takes a step toward me, and the bile turns into what feels like a flutter of hope in my belly. He’s going to let me go?
I have no idea how long I’ve been here. Time stopped the second I woke up in this hellhole. If I spend another minute here, I’m going to go crazy, end up like Bear. Hell, the way I acted on that roller coaster with him, allowing him to get me off? Who the fuck even am I?
“I thought you’d be proud of me,” Bear says, frowning at Kai.
Kai shakes his head. “You thought wrong.”
Bear’s gaze breaks, and he stares at his feet, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. He looks genuinely hurt.
Kai stands in front of me, the smell of weed clinging to the air around us.
He reaches out, and I suck in a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut, waiting for the impact.
But it never comes. I open my eyes to find his tattooed hand gripping my chin softly.
His intense brown eyes soften ever so slightly, turning to a lighter shade.
He stares at me for several heartbeats, and I forget where we are and what we’re doing.
He’s Freya’s best friend. He wouldn’t hurt me, because that would mean hurting her, and he’d never do that.
As I lick my dry lips, he watches the movement closely.
His thumb runs over my bottom lip, and it feels like I’m spinning again.
My pulse quickens. My legs and arms are spread apart, allowing him access to every part of me.
I’m vulnerable and at his mercy. It’s easy to forget for a moment that my life is on the line.
I force myself to turn my head away. I have to. He’s the enemy, and I won’t be drawn into his darkness. I’m their captive, not their friend—or whatever the hell that was between us.
“Enough!” Bear yells, and Kai steps back, raising his hands.
The air around us returns to normal, and I suck in several breaths.
“Take her home,” Kai demands.
Bear chuckles. “Not going to happen. She’s not going anywhere.” He winks at me, and I squeeze my hands into fists.
“What’s your plan then?” Kai asks.
Zion stays quiet, eyes darting between his friends and occasionally back to me.
“Let me guess—The Brotherhood didn’t deliver the guns,” Bear says, completely ignoring Kai’s question.
“Just a couple of cars.”
Bear’s eyes light up for a moment, then they flicker back to me.
“So we don’t have what we need to take them on now.
If we want power over The Brotherhood, we need leverage.
May I introduce you to Miss Leverage, Amirah Ledger!
” Bear presses a button, and a round of canned applause sounds from the speakers.
His mouth lifts, his eyes sparkling. This is all just a big game to him.
I’m his doll, someone to play with until I break.
“The idea of taking Freya is one thing. She knows us, she trusts us, but you have a woman here who doesn’t, and she’s petrified in this creepy-as-fuck place.
” Kai speaks as if I’m not in the room, his attention focused on Bear.
I feel like I’m part of a private conversation, one I shouldn’t be witness to.
Kai doesn’t want me here—that’s one thing I’m sure of and something I can use to my advantage.
“Who cares? Freya would be safe, yes, but having someone this close to them gives us an advantage. We’d be pulling the strings,” Zion says, and his words are sharp and smooth, like a knife that’s been dipped in honey.
It’s the first time I’ve heard him speak, and I didn’t expect him to be on board with Bear.
The kindness in his eyes that I thought I saw earlier? I must have imagined it.
“What are you saying? We hold her hostage for money?” Kai scoffs. “They’ll never give us guns—look how well that worked out last time.”
Zion crosses his arms over his chest. “So we pump her for intel. Use her.”
“Like she’d know anything. She’s just a princess.”
“Princesses see things they shouldn’t.” Bear winks at me, and I glare back.
“Fine, say she does know something. How do we get that information from her? By torture?” Kai looks my way, his gaze running slowly over my body. My breathing quickens, and I want to scream at him, but no words come out.
“By whatever fucking means necessary,” Zion snaps, and I’m acutely aware of my vulnerable state—strapped to a board—once more.
“How would you feel if she was your daughter?” Kai glances back at Zion, and his face turns an angry shade of red.
He moves like lightning, getting right up in Kai’s face, and Bear jumps into action. Zion grips Kai’s jacket, and Bear stands close to them, watching it all unfold. I need to move now, while they’re distracted.
I reach for the rope, tugging at the end piece. This might be my only chance to escape, and I won’t waste it.