Chapter Four
Kaylee
This couldn’t be happening.
Kaylee wanted to blink, but she was afraid to take her eyes off him. Enrique Diaz hadn’t changed much. He still had that arrogant tilt to his full lips. The dark slanted brows.
Only there was something in his gaze she’d never seen before.
Satisfaction.
Her cheeks warmed as that last night between them flashed through her mind.
She’d definitely left him hanging when she’d snuck out the front door while he was in the can.
Rick was one of the reasons she’d never stayed in one place too long, because she’d assumed once he’d recovered from his bout of diarrhea, he’d come looking for her.
Unfortunately, it seemed getting too comfortable was her undoing.
“Kaylee, hon. Are you okay?” Dana asked.
Kaylee cleared her throat as she backed away from the row of drinks she’d been working on.
“Yeah, just a little dizzy.”
“You wanna take a break?” Dana’s gaze zeroed in on Rick, and she frowned. Her eyes flicked back to Kaylee before she crossed to her side, a friendly but firm tone in her voice. “Excuse me, sir, is that your coffee?”
Rick flashed a smile in her direction, but his gaze remained on Kaylee. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Then you’re good to go.” Dana lifted her chin. “Door’s that way. Have a nice day.”
Rick didn’t flinch or lose his smirk. “Of course.” He lifted his cup to his lips and took a long drink. “Hmm, that’s delicious. See you again soon.”
The last was directed at Kaylee, and her stomach rolled in protest. Bile climbed up the back of her esophagus, burning the lining of her throat and leaving a vile taste on her tongue.
She didn’t take another breath until he disappeared out the door.
Her chest heaved as she sucked in air, her body trembling in terror.
When Dana took her elbow, she jumped, and her boss stepped back, her face pinched with concern.
“Do I need to call the cops?” Dana asked.
Kaylee almost laughed, but it came out in a choked sound. “No, I’ll—I’ll be fine.”
Her stammer didn’t convince Dana, and she jerked her chin toward the back of the shop. “Kaylee, go to my office and call Gillian. You aren’t well.”
“I just need a moment. We’re slammed. I can’t—”
“Don’t argue with me. Get out of sight.” In a gentler tone, she added, “I’ll be fine.”
Kaylee didn’t bother protesting again. She stumbled down the hallway to Dana’s office. Once inside, she locked the door and hurled the contents of her stomach into Dana’s black trash can. She’d need to take that out with her, but at least her vomit didn’t end up on the carpet.
She got hold of Gillian, who sounded less than thrilled about getting called in on her day off. Gill swore she’d be right in, and Kaylee hung up. Rocking back and forth in Dana’s leather chair, she tried to control her panic.
He’d found her. There was nothing else she could do but run again.
She couldn’t go back with him. Rick needed Kaylee Marie Taylor, but she was gone.
Kaylee had destroyed every trace of the girl she used to be.
Cutting ties with her family. Leaving school.
Using her tuition money to buy several fake licenses, Social Security cards, and everything she needed to keep going. To make sure no one could find her.
Obviously not, or he wouldn’t be here.
How? She was so careful. No social media. Never have her picture taken. How in the name of all that was holy had he figured out she’d been hiding out in Eastern Idaho?
Her body stiffened as she realized …
If Rick had found her, then the devil wouldn’t be far behind.
No. No. No. The single word repeated in her mind until she realized she was saying it out loud, her hands buried in her hair and tears rolling down her face, memories flashing through her mind.
She’d tagged along with Elasia and her boyfriend, Wyatt Gipson, to a bar called The Den.
They were in their senior year of college, and both women were turning twenty-two in the spring.
Kaylee knew they didn’t belong there the moment they’d walked through the door.
They were kids who had grown up in a quiet suburb in the sticks, and the worst they’d ever done was get stoned by the lake.
The various patrons watched them with cold stares, people hardened by life.
The flash of a gun in one of the bouncer’s waistbands had her reaching for Elasia’s hand.
“We should go,” Kaylee had said.
Before Elasia could respond, Wyatt scoffed. “I’ll only be a minute. Relax.”
When Wyatt was called to the back room, leaving them alone at the bar, Kaylee wanted to bail, terror ripping through her like a roller coaster off the rails.
“I don’t like this.”
Elasia put her arm around Kaylee, bringing her tight against her side. “I’ve got you, babes. Nothing is going to happen.”
The doors to the back room opened, and Wyatt stepped out with a man in his early forties, a golden shadow of scruff covering his cheeks, chin, and upper lip.
Her mom would have called him hot in a Sons of Anarchy way, but as they approached and the older man’s gaze traveled over Kaylee, the urge to shrink away from his perusal flooded her, and she remembered cursing Elasia for making Kaylee wear the former’s black minidress.
“Which one of these ladies is yours?” he’d asked Wyatt, like they were chattel and not people. She snapped out of her fear and glared at him, anger overriding her natural inclination to hide.
“She’s his girlfriend. I’m just along for the ride.”
He’d had the audacity to laugh, a low rumble in his chest, and chuck her under the chin. “I’m Ansel. If you’re ever looking for a real ride, let me know.”
Her skin crawled. “How about when hell freezes over?”
“We’ll see.” His hard stare focused on Wyatt, and he nodded. “We’ll talk soon.”
The next time Elasia had dragged her along, Kaylee made sure to cover up in jeans and a sweatshirt, but the patrons didn’t just watch them this time.
Several men approached Kaylee and Elasia, offering to buy them drinks, which they declined.
One bald, burly man with a long beard hefted himself onto the stool next to Kaylee and put his hand on her thigh.
“If you’re hungry, I got something you can eat.”
Kaylee slapped him. His murderous gaze locked on her face, and she braced herself for a retaliation that never came.
Out of nowhere, Ansel had grabbed the man’s raised hand, snarling, “They’re off-limits.”
Then he’d delivered a hard left to the man’s cheek, sending a spray of blood across her chest. The other man crashed to the ground in a heap at her feet, and Ansel took the stool next to her, ignoring the man groaning in pain on the ground.
The scent of leather and spice wafted off him and over her, suffocating her as he crowded into her space.
“When I was young, my family had sheep. I raised this ram and loved him; he was my best friend. My father had this huge, mean son of a bitch ram who busted through my ram’s enclosure and stomped him.
I went out to feed him and found him on the ground with the other ram standing over him, staring me down like he knew what he’d done.
My father found me crying and slapped me, telling me to man up. ”
He held up two fingers toward the bartender, who brought over a glass of whiskey.
After tipping the glass back and taking a long, hearty hit, Ansel set the glass on the wood countertop and finished his story.
“So, I went into my father’s shop, I grabbed his claw hammer and beat that old ram to death with it.
” A cold, violent chill shook Kaylee as he turned and pinned her with a flinty stare. “I protect what’s mine.”
Ansel dropped several hundred dollars on the bar as he stood. “Buy yourself something nice.”
Kaylee left the money on the bar top, but Elasia picked it up, following her out to the car, talking a mile a minute about what they could do with it. She remembered snapping at Elasia, “You can do what you want, but I’m not spending any of that money!”
After that, Kaylee didn’t want to go to the bar anymore, but Elasia was so in love with Wyatt that she wouldn’t listen, and Kaylee couldn’t bear to let her friend go alone.
Elasia’s assurances from the first night at The Den played over in her mind for months.
I’ve got you, babes. Nothing is going to happen.
Only she’d been wrong, about many things.
A few weeks later, Kaylee noticed one of the bikers was always on campus and seemed to be following her. She’d told Elasia about it, and the next time Kaylee saw one of them, Elasia approached him.
“Why are you following my friend?”
The man stared at her coldly, and Kaylee recognized him as the one who had put his hand on her thigh. The one that Ansel had punched.
“Ansel just wants to make sure you’re safe.”
“Why?” Kaylee asked.
“Because you’re his.”
Kaylee had freaked out and wanted to go to the police, but after Elasia told Wyatt, he’d talked her out of it.
“He’s got a little crush. Just ignore him, and he’ll go away.”
Kaylee didn’t like his answer, but she tried to do what he said. She went to class. She ignored the bikers lingering on campus until Ansel left roses on her car with a note. I’m just trying to keep you safe. No hard feelings.
Kaylee didn’t know what he was keeping her safe from, but she couldn’t wait for graduation. She’d tried to talk to Elasia, voicing her concerns about Wyatt and his connections to Ansel, but Elasia laughed. “Come on, Kaylee. You sound paranoid. Maybe you need to let loose a little.”
The bikers disappeared for several weeks, and Kaylee finally relaxed, even accepting a date with a guy who worked at the campus library. Feeling normal again, she thought it was over.
Until her date parked near her dorm, and as they were getting out, a series of lights illuminated them.
Kaylee held her hand up to her eyes, spotting a dozen motorcycles lined up she hadn’t noticed.
A shadow passed over the high beams, and as the form drew closer, Kaylee’s heart seized in fear as Ansel ambled toward them.
“Did you two kids have fun?” Ansel’s gaze hardened as he zeroed in on their clasped hands. “I think it’s time you called it a night, don’t you?”
Her date swallowed audibly and dropped her hand. “Sure. ’Night, Kaylee. I’ll see you—”
“No, you won’t.”
The guy practically ran for his driver’s side door, and she couldn’t blame him. Ansel’s dark, guttural tone crackled through the quiet night like a lightning strike, and Kaylee resisted the urge to run, too. Ansel stepped closer, clicking his tongue.
“Kaylee, sweet Kaylee,” he practically purred, his rough hands coming up to cup her face, and when she tried to jerk away, he tightened his grip.
“I gave you space, and this is what you do with it? Do you know how much this hurts me?” He leaned into her, pressing his mouth to her ear, his warm, moist breath rushing out against her skin, and she whimpered in fear.
“You’re mine, Kaylee. From the minute I saw you, I knew.
I’ve tried to be patient, to give you time to adjust, but no more games.
I see you even smile at another man, and I’ll hang his balls above my door like a sprig of mistletoe. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” His lips brushed her cheek, and when he straightened above her, Kaylee shivered in terror at the savage gleam in his eyes. This deranged man laid claim to her, and she wanted him to leave, to get on his bike and ride away so she could breathe again.
His left hand dropped, but his right palm remained cradling her face, his thumb rubbing along her bottom lip, and she wanted to bite him, to scream at him to stop touching her, but the terror choked her, keeping her silent.
“I hate it when we fight, but now that I’ve been clear with my intentions, please know that I value loyalty above everything.
No need to involve anyone else. Right, baby? ”
Kaylee swallowed back the bile climbing up the back of her throat and croaked, “Just us.”
“Good girl.”
Ansel finally released her and disappeared into the lights before the engines roared to life and the motorcycles, one by one, passed her by. She saw each man clearly, giving her a nod as if they’d already accepted her as Ansel’s property.
Kaylee didn’t make it three feet before she was vomiting in the grass, uncontrollable sobs wrenching from her.
When she stumbled through the door, Elasia and Wyatt were cuddled on her bed.
Elasia bolted to her feet when her gaze met Kaylee’s, and she rushed to her.
Kaylee collapsed against her, sucking in high, panicked breaths as she told her everything.
“That creepy-ass motherfucker!” Elasia squeezed her hard and crossed the room for her keys. “We’re going to the cops.”
“You can’t!” Wyatt’s voice cracked on the words, and Elasia whirled on him.
“I don’t care what kind of deal you have going on with them; they’re dangerous, and I’m not letting that psychotic dickhead anywhere near her again.”
“He’s right.” Both Wyatt and Elasia turned toward Kaylee when she spoke, adding, “They’re dangerous, and the only way to make them stop is to take away what he wants, right? That’s me. I’ll talk to the school about finishing this semester online, and I’ll go home.”
“Kaylee, we can go to the cops—”
“How many times has a restraining order stopped an unhinged man?” Kaylee had hugged Elasia, wanting her friend to understand. “It will be okay. Once I’m gone, he’ll forget all about me.”
Kaylee couldn’t catch her breath, dragged out of her memories when the room swayed.
There was no question about what needed to happen next.
It was time to run again. If she didn’t get out of there, everyone she cared about would be in danger.
She could get out and head through the alley back to her place and disappear.
Kaylee left the office and raced to the back door. There wouldn’t be time to say goodbye or apologize to Dana or give Josie one last hug. There was no way she could live with another innocent life snuffed out because of her.
She unlocked the silver knob on the back door, turned the tab, and then closed it behind her. The cold air stung the back of her neck as she put in her key, double-checking again that she’d locked it. Kaylee didn’t want to leave Dana vulnerable to a stranger sneaking inside the back.
She’d barely pocketed the key when someone grabbed one of her wrists, and she tried to jerk away, but Rick held fast, a triumphant gleam making his eyes blaze.
“Gotcha.”