34. Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Four
Evie
I jolted out of the darkness just as Clayton took a turn hard enough to throw me into the door. I made a pained sound as my shoulder collided with it, but the real pain was in my head. It throbbed and ached, as if trying to make up for all the time I was unconscious and not feeling it.
I didn’t have time to think about it, because Clayton whipped the wheel back around, sending me flying in the other direction. This time, however, the seat belt stopped me from falling into him.
“Don’t try anything stupid,” he said without taking his eyes off the road. “I’m supposed to deliver you alive, but that doesn’t mean unharmed. If I even think you’re trying something, I’ll pull over and beat the shit outta you.” He shot me a leer. “Maybe I’ll even find out what’s so good between those legs that you have three brothers panting after you.”
I glared at him. “You try that and you’ll have to kill me. Just get me to your boss.”
“He’s not my boss,” Clayton snapped.
Damn. I must’ve hit a nerve there. I didn’t poke at it, though. Clayton didn’t like me, so I’d never be able to talk him out of what he was doing, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to fuck him for my freedom. I was missing a piece of the picture, and I decided it’d be better to wait and gather information. If his boss wanted me alive, I had some time to think.
My first thought was that Becca James had paid Clayton to get me to her, but I remembered that Clayton had said “he.” So maybe it was Randall. My ex didn’t actually want me anymore—if he ever had in the first place—but he didn’t like that I was the one to call things off. He could’ve decided that the only way to take back his control over me, the power he’d always loved more than me, would be to bring me to a place where the Bradshaws wouldn’t be with me.
Except when I looked out of the window to get my bearings, neither of those options felt right. We were still in Bedford, but we’d crossed to the not-so-good side of the train tracks. Literally. Even in the dark, I knew this was the area of the town where drugs and prostitution had left their mark. The numbers weren’t crazy high, but this wasn’t the sort of place a woman should be walking alone at night.
I knew that from experience, since I’d grown up in the run-down apartment building a few blocks from where we were right now.
Still, when we pulled up to an abandoned factory that hadn’t seen action since before I was born, I was confused. Not because an empty factory wasn’t a good place for kidnappers to meet, but because lights were on inside. It wasn’t until the headlights flashed across a drawing on the side of the building that I realized where we were.
“The Black Cobras?” I snapped my head around to stare at Clayton. “Why the hell are we at the Cobras’ clubhouse? You’re no biker.”
“Shut up,” he snapped as he parked the car. “And remember, don’t do anything stupid.”
As he got out of the car and walked around it, his gun in his hand again, I considered locking the door, but he hadn’t left the keys in here, so I couldn’t go anywhere. And he had a gun that would easily shoot out a window. I went with him, hoping that me not fighting would make everyone lower their guard and give me a chance to escape.
Clayton gripped my upper arm tight, practically dragging me to the door, but I focused on my surroundings, looking for exits I could use to get back outside, looking for guards, anything and anyone that could stop me. I saw two tall, lanky men in leather jackets and jeans, but they looked strung out enough that I could probably take them in a fight.
I could only imagine what the Riders could do to them.
The image of Sweeper going to the ground flashed into my mind, feeling every bit like a punch to the gut. He had to be okay, because I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if he died because he’d been protecting me. Not only that, but I’d never be able to look at Levi, Mason, or Tucker without knowing that I’d cost them their friend.
The first door Clayton took me through put us in a small office where a bored-looking biker sat behind a desk, his feet propped up on it, a skin magazine in his hands. While we stood there, he reached down and grabbed his crotch, squeezing it before he leaned over to spit, hopefully into a trash can.
“Stop jerking off and let us through,” Clayton snapped.
The guy looked up, eyes flashing like he was itching for a fight, but the moment he saw me, he froze. That didn’t last long, though. In the space of a heartbeat, he was raking his eyes over me in the kind of way that made me want to take a shower.
“I’m shocked you pulled this off, Pierce,” the guy said. His hand disappeared under the desk and something buzzed. “Make sure I get an early turn with her and I’ll get you some of the good stuff.”
As Clayton pushed me through the next door, I couldn’t help saying, “Nice friends you have here. Real classy.”
“Yeah, because the guys you’re fucking are real upstanding citizens.” He turned down a hallway instead of going toward what had been the factory floor.
“They wouldn’t sell or trade a woman for money or drugs or whatever the fuck they’re giving you for bringing me here.”
We stopped in front of a door. “You think that’s what this is about?”
“Come in,” a man called from the other side.
My first thought as I followed Clayton was how dark this room was, and not just because there was only one naked bulb hanging from the ceiling. It just felt dark, like nothing good ever happened here.
Then I saw the man behind the desk. Long, greasy dark-gray hair, and a straggly beard that hung halfway down a massive chest. A mustache that almost covered his mouth and looked as dirty as the rest of it.
“Evie Hayes, meet Harley Quinn, President of the Black Cobras.” Clayton dropped into a chair right next to the door, effectively blocking any sort of escape.
As if I was stupid enough to make a run for it right now.
“I’ve heard of you,” I said, surprised to find my voice even. “Your guys nearly killed me and my friend at Rocky’s.”
“It wouldn’t have been nearly if the Riders hadn’t shown up,” Harley said.
Clayton made an irritated sound. “It wouldn’t have been nearly if you guys had gotten there faster. I called as soon as I was outside, but it took you forever to show up.”
“You called him?” I sat down, all the strength running out of my legs as pieces started falling into place. “I was the target then. I almost got my best friend killed.”
“Well, that’s a yes and a no,” Clayton said. “Making you pay for everything you stole from me is what I get out of this, but the Cobras want Rider territory and you’re gonna help them get what they want too.”
Maybe I should’ve been focused on the second part of that sentence, but only one part was ringing in my head, my temper driving away everything else.
“What I stole from you?”
“Damn right.” Clayton leaned forward, his eyes burning with a sort of rage I’d never seen directed at me. “I was supposed to be the one who got discovered, who got to move to Nashville and sign a big recording contract. I’m supposed to be the big star. Not some chubby little slut piece-of-trash whore.”
“Wow, you really wanted to get a lot of insults into a single sentence,” I said. “Does that mean you’re the one who broke into my mom’s house?”
“I should’ve known you weren’t gonna be staying there,” he said.
“What were you planning on doing if you found me?” I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know, but another part of me needed to hear it. I had to understand just how deep his hatred went. What he was capable of.
He shrugged. “Only thing I knew for sure I wanted to do was break your hand. Make sure you’d never be able to play again. Anything else would’ve just been extra.”
“How long?” I asked. “How long have you been after me?”
“You know Becca James’ source telling people about your mom, and about you shacking up with the Riders?” Clayton grinned, looking very proud of himself. “That video that got leaked? I convinced one of the sluts to plant the camera, and I released the video. Kept my own private copy too. And I’m the one who found out you were coming back early for Jenna’s wedding.”
“Which my nephew immediately came and told me,” Harley said, drawing my attention back to him.
“Your nephew?”
“His mom’s my sister,” Harley said. “And family’s important. Especially when they gift wrap something like you. The second I heard you were coming back, I knew I could use you to take down the Bradshaws and anyone else in their ridiculous MC who supports them. Bedford is going to be mine.”
Well, shit. This was definitely not how I’d seen things going.