Page 84 of Taken By the Biker Daddies

Whatever. His words hardly meant anything to me now. He had betrayed his family, and for me, that was an unforgivable crime.

I left him behind, joining the others in following the tracks leading deeper into the woods behind the diner. When I saw a few drops of blood on a log lying on the ground, I lost my breath, fearing that Lauren had gotten hurt. I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind, though, trying not to think of the worst. I had to focus on the task at hand.

“Let’s split up so we can find Lauren faster,” I ordered.

Lauren was out there, and the clock was ticking. We had to find her before it was too late.

I started running, my heart pounding in my chest.

Just hang in there, Lauren. We’re coming.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lauren

They’re getting closer.

As the thunder of footsteps chasing me grew louder, the drumming of my heart inside my chest also intensified, amplifying my fears with it like the score of a horror movie.

I had thought I’d given myself enough of a head start when I left the diner as soon as I heard a bunch of cars approaching from the direction of Clyde’s house, but apparently, it wasn’t enough. I could feel myself slowing down, too, my legs aching. It didn’t help that I cut the side of my leg on a log earlier, either.

Really, Lauren. Why are you so bad at this?

I felt a sense of déjà vu actually, remembering how I also struggled when I was escaping from Clyde’s cabin. How on earth did I end up in this situation again? Well, at least, this time, I wasn’t being chased off with gunshots, though I was sure Clyde’s guys had guns on them.

I suddenly froze as a terrifying thought crossed my mind. What if Jake, Wade, and Max ended up getting shot while trying to rescue me? What if this was part of Clyde’s plan all along, and helet me escape on purpose just so he could get rid of the people who cared about me?

I shook my head, took a deep breath, and pressed forward. I wasn’t going to go there. Not again. Not now. I had made it this far because of hope and faith in Jake, Max, and Wade. Wade was probably still in the hospital. I had to believe the other two were going to find me and that everything would be all right.

Everything will be all right.

As soon as I said that, I found myself slipping down a slope. I tried to hold on to a branch to regain my footing, but it snapped. I ended up rolling down like a log, getting covered in leaves and mud until I hit the bottom.

Shit.

I tried to get up as quickly as I could after, but one of Clyde’s hired thugs, who I recognized as the guy guarding the front door of the Frog House, had already caught up to me. I still managed to land a punch on his jaw to hold him off, but he recovered quickly, moving behind me and wrapping his arm around my neck.

“No sudden moves,” he warned. “My orders were to bring you back alive no matter what. I’ll knock you unconscious if I have to.”

I didn’t want that. Who knew where I would wake up and in what condition?

I slowly lifted my hands in surrender. The man grabbed my arms and secured my wrists behind my back. Then he took out his communication device and talked into it.

“This is Sigma-Nine. Fugitive secured. On the way back to base.”

“Roger that,” a voice replied.

Then the man turned to me. “Let’s go.”

I had no choice but to let him lead me to wherever the base was, presumably wherever Clyde was waiting, but I tried to stall for time, dragging my feet as much as I could while searching my surroundings for any sign of Jake or Max.

My captor frowned. “If you’re not going to move faster, I’ll have to carry you over my shoulder.”

“Well, excuse me for not being as big and strong as you are,” I told him with a scowl of my own.

He shook his head. “You don’t fool me. You took down one of my friends.”

The guard outside my door who I knocked out with one strike? I hadn’t even been sure that it would work.

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