Page 44 of Biker's Prisoner: Property of Bucky

“She spiraled. Left Massachusetts and right before Vegas, it looks like she was living with her parents.”

“Okay.” That doesn’t sound bad. So why does Tamiya sound like she’s holding something back?

“Is that all?”

“No,”Tamiya says. “But I don’t know if I should tell you this.”

“Don’t play games. She could come back with my coffee any minute.”

Logically,I know she must have let Zeus outside to take a piss too. But I want Tamiya to get on with it.

“Promise you won’t overreact?”

“I won’t.”

“I’m not the only one looking into her,” Tamiya says. “I found someone else investigating and… I don’t know what Zayna wants.”

What Zayna wants? Tamiya had better spill.

“Tamiya.I swear… I’ve done some bad things but… I’ve taken time to reflect and?—

“Don’t bullshit me, Ruger. You murdered your ex-wife less than two weeks ago.”

Tamiya is the type to never let shit go.

“Okay,” I say. “You’re the boss.”

That type of manipulation works incredibly on Tamiya.

“It’s her ex-boyfriend. And… it looks like he has plenty of resources to track her down eventually.”

Ex-boyfriend.

I don’t knowhow to take this news. Tamiya waits for my response, but I have nothing to say. I just hang up. My problems are right here in this house — not on the phone. I’m not rude. I text Tamiya once I hang up.

Ruger: Thanks.

Chapter Twenty

Zayna

Ruger ate my pussy sixteen days ago. I shouldn’t use that specific point in time to mark the passage of it, but that man haunts me. I mean it in the literal way where he keeps perpetual watch, even when he shouldn’t. He watches when I hold Eden, he listens when I’m in the kitchen. He doesn’t touch me. No kisses. No affection. He makes no effort to shower with me again. It’s like co-parenting with an ex-husband… who stares at me every chance he gets like he wants to eat my pussy again.

He had a conversation with his sister-in-law, but I didn’t believe Ruger’s ridiculous lie for a second. I just keep acting like this is normal, pretending like I’m some Midwestern mother and housewife. The weird thing about trauma is that it can make you strangely adaptable. You don’t reallyreactexternally. It’s like your mind just goes, “This is what we’re doing now.”

And you do whatever “that” might be to survive. I’ve been in this position before. Except those other situations weren’t exactly like this. Ruger keeps the fridge stocked. He eventually listened to my pleas for more spices – salt and pepper arenot enough.He doesn’t raise his voice or lay his hands on me. He seems very different from the man I first met, except this is who Ruger is when no one is looking.

Everything in this damn house is strange and I don’t know what to make of the tension between us. We haven’t had sex, so that man has sixteen days of pent up tension. He hasn’t jacked off at all. We’re in each other’s sight all day andmaybehe could pull it off while I’m asleep but… I think that would wake me up.

I honestly didn’t think men could go that long without lust conquering their senses and I never thought Ruger had much sense. On that sixteenth day, Ruger leaves me alone for an hour in the afternoon – which rarely happens. I don’t run away because this fucked up situation is better than any of the other ones I’ve been in lately. His cabin in the woods is relaxing. Plus, I can’t leave baby Eden behind. Ruger knows I wouldn’t do that.

Zeus curls up next to me while I play solitaire on Ruger’s coffee table. He doesn’t have wifi out here and he only uses his phone to talk to family and watch football highlights. When Ruger returns, there is far more suspicious shit going on than just his absence.

“Friend of mine gave me three pounds of freshly caught salmon,” he says. “Would be nice if you cooked it.”

He ducks to enter the cabin, even if he could have built the door bigger than a standard height. Once he gets all the way indoors, Zeus goes crazy with barking and wagging his tail, putting his paws all over Ruger until he whistles and Zeus obediently sits up all perky.

Ruger sets a bottle of wine on the kitchen counter before coming closer to me and kissing me on the forehead.

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