Page 91 of Shattered Secrets

“You’re gonna ditch Wonder Woman,” the woman said.

Scarlet stole a peek at Tash, who still sat in the waiting area, scanning the people strolling past the diner. She willed Tash to turn and recognize her distress.

“Uh-uh-uh,” the woman said. Her tone was melodic and so at odds with the words tumbling from her mouth. “Cutter will happily kill your precious Martha. You make one wrong move, and he’ll do it.”

Scarlet fisted her shaking hands and crossed her arms over her chest. Fuck this woman. Fuck all of them. If she was going down, she was taking every one of these assholes with her. But she had to be smart if she wanted to avoid casualties. “What do you want?”

The woman grinned. “Now, nice and calm, you’re going to go down the hallway to the bathrooms and walk right out that exit. A couple of our friends will be there with a minivan, and you’ll get in.”

A swell of anger heated Scarlet’s blood. She glared at the woman, who simply laughed. Bitch.

“Oh, aren’t you a feisty one? But save your spunk. Believe me, you’re going to need it later.” The woman nodded to the man across from her, and he rose.

“Follow me,” he muttered, heading toward the hallway leading to the restrooms.

The woman grabbed a mozzarella stick and took a bite. “Hop to it, Sienna.”

Gritting her teeth, Scarlet promised herself she’d make this evil woman pay. She memorized every inch of the bitch’s features, then turned and followed her piece-of-shit friend.

Be smart, Scarlet!

In the hallway, she hunched over and fake-coughed. As she heaved, one hand swept into her apron and found her phone. She pulled up her messages and texted 9-1-1 to Bean.

“Hurry the fuck up,” the man hissed from the exit.

Coughing louder, Scarlet locked her phone and switched it to silent. The last thing she wanted was for it to ring and get taken away from her. She pressed her hand to her chest and fake-wheezed, then straightened. Infusing desperation into her voice—which didn’t take much effort—she begged, “Please, I need to get my inhaler.”

The man took three menacing steps toward Scarlet, grabbed her by the upper arm, and yanked her out the door. “Fucking bitch,” he muttered, effortlessly picking her up and tossing her into the waiting minivan.

She landed on her face. Her teeth clacked together and caught the inside of her cheek. Blood filled her mouth, and she couldn’t hold back a moan. The sliding door slammed shut with a bang, and she summoned her strength to roll over, but a sudden weight on her back had her breath leaving in a whoosh. Something heavy—someoneheavy—was on top of her.

Unable to move, she turned her head, ready to scream, and?—

A wadded-up piece of cloth was shoved into her mouth. She tried to spit it out, but it was in too deep.

“Scream all you want, bitch,” said the man on top of her. Snickering, he pinched her nose shut.

She stilled.

Holy shit. She couldnotdie like this.Don’t panic!Think, dammit!

“Nice, you’re already learning, Si-Si.” His familiar voice and that god-awful nickname sent goosebumps tearing across her skin. “If you don’t fight, I’ll let you breathe. If you do fight, I’ll find something else to shove down your throat.”

A whimper escaped her gagged mouth as he ran his hands roughly over her ass.

Knuckles.That was his name. One of the younger assholes she had known at the club. He’d been good friends with Zip and Jester, had idolized Steele. He’d also liked to hit while he fucked.

“Damn, Sienna. You sure have filled out.”

No! Not Sienna. My name isScarlet!Taking a deep breath through her nose, she focused on her anger and not her fear.You’ve dealt with Knuckles before. You can do it again. Now think!

Keeping still, she scanned her surroundings. She was on the floor in the back of a minivan. One of the middle seats was still in, but the other middle seat, along with the entire back bench seat, had been removed. The windows were heavily tinted.

Shit! What else?

A familiar horn sounded.

“Just one,” the driver said.

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