Page 34 of Laying it Bare Biker Style - Grayson

“Does it ever feel weird to you that you fell in love with a biker? Not because of the stigma that people like my dad give them, but because he has the potential to live a dangerous life.” I steered Sage out of the store and over to a bench where we sat down.

“I mean, I think it’s admirable that his club tries to help those who can’t defend themselves. But it’s kinda scary to think of them getting hurt. I keep thinking about them going to that abandoned farmhouse and the gunfight that erupted. When I realized Grayson had been shot, my heart stopped in my chest briefly. He was standing there talking to me and looked fine, but my mind kept drifting to ‘what if he would have been hit somewhere else’.”

Reaching over, she patted my knee. “You love him. And he loves you too. So we’re going to worry. That’s what it means to care for someone. But we have to trust that they know what they’re doing and will never take unnecessary risks. I haven’t had that since my parents. So I know exactly how you feel. I love Ryder so much. And I just try to remind myself that he knows what he’s doing.”

“And I love Grayson so much too. I don’t know how. I’ve only known him for a few short days. But I love him with my whole being. And I would do anything for him.”

“And he’d do anything for you too.” She twisted in her seat to meet my gaze. “And I hate to bring this up because I know it’s a sore spot with you; but just like with your dad. He has a dangerous job too, but he does it because it’s a part of him. And I’m sure he doesn’t take unnecessary risks either because he doesn’t want to cause you excessive worry. And during the years I was with Pyro Devils; yes they had a ton of injuries, but not one of their members was killed while on an assignment or anything. And the guys at Twisted Flames are tougher, smarter, stronger, more careful, and just better at what they do. Plus, they get back up from the police at times and their support. That definitely helps.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised my dad hasn’t removed that because of my relationship with Grayson. Maybe even though he is so stubborn, he realizes the police need the club just as much.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I have to pee. I swear my body still thinks it’s pregnant.” Rolling her eyes on a laugh, Sage stood and tugged me up with her.

Heading down toward the double doors that led to the back of the mall area, we rounded the bend and then walked down the long corridor to the bathrooms. The hallway seemed to go on forever.

“I’m not sure why this mall has to have its restrooms way in the back, like away from everyone and everything. It’s kinda eerie. I’m already picturing about a dozen different scenes from a horror movie.” A shiver rippled up my spine. “And none of them end well.”

“Stop watching horror movies.” Sage ducked into the women’s restroom, with me following.

“I don’t watch them. But I get creeped out enough from the trailers.” So we wouldn’t have to venture back here again, I slipped into a vacant stall as well.

When we were finished, we stepped back into the hallway. Walking at a faster clip this time, I tugged Sage along.

The clicking of a metal door echoed in the empty hallway and I jerked my head back to investigate the sound. Two men, dressed in all black, rushed toward us. But before I could work up a scream, one meaty hand clamped over my mouth and his other arm wrapped around my waist as he dragged me toward another door. But that didn’t mean I surrendered to his ambush. Biting through his palm, I prepared to release a blood curdling scream, but his other hand slammed into my stomach, stealing my breath and any hope of emitting any sound other than my grunt of pain.

Hauling me through a door that led outside, I expected to be tossed into the back of a white van and carted off with Sage. However, instead I was shoved into the back seat of a black sedan with darkened windows. Once my kidnapper banged the door closed, the vehicle sped off. Even though another unfriendly bulky guy sat at the other door, I contemplated for a brief moment jumping from the moving car, since Sage wasn’t inside.

“Where’s my friend? What did you do to her?”

The guy guarding the other door stared at me with his dark cruel eyes. His black hair was greasy and visions of horror movies rushed through my thoughts again. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know we know who she is. Sage is in the other car. You’ll meet up with her when we get to the house. He’s going to be thrilled we not only nabbed her, but acquired a bonus as well.”

My stomach threatened to toss up its contents. They had to be from the rival club that had wanted revenge on Sage.What would they do to us? I couldn’t dwell on that right now. The possibilities were too frightening. Fuck. I shook those troubling thoughts loose. And tried to focus on more positive things. Our guys would find us. Bolt should be . . .

Twisting, I faced the guy who had grabbed me. His eyes were just as dark and soulless and even though his hair wasn’t as dark, it was just as slimy. I had to force away the horror movie visions and keep my wits about myself. I couldn’t give in to panic. Once I was reunited with Sage, we’d figure something out until help arrived. “Where is the guy who was tailing us? He was in the hallway too. He should’ve noticed our disappearance.”

My kidnapper gave a humorless chuckle. “He may have witnessed it, but he’s going to be out for quite a while. He won’t do you any good. And we crushed your purses and anything inside would have been demolished. So any tracker will be useless. They won’t even have a starting point.”

That was okay; I tried to reassure myself. Our guys were competent and skilled at dealing with these types of things. Wanting to punch him right in the throat, I had to work hard to dominate my growing rage. I doubted striking him would give me any advantage. Just a brief sense of satisfaction, but I couldn’t go toe to toe with him, especially in the back seat of a moving vehicle. And I needed to conserve my strength. And surprisingly, I still had my Ruger inside my ankle holster. I couldn’t fire it in the car. I’d risk injuring myself. But as soon as we got to our destination, I was putting a hole in every one of them. I smiled to myself. But the fact that I didn’t have my phone and now I’d have to pay for a new one and I no longer had that stunning lingerie spiked my anger again. But I had to quell it. At least for now. Once we reached our destination and I was sure Sage was okay and we were together, I was going to unleash it. And I’d much rather have fury rushing through me than terror.

About twenty minutes later, we drove up a winding dirt path and around to the back of a battered house nestled in the seclusion of a small wooded area. It didn’t appear to be on the verge of collapsing or anything, just that time, weather, and neglect had not been kind. A moment later, another black sedan pulled in beside us. Relief rushed over me when a guy slid from the car, pulling an ornery Sage out with him. She slugged him in the arm and scratched at his face as he manhandled her toward the house. Hopefully they were dumb enough to keep us both in the same room. The two of us had enough feisty in us to figure something out, collectively.

After opening the door, my kidnapper ripped me out of the back seat by my arm. Only luck prevented him from tearing it from its socket. “Let’s go. Slash should be here shortly.” He pushed me in the direction of the house.

Pretending to stumble, I dropped to a crouch, ripped up my pant leg, grabbed my gun and had it trained on my attacker before I even stood. But as I squeezed the trigger, his buddy charged me from the side and the shot missed its mark. I fell to the ground in an inelegant heap and was disarmed before I could fire again.

The pissed off asshole kicked me in my side in irritation. “Why didn’t you search her once you were inside the car? She could’ve killed one of us. We seized Sage’s weapon as soon as we had her inside. Dumb fuck. Get them inside.”

Pulling me up from the ground, the guy I had tried to shoot punched me in the face. “Keep it up and I’ll sample the goods even though Slash told us he wanted the two of you untouched, at least in that way, until he got his entitlements.” Then he shoved me in the direction of the back door.

I’d dismember any one of them before I let one of those thugs touch me. The thought made me want to vomit. Taking in several deep breaths, I managed to calm myself slightly. Once inside, I took in our surroundings. Empty rooms and it smelled musty, like it hadn’t been aired out in a very long time. The guys shoved us into one of the smaller rooms that sat off of what used to be the main living area.

He pushed me a little harder than necessary. “I would have locked you in the basement if that door had a reliable lock. This room is the only one that does so count your blessings that you can hang out with your bestie. At least until Slash comes. Then he can decide what to do with you.” Sneering, he slammed the door closed and the locked clicked a moment later.

Sage turned wide eyes to me. “Grayson is going to paddle your ass when he finds out what you tried.”

“Well we have to figure something else out to try so that he has a chance to paddle my ass. So, you’re going to tattle on me?” I joked, hoping to lighten our moods. That attempt at escape was an epic fail and only managed to piss them off. But at least they kept us together. For the time being.

“Of course I’m going to tell him. He’ll be proud of you and then he’ll paddle your ass. But that was bad ass. They had taken my gun, otherwise I might have tried something similar. I’m sad you got hurt, but I’m proud of you too. You don’t back down.”

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