Page 30 of Havoc

He growled, “I’m a decent man, well respected in this community. I’m the one who can give you a home and a family. Bikers are garbage. They’ll use you, get you hooked on drugs, pass you around, and when you’re too strung out and broken to crawl back out of the situation, that’s when they’ll traffic you. Bikers don’t hang onto women that aren’t useful. Everyone with common sense knows that.”

I scraped together every shred of courage I could find and sidestepped, slowly putting distance between us. “You don’t know him.”

“The Slayers aren’t a one-percent club, and you don’t know anything about the brothers,” I added, my voice low but steady. I kept talking, praying he wouldn’t notice that I was inching closer to the back entrance of the building.

Slater sneered, hatred twisting his features. “They’re thugs with patches. I’m a lawman with a badge. Which one sounds like the better deal, Riley?”

“Maybe I don’t want either of you,” I said, dodging his trap. This man wasn’t right in the head. Everything about him screamed unhinged.

He didn’t stop. He followed me like a bloodhound, each word more twisted than the last. “You’re just another toy to him. And bikers are known for breaking their toys.”

The fear building in my chest was real and deep—and, horrifyingly, he was making just enough sense to stir up doubt. That was his strategy. Scare me. And it was working.

“Please let me go,” I whispered. “I need time to process all of this.”

Slater didn’t back off. “You think I’m the bad guy, Riley? For wanting a little of what you’re giving away so freely? I’ve been watching over you, trying to protect you. But that doesn’t matter, does it? You only like men who treat you like trash.”

I went completely still.

He was talking about raping me—just not in those exact words.

“Well,” he continued, his voice colder than ever, “I think it’s poetic justice. You wanted to give it up for a criminal, but now you’ll be giving it up to a lawman instead. Now, get your pretty ass into my patrol car. If you do as I say, I just might protect you from them.”

“I don’t need your protection,” I said, my voice cracking under the pressure.

That only seemed to fuel his rage.

He lunged for me and grabbed my arm again, dragging me towards his cruiser. “You’ll do exactly as I say, or else.”

This time, I found my voice. “No. I’m not going with you. Leave me alone.”

That was the final straw. His hand lashed out and backhanded me so hard I hit the ground.

Pain exploded in my cheek, but I scrambled to my feet and tried to run.

“Hey! What are you doing? Let Riley go, asshole!”

The voice came from above. I turned to see Dae on our back balcony, her phone raised high in the air.

Relief and panic warred inside me. I was glad she was there, but terrified she might become his next target.

“I’ve got all of this recorded,” she shouted. “I’m livestreaming on social media. You’d better stop before you really get yourself in trouble.”

Slater froze.

His hands clenched into fists at his sides, but he didn’t move.

Instead, he held up his badge like a shield. “You’re interfering with a police arrest, young lady. Unless you want to be taken to jail, you’ll put that phone down and go back inside.”

Dae’s voice rang out, loud and clear. “I have you on video ripping her shirt. Is that how Griffinsford PD does strip searches now—out in the open, in broad daylight?”

He took a slow step back as two men of my neighbors stepped onto their balconies, each holding baseball bats. One of them jumped down and started walking towards us.

Slater raised both hands. “There’s nothing untoward going on. Just a misunderstanding. Right, Riley?”

I forced my voice to stay calm. “We’ll call it a misunderstanding as long as you stay the hell away from me.”

He stepped in close again and lowered his voice to a whisper. “You either get your friend to delete that video, or I’m going to pay her a visit tonight. Maybe she’s still breathing when I leave. Maybe not. Got it?”

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