Page 35 of Whips and Chains
“Pull over please. Just here is fine.”
The man shook his head. “Relax. I’ll get you to your destination.”
I was pretty sure telling me to relax was the absolute least relaxing thing he could have said in that moment. “No, please, let me out.”
I hated that I was being so polite, but it was what had been drummed into me my entire life. To never rock the boat. To just be a good girl and go along with whatever I was told because otherwise my foster parents might send me back.
Now I just felt jammed up with fear.
My brain rolled through every fact I knew about kidnappings and abductions, the main one sticking in my head that you could never let them take you to a second location.
And here I was, willingly getting in the car so they could drive me wherever the hell they wanted.
I reached for the door handle, doing the mental math about how fast we were going and whether I could truly throw myself out of a moving vehicle. The point quickly became moot, sincethe door was locked, and no amount of flicking at the lock opened it. The child locks had been engaged.
With shaking fingers, I took out my phone again, praying that this time, unlike when I’d been locked in that warehouse, I would have enough signal to make a call.
My finger pressed down on X’s number.
“Here you go,” the driver announced as we made a turn out of a side street and onto the main road. “See? Your club is just up there.”
I’d never been so relieved to see a freaky, sharp-toothed clown in my entire life.
I quickly cancelled the call, hoping I had been quick enough it wouldn’t register on X’s end.
“This is close enough,” I told the man. “The parking lot will be busy, and I can walk the rest of the way.”
He nodded, steering the car over. “You have a good night.” The child locks clicked off.
I tried to thank him as I stumbled out into the darkness, just half a block away from the club. The cool night air was the relief I needed to cool my hot cheeks. The car drove away, and I closed my eyes for the tiniest of seconds, just melting into the relief that none of that had been what I’d thought it was.
But closing my eyes was a mistake.
Because it meant I didn’t see the man step out of the Saint View shadows.
I just felt his fingers wrap around my wrist and the sharp tug as he dragged me into the alley.
10
LEVI
Iwas early to Psychos, getting there well before the doors opened, and only let in because Vincent, guarding the door, recognized me.
I found Bliss and Nash and War inside, along with a bunch of their staff members, all getting the club ready for the party that night. War looked up and waved me over.
He dragged a heavy leather bench along the floor, and I immediately picked up the other end without being asked.
He nodded at me gratefully, guiding us through the club to the new spot where the bench was to be placed. “Thanks. These are heavy fucking things. You’re early.”
I nodded, setting the bench down where he indicated with a nod. “Yeah, sorry.”
War studied the bench placement then nudged it with his knee into a slightly different spot. “We never mind when friends get here early. Just means we have extra hands to help set up. So if you didn’t want to help, you might want to run straight outta here before Bliss sees you—”
“Too late! Bliss has already seen you and has a to-do list a mile long.” She grinned at me from behind an armful of boxes. “Hi, Levi.”
I plucked a box from her arms, lightening her load. “I just came down to talk to Violet, but I’m happy to help.”
“She’s on second shift, because she’ll be cleaning afterward. So she’s starting a bit later.”
