Page 68 of Crash and Burn
32
Marley
My eyes flutteropen but the bright light has me squeezing them shut again. I groan, grabbing my head. My head is pounding worse than it ever has before. I try opening my eyes again, slowly and glance around. I’m laying in the back seat of a moving van. I sit up, groaning again.
“Wh-what happened?” I stutter. There’s a bitter taste in my mouth.
A woman in the passenger seat turns to face me. A sinister smirk crosses her face. “Ah, she’s awake.”
Evil eyes I’m all too familiar with lock onto mine through the rear view mirror. Eduardo. He’s one of Rodrigo’s goons.
“Oh, shit.” My stomach turns as a wave of nausea washes over me. I lay down, closing my eyes. “What did you do to me?”
“A special concoction.” The woman laughs but it’s void of humor.
“We’ll get you something to eat soon and you’ll be fine,” Eduardo says. He lets out a maniacal chuckle. “We want you nice and healthy when we deliver you back to Rodrigo.”
Bile threatens to creep up my throat at the mere mention of his name. I have an idea of what’s in store for me when I’m back with Rodrigo and it won’t be pretty. I managed to escape him once, he won’t let that happen again. The only difference this time is I’ll have someone looking for me. I never told Rascal much about my past, but hopefully what I did tell him will help him find me.
There’s an ache in my heart at the thought of Rascal. Things were finally looking up for me and I was starting to see a future with him and the Savage Menaces. I got too comfortable and let my guard down, now I’m paying for it. As terrified as I am to being going back to Rodrigo, I need to stay strong. I can’t let him break me. I won’t let him.
“He’s gonna be so happy to see you again,Preciosa.” Eduardo calls me Rodrigo’s pet name and gives me the chills. Not the good kind either. “He was not a happy man when you ran away.”
“I don’t know what’s so fuckin’ special about her,” the woman spits out.
“Cállate, Paula.El Jefesaid she’s the key. If he says she’s important, she’s important.” His voice is hushed as if he doesn’t want me to hear what he’s saying. Dumbass needs to speak quieter than that if he doesn’t want me to hear.
I keep my eyes closed, trying to will myself to go back to sleep. The movement of the van does nothing to ease my nauseousness. I can only hope to sleep it off. I finally doze off only to be woken up shortly after by Paula, letting me know we were stopping for food.
“If you try to run, I’ll break your fuckin’ legs,” she threatens. I roll my eyes, following Eduardo into the diner.
“If you need to go pee, go now,” Eduardo says. “You’ll get one more chance before we get back on the road, but we won’t be stopping again for a while.”
I take the chance and go to the bathroom now with Paula on my heels. I quickly pee and wash my hands, not wanting to spend much time alone with her. Once she’s done, we head back to Eduardo. Sitting at the table, I pick up a menu and try to find something that sounds appetizing. Whatever they gave me to knock me out has me feeling sick to my stomach.
“The waitress came by to get our drink order. I got us all water,” he tells us. He and Paula talk to each other in Spanish and I’m thankful for two reasons. The first being, they don’t expect me to listen and respond to anything. Second, I can ignore them easier, knowing they don’t expect me to respond.
When the waitress comes back with our waters, she takes our food order. I end up ordering a cheeseburger and fries. I figure if there’s a chance I’m going to throw up, I might as well enjoy what I eat. I will pray to whatever god there is that I don’t actually throw up.
“How long was Iasleepfor?” I don’t know why I ask, but it just came out.
“Almost twenty-four hours.” Eduardo shrugs like it was a cat nap and not a whole, fucking, day. The two of them continue their conversation while I gaze out the window.
Once we get our food, neither of them talk until they’re finished eating. Surprisingly, eating makes me feel better instead of worse. We all go to the bathroom again before leaving the diner. Then we load up in the van and get back on the road.
“Are you taking me back to California,” I ask. Again, I don’t know why I’m asking.
“Lucky for you, no. Rodrigo is having us take you to his safe house in New Mexico,” he tells me. “There will be no escaping that house. It’s built like a fuckin’ fortress.”
“We’ll be on the road all day if that’s what you’re wondering,” Paula adds. “We still have about seven hours until we get there so get cozy.”
I do as she says and get cozy. As cozy as I can get anyway. While I’m not nauseous anymore, my head is still pounding. I close my eyes, letting sleep take me away.
I wake up in my bed at the clubhouse. My bed is filled with Rascal’s cologne. I take a deep breath, inhaling the comforting scent. My bathroom door opens and out walks Rascal. I smile. Something about him even being in the same room as me makes me feel safe. But I’m not safe, I frown.
“What’s wrong, Princess?”
“Something isn’t right,” I tell him. He sits on the bed next to me.
“Whatever it is, you’re safe with us. We’ll always protect you.”
He kisses my forehead. I trust Rascal and the rest of the Savage Menaces MC, but what if theycan’tprotect me?
I wake up with a sudden jolt. We’re stopping at a gas station now. Glancing at the clock, I notice I was asleep for about three hours. Dreaming of Rascal did nothing to comfort me. I should have kept a better eye on my surroundings. I never should have let my guard down, specially somewhere I wasn’t familiar with. I can’t go back and change anything, so I can’t stress about it. What’s done is done.
Four hours later, we’re pulling up to a fortress of a house, just like Eduardo said it was. When I climb out of the car, he grabs my arm, rushing me inside. We walk through the front door and he practically drags me into the living room.
“It’s about time you made it back to me.” His accent is thick, but I’d recognize that man’s voice anywhere. Rodrigo Sanchez, the man who kept me prisoner two years ago. To this day his voice still makes my skin crawl.
