Page 55 of Ruthless

Rachel

He didn’t come back, and I never got the chance to ask him what he meant when he said it was done—but I was pretty sure he was talking about what happened between us…

But that was for the best.

And that’s why I had pushed him away.

I didn’t need him protecting me from Victor. Chaz was the only one who could seem to keep him on the leash. And besides, I had Lucas. We could handle it. No matterwhatI was feeling for Trevor—or whatever he went by—it was better for me to cut the ties. Besides, he was only looking at me like I was property…

Or something.

I tapped my foot on the concrete floor, part of me anxious to get out of the basement, and part of me wishing that I was still locked up. After all, Ghost Eyes and I had only crossed the line a couple of times…

And I wanted more.

“But it’s better to push him away,” I muttered to myself, arguing on my own behalf.Once I get out, my feelings toward him will fade.

“Good evening,” a voice boomed down the staircase, and I recognized it as Viper’s. “We have your brother on the line.”

Viper and three other men, one of them being Trevor, appeared, none of them having masks on. My heart sank at the sight, and suddenly, I wondered if I was going to die.

“Hey sis,” Chaz’s voice came over the speaker of the phone. “You good?”

I avoided Trevor’s eyes. “Yeah. Great. Grand. Ready to get the fuck out of here.”

Viper chuckled. “She’s alive and well.”

“Yeah, sounds like it,” Chaz grunted. “We’ll make the exchange in an hour. The same instructions apply as we discussed moments ago. You’ll know us when you see us. I will give you our money, and you will give me back my sister. That’s the deal. If you tryanything,I’ll fucking have you all killed. IknowAxle is privy to my damn sister.”

“What?” Viper snapped at him. “Why the fuck would you even say that?”

“Should’ve heard him on the phone earlier. He was really concerned about Victor—and the deal that he had given Tyson. I think you need to rope in your enforcer. I can handle my shit on my end, and you handle your shit on yours. Victor thought Tyson was stupid enough to try and rescue my sister, and you know how Victor is… He likes to play games.”

I shuddered, knowing good and well how Victor fucked with people—and how one of those people had been me. “Keep him on his leash,” I said, not missing the scowl on Trevor’s face.

Chaz laughed. “Oh, Rach, heison his leash. He was just fucking with Tyson, and he deserved it. You know that as well as I do. The guy treated you like trash. You deserve better than that… And don’t let any of these damn bikers make you thinktheycould possibly be good enough for you either.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll see you in an hour.” I wasn’t sure how my brother evenknewmuch about my relationship with Tyson, but Tyson lived a double life… So there was no point in trying to figure it out.

“Hate that our reunion has to be under these circumstances, sis. I was hoping that maybe I’d just see you for Thanksgiving this year.”

I rolled my eyes, not even caring that the bikers all gave me a funny look.

“See you in an hour,” Viper snapped into the phone, hanging up. He turned to Trevor, whose face still held a scowl. “So, what the fuck is he talking about, Axle?”

“I told him to keep Victor away from her,” he replied nonchalantly.

“You should’ve kept your fucking mouth shut,” Viper growled. “You wanna be with her on the outside of this shit, fine. But you’re showing a weakness.”

Trevor raised his brows. “Likeallof you haven’t shown weakness when it comes to your women? Last time I checked, all three of you lost your damn minds over your women—and I haven’t done anything close to that.”

“Because I’mnotyour woman,” I muttered under my breath, catching all of their attention.

“What did you just say?” Viper asked, narrowing his eyes at me, though his voice wasn’t unpleasant.

“I said that I’m not his woman,” I repeated myself, sounding a little more defiant the second time. “I waskidnapped.”

Viper’s jaw tensed as his eyes bore into mine. “Get your shit together, and we’ll be back in ten minutes.”

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