Page 22 of Bride for the Bikers

The guards scan the room, and I pray to whatever god might be listening. “Clear,” one of them says. “She’s here.”

“Then let’s get this over with.” God, I definitely haven’t missed that voice.

“Yes, Sir.” The guards step out of the way, parting to let Vincent through.

He steps in, cool and collected in a business suit that makes it seem like he’s just running an errand on the way to his next meeting. It looks bulkier than usual, though. I bet he's got a bulletproof vest underneath. The annoyed expression on his face turns sour when he spots me.

“Alright. You’ve had your fun. Hand her over, and I'll let you slink out of town like the dogs you are. I don’t know what you think you’re going to achieve, but you’re lucky I’m willing to talk considering what you’ve done.” His nose wrinkles like he's smelling something bad.

“We’re lucky?” Shadow replies, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You should be grateful we didn’t drop that whole damn thing on your fucking head. People like you are fucking scum, and I want to your word you’ll stay out of our territory.”

“Oh, for Christ's sake. Who are you to act like you’re better than me? Your club has so much blood on its hands the streets are running in it.” Vincent brushes a speck off the sleeve of his suit jacket.

“We defend our own,” Shadow says calmly, not denying it. “Can you say the same?”

Outlaw wraps my hair in his fist and yanks my head, the barrel of his gun still digging into my temple. I whimper in very real fear. How much do I really mean to my father? He wasn’t the one that changed my diapers or held me when my heart was broken after my first boyfriend dumped me right in the middle of homecoming. I’m just a pawn in a game that keeps adding more and more players.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Vincent snarls. “What do you think threatening the girl will accomplish? Or are you all too stupid to think that far ahead?”

“Like you just said. It got you here, didn’t it?” Shadow mocks. He turns his head and spits on the floor. “Now can you give us the assurances we need or don’t you have control over your people?”

Vincent’s smooth demeanor slips for a moment, more annoyed at his power being questioned than the threat to my life. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Don’t play fucking innocent. We know everything that goes in and out of our town, and unlike the cops, we don't give a shit what would hold up in court. You sit here all smooth, but yourbusiness is rotting. Either you’re getting sloppy, or your grip is slipping. Which is it, Vinny? Word’s going to get out about what we did, and we won’t be the only ones asking these questions.”

“Do you even realize what you did? That chandelier was one of a kind. It's going to cost me a fortune to get the artist back, and the materials alone are worth more than your walnut brain can comprehend.”

“I was talking about stealing your daughter from her own fucking wedding, but good to know your priorities. And where’s the groom? Doesn’t he give a shit either? Damn. I didn’t expect much from a man pushing dirty product, but that’s cold.”

Vincent’s face contorts into a furious mask. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let my daughter go and I’ll let you leave with your lives. That’s all the assurance I’ll give.”

I’m not an expert, but this isn’t going well. One side is going to have to back down eventually, and so far my father hasn’t said anything that incriminates him in anything beyond being a cold hearted jerk. Is everyone off base? The only proof I have that he’s involved in drugs is what Carnell and the bikers have said. What if I’ve chosen the wrong side in this? My father might have pressured me into marrying Devin, but so far the only people to hold a gun to my head have been the men I’ve decided to put my trust in.

Including the one I’m pretty sure hates me, who showed how easily he can turn violent, and who could end my life in the blink of an eye. And is the one currently holding the gun.

“Alright. Fuck it.” Shadow shakes his head in disappointment. “Call us if you change your mind. I’m sure your little girl will fit right in with the sluts at the club.”

I hold my breath. Even if he doesn’t care about me at all, it wouldn’t look good for him to let them take me.

Right?

“You're not going anywhere,” says Vincent icily, as his men raise their weapons. One of them taps their earpiece, and a door slams outside. Reinforcements. “It would be a shame if she got hurt, but no court in the world would convict me for trying to save her, especially not in this town.”

Bruno, silent this whole time, suddenly draws his gun and aims it straight at Mesner. “If anyone touches the door, I'm gonna fucking shoot. People are dying because of you already. What’s a few more?”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Thunder asks in a dangerous growl.

“Stand down!” Shadow orders, fury radiating from him like a furnace.

The gag in my mouth is making it hard to breathe. I know it’s not suffocating me, but it feels like I can’t draw a real breath.

Bruno doesn’t listen. He takes a step forward, aiming right at Mesner's head. “Maybe we can just eliminate the problem right here. What's it gonna be? Clean up your shit? Or rot in here until someone finds the body?”

And that's the last thing Bruno ever says, because the words are still leaving his mouth as one of my father’s guards puts a bullet right through his face. I jerk away, my scream muffled by the gag, but something hot hits my face, and the gory image of Bruno’s head exploding is burned into my brain. I struggleagainst my ties, all concepts of good guys and bad guys forgotten in my panic.

More shots.

It’s loud. So loud. How can anything be this loud? Everything is happening at once. I thought the scene at the bar was scary, but compared to this, it might as well have been a pillow fight. One of Vincent's men grunts and slams into the door. He slides limply to the floor, a dark red stain spreading across his chest.

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