Filed to story: Reclaimed Book by Roxie Ray
I sat down against the wall across from the door and pulled my knees to my chest. Pressing my forehead to my knees, I took a few slow, steadying breaths. Now that it was quiet, all my fear and pain and rage cascaded over me. I didn’t even try to stop the tears from flowing. What was the point? There was no one here to see. Nothing I could do to get out. I was truly trapped here-truly at Sean’s mercy.
Despite how things had ended between us, there was no doubt in my mind that Steph would come for me.
The memory of him in bed with Blakely only made the tears flow harder. After everything we’d been through, everything we’d struggled with, all those conversations… He’d still betrayed me. Still gone back to her for an easy fuck. I didn’t understand it.
I was so sure he loved me. I’d believed him when he said I was his fated mate. Yet he’d turned his back on me in a heartbeat the second he had the chance.
It didn’t make sense. That wasn’t the behavior of the man I thought I knew.
Maybe I didn’t know him at all.
Even if that were true, there was no way he’d agree to a trade. He might be a cheating jackass, but he had a lot of pride. He’d never let Sean walk over him like that.
Steph loved Dylan. Even if what I’d thought was real between us wasn’t, there was no way he didn’t love his son. It simply wasn’t possible. Even if there was no other reason, he’d come for me because that was what was best for Dylan.
Right?
Steph wouldn’t leave me here to languish, would he?
Yesterday, I wouldn’t have doubted that at all, but after seeing Steph with Blakely, I wasn’t so sure.
My tears stopped, and I rubbed my face roughly. I couldn’t just sit here in the dark and cry. And I couldn’t count on Steph swooping in to save the day. He probably didn’t even know where I was, and who knew how long it would take for him to find me! The longer I was stuck here in the dark, the more that rage in Sean’s eyes would build. He wanted to hurt me. I didn’t know how long he’d be able to hold back.
I had to get out of here. I had to get to my son. We had to get out of Lakeview, and away from these crazy dragons. For good.
But how the hell was I going to get out of this room without said crazy dragons noticing?
There was a knock on the door. I jumped to my feet and blinked hard, dispelling the last remainders of my tears. I clenched my fists at my sides. If Sean had already decided to hurt me, I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
The door unlocked and opened. The scrawny kid I’d seen earlier stepped inside, carrying a tray with a pathetic meal on it. I pressed my back against the wall and glared at him as he set the tray down.
He raised his hands as if in surrender. “You don’t need to look at me like that, lady. I’m not into hurting kids or women, so you can relax.”
“Then why are you working with that bastard?” I hissed. “Considering he hurt my kid and me.”
“I’m just following orders. You need to eat.” He nodded down at the tray, which had a sad-looking sandwich and an even sadder banana on it.
“Right, because I’m sure the food you’re providing is totally safe and not drugged at all.”
“It’s not! Jeez, you’re paranoid. Just stay put and try not to piss Sean off, okay? This isn’t about you.” He glanced back at the door nervously, then took a step closer. “Sean’s a little…” He circled his finger next to his temple. “Well, off his rocker. I’m lucky to still be breathing after letting your kid get away.”
I frowned. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because this”-he gestured around the room-“isn’t how I like to roll. It’s not what I signed up for.”
“Then why are you helping him?”
He looked away, and his face fell. “It’s an obligation.” The kid turned to leave, then paused with his hand on the door handle. “Sometimes you think you have no way out. But that’s not always the case.” He glanced to the window, then the tray, then back to me. “Keep it down in here, okay?”
Before I could ask what the hell he meant, he shut the door and locked it again.
What was a kid like that doing working with Sean? He seemed to have a decent head on his shoulders. He didn’t look like a blood-hungry aggressor like the rest of them.
I knelt down by the tray and poked at the sandwich. I wasn’t hungry, not after what I’d been through, but I was curious to see if they’d stuffed a few pills between the ham and the bread like I suspected.
My poking and prodding shifted the paper towel the sandwich was on. Beneath it was a small, slim chisel with a curved end, like the back of a hammer. I gripped the chisel’s handle, then looked back at the window.
The nails.
He wanted me to get out. If I ever saw him again, I swore I’d thank him.
I tucked the chisel into the waistband of my jeans. Perhaps someone was looking out for me and Dylan. Because I was getting out of here.
Tonight.
ACE
Imanaged to get an hour of fitful sleep on the clubhouse couch.
“Morning,” Striker said from behind the bar, where he was already pouring me an enormous cup of coffee. “Better look alive. The guys will be here any minute.”
I grunted in acknowledgment. I was grateful I’d gotten any sleep at all. In just a few minutes, clan members would start filing into the clubhouse, and I needed to be the strong alpha they could trust. A few of my enforcers were out searching for any trace of Harley or Sean, but the rest of the clan had been instructed to meet here. This was a serious escalation, and I needed all hands on deck-especially if I was going to officially challenge Sean.
I went up the clubhouse stairs to my room where Dylan had been passed out, and gently opened the door. It was empty.
Fear lanced through me, and my dragon surged to the forefront of my consciousness, so fast it made me dizzy. I was about to shift right there and burst through the ceiling when Hawk stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Easy, Ace. Mia and Tank took him back to your place. He wanted to be in his own room.”
“Jesus,” I said, then raked my hands through my hair as the adrenaline drained away. “Someone should’ve told me.”
“She texted,” Hawk said with a small smile. “You’ve been knocked out on the couch.”
Fair enough. I rubbed my forehead. I hated that I wasn’t with Dylan right now, but Mia was a good aunt for taking him back to a place where he felt more comfortable and safe. I gave Hawk a grateful nod, and he squeezed my shoulder.
We’d get through this somehow. We’d do it together.
I gestured for him to come downstairs with me. It was probably best that Dylan wouldn’t be here to hear me discuss exactly what I was going to do to Sean.
Downstairs, Striker slid each of us a cup of coffee. “Looks like you need this,” he said. He was a barrel-chested enforcer, and his chestnut hair had silver streaks through it, despite the fact that he wasn’t much older than me. This morning, he was wearing a plain white shirt with an apron over it, left behind from the Night Shift Distillery event. He slid the two mugs of coffee across the bar to me and Hawk.
“I need real sleep,” I said, “but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Not until I find Harley.”
Striker nodded in agreement. “We’re with you every step of the way, Ace. The guys should be here in a few minutes.”
“Good. We need to get our plan in order and move as quickly as we can.”
The door slammed open. “Where the fuck is that bastard?” a loud, high-pitched voice shouted.
It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time, but as soon as I turned around, I recognized its owner. Cassidy stormed inside like she was a pissed-off mother, and I was the teenager who had thrown a house party. She was small and slight, with long jet-black hair and blunt, bleached bangs. She was wearing a hoodie and loose jeans, and her bag was over her shoulder-she’d clearly come directly from the airport. And she was pissed.
“What the hell happened?” Cassidy barked as she stomped up to the bar. “And where the hell is my nephew?”
Striker placed his hands flat on the bar. His eyes widened as he stared at Cassidy, though she wasn’t paying him a lick of attention. I could sense his dragon rising up behind his eyes.
