BETH
Sweat dripped down my back and Maddie’s hair was matted to her forehead from the heat. I watched her sleep with a heaviness in my chest. Gray hadn’t been back to the room yet and I’d lost all track of time.
My phone was gone, must have fallen out of my pocket when Gray yanked me from the car. I couldn’t call out, I couldn’t see what time it was, I was completely blind and deaf to the outside world. Except for Brittany’s sobbing. She must have been put in the room beside ours. I could hear her sniffling and crying, but I made no move to comfort her.
The heat finally got to me and I started banging on the door again. “It’s too fucking hot in here, Gray!” I screamed, aware that I was going to wake up Madison.
I pulled my leg back again to give the door another kick when I heard a hiss whooshing through the vent on the floor. Crouching down, I felt the cool air and almost started to laugh at it. I pressed my face to the vent washing myself with the chilled air.
“Mommy?” Maddie was awake and standing over me. “What are you doing?"
“It’s hot in here, baby, come here, come sit down and put your hands over the vent. It will help you cool down.”
She did what I said and started giggling. “That feels good, Mama.” She lowered herself even more and pressed her own face to the grate. “Oh, that feels nice.” She grinned and for a moment I felt something other than complete fear. We’d get out. I knew it. We’d get out of that place and Gray would pay for what he’d done.
Shortly after we cooled our faces off we snuggled back up on the mattress, while I began rerunning several books I could remember that were her favorite. I had just finished wrapping The Little Nemo when the door swung open and Gray stood before us all big and menacing-looking.
He didn’t have a phone in his hand, didn’t he want me to call Rafe? How could I do that without a phone.
“Change of plans,” he answered me as though he’d heard my thoughts. “Get up. The three of us are going for a ride.”
I stood up on shaking legs, holding Maddie behind me. “We aren’t going anywhere with you,” I snarled at him. My patience was gone. Maddie’s little hands wrapped around my leg. I could feel her little body trembling.
“Oh, I think you’ll change your mind. Rafe is waiting for you.” He pulled out his gun and showed it to me before shoving it back in his back pocket. “Now, unless you want your daughter there to pee her pants, I suggest you get moving.”
Maddie must have heard him clear enough. “I need to go pee pee, Mommy.”
Gray made a face then heaved a sigh. “The bathroom’s down that hall. Let’s go.” He walked behind us as we shuffled down the narrow passage way.
The bathroom could have been more disgusting, but at least the toilet was working. I helped Maddie use the potty, helping her to hover instead of sit on the seat. I noticed that Gray hadn’t come into the washroom with us. I started looking around the tiny room for a weapon of some sort, anything I could use to jab him with or hit him with.
“Mommy, my hands.” Maddie held her hands over the sink that was still a little too high for her reach.
“Don’t worry about that right now, baby.” I patted her head and stared at the mirror. I needed to break it, without Gray hearing it. “Maddie, stand back, baby. Go by the wall and cover your face okay?”
“Why?”
I put on my best mom voice. “Because I said.”
She did what I asked and I started to look for something to use to break the mirror. I had nothing, and I doubted my gym shoes would do the trick.
The door flew open and Gray glared at me through the mirror. “Looking for something sharp?” His sneer sent a shiver through me that I hoped Maddie didn’t pick up on. “Let’s go.” He jerked his head and stepped to side, still holding the door open for us as I grabbed Maddie and made our way out of the bathroom.
Gray walked behind us, but I knew better at that point to try to run. The sun had started to go down outside, taking away some of the heat. “Don’t we need Brittany?” I asked, some concern for my once friend surfacing.
He shook his head. “She’s fine. She’s gonna hang back here for now.”
“You can’t just leave her here.”
He stepped up to me, putting his face too close to mine. “I said she’s fine. You have other things to worry about besides her, like what’s going to happen if Rafe doesn’t do what I say.”
The door to his truck yanked open and he motioned for me to climb in. I helped Maddie, then got in myself. Pulling her onto my lap and putting space between us and the crazy biker.
“Why don’t you just get rid of him like you did Jason?” I asked once Gray was in the truck and had us moving. He looked at me for a brief moment and shook his head.
“Too many fucking guys are starting to ask questions because of what Rafe’s been trying to dig up. If he has an accident, it’s gonna look like I did it.”
“But you did do it—to Jason, I mean.” I knew I was poking the bear, but I couldn’t seem to keep my mouth shut.
“I should have taken them both out at one time. Fucking Rafe turned, messed it all up.” His fingers were white at the knuckles and he kept his eyes focused on the road. “Things will be different after today, though. My guys, they know what’s up, they know how the club needs to change.”
“How?” I rocked Maddie a little, trying to keep him talking. Her little eyes fluttered and she fell back asleep. She had to be so hungry and scared, I tightened my arms around her. “How do you want to change the club?”
“That’s club business, and I don’t talk that shit with no club whore.”
“I’m not a club whore!” I hissed at him, not wanting to wake up Maddie.
He snorted. “Right. I forgot. You’re Rafe’s old lady, no MC chick, just something he picked up off the road. Either way, I’m not telling you shit.”
“Drugs?” I prodded him, shoving down the anger I felt at every word he said up to that point. What the hell did Brittany see in him?
“Shit ton of money in that ring, yeah.” He turned us down an alley way. The sun was completely gone from the sky and what few lamps were turned on barely lit up the way. Abandoned building after building passed my window. My stomach began to cramp.
I didn’t ask him any more questions; I was paying too much attention to where we were and looking for a way to get us out. Even if I could run faster than him while carrying Maddie, it wouldn’t matter, he had a gun. He didn’t need to chase us.
When the truck pulled up to a building that had at least twenty or more bikes parked outside of it, my heart started hammering again. “Good, they’re here already.” He shoved the gear into park and gave me one his snarling grins. “Show time.”
Maddie woke up as we slid from the cab of the truck. I put her on her feet and she gripped my hand hard. I could feel the trembles through her hand and gave her a little squeeze back. “It’s okay, baby girl. It’s okay.” I smiled down at her. She nodded, but didn’t look overly convinced. Neither was I.
Gray led us into the building, another worn down factory gone dead by years of recession and overseas outsourcing. Only this building wasn’t empty. Dozens of Anarchy’s Reign men stood waiting for us.
One man stepped forward, greeting Gray. His slicked back hair and clean shaven face would look almost handsome if he weren’t involved with Gray. He rolled his shoulders back and forth before turning his gaze on me and Maddie. Something in his eyes changed when he looked down at us, the steel I’d seen as he walked over to us softened some. Or maybe it was just hope.
“Hey, Aaron. Everything ready?” Gray asked in a low voice, ducking his head.
“All set.” Aaron nodded, glancing at us one more time before stepping behind Gray to follow his lead toward the others.
Gray looked over his shoulder at us and gave a toothy grin. I really wished he would brush his teeth more often. “Stick close to me, if you step out of line…well, you heard what happens when my women step out of line.” He winked at me then started walking again. His woman?
“Where is he?” Gray called out to the crowd as we approached. The chatters and clamoring ceased and the men separated, leaving a walkway down the center of them. In the middle stood Rafe.
His hair was mussed and his kutte ripped under his left arm, but otherwise he didn’t look any worse for wear. My heart pounded at the sight of him. His eyes, dark and narrowed, fixated on Gray. He didn’t even turn to me and Maddie, didn’t show any signs of noticing us at all.
“Rafe!” Maddie called out with excitement. She tried to run toward him, but I pulled her back.
“No, baby. Stay with me.” I shoved her behind me again, and held her hand tight. She pressed herself into my legs. I understood her feelings, I wanted to run and throw myself into Rafe’s arms, too.
Gray walked off, leaving us behind him. Aaron stayed behind him as well, moving to stand between me and him, blocking my view of him.
“Baby girl, you okay?” Rafe’s question was pointed at Maddie, but his eyes never left Gray.
“I’m scared.” Maddie’s voice was small in comparison to Rafe’s booming sound.
“I know, baby girl. I’m taking care of it. You stay with your mama, okay?”
“Okay.”
I looked at him, trying to make eye contact, but he was still ignoring my presence. He focused on Gray. How was he going to take care of the situation when he was the only fucking one of them who seemed to still have his sanity!
Gray laughed. “The girls are mine now, no need to concern yourself with them.” Rafe’s jaw tightened. “All you need to deal with right now is figuring out how you’re going to get out of here with your skin intact.”
“Oh, I don’t think that will be difficult.” A female voice rang out from behind the crowd. Stephanie walked into the room, and behind her several Mexican men glared at Gray.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Gray stepped back and looked at the men following her. “What are they doing here?”
“We were in the neighborhood.” The man directly behind Stephanie, the one with a tattoo taking up half of his face, stepped around her.
Gray looked nervous, but stood his ground. “Aaron, what the fuck is this?”
“This…” Aaron stepped up to him and slapped his hand on Gray’s back, then loosely hung his arm over his shoulder, “…this is what happens when an asshole like you overreaches. This is what happens when you kill your own fucking president, wound your VP, kidnap his woman and her kid. This is what happens when you go behind your club’s back to take over a fucking drug cartel that the club would never fucking vote in.” His words grew darker with each passing syllable, his hand curled around Gray’s neck and by the time he finished, he shoved Gray to the ground. Aaron pulled out a gun and aimed it at Gray. “You stay the fuck down there.”
“What are you doing?” Gray demanded, looking up at him. “This isn’t what we planned.”
“No. What you had planned was bullshit. We saw through your shit, but needed to see how fucking far you’d go. No way we were going to kill our VP.”
“Wait.” Stephanie ran over to the kneeling Gray, and Rafe moved quickly to get to her before she had a chance to do anything.
“Steph…”
“I’m not going to kill him,” she vowed. “I just want to hurt him a little.” And with that, her booted foot swung back then came forward and rammed between Gray’s legs, landing hard against his crotch. Several men winced behind them, and Gray squealed. He gripped his groin and fell to his side on the floor, taking in deep breaths while whimpering.
“Christ.” Rafe made a face at Stephanie then gave her a little shove. She moved over to me and Maddie. We were both frozen, not knowing what to do. Obviously we weren’t in danger anymore, but I didn’t want to see what happened next. Maddie didn’t need to see any more violence.
“Get us out of here.” I turned to Stephanie. She looked over at Rafe before she gave me a little nod.
“Take them home, Steph.” I heard Rafe say, his voice detached. I chanced a look at him, trying to read his thoughts, but he kept his glare fixed on the whimpering man on the floor still rolling around, holding himself.
“C’mon girls.” Stephanie corralled us. I pulled Madison along, willing myself not to look back at the scene behind us. Not to look at Rafe and wonder what could have been, and wishing I hadn’t fucked up with him.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew what was going to happen when we left, knew Gray wouldn’t be walking out of that warehouse alive, but I didn’t see it as murder. I understood at that moment what Rafe meant. He wasn’t taking the life of an innocent. He was snuffing out the evil that harmed his club, and hurt his family.
Maddie and me; we were his family. Until I shoved him out of it.