The safe house is on the banks of the Connegut River. It’s the only structure around for miles. There’s no mailbox at the end of the drive leading up from the gravel road. In fact, there’s not much of a driveway at all. Most people would pass right by it and never even notice it was there. Which is by design.

The house itself is more of a cottage. It’s rustic, small and simple, with dark wood siding and a small porch out front overlooking the river. The sort of thing I remember seeing in American films when I was a little tyke. It would be a good fishing cabin, I suppose. If I fuckin’ fished.

I don’t know how long the Lords have owned this place. Hell, I don’t even know if we do own it. All I know is that members of the club have been coming up here for years. To get away from things, or to hide out for a while. The place has just enough room to be cramped as shit if there’s more than a couple people here, but it’s a perfect spot if you want to disappear for a while and not be found.

It’s also fucking boring as shit out here.

It’s still pitch black out when we arrive at Connegut. The clock on my mobile says it’s just after three-thirty in the morning. Sun will be up in a few hours. I let out a sigh of disgust as Gunner comes to the end of the weed-ridden drive and pulls up next to the house. I don’t know what the fuck I’ve done to deserve this sort of punishment.

“Here we are, safe and sound,” Gunner announces. He looks back at me with a grin and I flip him off.

Beast yanks open the side door and gets out. Without waiting for Isabel to comply, I reach for her arm and slide her toward me. Predictably, she resists.

“What the fuck are you doin’?” I ask irritably. “There’s nowhere to go. You don’t have a choice.”

“I always have a choice,” she hisses, her voice muffled by the bag.

I sigh again and shake my head, then reach over and lift her physically out of the van. She starts to struggle, but I pretend to drop her and she yelps and reflexively throws her arms around my neck. Chuckling, I fling her over my shoulder and carry her the rest of the way into the house. She makes little outraged noises the whole way there, like a pissed off kitten.

The house hasn’t been used in a while, and the musty smell of it assails my nostrils the second I’m inside. I reach over to flip on the light switch next to the front door. A lone, anemic bulb gives off just enough illumination to see the state of the place. It’s dusty, and sparse, and pretty much the way I remember it from the last time I was here.

Behind me, Beast walks in, carrying a large box of supplies. “Gun’s bringing your stuff in,” he tells me.

“Thanks.” I toss Isabel’s body a little roughly onto the couch. She immediately scooches herself to the furthest end of it and draws her knees up defensively toward her chest.

Beast nods toward the girl. “You gonna be good here?”

“Yeh.” There’s no way Isabel is going to get very far out here, even if she tries to escape. She has no shoes to speak of, and at the moment her only clothing is a tight mini-dress that barely covers her tits or her ass. She has no fucking idea where she is. Even if she managed to get loose, in this cold early November weather she’d get hypothermia from exposure, eaten by a wolf, or abducted by some horny, crazy prepper living out here in a shed before she ever managed to find her way back to civilization. I just have to convince her it’s not worth the effort. In the meantime, I’ll keep her tied up whenever I can’t keep an eye on her, until she figures out what’s what.

Gunner comes in a few seconds later carrying my duffel and a couple of paper bags. “Toss them over in that corner,” I tell him. Beast is throwing perishables into the fridge, which he’s just plugged in. I’m glad for the help getting us sorted, though soon I’ll have nothing to do but stare at my feet, so I tell them to leave it. “I’ll get the rest later.”

“Want some help with her?” Beast asks.

“Yeh, I suppose so.” I walk over to the couch and reach down to remove the hood, which we don’t need anymore. I grasp the fabric and lift.

The sight of her almost knocks me off my feet.

Sitting in front of me is possibly the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. She squints and turns her face away briefly, unaccustomed to even this weak light. But when she turns back to look at me, her flashing dark eyes with their arched brows bore into mine, her expression both a challenge and a promise. Thick, luscious dark hair tumbles past her shoulders in disarray, framing the gorgeous olive skin of her face. A light sprinkling of freckles dots an even, pert little nose. He lips… oh, Jesus, her lips. They’re full and bee-stung, free of lipstick, a little parched, and just begging to be kissed. My mouth fairly waters just to look at them.

My eyes travel back down to the swell of her breasts — the breasts I felt through the fabric of her bra only an hour ago. My cock jumps to attention, and in an instant I’m so hard it’s almost painful. Clearing my throat, I look back up at her face, which is flushing a pretty shade of pink. She’s thinking of it, too, I can tell.

This is the girl I’ll be spending every minute of every day with for days and weeks on end. With no other charge than to keep her safe… and to stay the hell away from her.

Jesus Christ, I need a smoke. Or a drink. Or a bottle.

“What?” she shoots at me, tossing her head defiantly.

“Nothing,” I mutter. I glance toward a straight-back chair sitting next to the couch and turn to Beast. “Let’s put her there for now.”

“What?” she challenges. “You too scared to leave me loose? Afraid I’ll overpower you and get away?”

“No,” I snarl, getting right up in her face until she flinches. “I’m worried you’re too stupid to realize that if you try to escape, you’ll die out there before you ever manage to find another human being.”

Anger is the only way I’m going to manage this. Which is fine, because suddenly I’m fucking furious. “Beast!” I order. “Put her in the chair. I’m going out to the van for some rope.”

I stomp outside, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself once I’m out on the porch. Gunner’s just bringing the last of the supplies in and passes me on the stairs.

“You gonna be good out here?” he asks.

“Why the Christ is everyone asking me that?” I explode, resisting the urge to punch something.

“Because you look like someone just killed your pet hamster,” Gun laughs.

“Fuck you,” I glower. I storm over to the van and grab the long coil of nylon rope. I head back inside, where Isabel is now sitting, barefoot and bare-legged, on the straight-back chair. She flashes me a look of pure loathing, which actually makes me smile tightly. Even though the fact that her head is at my waist level makes me want to fist my hand in her hair and fuck that pretty mouth of hers.

Beast goes outside to bum a fag off Gunner, leaving me alone with the girl.

“Give me your wrist,” I say.

The girl puts her hands in her lap and looks up at me, narrowing her eyes.

I reach down without a word and grab one of her hands. She tries to pull away, and I yank her roughly enough that I know it hurts her a little.

“Ouch,” she complains.

“Shut up and do as you’re told.” I tie the rope tightly around her wrist.

“Or what?” Isabel juts out her chin. “My father…”

“Your father isn’t my prez. And he isn’t here.”

“Why are you…”

“None of your damn business,” I cut her off. “I don’t care what happens to you. I don’t care if you’re comfortable or happy. I’m here to do my job. And my job is to make sure you don’t get killed. That’s all.”

“Who would be trying to kill me?” she tosses back, eyes flashing.

“None of your business.”

“It’s none of my business why I’m being held against my will?”

“No.”

“God, you’re infuriating.”

“Good. Maybe you’ll get tired of trying to talk to me, then.”

I reach down without bothering to ask and grab her other wrist. The necklace she’s still holding falls to the floor. Reflexively, she bends down, but I pull her back up.

“Stay still,” I bark. I realize I’m about to tie her hands in front of her, and that there’ll be nothing to tie her to that way. Fuck, I can’t think straight around this girl. Cursing under my breath, I go behind the chair and kneel. I bind her wrists behind her, tightly enough that she can’t get out of them, but not so tight as to hurt her. When that’s done, I come back to the front and take hold of her ankle. Her foot is ice cold.

“Goddamnit,” I seethe, “why didn’t you tell me you were cold?”

She actually laughs. “I didn’t know you cared.”

Fucking Christ. I cross the room to my duffel and dig out a clean pair of my socks. Pulling them on her one by one, I tie her ankles securely to the chair legs. When I’m done, I stand up, not looking at her, and go out to the porch.

“All right. She’s set.”

“You gonna…” Beast starts to ask.

“Get out of here,” I interrupt him angrily. “And Gunner, for Christ’s sake, bring her back some clothes as soon as you can.”

“Will do.”

I stand and watch them leave, until the red from their taillights disappears into the dark. Shaking my head at my fate, I turn and go back inside.

Isabel is there, tied up all in a bow like a fuckin’ present. Looking at me with those eyes of hers.

“What now?” she smirks. I have to admire her pluck.

“Now, I’m gonna get some shuteye,” I tell her, going over and flicking off the light switch. The room is plunged into darkness. “I haven’t had any sleep tonight, thanks to you.”

“What am I supposed to do?” I can only see her silhouette, but her voice is outraged.

“None of my concern,” I shrug. Lying down on the couch, I stretch out to my full length and close my eyes. Suddenly I’m fuckin’ exhausted. “Just do your best not to try to escape. I’ll see you in a few hours.”