Knowing no one will save me, that I’ve been left here to rot, I angrily tug at the cuff binding me to the radiator. The metal scrapes against my wrist and I welcome the burning sensation as my raw skin bleeds.

I crave the pain.

I need it to take my mind off the withdrawals.

Sweat covers every inch of my body as I curl into a fetal position and silently beg for the pain in my abdomen to subside. I don’t know if it’s been days or hours since Deuce gave me that little hit in the office, but my body is shutting down.

Suddenly, I hear noises and I try to decipher if my mind is playing games with me. The yelling sounds closer and the doorknob rattles. I watch as it swings open and Rush stalks over with a crazed look in his eye.

“Shit, what the fuck did you do?” he growls as he turns my wrist over and fits the key into the handcuffs.

I don’t answer him. Instead, I watch him free me and pull off a bandana from his head and tie it around my wrist.

“Snap out of it, Ally, I need you to focus. We gotta get out of here,” he orders, forcing me to stand on my unsteady limbs. Pulling his gun from his pants, he throws his arm around my waist and holds me up against him. Leading me out of my room with his gun cocked high, he drags me into the hallway.

“They’re going to kill me,” he says quietly.

We reach the common room and my eyes widen when I notice Bas and Needles standing in front of us with their guns aimed at both me and Rush.

“Game’s over, Rush,” Bas sneers.

“The fuck it is. I say when it’s over,” Rush bites back, snorting the excess residue lingering on his top lip. “Now stand the fuck down or I’ll put a bullet between your eyes.”

“Do it,” Bas taunts.

“Do it and I’ll kill that rancid bitch on your arm,” Needles threatens.

“Rush,” I whimper.

“Shut up!”

“What’s it going to be Rush? There ain’t no way out,” Bas tells him as the doors barrel open and three prospects stumble in holding up a badly beaten man. I look to Rush and watch as the wicked smile spreads across his face. Bas and Needles turn to the prospects and we all watch as one grabs a fistful of the hostage’s hair, tugging back to reveal his badly bruised and bloodied face.

A gasp escapes the back of my throat.

“That’ll teach them motherfuckers to fuck with me,” Rush says proudly. “Now finish him off.”

“There’s a problem,” one of the prospects says, turning toward the door.

“You got more than one,” Bas comments. “You said he’s one of Jack Parrish’s guys, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, so what?” Rush calls.

“Man, I don’t even have to kill you, he’s going to light your ass on fire,” Bas retorts.

The door storms open and another prospect walks in holding a child. I blink to make sure my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, but there she is, a beautiful little girl with a mass of blonde curls and fright in her big blue eyes.

I push free from Rush and tear my eyes away from the child to look at him.

“What did you do?” I shriek, fighting for strength.

“You ordered us to grab Deuce, well he had a kid with him,” the prospect explains.

“You fucking stole a kid?” Needles shouts, the gun flailing in his hand.

“Everyone put down your fucking guns,” Bas orders, staring at the little girl with the pink dress. My eyes dart back to her, noting she doesn’t appear harmed but most definitely is scared. I was much older than her when I was taken but I know that feeling. I know she wants her mommy more than anything.

“I like your sneakers,” I murmur as my feet take the lead and bring me closer to her. “It’s okay,” I assure her when I touch the pink shoe laces on her black and white converse sneakers. “I’m Ally.”

“You’ve lost your fucking mind, Rush,” Bas grunts. “We got to give her back.”

“You just created a fucking mess for this club,” Needles adds. “We’re not fucking kidnappers, motherfucker.”

“Fuck all of you,” Rush shouts, lifting the barrel of his gun to the ceiling. I reach for the little girl and tuck her against me as he fires three bullets into the ceiling. Deuce stirs across from me, fighting to open his eyes and manages only one.

“Let her go,” he stammers, spitting blood through his teeth.

“Take Ally and the kid and put them in the van,” Rush orders one of the prospects, causing me to spin around and meet his crazed gaze.

“Rush, we can’t take her,” I argue as the prospect wraps his hand tightly around my arm. I look around the room, waiting for Bas or Needles, someone to stop him, but they all just watch as Rush loses his grip with reality.

“Deucey,” the little girl cries, holding out her arms for him.

“It’s okay, Skylar, everything’s okay,” he stammers, forcing the less swollen eye to open and peer back at me.

“Ally, baby, listen to me,” Rush stutters. “I’m going to fix this,” he swears, forcing my attention back to him. “We’ll get away from here, we’ll go somewhere where no one can find us. We’ll take the kid too. You want kids, don’t you?”

“You son of a bitch,” Deuce growls. “She’s got a fucking family!”

“We’ll be her new family,” Rush interjects, eyes on me. “Look at her, Ally, she’s a pretty little thing. She can make you happy, make you forget.”

“Rush, you can’t take the fucking kid,” Bas hollers.

“He’s right. If you leave here with that kid, you’re done. Parrish won’t let you live,” Needles adds.

Rush lifts his head, stares over my shoulder at Needles and chuckles.

“Parrish can’t stop me.”

“Then you better hope we can’t either,” Needles replies. “Because we’re not letting you out of here with the kid,” he adds, pulling back the safety on his gun.

Deuce wriggles around, groaning as he tries to break free from the confines of the chains wrapped around him.

“Let her fucking go!”

My eyes find his and my breath catches as he glares at me.

“Proud of yourself?”

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” I murmur, tears sting my eyes and when I blink they fall freely.

Rush raises his gun, reaches behind him for another and then points both of them at the men behind me.

“Get her and the kid in the van!”

“No,” I cry as the prospect pulls me toward the door. The little girl in my arms clings to me and cries for her mommy as Rush fires away. Her tiny body trembles with each shot fired and before I realize what I’m doing, I run toward the van and away from the massacre.

The prospect slams the doors shut and I fight back the memories of the last time I was thrown into the back of a van. I can almost feel the handkerchief being shoved in my mouth and the helmet shoved over my head as they bound my hands behind me with zip ties.

“I want my mommy,” the little girl cries, bringing me back to the present.

“It’s okay,” I murmur, hugging her to my chest. I glance down at the girl in my arms.

Skylar.

Deuce called her Skylar.

“Is your name Skylar?”

She nods.

“That’s a really pretty name,” I rasp, wiping away my tears with the back of my hand.

Closing my eyes, I block out the gunfire and fight off my recall of Rush’s words. I know better than anyone, you can’t change the mind of a sociopath. This is Skylar’s life now. She won’t ever see her parents again and the only life she’s ever known is now over.

This perfect child is now a victim.

The difference between me and her is that she is young enough to forget this. The nightmares won’t last. She’s young enough to adapt to her new life and eventually it will be her normal. She’ll grow up and forget her parents. All she’ll know is me and Rush.

We’ll be her family.

We’ll be the people she calls mom and dad.

I can do that. I can make her feel safe. I can give her everything I wished someone gave me when I lost my life.

“It’s okay,” I chant over and over. “It’s okay.

A moment later the doors open again and the stench of gunpowder fills the van as the prospects drag Deuce’s body beside me. He’s covered in blood and groans when they drop him down against the dirty floor of the van. Rocking Skylar in my arms, I turn so she can’t see how badly he’s been injured and continue to whisper in her ear.

“It’s okay,” I murmur. “You’re safe, sweet girl,” I promise as my vision blurs.

“Oh no,” I moan as the withdrawal symptoms threaten to drag me down. I focus on the unconscious man beside me as sweat beads across my skin. My arms fall from around Skylar as my eyes suddenly feel too heavy to remain open.

Skylar whimpers.

The gunshots die.

The engine revs.

Men shout.

Tires screech.

Gone.

Deuce.

Skylar.

Me.

We’re gone without a trace.