You’ll never see her again . . . The words reverberated in her brain, over and over. You’ll never see her again. He knew! That fucking bastard knew what had happened to Stacey. She needed to talk to him, but how the hell would she manage that? She flopped back on the couch. It was impossible. What would the Steel Kings do with that guy? Turn him over to the cops? No. They wanted information as much as she did, and there were much better ways of getting that out of a man. Which meant they had their own way of dealing with the Jokers. Or perhaps anyone who crossed them.

Like her. What if she—

The door burst open, and Seth stepped inside. His mouth firm, his shoulders back, he stared at her as he softly closed the door. The gentleness of the movement didn’t fool her. She saw his tight jaw, his stiff posture. Questions were coming. Questions that she didn’t really want to answer.

“Time to come clean, Nikki, and I mean it. I’m tired of screwing around with you.”

That raised her hackles. Who did he think he was, talking to her like that? She scowled, arms planted on her hips as she stared at him, chin thrust forward in defiance. No one could say she wasn’t stupid sometimes. But she didn’t think he would hurt her. He wouldn’t hit her. What made her so sure? She didn’t know, but she felt it, deep in her gut. “What difference does it make to you why the Jokers had me?” She pointed behind him, out the door. “That was a Joker, wasn’t it? What are you doing to him?”

He took a step closer, towering over her, eyes boring into hers. “And what does that have to do with you?”

She grunted. She couldn’t exactly tell them, could she? “Seth, I need you to—”

“You need to answer me, Nikki.”

“Why does it matter?” she exclaimed again. “To rape me? To sell me? To kill me? How the hell do I know?” Why did it matter so much to him why she had been with the Jokers? “I was tied up, remember? I was kidnapped. I didn’t enjoy any of it, if that’s what you’re getting at,” she muttered, a cold chill racing down her spine. Is that what he thought? “My God, Seth! Don’t you remember? I was yanked out of the bed of a pickup truck with my hands tied . . . does that look like someone who willingly wanted to be with those bastards?”

“What do they want with you?”

She sighed, suddenly so weary she felt weak. “How the hell do I know?” she muttered. “Do you think they stopped me on the street and asked me to politely go with them? Seriously.” She turned away from him, wanting to get away from those eyes, the questions, his physical presence. At that moment, she felt more intimidated by him that she had since the moment he rescued her. He didn’t give her any room. He stayed close to her, within a few inches, step-by-step, hovering, crowding, demanding.

She spun around. “Why don’t you just leave me alone? All I want is to be left alone. Why can’t you just let me go?” To her frustration, warm tears filled her eyes. “Why can’t you just let me go?” Out of nowhere, her hand moved, fisted, slamming him in the middle of his chest. He didn’t move. She glanced up into his face, expecting to see anger, but she didn’t. She saw . . . what was that? Pity? She didn’t meet anyone pitying her.

“That was a Joker,” Seth said, arms crossed over his chest now. “He recognized you. And what was that he said? You’ll never see her again? What was that about?”

He was the one who had dragged her out of the pickup truck. She would never forget his face, the sneer, the look in his eyes promising nothing good. “I know he was the one that yanked me out of the truck back there at the warehouse. As far as what he said? I didn’t understand. I wasn’t exactly in their confidence, you know.”

“Stop being a smartass and tell me what you know, Nikki.”

“Or what? You’ll beat me? Levi or Grady will hurt me? Is that what you’re trying to suggest?”

He gritted his teeth, swiped his hand through his close-cropped hair, and closed his eyes for a moment. “My God, Nikki. Why don’t you just tell me?”

“Because you want me to tell you something that I don’t have the answer to!” They stared at one another, both breathing hard now. “Is this what you call a Mexican standoff?” She shook her head, tried to back up a couple of steps toward the couch, and once again he followed. “Quit following me! Give me some elbowroom, will you?”

He continued toward her, backing her up toward the couch until the back of her knees touched the cushions. She sat down. To her surprise, he leaned over her, bracing one arm on the side of the couch, the other on the back, literally trapping her. She swallowed.

“I thought we had established at least a little bit of trust with one another.” He grinned. “After all, we’ve shared some tender moments together, haven’t we?”

His face loomed so close to her she felt his breath on her lips. This quiet side of him, this side that looked so . . . disappointed? She frowned. Where was this going? “Trust? Is that what this is?” She shook her head, pushed the memory of his naked body hovering over her out of her mind. “You mean like not letting me go? Not letting me go home? You’re keeping me here against my will, and you talk to me about trust?”

“I could’ve helped you, Nikki.”

Her stomach clenched into a tight knot of anxiety. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Stacey.”

Her sister’s name coming out of Seth’s mouth shocked her to the core. The knot of anxiety turned into a ball of dread. Nausea bubbled up her throat, and she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up on end. Was it possible to feel the blood draining from your face? Was it possible for her heart to beat any harder without bursting? Was it possible to feel so many emotions at once that you couldn’t put your finger on any one of them?

“This is all about Stacey, isn’t it?” His voice practically a whisper, she could only stare into his eyes. Finally, she nodded, her mouth so dry she couldn’t work up enough spit to swallow, nor to speak.

“So let me guess. You conveniently . . . let me put it this way. Your plan was to allow yourself to be kidnapped by the Jokers so that you could find your sister. Is that right?”

Again, she stared at him for several moments before offering a nod. He jolted upright so fast she startled, pushing himself away from the couch and taking several steps back, that look in his eyes exactly the one she had feared. The dismay. Disbelief, shock, and . . . was that disgust?

No, he had to understand. “You don’t—”

“Please don’t tell me you were that stupid, Nikki. How could you possibly have thought—”

“I needed to find my sister!” she snapped. “Don’t tell me what you would or wouldn’t have done. You don’t know. I didn’t know what to do, and—”

“Why didn’t you go to the cops?”

“I did!” she cried, her voice wavering between fury and tears. “They told me I had to wait before I could report her missing! And after that? What was I supposed tell them then? She didn’t show up for work? You know what their response would’ve been, don’t you?”

He said nothing, just stood there staring down at her.

“They would’ve told me that she was an adult, that she could do whatever she wanted, had the freedom to come and go as she pleased. Even if I told him that was so out of character it wasn’t funny, what could they do? I had no proof that something bad happened to her! She didn’t show up for work. Big deal.” Hot tears spilled over her eyes, streaming down her cheeks. “But I knew! I knew that something was wrong.” She shook her head, her despair rising in her like a tidal wave, soon to consume her.

“And you thought letting yourself be kidnapped was the way to go about it? To find her? Do you know how many bastards ride with Jokers?”

She looked at him. He didn’t understand. He just stood there, looking so judgmental, so . . . “I didn’t know what else to do, Seth.” Fatigue consumed her. She was worn out, mentally and physically. She wanted to give up, to surrender, but she couldn’t. She had to find Stacey, no matter what.

“It’s easy for you to stand there and judge, isn’t it?” she asked, her own voice soft now, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She was so tired of struggling, of trying to maintain a modicum of calm. The secret was out, but she still didn’t know what would happen next as a result. “You tell me what I should’ve done. Who I could’ve gone to? You tell me, Seth. Who would’ve helped me look for my sister?”

“But Nikki . . . ” He took a step closer, sitting down next to her, not touching, but close. “Don’t you realize that they could’ve raped you? They could’ve sold you into . . . they could’ve killed you.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” she exclaimed, her voice rising again as she turned toward him. “What I did might have been dumb, but believe me, I’m not totally stupid. I knew what might happen to me.” Her voice cracked. “But I had to find my sister! I have to find my sister!”

He reached for her then, an arm sliding over her shoulders. For just a moment, for just that brief second, she wanted to collapse against him, to revel in his strength and comfort. Instead, she hit him in the chest again. “Let me go, Seth. I can’t be here anymore. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“You know, Nikki, the chances of you finding her are—”

“Don’t you dare tell me how slim the chances are of me finding her! Don’t you think I know that? So what? I give up?” She turned on him. “Don’t you dare tell me that she could be . . . I know she could be halfway around the world by now, trapped in a steel container on a ship or in a warehouse somewhere! Don’t you dare tell me that she could already be dead!” She battered at him. He gently grabbed her wrists as she wailed. “Because I already know all that, Seth. I already know!”

He didn’t move. He tried to comfort her, but she was having none of it. He stared at her, then at the door. “I need to go talk to Levi. We’ll figure out something, I promise.”

She almost laughed. “Really? What are you going to do? You think you have a better chance of finding her than I do? Why? Because you’re a man?”

“Don’t be stupid,” he growled. “That’s not what I meant—”

“I don’t care what you meant, Seth,” she said, totally drained. “Just go away. Leave me the hell alone.”

After several silent moments, he acquiesced to her wishes. He stood, gazing down at her another moment, then turned and strode to the door. He opened it, then looked back over his shoulder. “We’ll figure out something, Nikki. Believe me.”

She snorted, turning her face from him and crossing her arms over her chest, desperately trying to swallow the emotion causing the horrible tightness in her throat and the heavy ball in her chest. The door closed softly behind him.

Anger warred with relief. How had he found out? Had it been that Joker? Or something else? Had he known all along? And if so, how? She stood, swiping at her cheeks again, taking a deep, shuddering breath. She needs to leave. Now. Before things got even more complicated. Maybe she should go to the cops. Maybe she should tell them what happened, that she’d been kidnapped while trying to find her sister. That she’d been so-called rescued by the Steel Kings. The problem was, she didn’t want to get Seth into trouble. None of them had done anything to harm her. Not really. And besides, she and Seth . . . she needed the comfort, the connection, but it didn’t mean anything, did it?

Did it?

Without overthinking it, she strode to the door. She flipped off the light switch, casting the room into darkness. The only thought on her mind right now was to leave. Seth couldn’t help her. The Steel Kings couldn’t help her. Seth had already told her about the ongoing troubles between the Jokers and the club. They were outnumbered. She didn’t want to drag them into her mess. Not because she didn’t want the help, but what could they do? They had no more information to go on than she did. Unless . . . could that Joker they’d taken inside the main building told them anything? Did he know anything about Stacey? She shook her head. Gang members like that simply followed orders. Guys like him wouldn’t know what the hell was going on even within a local gang. And the Jokers . . . they were multistate. He might’ve heard about Stacey, but that didn’t mean diddly squat. How many women did they kidnap? How many women did they kidnap for ransom, to sell into sex trafficking rings, or force them to be drug mules, or . . . The list was endless.

She had to take the chance, and she had to do it now. No one would be expecting her to try to get away now, not so soon after her last failed attempt. This time . . . she stepped outside and stood in the darkness just beyond the door. She closed it softly behind her before sliding along the wall of the cabin. She peered toward the main building. Motorcycles were lined up along the front, a sliver of moonlight casting the chrome into flashes of brightness. She couldn’t ride a bike, but there were a couple of cars nearby, Padre’s one of them.

Did she dare? No one was around, the club members probably inside the main building, curious about what was happening with the Joker. She heard the sound of loud voices, but it was more raucous than threatening. She saw the shadow of Padre’s car parked near a pole carrying electrical lines that separated halfway between Seth’s cabin and the main building. She ran toward it, hunched halfway over, her heart pounding, questioning her own actions. Desperation made her do crazy things, no doubt about it. Maybe she should trust Seth, but—

A shout from inside prompted her to freeze, not ten steps away from the old car. More laughter. More brave talk and threats, then nothing. She quickly moved toward the car door, glanced inside, hoping to find the car keys in the ignition. No such luck. With a low curse, she turned to find herself staring at the wooden post carrying the power line and there, hanging from one of the rods inserted in the side of the post to facilitate maintenance, she saw a key. Seriously?

She reached for the key and quickly opened the car door. Thank God the overhead light didn’t come on. She slid the key into the ignition, hoping that it was the right one, that it would fit, that . . . it slid in easily all the way in. At that moment, several of the club members emerged from the front of the main building.

Heart pounding, knowing that she might only have a few seconds, she turned the key in the ignition, slammed the car into reverse, and stepped on the accelerator. The car jolted backward, and she tapped the brakes just before she crashed into two of the parked bikes, then shoved the car into drive and pressed the accelerator to the floor. She laughed, a crazy sounding laugh as she sped through the gate and onto the asphalt highway. Her heart pounding, her blood surging, her head exploding with excitement, she found the light switch, the headlights illuminating maybe fifty feet of the asphalt road in front of her.

She had done it! She had gotten away! She tightly gripped the steering wheel, focused on keeping her eyes on the road, even as she heard the sound of motorcycles revving into life behind her. She pressed the accelerator down harder and hunched over the steering wheel, praying that she could outrace the motorcycles that were now in pursuit, their headlights shining into the vehicle, bouncing against the rearview mirror.

She had to make it! She had to make it this time! She had to!

Faster and faster she drove, the car shuddering when it hit sixty miles an hour. She cursed, tried to push it to sixty-five and then seventy, but the alignment was so bad, the car shuddering more forcefully, that she was forced to ease off. The motorcycles gained on her. No! She wasn’t going to fail this time. The road curved to the right, around a low hill. A motorcycle surged ahead of the rest, closing the distance, and, gritting her teeth, she pressed down on the accelerator again, holding the jolting steering wheel tightly in her hands. Dammit! She barely made the turn around another hill, unfamiliar with the road.

The night was dark. Her heart in her throat, she stared at the road, trying to anticipate its curves. Just then, several drops landed on the windshield. Then, a steadier flow of rain. She muttered, groped for the windshield wipers, but she couldn’t find the right switch to turn them on, if they even worked.

“Damn it!” she growled, slamming one hand against the steering wheel, casting a quick gaze into the rearview mirror. Five motorcycle headlights bobbed behind her, keeping a safe distance, not gaining on her anymore. Why? What were they doing? Then, belatedly, she glanced down at the dashboard and saw an orange light glowing on the dashboard with the image of a gas pump. “No!” she screamed. The gas tank was on empty! She raged, her words unintelligible even to her. They were just shouts of disbelief, of despair. This couldn’t be happening! Why—

She rounded another curve and barely managed to keep from skidding off onto the shoulder of the road as an S curve came up. The car shuddered, the engine rumbling, the sound of raindrops pounding on the windshield now, marring her view. The tires caught gravel. She leaned closer over the steering wheel, eyes narrowed. She tried to peer through the rain splattered, dusty windshield. Another curve. She slammed on the brakes, fishtailing, her heart in her throat, her grip on the steering wheel so tight her fingers grew numb. The motorcycles gained some ground.

Unbidden, tears once again filled her eyes and blurred her vision. She tried desperately to blink them away but failed. She knew it was useless, but she refused to stop. The motorcycles would just follow her until she ran out of gas. She had a straightaway on the road, and then off to her right, she saw the warehouse where she had been taken, where she had been rescued by Seth.

It whizzed by in a blur. She kept going, heading west, not knowing how far she’d get before the car finally coughed and shuddered before grinding to a halt. She tightened her jaw, cursing her bad luck, the Jokers, even Seth. If she couldn’t—

Another sharp curve in the road, one that she wasn’t ready for. It took nearly an L turn in front of a small bluff, then rolled almost immediately again to the left, followed by another sharp S curve. She tapped the brakes, but the water on the road caused the tires to squeal, the brake pads to whine, the rear end of the car fishtailing again. She tried to correct, tried to slow down, but the car was out of control. It swerved drastically from side to side. No matter what Nikki did, she couldn’t get the car under control. Her heart in her throat, she held on to the steering wheel for dear life. Then she hit something, she wasn’t sure what, maybe the shoulder, maybe a rock, maybe even an animal. The car shot across the asphalt, and the left front tire lifted from the pavement. She instinctively yanked on the steering wheel, pulling the car in the other direction, but she overcorrected. The car slid sideways, perpendicular to the asphalt highway, and then both the left wheels lifted once more from the pavement.

A horrified scream ripped from her mouth as the car continued to tilt. She tried to hang on to the steering wheel, realizing only at that moment that she hadn’t put on a seatbelt. If the car even had seatbelts. With a grinding crunch and a groan, the car flipped. Fifty miles an hour, wet road, loss of control, car flipping . . .

She screamed again, but it was cut off and overwhelmed by the sound of crunching metal, grinding, a popping tire, and she was thrown away from her seat, crashing into the console between the seats. Her body tumbled from her seat. She crashed into the passenger side door, then the roof as the car flipped. Pain exploded, her ears echoing with the sound of heavy thuds, and then everything went black.