After being left alone with my thoughts for a mind-numbing amount of time, I realized that there was only one way that I was going to get out of this mess.

It involved Mark being in the room.

Nothing revolted me more than the idea of getting closer to that large, stupid oaf than the locked door between us, but it was the only chance that I had.

Maybe, if I was fast enough, I could even contact Grizz and save him the trouble of walking into an obvious trap.

I was actually disappointed when one of the other biker thugs brought me my breakfast. Of course, this wasn’t helped when the asshole slammed it through the flap and splattering it across the floor.

At least they knew how to treat a lady.

So, I waited longer. You really start to appreciate your phone when you’ve been kidnapped and you’re trapped in some bullshit room waiting for the chance to bust your way out.

No clocks, no watch, and no phone meant that I had no idea how long I was in that stupid fucking place.

After my hundredth game of I Spy (spoiler alert: the color was always black, and the answer was always an oil stain on the ground), I finally heard footsteps outside.

“Hello?” I called out.

Please be Mark.

Please be Mark.

I can’t believe I’m fucking saying this.

Please be Mark…

The flap scraped open, and I saw the shape of a face slip into view, blocked out by the silhouette from outside.

“Heya, Buttercup,” Mark grinned.

Oh thank God, I reluctantly grumbled to under my breath.

“Good, it’s you…”

Mark looked suspicious. “What, you been waiting for me or somethin’?”

“Something like that,” I smiled as seductively as I can. “I’m just so glad you saved me from that devil, and my fingers just aren’t doing it for me right now...”

Mark scoffed. “Bet you’re all kinds of horny in there, but I ain’t gonna let you out just yet. Boss says I can’t fuck you till we take care of business.”

I fake-pouted. “Are you sure? Because I can give you a show… Maybe I’ll let you watch me play with myself. That’s not against the rules, is it?”

He licked his lips, glancing to the side and back again. “If you’re that desperate, Sweet-tits, I’ve got somethin’ better than your finger.”

“Yeah?” I cooed.

It was like taking fucking candy from a baby, dealing with him. He was stupid, but he was strong, too…

“But it needs to wait until we deal with that Devil’s Dragon. Boss has it out for that club.”

God damnit.

“Since when have you let other men tell you when you can or can’t take what’s yours?” I asked, pushing the envelope as hard as I dared to.

I watched the cogs twist in his head.

Oh shit, I realized. I’ve pushed too hard. He knows something’s up now…

Grinned knowingly, Mark closed the flap.

Fuck.

I heard something twisting in the door, and it was yanked open. Mark quickly stepped into the room, locking it behind himself and keeping an eye on me.

Damn, he’s a little craftier than I wanted.

“You’re right, Buttercup. I should be able to fuck you whenever I want. Glad you’re seein’ things my way…”

Even from here, I could smell the beer on his breath. This asshole had been drinking. Never could hold his liquor…

The beer would make him stupid, but it would make him even harder to put down. I’d have to play this very carefully if I wanted to overpower him and escape, with no weapons on hand.

No weapons besides the allure of sex…

“Come on, big boy,” I smiled as I rose up from the floor. “I’m all yours.”

Mark lumbered over, a stupid look plastered across his face. He was a stray dog, ready to fuck, but about as dumb as dog shit.

“Liiiittle closer.”

If I was lucky…

I could take him by surprise...

Mark came within striking distance, and I twisted my face in anger as I lashed out, quick as lightning – raking my nails across his face and drawing blood.

“Goddammit!” He snarled, before dropping into laughter. “Feisty little bitch!”

I took a few steps back as he swatted chaotically, his other hand covering his eyes. It was hard to gauge an opening, but maybe…

“Now I’m gonna really make it a night to remember,” Mark chuckled. “I’m thinkin’, now’s as good a time as any to break your ass in.”

My insides shriveled at the thought.

No, I shook my head.

He’s NEVER touching me again.

My eyes went from him to the locked door, then back again. He wasn’t flailing around as much, and he was starting to pull his hand free from his face…

I threw myself forward into his chest with my shoulder, punching him in the jaw with the other fist when he drunkenly staggered back a few steps.

Mark managed to grab my wrist as he fell backwards, pulling me down to the ground against him.

Shit.

He was too strong to grapple, his arms quickly wrapping around me before he pinned me down beneath him. As he started to get his lumbering weight on me, I managed to get a hand free long enough to jab my thumb into his eye, causing him to recoil backward.

He still had me beneath him so I grabbed his free hand and bit down hard into the fleshy part beneath his thumb.

“Goddammit, bitch!”

I pulled free as he tried to smack me upside the skull, managing only a glancing blow. It was enough to put some stars in my vision, but I kept it together.

Another hit like that, or WORSE…

His hands came down around my throat, and he put his weight into closing my windpipe. I held panic back as he grinned toothily, snarling with anger as he choked the life from my body.

I tried pushing back on his face, even grabbing his own throat, but his meaty arms were positioned so that I couldn’t reach it.

Everything started going dark…

Until my hand brushed the metal plate.

I brought it up against the side of his head, slamming the thin bit against his temple. It hurt my hand to strike him so hard, but Mark released his grip and clattered to the ground beside me.

While he tried to stagger to his feet, I clamored hazily to my own, taking a few deep breaths, and jumped on his rising form from behind.

My arms didn’t have anything on his, but they still wrapped around his neck just as good. With my forearm held to his throat, I slowly choked him out as he stumbled around, trying to pull me free.

His meaty arms couldn’t bend far enough to reach me. He could barely get a decent grab at my clothes, and I’d always shake free while clinging to his back.

Mark finally got to his feet, groaning and sputtering away, and slammed my back against the metal wall. I shuddered with the pain as I almost lost my grip, but held on tight.

He did it again, weaker this time, although I still almost lost my latch around his throat.

His head started to roll, and I knew I had him. That was until he pushed over backwards…

I barely moved my head out of the way before it was crushed against the concrete floor. I still banged it hard enough to see stars, and I completely lost my grip.

Dammit, I groaned.

He’s won.

There’s no way I can fight him now…

But Mark didn’t move, his lumbering form keeping me pinned beneath him. But now, he was facing upwards, his back holding me down to the ground, arms spread wide.

It took a moment to realize this, and a little longer to figure out that I couldn’t easily move him off of me.

His crushing pressure was crushing my chest, and I could barely breath beneath him. Even out cold, he’s gonna choke me out…

I barely got my palms in place beneath him. Throwing everything I could into it, I managed to slightly shift him over a couple of inches. Delicious air quickly filled my lungs, and I gasped with desperate victory.

After a brief moment of pushing and shimmying, I was finally able to slowly pull myself free from Mark’s heavy, oafish body.

The fucker was already starting to move again, letting a groan escape from his lips as I kicked him hard upside the head a few times. That seemed to put him out again, but I was still locked in this damn room. More importantly, he still had the keys on him… A moment of searching his pockets, and I found my prize. Fumbling in the dark, I found the right key, unlocking my way to victory.

I closed the door behind myself and moved to lock it when I heard activity. Quickly darting behind a nearby crate, I waited for a biker to stumble past, the smell of fresh liquor on his breath.

He stopped on the other side of the door, holding himself up against the wall. When it was obvious that he wasn’t moving, I glanced around the other side of the crate, finally getting an idea of where I was.

The dim lights along the ceiling revealed that I was in a hallway of some abandoned building, by the looks of it.

We hadn’t moved far from New Orleans. My sense of direction told me the van had taken the road west out of the city.

That meant that I was in Kenner, or maybe Metairie. The sound of a passenger airliner filtered through the thin metal ceiling as I took a moment to catch my breath and take stock of my surroundings. Kenner was where they put the international airport for the city.

We had to be close to it.

With this drunken asshole nearby, I decided to keep my head back in the game. If I was gonna break out, I’d need to be sharp…

I knew I wasn’t far from the exit. They’d gone whole hog and slipped a black bag over my head for the entire little ride here, but we hadn’t walked far once we arrived. A couple doors, maybe one big room, and I’d be out.

Realizing I couldn’t get close enough to lock Mark in, I gave up on that line of thinking and snuck away past a few more crates. It was my hope to slink out of the hallway and see what was what…

But when I made it to a doorway, I realized that this wasn’t going to be easy.

A quick glimpse of the large room took mystery out of the equation – we were in some kind of abandoned train station. I could see the tracks stretching into the room, with huge shutters down on the other side. Crates, supplies, and forgotten mounds of junk scattered all over.

But that was secondary to the men.

If what Mark had told me about his gang was true, then the entire Bayou Boys motorcycle club was here. At least a dozen men were scattered around, excluding the sick guy back in the hallway and Mark himself.

And then I saw their boss.

Mark had told me about Gridlock, bragging about this shit like he usually did. Flanked by a man on either side, he was a shorter, older bastard with thin, light hair, a heavy leather jacket with dangling chains, and a cigar jammed in his mouth.

I didn’t know much about him besides his looks, how “great” he apparently was, and the fact that he was stupid enough to take Mark and the Crew into his ranks.

So, he couldn’t be all that smart.

But something told me that being caught slinking around on my way out the door wouldn’t work out too well for me…

When backs were turned, I slipped around behind a few nearby boxes quietly. As silently as possible, I lifted a misplaced crowbar from atop a box. At least I had a weapon now, although I had no chance of making a break for it.

I had to think this through – I couldn’t even see the exit yet, although I suspected that it was on the other side of the scattered men, over near the front.

I heard a small scrape nearby, just as I was deciding on a plan of action…

That’s when everything went black.