Katia

 

When the van stopped again so soon after taking off, I knew something was wrong. For one, Ryan had killed the radio, and the only sound I could hear besides my own heartbeat was the sound of his furious, angry cursing. He skidded to a stop, making the tires screech, and soon, my nose was filled with the odor of burning rubber.

 

I gagged, feeling my nausea return. The slimy ball-gag was sliding around in my mouth, and I groaned, reaching behind me and trying to fumble with the buckle. Now that the van was stopped, I was finally able to get a grasp of one of the fake leather straps. I yanked hard, and the gag shot out of my mouth, bouncing over the floor of the back of the van.

 

I screamed when the doors to the back of the van burst open. Two men were standing in front of me that I’d never seen before. One of them was tall and bald, the other was short with brown hair and a scruffy chin who looked almost like a younger version of Dante.

 

“Help,” I whispered.

 

That’s when I saw him. Dante. Walking towards me, slowly. He was wearing a T-shirt I’d never seen and had big dark circles under both of his eyes. As I watched him approach, my body shook. I was still sitting in the back of the van. But the closer he got, the more I realized that I wanted to be in his arms, safe and happy.

 

I sprinted out of the van. My legs were weak and shaky, but I made myself run on the pavement until I reached Dante. I couldn’t even look at him as I threw my arms around his neck and pulled myself close to his body.

 

“You’re safe now,” Dante whispered. To the guys, he said: “Keep her safe.”

 

Dante pulled away from me. I watched in horror as he pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed it towards the front of the van.

 

“Dante, please, don’t shoot him,” I begged. “Please let the cops get him. Please make sure he goes to jail!”

 

Dante smirked. “I ain’t gonna shoot him. I just gotta make sure he does what I want him to.”

 

I watched silently as Dante walked along the pavement to the front of the van. There was still no sign of Ryan. I was almost surprised that he hadn’t leaped out of the van and tried to make a run for it.

 

Dante rapped the driver’s side door with the gun in his hand. The two guys holding me back were watching with just as much rapt interest as I was.

 

Ryan didn’t open the door. Dante growled, then wrapped his hand around the metal door handle and yanked it open. Ryan tumbled out to the pavement with a grunt. The way Ryan looked next to Dante made me almost embarrassed about the way I’d begged and pleaded for my life. He looked so worthless like the loser he really was.

 

“You.” Dante snarled. He grabbed his gun and jammed the barrel against Ryan’s neck. “Get the fuck up. Walk. Come on, porky,” he added when Ryan failed to move. Dante kicked Ryan, and I felt such satisfaction at his groan of pain. I was clenching my hands into fists so tightly that I felt tiny cuts on my palms from my manicured nails.

 

Dante grabbed Ryan by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to his feet. Standing next to Dante, Ryan looked so short and harmless that I almost laughed. His face was ashen white against the bloody claw marks that marred his face, and he looked like he was going to be sick. I saw him trembling from where I stood, twenty feet away.

 

“My gun,” Dante growled out. “Give me my fucking gun.”

 

Ryan whimpered and sniveled. “I don’t have it. I mean, I don’t have your gun!”

 

“Bullshit!” Dante roared. He grabbed Ryan by the scruff of the neck. “If you keep lying to me, I’m gonna fucking kill you!”

 

Ryan made a sound that sounded halfway between a grunt and a sob. He reached down into his pockets and grabbed two small guns, then tossed them to the ground. Glaring up at Dante, he narrowed his tiny piggy eyes into slits.

 

“You fuck. You fucking ruined everything. You ruined my plan.” Ryan moaned. He covered his face with his hands when he saw me. “I had everything worked out!”

 

“I bet,” Dante said dryly. “Marlo, Tristan! Over here!”

 

The two bikers standing next to me gently released my arms from their grip and walked towards Dante and Ryan. Marlo and Tristan each grabbed one of Ryan’s arms and tugged him towards me.

 

“Are you gonna say anything?” Dante asked, still snarling. “Because I think you owe Miss Reynolds an apology.”

 

“I don’t want to hear it,” I said firmly. I turned away from the men and rubbed my face until my fingers were covered in the cheap makeup Ryan had forced me to wear.

 

“I’m s-sorry!” Ryan stammered. There was a loud smack, and I couldn’t help but grin. I guessed one of the men had slapped him.

 

“Shut up, you pig,” Marlo said. “The lady said she didn’t want to hear it. You gonna try anything else on our watch?”

 

I turned back around. Seeing Dante so close was torture; I wanted to bury myself in his chest, to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him so close that he’d never be more than a few feet away. I needed to talk to him before I did that. So many questions needed answering. Why did he leave me? Where did he go? How did he find me?

 

Just as I started walking towards the men, I heard the sirens behind me.

 

“No!” Ryan wailed. “No, not the cops!”

 

“Yeah,” Dante said. He raised his eyebrows and grinned at me. “And I have a feeling they’re going to take Katia’s word over yours, don’t you think?”

 

I swallowed nervously. Even though my torture and imprisonment was over, I still felt shaky and nervous. My hands were shaking so badly that I twisted my fingers together and twined them behind my back, so no one, especially Dante, would see.

 

“I think they will,” I said with confidence that I didn’t truly feel, stepping closer to where Ryan was behind held by Marlo and Tristan. “After all, I’m a beauty queen. And you’re nothing but a judge.”

 

After that, everything happened quickly. There were at least six cop cars that pulled onto the road, one ambulance, and even a fire truck. I laughed uncontrollably when I saw the whole entourage spill out. Ryan started crying and sank down to his knees, snuffling into the sleeve of his shirt. I couldn’t find an ounce of pity for him anywhere in my heart; I felt pleasure at seeing him cry. I know that’s probably a bitchy thing to say, but you can’t tell me I didn’t deserve to feel like that.

 

One of the cops approached me nervously. “Katia Reynolds?”

 

I nodded.

 

“Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

 

“I can try,” I said softly.

 

The cop nodded. He had soft brown hair and kind blue eyes. I could tell that he was young and that he actually gave a damn about his job. The badge on his chest read: Officer Stevens. While the other cops pulled Ryan into the back of a cruiser with his hands bound behind his back, I led the bikers over.

 

“They saved me,” I said simply, pointing to Dante.

 

The cop narrowed his eyes. I could tell he didn’t like the idea of bikers doing anything good in the community.

 

“Is that true?” Officer Stevens directed towards Dante and the other guys. “Is what she said what really happened?”

 

Dante nodded soberly. “Yep. Ask her anything, and she’ll tell the truth.” He raised his eyebrows and smirked. At that moment, he looked so kissable that I wanted to run to him and cover his face and neck in kisses. Somehow, I managed to restrain myself as best I could.

 

“Well,” Officer Stevens said. He turned back to me. “And why did this guy kidnap you? Did you know him?”

 

I nodded solemnly. “He harassed me before at a pageant a long time ago, and he kidnapped me because I rejected him.”

 

The cop’s eyes narrowed. He stared at my face for so long that I began to feel slightly uncomfortable.

 

“Wait,” he said. “You’re the Katia Reynolds?”

 

I nodded. “Yes. Just like I told you.”

 

“My daughter…” The cop trailed off, looking slightly flushed. “My daughter loves you,” he added. “Do you think you’d be able to give me an autograph to take home for her?”

 

“Well…” I paused to glance over my shoulder at Dante at the other guys. They were all watching me with stony expressions on their faces. I

 

“Please, Miss? She’s a huge fan,” Officer Stevens said. “It would mean the world to her.”

 

I grinned. “Yes. As long as you give these guys a break for me. The whole reason Dante was guarding me was because he said the cops were coming down too hard on his completely legitimate MC.” I trembled as I spoke. A wave of exhaustion came over me, and suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to lie down in my soft bed and sleep for days.

 

Officer Stevens sniffed. “Well, I’ll see what I can do.”

 

“You’re a good man,” I told him. I reached out and touched the cop’s arm, squeezing his muscle under the thick material of his uniform. “I know you believe me. Just trust me, okay?” I batted my eyelashes, well aware that again I was using my charms to get what I wanted.

 

Officer Stevens nodded with a slight smile, clearly trying to remain professional. “Okay, you’ve got my word.”

 

“They’re good men,” I repeated. “Thanks so much, officer. Who should I make the autograph out to?”

 

Officer Stevens blushed. “Tony.”

 

I grinned. As I signed To Tony, with love from Katia on a piece of police blotter paper, I had a feeling the autograph wouldn’t be going to his daughter after all.