Grant
My cell displayed Trenton’s name. After all this fucking time, the fucking prick was calling me. Like it was just a regular day. Like he hadn’t dropped off the face of the earth.
I careened over to the side of the road to park and answer. I was shaking way too badly to attempt riding and talking, not that I ever talked while riding my bike anyhow. Just wasn’t plain smart.
“Hey, Grant, how are you?”
“What the fuck, man? What shit are you pulling?” I was pissed. So fucking pissed. Life wasn’t a game, and he had better get his head screwed on right or else.
“I’ll tell you what I’m pulling,” he hissed, sounding a lot colder and meaner than I had ever heard him before. “I got her.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. “Sage?” I asked even though I knew he wasn’t talking about his girlfriend—or ex-girlfriend if he was pulling this crazy shit on her, too.
“No. Yes. Her, too.”
Victoria.
I couldn’t say her name. I couldn’t say anything. I was so fucking livid I couldn’t even see straight.
“That’s right. I got your little fuck buddy,” Trenton said.
That was when I found my tongue. “Listen, you little shit—”
“Oh.” He laughed. “That hit a nerve, huh? Yeah, well, I’ve been keeping an eye on things. Not just you. You see, I need money, and now I know how I’m gonna get it. You.”
“I’m not paying you one fucking cent—”
“Either you pay me one million dollars, or else I’ll kill Victoria.”
No. No way. This wasn’t Trenton. This wasn’t him.
“What the hell happened to you? What shit did you get messed up in?” I demanded.
He didn’t respond.
“Put Victoria on,” I commanded.
“No.”
“Put her on!”
“You got it bad for her, don’t you? I swear, Grant, I’ll do it. I’ll shoot her right between the eyes.”
“That’s fucking cold, boy.”
“Don’t call me boy,” he snapped.
“Then grow up and be a fucking man already. You’re better than this shit. I know you are.”
“That’s what you wanted to believe. That’s what you wanted to think.” Trenton laughed again, but it was a sad one, pathetic sounding. “I need the money. You need her. Even exchange, don’t you think?”
I couldn’t believe it. How the hell could one of my own MC members threaten me? Threaten my woman? “You want the money?” I asked.
“Damn straight I do.”
“Then you have to tell me what’s going on.”
He didn’t respond.
“Trenton.”
“When you bring the money. Or are you gonna have one of your lackeys drop it off for you?” he asked mockingly.
“You want the money, let me talk to her.”
“Nope. Oh, and, Grant? If you try to dare pull that informant shit on me, I will light her up and go after the entire club. You want all that blood on your hands?” His voice was shaking. He had the right words, but his delivery was all wrong. Trenton was scared shitless. He desperately needed the money. To make himself disappear? Or to pay someone off so he wouldn’t be the one to disappear six feet under?
“Trenton, we can work this out like adults. We can be reasonable. You need money. That’s clear. How much? To whom?”
“Grant, I’m not—”
“There doesn’t have to be any deaths. Not Victoria’s. Not Sage’s.” I paused, and Trenton did inhale slightly. He did care for the girl. Good. Hopefully that meant she was all right despite this shit. “Not mine,” I added, “and not yours.”
“I’m not dying,” Trenton said desperately.
“I don’t want you to.” The truth. For now. If he did anything to hurt Victoria or Sage, for that matter, then all bets were off. “Who are you in deep with?”
“Grant. Stop playing games with me. I’m not a kid.”
“Damn straight you are. You’re acting like a petulant—”
“You think insulting me is gonna get me to open up to you? You think it’s gonna keep me from blowing your fuck buddy’s brains out? Keep it up, man. I swear I’ll do her in.”
“A real man wouldn’t threaten a woman. A real man wouldn’t kidnap anyone. A real man would ask for help when he got in too deep.”
He didn’t say anything for a little while. I strained to hear anything in the background, but I heard nothing. He must not be with the women right now because I knew Victoria would try to shout and let me know she was all right or what was going on if she could.
I’m all right. Her last text to me.
I’d do anything to make sure you’re all right.
“You gonna man up and ask for help?” I asked.
“I’m manning up by finding a way to get funds. Now are you gonna—”
“Kidnapping and extortion. That’s how you’re gonna man up? Really, dude?” I shook my head. “Having a shitty upbringing does not mean you should—”
“You have no right to criticize me—”
“Are you for real?” I couldn’t believe it. The kid had gone off the rails and jumped off at Loonyville.
“You have two days,” Trenton said. “Two days to get me the money. One million.”
“That’s a lot of cash. You can’t expect me to just go up to the bank and—”
“I expect you to do whatever it takes,” he said coolly. “You always act like you’re big and bad and tough, but what are you? What have you ever really done? Sure, you’re the leader of a motorcycle club. So what. Big deal. You’re nothing but a loser.”
What the hell? “I’m the loser?” I asked quietly. Keeping my damn cool was nearly impossible, but I couldn’t risk him going off. “Listen, I get you’re in deep. You need money, and you need it now. Let me talk to whoever you owe money to. Maybe I can get them—”
“Fancy yourself a white knight?” he asked.
I could hear the sneer in his voice, his tone shocking me—not because of the harshness in it but because of the fear. He was terrified. Fear had led him to this. Just what had he gotten himself involved him that he was so afraid, afraid enough to kidnap and blackmail?
“I tried to help you,” I started.
“You’re not my father.”
“No. I’m not.”
For a measure, we were both quiet.
Then he asked, “Will you have the money?”
“I’ll bring it myself,” I said, “within twenty-four hours.”
“Good. I’ll text you later with info about where to drop it off”
“But first I want to talk to Victoria.”
“Dude, how many times do I have to tell you no?”
“You want my money? You let me talk to her. Otherwise, how the fuck do I even know you really have her?”
“No dice.”
“Then no money. Take it or leave it, Trenton. You have her? Let her talk.”
“She’s sleeping,” he muttered.
“So wake her. Wait. Sleeping or unconscious? Did you hurt her? I swear to God, if you touched her—”
“Grant.” He didn’t sound tough, not at all. He sounded like the young teen who knew he had done wrong and needed forgiveness, from me and from himself.
“Just let me talk to her.”
“Hold on.” The sound of rummaging went on, like he was covering up the phone. A few mumbled words, maybe some crying, and then…
“Grant.”
A shot went straight through me. Victoria. She sounded out of it. Didn’t seem too frightened, though, but maybe that was just because, like I said, she was out of it.
“There,” Trenton said. A door slammed in the background. “You happy now?”
No, and I wouldn’t be until Victoria and Sage were out of his clutches and away from harm, but I didn’t want to stir the pot, so I just said, “Yeah.”
“Thank you,” he had the balls to say, and he hung up.
Thank you? Thank you? You said thank you when someone held the door for you so it wouldn’t slam into your face. You said thank you to a waiter or waitress. You said thank you if someone said bless you if you sneezed.
You didn’t say thank you after someone agreed to pay you one fucking million dollars because you snatched their girlfriend.
Where the hell did I go wrong with him? I knew deep down he was responsible for his own actions, but fucking hell. I tried to help him, to get him straight. I even bought him a fucking bike—albeit one he had to fix up, which I taught him how to do. I treated him like he was one of us, like a part of the family, and this was how the fucking guy repaid me?
There was no doubt about it. Trenton had turned his back on us. If he had gotten himself into trouble and asked me for help, I would’ve bent over backward for him. I would’ve given him the shirt off my back. I would’ve done everything in my power to set him back down the straight and narrow road. Because I considered him family.
But to pull this shit, to choose himself and allow his fear to cause him to threaten me and to potentially harm innocents? He wasn’t family. He was on his own.
“Hold on, Victoria,” I said as I turned my bike back on. “I’m coming for you.”
Victoria
My head ached, but I didn’t bother to open my eyes. Sage’s crying had stopped a little while ago. I hoped she was sleeping. Poor girl. She didn’t look like she had any bruises on her, but I also hadn’t gotten a good look at her before Trenton showed up.
Trenton.
The door opened, and I blinked. Trenton covered a cell in his hands, and his eyes were wild and determined. Fearful, too. “You say Grant’s name and that it. You got it?”
“Huh?” I hadn’t been conscious for long, and I didn’t understand why he was so urgent.
“Say Grant’s name. Nothing else.”
I nodded. My throat was dry.
He held out the cell.
“Grant,” I said dutifully. It came out more like a croak than anything, and Trenton already had his back to me and closed the door behind him.
I closed my eyes, and this time, the darkness was that of sleep instead of unconsciousness.
***
A cool washcloth to my face woke me up. I jerked back in surprise and then again when I realized the one tending to me was Trenton and not Sage.
I glanced around wildly.
“She’s sleeping,” he said quietly.
He seemed calm, almost too calm, and reserved.
Was he bipolar? How could he be so composed right now? I sure felt like a mess myself. But the cool washcloth did feel nice against me, so I kept my questions to myself, not wanting to risk setting him off again.
He pulled the washcloth away. “The swelling’s gone down. You…I…” Trenton sat on the edge of the bed, head down.
“Thank you.”
He snorted. “Thank you,” he repeated glumly. “I don’t even know what the fuck I’m doing.”
I gaped at him. Did he really think I was going to be his shrink? Or that I would forgive him for the shit he put me through?
“Thirsty,” I managed, my dry throat killing me.
He got up, grabbed a cup, filled it from the tap, and brought it over to me. Careful not to spill any, he gave me some to drink.
I wasn’t about to thank him again, so I just nodded.
“I’m glad you came here,” he said after a few moments.
I couldn’t help myself. It might earn me a punch or a slap, but I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “Really? You mean to tell me if I hadn’t showed up here, you would’ve gone back to town and kidnapped me anyhow?”
His cheeks turned bright red. Fuck. That had been his plan.
“What the hell did I ever do to you?” My jaw lowered. He had me say Grant’s name. He’d been talking to Grant. A ransom call? Was this all about money?
“Look, the things I said, I shouldn’t’ve. I was outta line. I’m just under a lot of stress right now, and I lost my cool.”
He sounded desperate, but I couldn’t tell if he was being genuine, or if he were terrified Grant would kick his ass for him touching me. Did it matter if he were genuine? The kid had not only crossed the line; he had run a full mile past it. There was no coming back from all the stunts he’d pulled, even if he did feel remorse now.
His cell buzzed, and he put the cup on the nightstand and walked out.
Sage stirred. She had fallen asleep on the floor to my right, and she sat up, blinking and stretching. “He’s gone?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Mom! I’m so sorry. I thought…I thought…I was so afraid. I just…” She sniffed and looked ready to break down again.
“Shh,” I said consolingly. “Don’t cry. I’m here. Just try to untie me.”
Sage shook her head. “I won’t be able to. I already tried.”
I stared at the knots. It did look like she’s tried, but they weren’t ordinary knots. “What’s going on?” I asked.
She shook her head. “It’s bad,” she whispered. “So bad.”
“Has he hurt you?”
“Not physically.” She patted my face. “I can’t believe he hit you. He’s just…No. I won’t make excuses for him.”
“You thought you loved him, and he led you on. Love has made people stupid for years.”
“That’s the thing.” She bit her lower lip and hugged herself, sitting on the bed where Trenton just had a few moments ago. Her gaze focused on the damp washcloth. “I think he does love me, in his twisted way.”
“After everything he’s done?”
“He did it for me,” she said softly. “He’s lived a messed up life, and it’s made him a mess, and I’ve been trying to help him, and he’s been better, but he doesn’t know how to have happiness or joy. It’s like he thinks he doesn’t deserve it. So he does stupid stuff and sabotages himself.”
My eyes widened. “Sabotages himself?” Where did she get this from?
Her cheeks flushed, and she toyed with the washcloth in her lap. “I’ve been reading up about it. Psych books. Been taking them out of the library so I can understand him better.”
I gaped at her. “You’re interested in psychology?”
“I wanted to make him better,” she said defensively.
“I’m not complaining,” I said to reassure her, “but some people have to help themselves. It’s not what you want. It’s what they want.”
“I know, but I thought I could get through to him. And it seemed like I was at first. I made progress. We were doing good.”
“And what happened?” I asked.
“We got serious. I mean, really serious.”
The doorknob jiggled.
“Listen,” I whispered. “You think he loves you? Use it, then. Sweet talk him.”
Her eyes widened. “I can’t—”
“No hysterics,” I warned.
The door opened, and Trenton came back in. His face was white.
Sage stood. She cast me a glance, and I nodded.
She took a breath. “Trenton—”
“You hungry?” he asked.
“I don’t want food. I want—”
“Everything will work out,” he promised.
Sage blinked several times. She was going to start crying again. Not good. I wasn’t sure if her crying had contributed to him going off earlier or not.
“My wrists are hurting me.” I hung my head and did my best to look sad and forlorn.
Sage latched onto my cue. “My mom. Can’t you free her? We won’t do anything. I swear we won’t.” She walked over to him and ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m not leaving,” she promised. “I’ll be good.”
Trenton grabbed her hand and kissed it. Tenderly. Did he really love her? Maybe in a way he did. But then he dropped it and shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t risk her leaving. I need her. Once everything is all sorted out, she can go. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
She can go. Meaning me. He wants Sage yet. What an idiot. Like that was going to happen.
Sage’s hand closed into a fist, and I could almost see a change come over her. She was done crying. She was done being the victim. “You won’t untie her? Fine. The least you can do is apologize.”
Trenton winced. “Yeah. I said some really horrible things. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to my mom!”
He kneeled down in front of me. A little over the top, but okay. “I’m sorry. I’m just under a lot of…You don’t need excuses.” Then he stood and walked over to Sage, grabbing her hands. “It won’t be much longer. I promise. Everything will be fixed, and we can go and live our lives the way we want to. A fresh slate. It’ll be worth it. I swear.” He kissed her fingers then her lips and walked back out of the place.
Sage immediately set about trying to undo my bindings, but she made no headway and had to scramble away when Trenton came back inside ten minutes later.
“Lunch,” he announced cheerily, and he provided us with fast food like it was a feast. He stayed and ate with us—Sage had to feed me because he refused to untie me—and talked about how great their future was going to be.
Sage did her best to sound excited, and she did a decent enough job at it. The poor girl wasn’t an actress, but Trenton didn’t seem to notice. As for me, I didn’t say a damn thing.
But when he left again, I called Sage over. “My cell. It dropped on the floor after Trenton hit me with the gun. Did he take it?”
“In the aftermath, I put my foot on top of it and shoved it underneath the bed. I forgot all about it.” She was already on the floor, digging around. “There,” she said triumphantly, holding it up above her head after she climbed back out.
“Good.” A lucky break for once. Watch. The battery will be dead. “Call Grant.”
She pushed buttons on it then hesitated. “You really…”
“Yes. It’s not what you think.” My stomach twisted. Maybe it wasn’t what I thought either. Then again, what did I think? I had originally only slept with Grant to feel good. I figured it out just be a one-time thing. Even then, I’d figured Grant probably slept around a lot, and Trenton claimed that, too. It wasn’t hard to believe it. Did Grant care enough about me to come?
Of course he did. He wanted to find Trenton and Sage, too. If he found them, he’d find me. But first he had to learn where we were and that I had been taken.
Sage was staring at me, the phone in her lap.
“I swear,” I added, “we were just—”
“I’m glad,” she said quietly. “You deserve to find someone. From what Trenton said…Never mind. Can’t trust a damn thing out of his mouth.” She pressed one more button and held the phone up to her ear.
Trenton burst in. He spied the phone, and his face fell. He grabbed it out of Sage’s hand. “Why do you have this? Who else do you need?” His eyes turned stormy. “You weren’t about to call the cops, were you?”
“I was gonna call Corinne,” she lied. “We’re gonna get married, right? I have to have a maid of honor. You know it’s gonna be Corinne, and we have so much planning to do. Flowers and the reception and—”
“You know we’re gonna have to elope. I might be getting some money, but it won’t be a lot. Not enough for a wedding and reception and for us to survive.”
“Even if we elope, we still gotta have witnesses,” Sage said. “Let me just call Corinne and see when she’s free.”
“You weren’t gonna call the cops?” His gaze shifted toward me. “Or Grant?”
“Do we really have to go through with this?” she asked quietly. “Do you really have to hold my mom for ransom? Can’t we just leave and—”
“You know they’ll follow us.”
“We can use different names,” she cried.
Different names? My God, they were in a mess of trouble if she felt the need to suggest that!
He stared down at the phone. “You called Corinne.” His face was one of such hope and love that I had to blink. Wow. This guy really was off his rockers. He was nuts.
But he was truly in love with Sage, as twisted as that love was.
“No. Wait. That’s a missed call. You dialed Grant.”
“My finger slipped.”
“Babe, you’re starting to piss me off.” Trenton began to pace in the room, clutching my cell so tightly in his hand I was afraid it was gonna break. “I let you have your phone because I knew you would call your mom and lead her here.”
She flushed.
My eyes widened. Had she tried to steal her cell back from him? I hadn’t even thought about why she had waited so long to text me. Maybe Trenton had taken her phone away, and then she “stole” it back to text me.
But it seemed like it had been a test, and even though she had texted me and had led me here, it still seemed like she failed.
“I wanted you to prove yourself, to show you loved me and really wanted to be with me, but all you wanted to do was leave.”
“No, Trenton, that’s not true. I—”
“Yes, it is. You were crying so much. Nothing I could say or do made you happy anymore. Don’t you still want to be with me? You said forever.” He looked so crestfallen. Was he playing her, playing us, even as we were trying to play him? I didn’t think he was acting.
But even if he did love her, this was all so wrong. You didn’t get into drugs to make money if you wanted to have a long, lasting relationship with someone. No. You found a real job and paid the bills and paid the rest of your dues. You crawled your way up the ladder. That was how you made a name for yourself. That was how you lived.
Love, that was a bonus, but that also needed work. Hard work. It wasn’t about being with just anybody. It was about being with someone who challenged you, who made you see the world in a different way. It was about give and take. It was about more than just fucking.
Thinking about love made me think about Grant. We hadn’t known each other for that long, but in a lot of ways, I felt like I had known him for a long, long time. We were different, but we weren’t too different.
I wanted to spend more time with Grant. I wanted to know all of his hopes and dreams. More than that, I wanted to help make his hopes and dreams come true. I wanted them to be aligned with my own hopes and dreams. I wanted him to help me out of this situation, but I also wanted him in my life.
A terrible situation had thrown us together, but that situation would’ve been that much worse if we never would’ve crossed paths.
A chance encounter…or maybe not. I didn’t really believe in coincidences. Maybe fate had brought Grant and I together.
I cast a sideways glance at Trenton and Sage. Maybe fate had brought them together, too, but to what end? So Trenton could kill us? So Trenton could end up dead from the other drug dealers? Or so Sage could hit rock bottom and learn and grow and finally be the woman I had always wanted her to be?
Only time would tell.
Too bad time might be the one thing we were running out of.