“Is this really necessary?” Eve called out from the backseat of the car.
They had placed a blindfold on her eyes.
“Probably not,” one of the men escorting her said. “But better safe than sorry.”
Eve grunted in protest but didn’t say anything else. When they had showed up to her door, the first thing Eve wondered was how they had gotten past the doorman. The next thing she thought about was how the ease with which they had made it past the doorman demonstrated that she really was not safe in her house. Reluctantly, she had agreed to go with them.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. She knew Lind would be at the headquarters too, and she didn’t know what to expect after their phone call.
The car ride was over far too fast for her likings. For all that she had dreamed about seeing Lind again, she didn’t feel like she was ready. They took off her blindfold, and once her eyesight adjusted to the daylight once again, she saw that the Diamondbacks’ headquarters were in an old but well-kept warehouse on the outskirts of town. She cautiously followed her guides inside, and she was surprised at what she found.
She would have imagined a motorcycle gang’s headquarters to be somewhat squalid and dirty. Instead, the main room was cozy, furnished with old furniture. There was a pool table, quite a few couches and armchairs, and a large dining table with chairs in the most spacious area of the room, and a bar to the far end.
A few men were sitting on the bar stools, and they turned to look at her. Lind also was there. She would have recognized him amongst thousands of people, but he didn’t turn around. He kept his back to her and remained hunched over a pint of dark stout.
“I’ll let Alec know you’re here,” one of her escorts said, disappearing down a corridor.
Eve stood there, uncertain. It all felt unfamiliar and surreal to her, and the only familiar thing in the whole room—hell, in the whole world—refused to pay any attention to her.
A few moments later, she spotted the tall, lithe figure of Alec Moore walking up to her. He looked as intimidating as she remembered him, his gray eyes always alert and searching. They seemed to bear holes into her once he finally stood in front of her and watched her carefully.
“Ah, I see you’ve decided to join us in the end,” he said. He extended a hand and Eve shook it cautiously.
“Did I really have a choice?” she asked.
Alec shrugged. “You could’ve chosen to get yourself killed.”
He said it so matter-of-factly that Eve could not suppress a shudder. “What’s the plan now?” she asked, forcing herself to focus on something else that wasn’t Lind ignoring her.
“Now, we show you to your room. You’re free to go wherever you please within this building, but you shouldn’t leave it until we tell you it’s safe to do so.”
Eve nodded. “Understood.”
Alec seemed surprised at her cooperation, but he covered it up with a smile. “Good.”
Her room was small, but comfortable. The furniture was simple but as welcoming as that in the main room had been. These bikers were really a surprise to her, and she found herself wondering about stereotypes and snap judgments.
She got settled in quickly, having packed as light as she could. Soon, she was left with nothing else to do but fidget. Against her better judgment, she decided that she would look for Lind. If he didn’t want to face her, she would force him to. She wasn’t about to let him play any games with her. She tied her long hair up in a tight ponytail like she did whenever she was about to take on a difficult task, and then she left her room.
He wasn’t at the bar anymore, but he wasn’t hard to find; the other members of the MC were only too happy to give her directions to his room. Once outside his door, Eve almost lost her courage. But she couldn’t turn back now. She couldn’t bear the thought of spending God only knew how much time in that place playing hide and seek with him.
She took a deep breath and knocked.
“What?” he called out, his voice almost as rugged as it had been on the phone.
“It’s Eve.”
There was a moment of silence. “Go away.”
The hell I will, Eve thought fiercely. She pushed the door open and walked in.
Lind was sitting on the bed, smoking a cigarette. He wore a pair of jeans and nothing else. Despite her best efforts, Eve’s eyes ran down his naked torso and drank it all in. He was even more handsome than she remembered. She wanted nothing more than to join him on that bed and kiss and touch him until he became hard.
Common decency and the cold fire in his eyes as he looked at her stopped her.
“I said, go away,” he growled.
Eve was shocked at his anger, but she held her ground. “You can’t ignore me forever.”
“Why the hell not?”
She licked her lips nervously. Now that she had recovered from the initial wave of emotions and physical sensations at seeing him again, she could take in his appearance with a more objective eye. There were red circles around his eyes. He was pale, and his lips were dry and cracked.
“You look like hell,” she said.
He gave a rude snort. “What do you know about hell?”
Eve frowned. “Would you mind telling me why you’re so angry at me?”
“Just get the fuck out of my room, please.”
Eve didn’t budge. She didn’t understand it. She didn’t understand him. Why was he so hostile? What happened to the Lind who looked at her like she mattered?
“I said, leave,” he repeated.
“I won’t leave,” Eve said. “I demand to know what’s going on with you.”
Lind reached out for the bottle of Jack Daniel’s standing on his nightstand. Eve hadn’t noticed it before. It was half empty. He took a long swig, all while regarding her with the coldest stare she had ever received.
“You don’t get to make demands, sweetheart,” he said.
Eve sighed. “Lind,” she tried, more gently. “Please, talk to me—”
“I SAID, GET OUT!”
It was a full-on roar. Eve jumped. She stared at him in shock, horrified. Just what the hell was happening to the men in her life? Unbidden, the tears came back, and this time she was unable to stop them from rolling down her cheeks. She bit back a sob and turned on her heels, slamming Lind’s door shut behind her.
Damn her if she was going to stick around, she thought furiously as she flew back to her room. She repacked as quickly as she had unpacked. Danger or no danger, she was not going to take anyone’s abuse ever again.