Light bathes the room as the door opens and I tense. Riggs makes his way into the room, pulling on the cord light. A yellow bulb flickers on and Riggs pulls a stool and sits himself in front of me.
“I’ve never had to put any of my men down here,” he mutters, glancing around the damp room. “You’ll be pleased to know that you’ve had lots of people come try and visit you today, like it’s a fuckin’ hospital stay. I had to put Blu on the door cos he’s the only man I can trust right now. Can you imagine that? All these men and I can only trust the one who came from a club I had to break up because they were raping and selling women.”
“All time low,” I mutter.
“You watched her grow up, man,” he mutters. “Were you always looking at her like that?”
“No,” I say defensively. “Fuck, Riggs, you know me. You know I ain’t like that.”
“I thought I knew you. I thought I knew Cree and Anna and my own fuckin’ sister!” he snaps. “Turns out I knew shit.”
“I tried to ignore it. But it became like a compulsion. It was too hard to stay away.”
His fist dashes out and catches my jaw. Pain shoots through my already sore head, but I shake it off. “The women are sitting up there like a bunch of witches, looking at me like I’m the bad guy. My own men are scuttling off whenever I come into the room. I don’t know who lied and who kept your dirty secret, but I feel like their alliance is with you over me. Why the fuck should I let you live?” he growls.
“Because I love her, man. I’ll spend my life making her happy.” His fist crashes against my skull again, and this time, I can’t hold in the anger. “Fuck, Riggs! At least untie me and fight me like a fucking man,” I hiss.
It was the wrong thing to say and a barrage of punches land on my body. “It doesn’t work like that,” he yells. “But that’ll come. Right before I put a bullet in your fuckin’ sneaky head,” he shouts.
I spit blood onto the floor and my mouth refills quickly. “If you’re gonna kill me, Riggs, then just do it. The longer you leave me tied up here, the more chance I have of breaking free, and once I get outta this, I’m taking her.”
“You’re not to touch her ever again. I’ll die before I accept that you and she are together.”
“Your choice, but we’ll be together,” I insist. “I kept my mouth shut for too long. I chose the club over her and it was wrong. I’ll spend my life making it right again.” Riggs shakes his head and begins to lay into me again.
Chapter Sixteen
Leia
Blu stares into my eyes as I wince at the sound of flesh being hit. A tear runs down my cheek and I turn to leave. I can’t get past Blu and no amount of pleading will convince his cold, dead heart to let me down there to break up Riggs and Chains.
I break out into the parking lot and suck in a lung full of fresh air. The stench coming from the basement was putrid. “Leia,” shouts Tiny, one of the prospects. “This man’s here to see you. I can’t let him in, Riggs left strict instructions.”
I head over to the gate. It’s Ryan and he’s holding a huge bunch of roses. “Hey,” he says warily.
“Ryan.” I’m surprised he’s shown up here like this with no text or call. He doesn’t look as angry as he did the last time I saw him.
“I just wanted to give you these and apologise for my outrageous behaviour. I’m so ashamed of myself. It’s not like me to be so cruel.”
“Okay, thanks,” I say. “It was understandable, considering everything.”
“You want to grab a coffee?” he asks hopefully. “Just friends.”
“I’m not supposed to go out,” I begin as I look back at the clubhouse. There’s no one around and Tiny is playing fetch with Diesel over the other side of the yard. “But I need a break from this place,” I add. I tug open the gate and slip out. Ryan smiles and hands me the flowers. “Just a quick one,” I add.
We round the corner and Ryan points his key fob at a white van and unlocks it. “There’s a place that’s two minutes from here,” I say, confused as to why he’d need the van.
“Sure. Let’s put the flowers in the van and I’ll give them to you when we come back,” he says. I wait while he fiddles in the van for a second. When he turns back round, he smirks. It throws me for a second and then his hand goes over my mouth. He presses a rag over my face and fumes fill my nose and mouth. I cough, but it makes it worse. My body begins to fall and I slump against him. I feel myself being lifted and then dumped into the back of the van, but my limbs feel so heavy that I can’t do anything about it. The hard floor digs into my back and then everything goes black.
“Wake up, beautiful.” I’m doused in cold water. I sit up, sucking in air while choking on water. I wipe my eyes and see Ryan standing above me, smiling like a maniac.
“What’s going on?” I splutter. “What the hell did you do to me?”
“I had plans for us,” he says. “I can’t let you ruin them, Leia.”
I glance around the room. It’s clean but small, and a single bed sits under a window that’s boarded closed so there’s no natural light. A heavy chain is attached to a metal cuff on my ankle and fastened by a bolt in the wall. “I don’t understand,” I mutter.
“Aww, poor little princess. It’s simple really. I’m doing what’s best for you and the baby.”
I chew on my lower lip and blink away the tears that threaten to fall. “And that’s what exactly?”
“I’m going to wait for the baby to get stronger and then I’m going to take it.” I shuffle back on the bed in panic until I’m against the wall. Ryan smiles calmly. “You’re going to be fine. I’m a doctor.”
I wipe my wet cheek. “Take it how?”
“Let’s not worry about the details. Get some rest and I’ll make us some lunch.”
I stare at the closed door after he leaves. He didn’t lock it, but I’m on a chain so I can’t go anywhere. I examine the metal cuff—it’s solid. I stand on the bed and feel around the sheet of hardwood screwed into the window frame. There’re no gaps. If I could unscrew the screws, maybe I could scream for help. I have no idea where we are or how long Ryan drove for. I begin to panic and my chest tightens, so I sit back down and breathe in deeply, releasing it slowly.
When Ryan returns, I’m calmer. He lays a tray on the end of the bed and then goes to get a stool. He proceeds to lay out a picnic cloth on the end of the bed and carefully spreads out the plates of sandwiches and snacks. “I thought you’d like a picnic,” he says.
“I’m not sure I can eat anything right now,” I mutter. His behaviour is so calm, it unsettles me more.
He suddenly looks troubled and leans over to feel my forehead. “Umm, you don’t feel like you have a temperature.”
“I think I might be stressed,” I say carefully.
“Stressed? What do you have to be stressed about?” he scoffs and my eyes widen. He’s clearly mad. “Try having a mother who is ridiculously needy and a pregnant girlfriend.”