She forced herself to finish the bacon sandwich, even though her appetite had gone away.
She'd called Hayley earlier, knowing her co-worker had an appointment at the hair salon at nine o'clock before she was due at work at noon. Luckily, Romeo's house was on the way to the salon, and Hayley could pick her up.
After one of the Killere members called Romeo after he'd taken a shower last night, she'd spent the rest of the night alone. Sex with Romeo was wonderful, but he couldn't expect her to be available whenever he came around the house.
She wouldn't let herself believe what happened was anything more than a chance to feel good with Romeo. To do otherwise would be foolish, and if she'd learned anything growing up with Dice as a father and Ronna as a mother, she never got her hopes up. It was better to disappoint herself than let others disappoint her.
"Do you have your cell with you?" called Caleb from the other room.
"Yes." She opened the front door. "See you later."
"Babe?"
She sighed. "Yes, Axel?"
"Be careful. If you need anything, call one of us."
It was cute how they all watched out for her. She never missed a meal, and one of the Muel brothers always knew where she was going. But today, she wanted to get away without any of them breathing down her back.
A blue car rolled to a stop in front of the house. Timber waved, hurrying down the driveway.
Hayley smiled and motioned her inside. Getting in the passenger side and sitting down, Timber reached for the seatbelt.
"Thanks so much for picking me up," she said.
"No problem." Hayley pulled away from the curb and headed toward the interstate. "I'm surprised you wanted to get up this early, seeing as how you worked yesterday and have today off."
"I need to start early if I'm going to get everything done." She pulled her cell phone out of her purse. "I want to check out a couple of apartments over on Fifteenth and Dover."
"I thought you were living with Romeo."
"For now, but it's not permanent."
Hayley flipped her turn signal on and merged to the left lane, passing another vehicle. "You've been working at the diner for a while. Are you thinking about staying and working full time?"
"Yeah." She shrugged. "I mean, I like working there. Killere pays well, and the tips are great. I still have ten days left on my probation period, but I hope Willow approves of how I work with everyone."
"Girl, you'll have no problem getting through probation. But why aren't you trying to stay at the motel?" Hayley glanced at her before looking straight ahead at the road. "Granted, it's cramped because you'd have to room with the other girls, and it's hectic when we all need to get ready for work with only one bathroom, but Onyx provides four rooms for all the females who work at the truck stop. The girls from the motel keep to themselves because of the hours they work, but Starla and Jess have one of the rooms, and another girl can always move in with them."
She wanted away from Killere without losing her job. Hanging around all the time would make it difficult to avoid her dad. Most of all, Romeo was in the middle. Sleeping with him only made things more complicated.
His honor and loyalty toward his family spread to his motorcycle club brothers. Since her dad was a patched member of Killere, Romeo would always have her dad's back.
"How much is the rent?" she asked, curious if it was any cheaper than renting an apartment in Spokane.
"Free." Hayley grinned. "We're responsible for keeping the place in shape and cleaning up after ourselves. I think Onyx and Willow prefer we live on sight. That way, they make sure we show up for work. It makes sense, and they treat us well."
"Hm." She looked to the side as Hayley turned off the interstate. "I'll think about it."
Eventually, she would have to move on. At least get out of Spokane and go somewhere farther away from where her dad hung out. But until it was safe to leave, she wanted to do whatever would save her the most money.
For her next move, she would be better prepared. Her dad had dictated her whole life. She was going to get away from his paranoid lifestyle. Away from her parents fighting. Away from whatever dangers waited in the shadows.
Hayley pulled into the small plaza in front of the hair salon. "I should be done in an hour...hour and a half if you want a ride back to the house, or you could come and hang out at the motel. Someone can always take you home when you're ready."
"I don't know how long I'll be." She grabbed the handle. "If I'm not back by the time you're ready to leave, don't wait for me. I can take a taxi home."
"Do you have my number in case anything goes wrong?"
She handed Hayley her phone. "You're as bad as the Muel brothers, always making sure I'm okay."
Hayley handed back her cell. "You sound surprised that people care about you."
"It's not that." She opened the door. "I always take care of myself. I'll be fine."
Hayley frowned. Uncomfortable with talking about herself, Timber swung her purse over her shoulder and headed toward Dover Street, leaving Hayley to get her hair done by herself. The directions online indicated the apartment complex was only a five-minute walk toward downtown.
She stayed on the sidewalk and headed toward the intersection. The sun beat down on her. In a couple of hours, it would be too hot to walk far without getting sunburned.
At the four-way, she pushed the WALK button on the pole and waited for the light to change. A car turned the corner, nearly hitting the curb in front of her.
She stepped back when the vehicle stopped, and a door swung open. A large man lunged toward her. She barely got her hand up to try and protect herself when he wrapped his arms around her and hauled her over his shoulder.
Screaming for help, she kicked her legs. The man's size was no match for her. Thrown into the back seat of the car, her head hit the doorframe.
She cried out, scrambling across the seat to the other door.
Panic rolled through her, and she yanked the handle, breaking a fingernail.
"The child-lock is on. You can't open the door from the inside." A man in the driver's seat looked in the rearview mirror. "Nobody is going to hurt you. Just sit back and relax."
"Who are you?" She flipped the power window switch back and forth, trying to open the window. "You can't keep me here."
All the dangers drilled into her head growing up flashed before her. Men could do anything to her, no matter how she defended herself. They were bigger, stronger, and would hurt her.
No matter what, she could never tell them her name, her mom's name or that Dice was her father. If anyone found out, they'd hurt her more.
"Dice hired us," said the driver.
The man who'd grabbed her got in the front seat and slammed the door. "Let's go."
Her father? All the panic left her.
She glared at the back of their heads. The only danger in her life always came from her dad. He wouldn't allow anyone into their private life, but he trusted men who would kidnap her? They weren't even bikers. Neither one of them wore a Killere Motorcycle Club vest.
She slipped her hand into her purse and grabbed her phone. Glancing up to keep an eye on the men, she quickly texted Romeo, and because she was scared, she included Brody, Turner, Caleb, Sander, and Axel in the group text.