“Where are you taking me?” There was a realm of possibilities in the silence that ensued.
Was he taking me to a police station to report my being held prisoner? This option was unlikely because I assumed all police stations were in town and not off some hidden, beaten path.
Was his interest in me solely for profit? Did he see something in me that would interest someone else? Was he selling me to an even more terrible person than the leader of the Reapers?
Was he taking me to the woods to kill me? Had he realized his mistake after he took me from Griller and didn’t want to deal with me any longer? If that was the case, wouldn’t he just return me to them?
So many questions rattled around inside my overactive brain, but they were the only thing I had to hold on to during the time it took for him to answer, which was only a few seconds.
“The only place I can,” he answered. “Our clubhouse.” I squirmed in my seat, shifting further toward the window. Words failed me, but my fear was on high alert. Lincoln reached over and gently squeezed my knee, but when I flinched, his hand found the wheel again. “No one’s gonna hurt you.” I wanted to believe him, but he’d given me no reason to trust what he said was the truth.
Had he?
We pulled up to a large black metal gate, and after he pushed some sort of remote, it finally clicked open, the creak from the hinges unnerving me more than I wanted to let on. Shortly after entering, he parked beside a large white building and turned off the engine, shifting in his seat and looking at me, but not saying anything at first. Was he gonna lay down the rules, telling me what he expected of me once I was free of his truck? Would he demand I service his buddies after him, like Griller had?
Finally, he spoke. “What’s your name?” His voice was deep, his tone assertive.
“Maddie.” I learned not to hold back my answers, so I responded quickly.
“Maddie what?”
“Shaeffer.”
“Maddie.” He parroted my first name. “I like it.”
I didn’t dare look at him because if I saw he was toying with me, my brief sense of serenity, however misplaced, would be shattered. And who knew how long it’d be before I felt such a thing again.
Lincoln exited his truck, appearing next to me in no time. He pulled my door open, reached in, and took my hand, his touch gentle. No words were exchanged as he helped me down, catching me when I stumbled, misinterpreting the height difference from his vehicle to the ground.
He led me toward the door to the building, and I tensed as we drew closer, trying to tug my hand from his.
“It’s okay.” He tried to assure me, but I didn’t trust him. I tugged again, but he refused to release me. “I promise nothin’ bad is gonna happen to you again. Not while I’m watchin’ over you.”
With the darkness surrounding us, I couldn’t look into his eyes, but I heard the sincerity in his voice and after several deep breaths, and my inner voice working to soothe my anxiety, I was able to believe that what he told me was true.
When he stepped forward again, I followed.
12
As soon as I entered the clubhouse with Maddie, I knew I was in a world of trouble, but I couldn’t leave her with them any longer. And when one of their own told me to take her, I didn’t think twice, no matter the consequences.
While my ol’ man and Marek wouldn’t have an issue with me helping someone, this was an entirely different situation. I’d been warned to stay away from the Reapers because of the possible blowback. We assumed they were the ones who set the fire at Indulge, which was payback for the initial fight, and even though we weren’t positive it was them, yet, I could only imagine the repercussions for taking Maddie. After witnessing the scene in the basement with Tag, an issue that was still in limbo and had me on edge as it was, my understanding about the old war between us and them was clearer.
Walking toward the bar, I motioned for Maddie to take a seat. “Are you sure I can’t get you something to eat?” She looked undernourished, no doubt a result of being with those bastards. Her coloring was pale, her hair, which reminded me of rich dark chocolate, was lifeless, and the clothes she wore were too baggy for her frame, even though they were meant to fit snugly.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I make a mean grilled cheese.” The faintest of smiles flashed across her face but was gone a second later. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her, but if I bombarded her with everything running around inside my head, I would no doubt scare her, and she’d had enough of being afraid. “You stay here, and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Her eyes widened. “Where are you going?”
“I’m gonna make you that sandwich.”
“I’m not—”
I glanced over her from head to toe. “You need to eat somethin’.” My words came out more direct than I intended, but when she didn’t argue, I rushed into the kitchen, hoping we had bread and cheese.
Rooting around for a clean pan to use, I hadn’t heard anyone enter the kitchen because of all the damn clanking.
“Is that who I think it is out there?” Jagger whisper-shouted, walking up next to me and grabbing my arm. The pan I held dropped and hit the top of my foot, right on the bone.
“What the fuck, man?” I reached down and grabbed the pan and tossed it in the sink to wash it, but not before rubbing my foot. “You scared the hell outta me.”
Jagger ignored my outburst. “Is that her?” he repeated, glaring at me with a look of disbelief. He knew the answer before he asked the question.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Mind tellin’ me why she’s here?” Before I had the chance to respond, he grabbed my chin and turned my head roughly to the side. “Christ!” He touched my temple, and I jerked away from him. “One of the bullets grazed the side of your head,” he said, as if I hadn’t already figured that out for myself. When he lowered his arm to his side, his expression changed from anger to fear to concern all within seconds. “Stone and Addy are gonna kill me.”
“Why? It wasn’t your fault.” The bleeding had slowed enough I didn’t need to continually press anything against the scrape.
“It was. I’m the one who pulled my gun first, but that was only because I saw Rock’s, and I knew shit was escalating fast.”
“Did you fire first?”
“No. Griller did when I reached for Rock’s gun.”
“Did you hit anyone when you returned the shot?” I asked, the memory of the encounter twisting and fading too much for me to remember exact details.
“I don’t know. Everything happened so fast.” He looked down briefly. “And now I’m gonna hear about it.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. I’m fine. Besides, Marek is gonna be so pissed at me when he finds out, no one will be worried about what you did, which was to defend us and get us all out of there alive.”
I turned on the water and rinsed out the pan that had fallen, giving Jagger a perfect opportunity to start questioning me again, now that we got all that other stuff out of the way.
He leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Now, back to the girl.” He raised his brow and cocked his head, wearing his impatience all over his face once more. It was only when his tongue swept over his bottom lip, did I notice the corner of it was starting to swell.