“I’m going to fucking kill them,” Kraken said, his voice nearly a growl.
I glanced at the crib again. “Ember was the result of either my first night here or the days following. I have no idea who her father is.”
Kraken took a breath. I felt the coiled tension in his body. I’d never met anyone like him before. The only bikers I’d been around were cruel, like Deuce. But Kraken, despite the fact he was the Sergeant-at-Arms, seemed like he was a kind man.
“You said you were seventeen when they took you. How old are you now, Phoebe?”
“I’ll be nineteen in a few weeks.”
“Fuck me. I’m old enough to be your dad.” He winced. “I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
“It was nice,” I said, reaching up to touch my lips. “No one’s ever kissed me like that. I’d never enjoyed being with a man… until you.”
“Baby girl, you don’t know what you’re saying.”
“You can’t save me, Kraken. They’ll never let me go. At least I had one brief moment where I didn’t feel like the whore they’ve made me.” I gave him a sad smile. “I know they’ll kill me one night. It’s not a matter of if but when.”
“Breakin’ my heart, little girl.” He shook his head. “You’re not a whore. You’re a beautiful young woman who’s suffered at the hands of monsters. There’s a difference. You didn’t choose this life, and I can’t leave you here. I won’t.”
“Deuce said you came to make a deal with them. Whatever it is, he’ll back out if you try to keep me, Kraken.”
“You think I give a shit? My Pres would have my ass if I walked out of here, leaving you to this life. Those men out there are monsters, sweet girl. Pure fucking evil. Hades Abyss doesn’t like dealing with bastards like them, but this deal was too good to pass up. At least, I’d thought so. When Titan hears about this, knows what they’ve done to you and probably countless others, he’s going to be pissed as hell.”
I licked my lips and wondered if I had the courage to ask for what I wanted. If I let him leave without at least trying, I’d never forgive myself. This was it. My one and only chance. I knew it deep in my gut.
“Kraken, I’m property of the Sadistic Saints, and they’ll never let me leave. I have a favor to ask. You can say no, but… I liked it when you kissed me. Just once, I want to know what it’s like to be with a man like you.”
“Not a good idea, Phoebe.”
His rejection hurt, but I tried to hide it.
“You’re right. It was stupid. I don’t even know if I’m clean. These guys, they take what they want and they don’t care about anyone. It’s better if you don’t take things any further.”
“Fucking hell,” he muttered.
I sat patiently, waiting, unsure if his words translated to yes or no.
Chapter Two
Kraken
Coming here hadn’t been my plan. I hadn’t wanted to deal with the assholes from the beginning, but Titan had insisted. Nothing made sense. He never made deals with murderers and rapists, and it had been clear from the beginning the Sadistic Saints had no boundaries. Hell, I’d heard the rumors about them before I’d come here, but I’d hoped like hell it wasn’t more. Wouldn’t be the first time a club had been painted as a bunch of killers when they weren’t. Now I knew different.
“Come here, pretty girl,” I said softly, holding out my hand to Phoebe. There might be warning bells going off in my head, but I wasn’t about to let her think she was unwanted.
I slid my hands around her waist, pulling her against me. She tipped her chin up, her gaze locking onto mine. Even after all she’d been through, there was an innocence she couldn’t hide. They might have used her any way they wanted, but it didn’t make her a whore like she said. They might call her one, but she was too angelic.
“We do this, it changes things,” I said. “I’m not like them. I won’t use you and walk away. Baby girl, you’re emotionally damaged, and it’s all kinds of wrong for me to even contemplate claiming you.”
She shook her head. I reached up to grab a fistful of her hair to hold her still. She could deny it all she wanted, but it was true. If I took her, there was no fucking way I’d be able to walk out of here without her. As it was, I didn’t like the thought of leaving her and the sweet baby in the hands of these fuckers.
“Yeah, angel, it does. I was going to try and get you out of here anyway, but we take this further than what we’ve done so far, and the rules change. I’ll give you what you want, but you’re going to give me something in return.”
Her breath hitched. “What?”
“You. I want you. Not for an hour or a night. You’ll leave here with me, and you’ll be mine.” I glanced at the baby. “Both of you.”
Her mouth opened and shut. “No one does that. You can’t just take one look at me and decide I’m yours. The world doesn’t work like that.”
“Yeah, I can.” I smirked. “My club has a few old ladies in another chapter, but you’d be the only one in mine. Only other women who come around are like the ones out there on the main floor. You’re not like them, baby girl. Not by a long shot. So I take you, I’m making you mine. Permanently.”
I could see she was both tempted and scared as hell. I didn’t know if she feared me, or the repercussions of what I’d asked of her. It would be stupid to think Deuce would let her walk out of here without any problems. There was a reason he’d taken her, kept her. The fact he hadn’t ripped the baby away from her was enough to tell me there was something more going on. I just needed to find out what it was so I could exploit it.
“What’s it going to be, baby? You going to be mine?”
“You’d take us away from here? Me and Ember?” she asked.
“Yeah, I would. We’d go to my home in Mississippi. I have a house at our compound. The two of you would be safe there. Protected.”
She took a shuddering breath. “Okay. I’m completely crazy, but I’ll go with you.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket to text Wizard. He wasn’t just a damn good hacker, but he was also our club secretary. If anyone could find out the information I needed, it was him, and he could help smooth things over with the other officers when I came home with a woman without taking it to a vote.
“What’s your name, Phoebe? Your full name, and Ember’s.”
“Phoebe Whitlow,” she said. “And Ember Whitlow, but she’s not… They had some woman come in when I gave birth to her. I had her in the bed here. She doesn’t have a birth certificate or anything.”
Not good. Not even a little. It would make it too damn easy for Deuce to make the kid disappear, and I wasn’t about to let it happen on my watch. I sent the information to Wizard and let him know they were coming home with me.
Tell Titan and Boomer I’m calling in my favor. These two are mine.
I knew if we took it to a vote, chances were good they’d let me keep Phoebe and Ember, but I wasn’t going to risk it. I put my phone on silent and set it on her bedside table, then slowly reached for her. She shivered, but the heat in her eyes told me it wasn’t from fear. I slid my hands under the hem of shirt and felt her silky skin against my fingertips.