Page 36 of StoryTeller's Tale

CHAPTERTWELVE

STORYTELLER

“Either she’s lying, or you are.” Knuckles stares thoughtfully from outside of the cage.

I stare back. As far as I’m concerned, both of us probably are, but we won’t be giving anything away. The thing about lies is that once you’ve started, it’s hard to take them back. You’re caught in that web of deceit.

If I admit I’ve never met this woman before, there goes my bargaining chip. If she takes back that she’s a virgin, then she’ll be fair game. But he’s right to be suspicious that a man living this lifestyle would leave such a luscious woman untouched.

The Dominators’ prez fondles his short beard. “See, I’ve got sympathies with you, Brother. Don’t like any man going short. I might be thinking of how I can do you a favour and sort that.”

Raising my shoulders toward my ears, I remind him, “Ain’t going short.”And I’m not your fucking brother.

He raises a brow and turns his attention to the woman who’s in my shadow. “Hey, sweet cheeks, you don’t mind your ol’ man getting other pussy while waiting for yours?”

While I keep a nonchalant expression on my face, I’m holding my breath, waiting for what she’ll say, knowing I haven’t prepared her for this. I’m only able to let air out when I hear her response.

“Until I’ve a ring on my finger, he can do what he wants.”

Seeing as she knows nothing of the situation and has successfully joined the dots, I’m impressed as hell with her.

“My boys ain’t happy I’m considering passing up a virgin.” He glances over his shoulder at Tats and Fang who stand, nodding as if to confirm. “Can get a lot of money for someone untouched and needs breaking in.”

I step forward, wrapping my hands around the bars of the cage. “I thought we had a bargain with the guns.”

“Guns. Yeah. Guns.” He sighs and points to Sheri. “You’re asking me to give up a sure thing on the basis of some mythical prize. How do I know the guns even exist?”

He’s got a point as I can’t even tell him where they are, only where they will be once the cartel hand them over for delivery. “They exist,” I growl. “And will be worth far more than one fuckin’ virgin.”

He snorts. “Or not fuckin’, more to the point.” Tats and Fang dutifully laugh at his lame joke.

Extracting a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, he takes one out, then offers them to his companions. As they light up, I suppress my instinct to ask for one myself. This imprisonment is forcing me to go cold turkey on my nicotine addiction, but I’m not going to give him the pleasure of knowing that. I wish I’d had the foresight to put my cigarettes and lighter in my pocket rather than leaving them, as I had, in my cut.

“Tell you what.” Knuckles brightens as if he’s suddenly had an excellent idea. “If we get rid of that pesky hymen of hers, the brothers won’t have anything to complain about. She wouldn’t be worth anything more than anyone else.”

Tats slaps his hand down on Knuckles’ shoulder. “Excellent idea. Wish I’d fuckin’ thought of that.”

Sheri, not being stupid, slides even more behind me. I reach back and place a reassuring hand on her arm.Over my dead body will these fuckers hurt her.

Knuckles’ hand disappears, slides around his back, and reappears, holding a gun. I take the threat seriously. Outside this cage, I could take them all down, but with the bars between us, I’m at a disadvantage. Even I’m not immune to bullets.

Sheri inches closer, her chest to my back, her hands gripping my belt. My gut rolls, first for the trust she’s showing in me, if only by regarding me as a lesser enemy than them, and secondly, knowing there’s little I can do to protect her. The Dominators hate the patch I wear on my back, and I’ll give them more pleasure dead than alive. Sheri, though, well, she represents a paycheck. Regrettably, I’m coming to the conclusion there’s only one way out of this for me. And that’s dead.

Knuckles cradles his elbow and, with the hand holding the gun, rubs at his chin. “I’ll give you a choice, Soul. You can have her, or we will.”

“She’s my ol’ lady. No one’s touching her,” I rasp out, clenching my fists, not one hundred percent sure what he’s trying to say.

His next words though, spell it out clearly. “As you say, she’s your ol’ lady. You’re going to take her sooner or later, so why not now? Serves two purposes. We get a show, and she’ll no longer be a virgin. My men won’t have to worry about losing the premium for her being untouched. I may be able to persuade them that the guns might be enough to let the both of you go.”

I hear Sheri’s intake of breath, but have to ignore her, concentrating instead on trying to come up with a plan to stop her getting raped and me killed. Getting out of this basement would be a step in the right direction.

“I’m game,” I tell him. “Let us out, give us a room, and I’ll fuck my ol’ lady.”

Knuckles exchanges a look with Tats and Fang and both chuckle loudly. “Nah, you do it here. You’re a fuckin’ biker. You should be able to perform with an audience.”

It’s not something I haven’t done before—shared women and fucked them in front of my brothers. But not under these circumstances and not someone like her.

“Your choice, Bro,” Knuckles says lightly, as if he doesn’t give a damn. “But if you’re not up for providing the entertainment, then I’ll go with plan A. Shoot you and sell her.” He raps his gun against the metal bars, causing an echoing ring to punctuate his words.

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