Page 69 of Light

His hand cracks across my face, hard and fast, the sound echoing through the room. My head snaps sideways. Pain radiates down my jaw and behind my eyes. For a second, I see stars.

But I laugh. It bubbles out of me, low and bitter.

"You sound like a whiny teenager," I rasp. "Crying about everything you think you deserve. You’re pathetic."

He grabs me by the arm and yanks me up. I stumble, knees weak, but he doesn’t give me time to recover. He shoves me into a wooden chair and yanks zip ties tight around my wrists and ankles. The plastic digs into my skin. He loops another across my chest and pulls it until I can barely breathe.

"You think this is a game?" he sneers.

He rips a strip of duct tape off the roll and slaps it across my mouth. The force of it makes my eyes water.

"You want to run your mouth? Let’s see how much talking you can do now."

I scream behind the tape. It is nothing but noise, muffled and useless.

He drags the chair across the room and positions it in front of Tyler's mirror. My reflection stares back at me, wild hair, flushed skin, blood at the corner of my eyebrow.

He crouches behind me, pulls out his phone, and takes the picture.

I watch the screen as he sends it. My heart sinks when I see Light’s number flash at the top of the message thread.

Zeke stands slowly and slides the phone back into his pocket.

"He’ll come for you," he says. "He’s going to walk right into my hands. That’s what love does. It makes men weak. Stupid. Predictable."

He circles around and squats in front of me. His breath smells like stale liquor and something fouler.

"You’re the key. You’re the way back in. The land tied to that business is worth millions. Retail, condos, cartel backing. I’m done being small time. When this deal goes through, I’m unstoppable."

He stands again, pacing now, getting louder.

"All I need is that fucking paper. That’s it. That’s the last thing standing in my way."

I close my eyes.

I had no idea. I never thought the business was worth that much. No wonder he’s been so desperate. No wonder he snapped.

But now he has me, and Light is coming.

I know it. I can feel it deep in my chest.

And I pray. I pray with everything I have left that he doesn’t come alone. That he doesn’t run straight into the trap Zeke is setting.

Because I don’t want the man I love to die for me.

Twenty

Light

My bike screamsbeneath me as I push it to the absolute limit, but it’s nothing compared to the noise in my head, because if he’s touched her, I’m not stopping until every last bone in his body is broken.

I don't bother to look behind me to see if the rest of my brother's have followed me. I know they haven't. Brick is probably still trying to smooth things over with the other crew. We called them all the way out here on a promise that they'd be able to finally deal with Deke, and it seems like we didn't make good on that promise.

Diplomacy. As backward and useless as it might seem for a bunch of jailbird bikers, I know it's needed to keep everything running smooth. The last thing we need right now is another crew thinking we burned them on purpose. We don't need that kind of heat.

I understand why Brick and the rest of the guys had to stay back. But right now I can't concentrate on them. I have to get to Melissa.

The rock in my gut gets bigger as I skid to a stop in front of her houses.

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