Page 119 of Wicked Ends
Tension slid down my spine with the way they slowed in front of me. They wanted me to stop, clearly.
I pulled over, having no other choice. A tall, broad figure got off one of the motorcycles and walked toward my window. He had a helmet on, but still, I knew it wasn’t Marcus. He didn’t movelike him. He tilted his helmet toward the window, and I rolled it down.
“Follow us.”
It wasn’t a request. Fear hit me in the gut, but I followed the bikes toward The Clutch. This had to be the Harbor Hounds. Maybe Marcus would be there. I didn’t really have a choice but to go along and see what they wanted.
I veered into the lot outside the dive bar where it had all started and killed the engine.
“You can conquer hard days… with the power of positive visualization,”Horace’s voice spoke from the dash.
I’d missed him. Thanks, Horace, but I didn’t think any amount of imagining a happy life was going to get me out of this shit show.
My door opened before I could reach for it, and then there were five bikers surrounding me. Real fear flooded through my veins.
“This way.”
Clearly thinking I might make a run for it, they flanked me as we made our way to the building.
It was dark, the windows mostly covered by shutters since the place was closed. The lights behind the bar were on, but that was the extent of it.
“Why have you brought me here?”
“Because I don’t feel up to trailing all over town searching for you. So, thanks for coming to me.” Cole Bailey sat in a booth near the back.
He hardly looked less intimidating than the guy I’d met the week before, except for the bandage on the side of his head.
“Please, sit,” he said shortly.
When I hesitated, he sighed.
“It wasn’t a request.”
A hand pressed down on my shoulder, and I sank into a chair opposite the MC president.
“Offer our guest a drink,” Cole commanded.
Someone passed me a glass of water. My mouth was dry with fear and my voice scratchy. I gulped the liquid down quickly and wet my lips.
“You know, when Marcus fucked you here, I didn’t think that much of it. My brother is a popular guy. Sure, he’s never screwed around at the bar before, but there’s a first time for everything. But then he took you to the cabin. That—that’s something else. Then, I started to pay attention.”
My mouth was dry again already. Someone refilled the glass from a water pitcher, and I drank deep.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t let Marcus hurt himself for you. He’s the only good thing to come out of my family—ever. You understand, don’t you?”
I nodded, distracted by the slight tingling in my tongue. It was going numb. I could barely feel it. Then my face started to tingle.
“Did you g-give me s-something?” I managed to slur through my slack lips. My gaze fell to the empty water glass.
Christ, could I be any dumber?
I’d drunk whatever they’d given me like an idiot.
“The question is, Professor, did you take something? Something of mine?”
I slumped against the chair, my head spinning.
Somewhere in the distance, a commotion. My brain felt warm and melted somehow. Content. I relaxed completely. All the worries of the last week slid off my shoulders, and it all stopped mattering. It was a relief, honestly.
