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“ O uch,” I cry, pain shooting from my knuckles to my wrist and then right up my arm as I stumble backwards, my eyes going wide as a trickle of blood oozes from Ringo’s lip.

“What the fuck was that for?” he snarls, and I scurry backwards as he stalks forward.

“You slapped my arse. What else would it be for?” My words are firm, but my heart is anything but strong right now, fear wrapping around it like a thick blanket of frost.

My feet hit the wall by the wardrobe entrance, and as he continues forward looking everything like the madman that stole me from my parents last night, I’m reminded of the words he hissed at Jols.

“Now I get to spend the rest of the night fucking the woman I’ve claimed.”

“I don’t give you permission to have sex with me,” I blurt, stumbling into the wardrobe opening, still trying to put distance between us.

“Darlin, I don’t have sex. I fuck. And I never said I wanted to.” He reaches for me, and I squeal, spinning and dashing towards the open bathroom door, gripping it as I step in and try to force it shut.

Ringo’s too fast. His big hand stops it, his towering height and broad shoulders filling the doorway, trapping me.

“Y-you did. Y-you told Jols you were going to spend the night…” I trail off, my cheeks heating at the thought of repeating his words.

“Say the words I said, Angel. I said the word fuck. I said I get to spend the rest of the night fucking the woman I’ve claimed.” He smirks cruelly as he tilts his head. “Can you even fathom saying such a crude word?”

Tears prick at the back of my eyes as my shoulders drop, shame washing over me.

“There’s no need to be a prick and tease me about it,” I snap, feeling the familiar prickle of humiliation Daniel enjoyed tormenting me with so often. “You know, for a minute there, you fooled me into thinking you were actually a decent man.”

My words cause his smirk to fall, and I almost feel bad.

“Don’t ever forget that I am not a good man, Angel. At the end of the day, I’m a part of that world.” He points to the wall, but I know he means to the chaos happening outside his room.

I stare at him for a long beat, my mind like a busy concert hall filled with hundreds of voices making it hard to hear myself think .

“Look, I’m sorry about the arse slap. I was playing a part. A necessary part to make everyone think you’re mine.”

“Why do I have to be yours? What does that mean?” I ask, and when he takes a step closer, I take another step back.

Sighing, Ringo rakes a rough hand down his face before his eyes meet mine again, their whiskey colour looking a little drained.

“It means they won’t touch you.”

I wait for him to say something else in explanation, but when he doesn’t, I push for more information.

“But why? What does me being yours really mean to them?”

“It means that upon knowing this, they will leave you alone. They won’t touch you. That’s all you need to know.”

I roll my eyes at him, and he smirks, which makes my lips twitch too.

Ugh. I’m trying to be angry here. Why am I fighting a smile?

Focus Abbey.

“Why is it such a big deal that I be yours and not just a guest? Isn’t that enough, just knowing I’m a visitor?”

“We don’t do visitors here, Angel. Crime world, remember?”

“How could I forget,” I scoff, and this time he rolls his eyes.

“Look. None of this was planned. I got a last-minute call, was asked to take you and keep you with me. To protect you. I did that without the permission of my club President, and not only that, but I also involved other club members. Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, I brought you here secretly. If I had told Smitty about you, he could have ordered you away, and that I not help you. Or he could have ordered you to be something else within the club. Declaring you as mine is the only way to keep you from being used as something you’re not. ”

I take a moment to consider his words. They sound genuine enough, I guess, considering I hardly know this man, but they still leave me confused.

“What could your President order me to do if I wasn’t yours?”

My words are timid. Too soft for the world we are in, but fear over the answer has its claws in me, digging in, reminding me I’m still not safe.

“It doesn’t matter.” He waves a dismissive hand, and I stomp my foot, annoyed at being treated like a child.

“It does matter. Tell me!” I yell, and this time, even though his brows are hitched, he looks amused.

“Fair enough. I’ll tell you, but then this fucking conversation is over.”

“Fine,” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest, exhaustion tugging at me.

“There are four reasons why females are in our space here at the Western. The women here are either old ladies, Doxy girls, mice, or pass arounds.” Ringo steps backwards out of the doorway and gestures his head as he starts walking, so I follow behind, and sit on the end of the bed when he points at it, giving me a silent order.

“A pass around is someone that comes into the club as a brief visitor. Sometimes just for a night or a week or two. Sometimes a little longer. They never last much more than that.”

“Why are they called a pass around?” I ask, watching as he drags the chair I’d placed in front of the window earlier, over to me before he straddles it backwards, resting his thick corded arms painted in intricate tattoos on the top of the chair, watching me .

“They are used as fuck toys, Angel. Passed around between the men. They are usually up for anything. Many have it in their head they are here to find a member that will claim them, but the fact they are used for nothing but sex and a good time turns any members off wanting to keep them. Others are happy to be pass arounds, riding on the coattails of the free food and a place to crash until they are kicked to the curb.”

I can feel the way my face drops. I can’t do anything to stop it. Being a pass around sounds awful. I don’t know why anyone would choose to do that.

I swallow thickly before clearing my throat, hating the way Ringo is studying me so closely.

“You can see how I didn’t want that fate for you, right?”

I nod at his words, my eyes dropping to my lap and my fiddling fingers.

“Eyes up, Angel.”

In an instant, my gaze is locked back on his, and I want to slap myself.

Why do I do that? Why do his simple demands have me obeying so quickly?

“A mouse is different. Usually someone younger, much like yourself that needs shelter. They are usually claimed by a member and their wife or old lady to live with them in exchange for domestic duties. Help with cooking, cleaning, looking after children.”

My brows shoot up. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“I guess not, except for the fact I would lose control of watching over you, and once you are in, Angel. You are in. You don’t just get to leave the household you’re placed in. And you’ll likely end up being a Doxy girl in the end. Since keeping you hidden is temporary, making you a mouse would be a bad idea. There’s no walking away when you’re ready to return to your life.”

“Oh.”

“And as for the Doxies, well, given where this chair was, I’d say you have a good idea what the Doxy girls do.”

My cheeks flush at being caught spying.

“What’s the difference between the Doxy girls and the pass arounds?”

“Doxy girls aren’t members of the MC, but they live within our walls. They cook for us. Clean for us. Shop for us. And, if they feel inclined, they give us access to their bodies for pleasure.”

I don’t miss the way he uses the word us. So that means he has sex with the Doxy girls too. Probably the one that was on the table when I found him earlier. She was pretty. A little older than some of the other women, but she looked at Ringo like she wanted to devour him. Maybe he’d already had sex with her before I found them.

But then, is that right? Some things Smitty said made me think Ringo didn’t have sex with anyone.

“Last is the old ladies.” He continues. “They are the property of a club member. Owned by them, and therefore off limits to anyone else. Old ladies get treated with more respect. They have the protection of the club at all times, and some members make them their wives, while others have a wife on the outside of the club, and an old lady on the inside.”

My mouth drops open at that. The entire meaning behind an old lady sounding dreadful. Well, I guess except for the respect part and the club protection.

“Which part about that is shocking?” Ringo asks, smirking at my reaction, and I snap my mouth closed and shrug.

“Oh, I don’ t know. Maybe the part about being property. Owned. Or maybe the part about being the other woman to a married man.”

He chuckles. “It’s not always the case that a member has both a wife and an old lady. But it does happen, and I can assure you, both women know about each other most of the time.”

I scoff. “And you think it’s alright for a man to own a woman like a possession?”

“Yes.” He answers faster than I’d like, and I get a sinking feeling deep inside my chest.

Stop thinking he’s a good guy, Abbey. He’s a criminal.

“I see you don’t like my response.” He chuckles, tilting his head to study me further.

“No, I don’t like your response. As someone that was about to be forced into marrying a monster, only to be owned by him, I absolutely do not like your response.”

His smile slips away, and his expression turns serious. “Shit. Angel, I’m sorry. You’re right. A woman should not be someone’s property.”

The familiar feeling of threatening tears pricks at my eyes, and I will them to hold off. I’m sick of appearing weak. Helpless. Na?ve.

“Don’t pretend to mean that for my sake. I’m nothing more than a job you’re doing for someone else’s agenda. I haven’t forgotten why I’m here.”

The neutral expression that masks him now hints at no emotions or reaction to my words. If anything, I’d say the closest emotion affecting him right now is indifference.

“You’re right.” He holds out his hand. “My phone. ”

I hesitate for a moment. For some stupid reason, I don’t like the chill that’s just settled between us. Which makes no sense. We are strangers. He’s lived through years of experience in this world, and I am yet to find any semblance of hope or happiness coming my way. I know nothing of what lies out there in the real world. I only know the vile dark acts that have been forced on me, my life always at someone else’s mercy.

Slowly, I reach into the hoodie pocket and pull out the phone, noticing a number of missed calls before I reach out and place it in his hand.

His gaze dismisses me instantly, turning to the phone as he curses under his breath, standing while he taps on the screen and then holds the phone to his ear.

Then he starts pacing.

“It’s me,” he says into the phone, pausing as whoever it is speaks before he responds. “It’s okay. I got her. She’s safe.”

I straighten at his words, realising that the call he was waiting for had to do with me.

Who’s on the other end?

“Honestly? Worse than you thought. Not a good situation at all. It’s lucky we went in when we did.”

I stand, approaching him slowly as I listen, and when he turns in his pacing, his eyes find mine.

“She was a bit cut up, more self-inflicted in an attempt to protect herself, but other than that and her distressed state, she seemed okay. I did notice some bruising on her arms and her face.”

He drops his eyes as he listens to whoever is speaking and then spins and steps outside to take the rest of the call .

My heart races as he closes me off from the conversation. I want to hear it. I want to know who it is, so without thinking, I hurry to the door and tug it open in time to hear his words.

“She’ll need to be relocated after the snap lockdown. She’s not safe here.”

I can’t contain my gasp, and he spins, glaring at me as he points over my shoulder back into the room.

I shake my head.

“Look, I can’t really talk now,” he mutters, moving forward to back me up as he steps back inside and locks the door behind him. “Yeah, I’ll put her on.”

I still at his words, watching as he mutters something else and then holds the phone out to me. “It’s time to find out who ordered me to kidnap you.”

My hands start trembling as I reach out, Ringo’s eyes not missing my reaction, so he passes me the phone and walks me backwards, sitting me back on the end of his bed.

Stepping away from me, he moves to his little kitchenette, opening the fridge and pulling out a Coke as I slowly press the phone to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Oh my god, Abbey! I’m so sorry it had to go down the way it did, but I didn’t know how else to get you away from them and also teach them a fucking lesson.”

Tears flood my eyes instantly at the familiar voice, a sob escaping me in response.

“Abbey?”

“Lexi,” I cry, or perhaps it’s more of a wail, as I slip from the end of the bed, landing on my arse on the grotty looking carpet where I start sobbing uncontrollably.

“Oh Abs. I’m so sorry. I wish you had told me how bad it had gotten. I wish you had let me help you sooner.”

I try to speak, but my words are incoherent as I try to tell her I’m sorry.

My childhood best friend from Fox Pines is the one that saved me. I don’t deserve her kindness after the horrible things I did to her all to protect my own arse, but she’s never given up on me. Hell, she would have come in guns blazing all by herself if she could have. And I bet she wanted to, but her boyfriend Ayden most likely would have locked her away before letting her put herself in danger. Not after everything they’ve been through. What Lexi’s been through.

Strong yet gentle hands slide under me before I’m lifted against Ringo’s hard chest, and I continue to sob as Lexi talks me through it, telling me that I’m safe now. That my parents and Daniel can’t get to me. That I never have to see them again if I don’t want to.

With me still cradled in his arms, Ringo lowers us to the bed, and he holds me tight as I cry and listen to my best friend until my sobs subside enough for me to put words together.

“H-how did you k-know?” I ask Lexi, and she instantly understands what I’m trying to ask.

“Tahli. We’ve been chatting for months on that game app. Koala-roo. I ran into her in the supermarket one day while she was with your mum. She was in a different aisle, getting things off a list, so I was able to talk to her quickly without your mum noticing. She’s the one who mentioned the kids’ game, telling me she can talk to me on it without your parents knowing,” Lexi explains. “I’ve never downloaded an app so fast, Abs. By that night, I was chatting with her, and she started telling me things. She said she just wanted you to move away to University so you could be away from your parents. She’d been counting down the days with me. I’d planned to come and see you once you left. She said you got into Nursing.”

I nod, even though she can’t see. “Yes. I know it can be studied locally, but I kept telling my parents about a specialty program I wanted to do, saying I would likely be able to earn more money while still having time to raise a family. And they fell for it. I was surprised my mum didn’t look more into it. I just wanted to get away from them so I could figure out a way to run.”

“Shit, Abs. What changed? Tahli was frantic last night when she messaged me. Said Maggie dobbed you in about something and then all of a sudden there was chaos, the wedding was being planned for the next morning, and how terrified she was when she had to watch Maggie help your parents force some sort of meds down your throat.”

Unable to hold back my tears again, another sob escapes me, and Ringo’s large hand starts rubbing my back, offering me comfort he doesn’t have to give me. It’s the only thing that helps the words to come.

“The pills were a sedative. They’ve done it before. They do it when they want to control me. Make sure I do what they want. They would have dressed me in white the next morning and taken me to marry Daniel while I was in a near catatonic state. But they didn’t get to do that, thanks to you.”

“Well, I couldn’t have done it if it weren’t for Ringo. I knew he had the skills to do what I asked, and the ability to make you disappear without a trace so your parents can’t find you.”

My eyes dart up to Ringo, his face kind of blurry given its close proximity. He glances down at me, pulling back a little so we can see each other, and I continue talking while he stares down at me.

“How do you know him?”

“Long story short, you know the guy that took a bullet for me when my brother…” She trails off, “Well, yeah, you know that guy?”

“He died, didn’t he?” I was sure he died.

“Yeah. Muz died. Ringo is his older brother.”

“Oh.” My lip trembles again and I study this big lethal man holding me as a flash of pain passes his expression before he tries to hide it.

Can he hear what Lexi is saying?

I suppose he might be able to given how close we are right now.

“I know he probably seems scary, and not the sort of man you’re used to associating with, but he’s a damn good man, Abs. He really is. Don’t let his moody attitude fool you.”

A grin pulls at my lips, and when I notice Ringo trying to hide his own behind his beard, I know for sure he can hear Lexi, too.

“Lex. Is Tahli alright?” I ask, my thoughts going back to my twelve-year-old sister, so sweet and innocent that I hate the thought of her being in that house alone with those monsters.

“Yeah, we were chatting in the game app before. She’s doing alright. Just worried about you. If you download the app, I’ll send through her username and mine too, and we can all communicate.”

“Yes. Yes, please do that.” I practically beg, desperate to chat with Tahli myself.

“She’s a strong kid, Abs. Much like you. Do you know she even drugged Maggie last night? ”

“What! No, I didn’t. How?”

Lexi giggles. “She said she got one of the pills your mum forced on you and crushed it up in Maggie’s hot chocolate before bed. She was annoyed that your mum was making them sleep in the same room because she knew it was so Maggie could keep an eye on Tahli so she couldn’t try to help you.”

I start giggling too. “I love my little sister.”

“You’ll love her even more when I tell you she went back to bed after Ringo left with you. She ignored your parents’ calls for help and left them to figure a way to get themselves out of the situation they were left in. She said it took them three hours.”

“Oh, my god.” I slap my hand over my mouth. “I wish I was a fly on the wall for that.”

“Right. Me too. Tahli is fine, trust me. She’s just worried about you.”

“I can’t wait to hug her when this is all over,” I admit, and Lexi sighs through the phone.

I can picture her sitting in her bedroom, her blonde waves wild and her blue eyes bright. I bet Ayden is there with her, probably hugging her close as she speaks.

“Abs. What happened that made your parents rush the wedding forward to the next morning? Tahli really wasn’t sure why.”

I stiffen at her question, my gaze darting back to Ringo’s as he watches on silently.

I can’t say it.

I can’t tell her.

I can’t tell anyone.

What will she think?

What will Ringo think when he finds out?

I need to leave here as soon as I can. Make a run for it and figure it out on my own.

My eyes sting with the heat of my tears once again, and I force out the words. “I can’t say right now.”

She falls quiet, probably hurt that I’m still keeping secrets from her, but what other choice do I have? She will never understand. If the truth comes out, no one will understand.

The heaviness of it all feels suffocating, and all of a sudden, I can’t seem to get air into my lungs.

I gasp, trying over and over, yet nothing works, and before I know what’s happening, the phone is pulled from my grip, and the deep baritone of Ringo’s voice cuts through the air before I’m being carried somewhere else.