Page 52

My jaw cracks sideways when the back of some biker’s hand smacks me across the face.

The pain rings through my skull like a damn church bell, but I don’t give them the satisfaction of a scream. I spit blood into the straw-covered floor instead, blinking through the burn in my eyes, forcing myself to stay upright.

“You mouth off again,” the one with the neck tattoos growls. “I’ll ruin that pretty little nose job.”

Grabbing my nose, I think I’ll really need one after this.

Another one laughs, darker, meaner. “She’s got fight. I like ‘em like that.”

“Try it and lose your dick,” I snap.

Another slap. Harder this time. My vision goes white around the edges, my ears ringing.

I collapse against the wall of the abandoned barn they’ve dragged me into, wrists still tied, ribs bruised from being kicked earlier when I tried to bite the first one who touched me.

Their president steps in then. Swagger. Yeah, that’s really what they call him. Swagger. Like a man named after cheap bourbon and inflated ego. Mid-forties, thick leather coat, white beard stained with chew spit, and cold, pale eyes that don’t blink much.

“That’s enough,” he says coolly, brushing his hand down his beard. “Not yet. We need her face unbroken for now.”

One of the others snorts. “Why? Legend gonna want her back the way she came?”

Swagger smiles like a shark. “We’re not after the girl. This is for our national brothers. You know Big Daddy killed our Prez, Meko and Whiz, too. We’re after the city. Lexington belongs to the Sinners now.”

“Lexington’s barely a city,” I say, trying to get under their skin.

“Even so, it should be ours. And that bastard’s been sittin’ on it too long.

Thinks just ‘cause he’s got some hotshot rep and some bars spread wide, it means he owns the whole damn state.

” He steps closer. “So, sweetheart, you’re leverage.

He gives up Lexington, or we take pieces of you. First your pride, then your life.”

A boot nudges my leg.

“She’s soft. Bet she screams real pretty.”

Swagger doesn’t correct him this time.

My heart thuds in my chest, fast and panicked, but I don’t let it show.

Think. Think, Sophie.

I inhale sharp, tasting blood and bile.

“You think I matter to him?” I ask, my voice rasping but cold. “Legend and I aren’t even a thing anymore.”

That makes a few of them pause.

Swagger raises a brow.

“Jokes on you. We hate each other now,” I continue, steadying my breath. “I caught him with someone else, Becki Crowley. He’s in love with her. Go check. They’re probably in bed right now. You can snatch her from it.”

Swagger eyes me.

“Besides,” I go on. “This whole damn legend about him? It’s bullshit.”

That gets a reaction.

“The creature?” I say, louder now. “That cryptid crap you all whisper about? It’s not real. It never was. Someone was working for my father. My daddy hired men to get rid of that horse and cover his tracks. That’s all it was. Not some monster.”

One of the younger Sinners looks around, uncertain.

“I should know,” I lie smoothly. “I was there. It’s my farm. I saw the evidence. Legend doesn’t know. He still believes it’s real. That makes him reckless.”

Swagger tilts his head, like he’s studying a chess piece instead of a woman tied to a post.

I keep my face neutral, like this is just a transaction. A story they can believe in.

But inside?

I’m screaming.

Because I do believe in him.

In Legend.

And I hope like hell he’s out there right now, raising it.

Because if he doesn’t come soon, I don’t think I can keep up this act much longer.

The next morning, they drag me from the barn.

I don’t know what day it is anymore, could be two since I was taken, or twenty, but the moment the sun hits my eyes, I know one thing for sure.

I’m not getting out of this without scars.

They shove me into the back of a beat-up truck, zip ties back in place, but this time no gag. Guess they want me to scream later.

“We got a show to put on,” Swagger says from the driver’s seat. “Let’s see if your boy bleeds for you.”

I don’t respond. Just stare out the window at the winding roads that smell like home.

Lexington’s rusted-out bones rattling under our tires as we pass abandoned warehouses and meatpacking plants.

They’re taking me to out of the city, to Paradise County. To Hell. To Heck’s Kitchen to be exact. Out back in the open. There’s already a crowd gathering when they yank me out, bikers with bloodlust in their eyes, girls in too-little denim with switchblades tucked in their bras.

Then I see him.

Legend.

Standing at the edge of the ring like he’s carved from shadow and rage.

He bares his teeth when they shove me forward, my knees hitting the dirt. He looks like he wants to rip someone’s throat out with those teeth.

Swagger grins like he already won. “We’re gonna do this proper. Winner takes the girl, and territory. Lexington. Kings of Anarchy step down, or she dies. Or you all die. Makes no difference to me.”

“If you hurt her, you’ll pay regardless.”

Swagger eyes Legend. “Word was she ain’t yours no more. That true?”

I speak before Legend can.

My voice cuts through like a blade. “We hate each other. Don’t we, Legend?”

He doesn’t look at me at first. His chest rises slow.

I force the words out. “Ever since I found out about Becki. About the baby you lost. About how you said you’d always love her. We haven’t been together. We never will be. Isn’t that right?”

A pause.

Then he speaks, low and cool, but there’s resolution in it. “Right.”

He finally turns to Swagger. “But I made a promise to her old man. He’s paying us to bring her back in one piece. So, let’s get to it.”

Swagger claps his hands. “Alright then, boys. Let’s have ourselves a fight.”

The crowd whoops as they shove the Sinners’ fighter into the ring, a beast of a man with prison tattoos and hands the size of lunchboxes. He grins at Legend like this’ll be easy.

It’s not.

Legend fights like he’s made of vengeance and more vengeance. His hits land like thunder. The Hound lands a few good ones, blood flying from Legend’s lip, but it only makes him more feral.

The crowd’s wild. Betting. Screaming. Booze flying. The fight is nothing like the one I saw before. It was a lot of show, almost like it wasn’t real.

And then it’s over.

Damn.

Legend drops him with one final blow that echoes through the ring like a damn gunshot. The man doesn’t move.

Swagger looks furious. “Alright. Alright. Fair’s fair.”

Only it’s not.

One of the Sinners grabs me.

Another lunges at Legend with a chain.

“It ain’t over!” Swagger shouts. “We’ll ransom her to her daddy. Make twice the money!”

I scream as rough hands yank me back, but Legend’s already moving.

And this time, there’s no ring.