Page 58

HARLEY

“ L et me go, you fucking shit-eating asshole!”

I’d sworn more in the past forty-five minutes than I had in the last nine years.

My fear had given way to rage, and I thrashed and fought as Sean’s lackeys dragged me over the threshold of the rat trap, they called a clubhouse.

At least, I assumed it was their clubhouse.

Not like they had a lot of clan members to house, anyway.

“I’ve had it with your complaints,” Sean snarled. His eyes blazed with fury—even the scarred left one—as he gripped my upper arms. He was Steph’s twin, but he didn’t look a thing like the man I loved—or who I thought I had loved before he betrayed me again.

I shoved that thought from my mind. Steph didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was getting away from this psycho and back to my son.

I could only hope Dylan had gotten away. That he was somewhere safe and far away from Sean’s goons.

Sean shoved me into a small, dilapidated room. It had no furniture, just stained hardwood floors, dark walls, a single dirty window, and a bucket in the corner. “Keep your mouth shut,” he said with a sneer. “Unless you want to lose your tongue.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I snapped.

“You think?” Before I could even blink, Sean wrapped his hand around my neck.

I gasped, icy terror coursing through me as his grip tightened.

“You’re nothing but a pawn in my game, bitch,” he said in a low, dangerous voice.

“I’d love to kill you where you stand. Just give me a reason, and I’ll do it. ”

If he got his hands on Dylan, we’d both be dead. Please, whoever is listening, please let Dylan be safe.

“Boss.” A scrawny young lackey, with a full sleeve tattoo and a shaved head, crept up next to Sean like he was afraid of getting strangled himself.

Sean looked over, then released his hold on my neck. I collapsed to my knees, sputtering and coughing as oxygen flooded my lungs.

The kid leaned close to Sean’s ear and spoke quietly to him. Sean’s expression darkened. “Then find him!” he snarled. “Now!”

In that moment, in my heart, I knew Dylan had evaded capture. My shoulders slumped with relief, and I braced both hands on the cold hardwood as I caught my breath. Thank you, I prayed to the universe. Thank you.

The kid hurried out of the room. Sean loomed over me, and rage poured off him like a bad smell. “This is nothing but a little setback, you know that, right?”

I looked up with a grimace but didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to gain control of Lakeview. It’s my clan.

My birthright. That pesky little heir is the last obstacle in my way.

And now that I have you”—he stepped on my hand with his steel-toed boot, pressing down hard—“I’ll have him in no time.

We’ll do a little swap. I know Ace will do anything for his fated mate.

” He spat the word at me like an insult.

I gritted my teeth against the pain in my hand, but still I said nothing.

Sean glared at me. Maybe he’d been hoping I’d keep talking back so he’d have an excuse to knock me around a little more. “Keep quiet in here. Otherwise, I’ll come back and force your silence. Don’t think I won’t.”

I didn’t doubt him. He thrived on violence. Craved it.

It didn’t matter. As long as Dylan was safe, I couldn’t care less what Sean did to me .

He stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. The lock clicked closed with a decisive snap. I didn’t have to check the door to know I was trapped.

I got up on shaky legs and paced the perimeter of the room.

Of course, the window was locked—more than locked, actually.

It was nailed shut. I traced my finger over the rusty nails buried in the windowsill.

The glass was thick, and even if I was strong enough to shatter it, there was no way I’d be able to do that without the dragons in the house hearing me.

Sean was a psychopath, but he wasn’t stupid.

There wasn’t a damn thing in this cold, empty room that would help me.

I sat down against the wall across from the door and pulled my knees to my chest. Pressing my forehead to my knees, I took a few slow, steadying breaths.

Now that it was quiet, all my fear and pain and rage cascaded over me.

I didn’t even try to stop the tears from flowing.

What was the point? There was no one here to see.

Nothing I could do to get out. I was truly trapped here—truly at Sean’s mercy.

Despite how things had ended between us, there was no doubt in my mind that Steph would come for me.

The memory of him in bed with Blakely only made the tears flow harder.

After everything we’d been through, everything we’d struggled with, all those conversations…

He’d still betrayed me. Still gone back to her for an easy fuck.

I didn’t understand it. I was so sure he loved me.

I’d believed him when he said I was his fated mate.

Yet he’d turned his back on me in a heartbeat the second he had the chance.

It didn’t make sense. That wasn’t the behavior of the man I thought I knew.

Maybe I didn’t know him at all.

Even if that were true, there was no way he’d agree to a trade. He might be a cheating jackass, but he had a lot of pride. He’d never let Sean walk over him like that.

Steph loved Dylan. Even if what I’d thought was real between us wasn’t, there was no way he didn’t love his son. It simply wasn’t possible. Even if there was no other reason, he’d come for me because that was what was best for Dylan.

Right?

Steph wouldn’t leave me here to languish, would he?

Yesterday, I wouldn’t have doubted that at all, but after seeing Steph with Blakely, I wasn’t so sure.

My tears stopped, and I rubbed my face roughly.

I couldn’t just sit here in the dark and cry.

And I couldn’t count on Steph swooping in to save the day.

He probably didn’t even know where I was, and who knew how long it would take for him to find me!

The longer I was stuck here in the dark, the more that rage in Sean’s eyes would build.

He wanted to hurt me. I didn’t know how long he’d be able to hold back.

I had to get out of here. I had to get to my son. We had to get out of Lakeview, and away from these crazy dragons. For good .

But how the hell was I going to get out of this room without said crazy dragons noticing?

There was a knock on the door. I jumped to my feet and blinked hard, dispelling the last remainders of my tears. I clenched my fists at my sides. If Sean had already decided to hurt me, I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

The door unlocked and opened. The scrawny kid I’d seen earlier stepped inside, carrying a tray with a pathetic meal on it. I pressed my back against the wall and glared at him as he set the tray down.

He raised his hands as if in surrender. “You don’t need to look at me like that, lady. I’m not into hurting kids or women, so you can relax.”

“Then why are you working with that bastard?” I hissed. “Considering he hurt my kid and me.”

“I’m just following orders. You need to eat.” He nodded down at the tray, which had a sad-looking sandwich and an even sadder banana on it.

“Right, because I’m sure the food you’re providing is totally safe and not drugged at all.”

“It’s not! Jeez, you’re paranoid. Just stay put and try not to piss Sean off, okay?

This isn’t about you.” He glanced back at the door nervously, then took a step closer.

“Sean’s a little…” He circled his finger next to his temple.

“Well, off his rocker. I’m lucky to still be breathing after letting your kid get away. ”

I frowned. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because this”—he gestured around the room—“isn’t how I like to roll. It’s not what I signed up for.”

“Then why are you helping him?”

He looked away, and his face fell. “It’s an obligation.” The kid turned to leave, then paused with his hand on the door handle. “Sometimes you think you have no way out. But that’s not always the case.” He glanced to the window, then the tray, then back to me. “Keep it down in here, okay?”

Before I could ask what the hell he meant, he shut the door and locked it again.

What was a kid like that doing working with Sean? He seemed to have a decent head on his shoulders. He didn’t look like a blood-hungry aggressor like the rest of them.

I knelt down by the tray and poked at the sandwich. I wasn’t hungry, not after what I’d been through, but I was curious to see if they’d stuffed a few pills between the ham and the bread like I suspected.

My poking and prodding shifted the paper towel the sandwich was on. Beneath it was a small, slim chisel with a curved end, like the back of a hammer. I gripped the chisel’s handle, then looked back at the window.

The nails.

He wanted me to get out. If I ever saw him again, I swore I’d thank him.

I tucked the chisel into the waistband of my jeans. Perhaps someone was looking out for me and Dylan. Because I was getting out of here.

Tonight.