Hours later, I was still mulling over my plan when I heard the lock on the door turn. Moments later, Hawk stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. As I looked up at him, a warmth washed over me, and I silently cursed myself for my body’s reaction to him. After the way he’d locked me in this godforsaken room, I should’ve been disgusted by him—angered at the very least. I hoped to hide my unwelcome reaction by saying, “You don’t have to keep coming to check in on me. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“Then, why are you here?”
He ran his hand through his hair with a troubled sigh. “Beats the hell out of me.”
“Well, since you’re here ... Did you say anything to Viper about letting me make a call to work?”
“It’s been taken care of.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean ... it’s been taken care of,” he answered sharply.
“Okay ... Then, what about Danny?” I stood up and took a step towards him. “Has he told you what you wanted to know?”
“Why do you keep asking when you know I’m not going to answer?”
“Because I’m hoping if I do, you might actually tell me what the hell is going on.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop asking.” Hoping I might be able to get through to him, I took another step closer to him and placed my hand on his arm. “Can you at least tell me if I have any chance—any chance at all—of getting out of here?”
For reasons I didn’t understand, I actually believed him when he replied, “If I have anything to say about it, you’ll have more than just a chance.”
“I really want to believe that.”
“Then, believe it.” His eyes never left mine as he whispered, “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
I nodded as I removed my hand from his arm. He was still holding my gaze when a strange expression crossed his face. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought he was thinking about kissing me, especially when his eyes drifted down to my mouth. With each second that passed, the tension between us only grew stronger, suddenly stopping when Hawk grumbled, “Fuck.”
Before I had a chance to even think, he turned and disappeared into the hall, locking me inside once again. Out of pure frustration, I threw my hands up in the air and yelled, “What the hell was that?”
Of course, I got no response. Simply more silence. I was done with this insanity. One way or another, I was getting out of this room and as far away from the Sinners’ warehouse as I possibly could—even if that meant never seeing him again. I forced that thought out of my head as I collapsed down on the bed and started thinking about my plan to escape. I hadn’t been lying there long when the door flew open and Shotgun stepped into the room with a fierce expression on his face. “Time for you to come with me.”
“What?” Fearing the worst, I screeched, “Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” He reached for my arm and tugged me out of the room, leading me down the dark hallway. Thinking he might come to my rescue, I looked around for any sign of Hawk, but he was nowhere to be found. My heart raced with panic as the adrenaline started to rush through my veins. I had no idea where he was taking me, but in my gut, I knew it wasn’t a place I wanted to go. I tried to pull free from his grasp, but he just held on tighter as he yanked me forward. When we stopped at a door, he looked down at me and barked, “You have five minutes.”
He opened the door and shoved me inside. Before I had a chance to figure out what was happening, he shut the door and locked it. I started banging on the door and shouting, “Hey! Let me out!”
“Delilah.”
The sound of Danny’s voice startled me. I quickly spun around, and the sight of him made my stomach turn. He was sitting in the center of what looked to be some kind of garage with strange tools scattered around the room. Danny’s arms were bound behind him, and there was blood all over his clothes. With all the bruising and swelling, his face was almost unrecognizable. I rushed over to him as I cried, “Oh my god, Danny! What have they done to you?”
“I’m all right. Trust me ... it could be a lot worse.”
“Who are these guys anyway? Please tell me these aren’t your new biker friends.”
“No. Not exactly.”
“Thank God for that.” I tried to fight back my tears as I knelt down in front of him. It broke my heart to see my brother like that. “Tell me what can I do.”