It was like a punch to the gut and a stroke to the dick all at the same time.
Terrified, but absolutely stunning green eyes stared into his as though pleading for mercy. He clenched his teeth so hard his jaw screamed for relief. Steeling his expression, Viper returned her stare with a hardened, impassive one.
The tiny flare of hope his growl must have sparked died, and her shoulders slumped in defeat. Another tug on the rope had her jerking, and following Legs into the ramshackle house.
Viper wanted nothing more than to rush forward, grab the girl, and toss her on the back of his bike. But they wouldn’t make it two miles before Fox had the whole club hunting their asses.
He settled for trying to send her a telepathic message
Hang tight, baby. Viper’s coming for you.
CHAPTER TWO
NO MATTER HOW tightly Cassandra huddled into herself or how vigorously she rubbed her arms and legs, she couldn’t warm up. The house wasn’t frigid, at least not compared to outside, but it certainly wasn’t toasty. And after what had to be nearly a day of being unclothed, she was chilled to the bone.
Not that these men cared about something as trivial as her comfort. No, most kidnappers weren’t overly concerned with their captives’ contentment.
God, she’d been kidnapped. And sold to the highest bidder like some kind of auction item. Straight out of a fucking movie, only she couldn’t walk out when it sucked.
The overwhelming panic hovering all around threatened to overtake her again. Cassie rested her forehead on her bent knees and fought to steady her breath. It’d worked this far to keep her from losing control of her emotions. Who knew how long it’d be before she freaked.
God, she was so stupid. The reason stereotypes about naïve rich girls existed. Apparently, she was precisely what some sick piece of work was looking for. A dumb, spoiled, sheltered rich girl who’d never had sex, and had no clue how the real world worked.
Well, whoever he was, he’d gotten her. Or these asshole bikers had snagged her, and the buyer would get her in a day or so.
And he’d break her. Or so the bikers kept saying as they laughed and pawed at her mostly naked body. Wouldn’t take much, she was so near broken already.
Maybe whoever purchased her would be disappointed if she broke too quickly, and he’d return her. Was there some kind of trial period? A trade-in credit if she didn’t work out? A harsh laugh escaped into the quiet room. She was going crazy.
“The fuck you laughing about?” an impatient voice asked as the door flew open.
A beefy guy with a flaming red mohawk and freckles galore stood in the open doorway. He was one of the ugliest men she’d ever seen, with a clearly deformed nose and cauliflower ear on both sides of his head. A long scar ran straight across his forehead. Whoever he was, his face had been through the mill. Looked like this guy had replaced Legs at some point in the hours she’d been there. How many hours, she had no freaking clue. The men didn’t exactly leave a clock. Or a phone. Too bad the bikers were smarter than they looked.
“Nothing,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes trained on the enormous booted feet standing in the doorway.
The biker, whoever he was, grunted. “You ain’t got much to be laughing about right now, bitch.”
Why the hell did they use the term bitch like it was some kind of common pet name? She’d been called bitch more in the past twelve hours than in her entire life.
“Nothin’ to say?” He snorted out a laugh. “That’ll change fast. You’ll be saying yes, sir and no, sir all day long.” She glanced up just as he smirked. “Mostly yes, sir.”
A run of terror skittered up her spine. Clenching her teeth, she tried to give him a formidable stare. She wouldn’t let him know how each and every word he spoke was a lightning strike of fear directly to her heart.
“W-why are you doing this to me. I don’t want to be here. I’m not a willing participant. It’s kidnapping. And it will soon be rape.” For some reason, the why mattered to her. Was he in some sort of financial crisis? Struggling to feed a horde of children? Was this a desperate attempt to save his family? It certainly wouldn’t justify his actions, but it’d give her some hope that she had at least a snowball’s chance in hell of being set free.
The ogre cocked his head and grinned. “That’s an easy one. Money, baby doll. It makes the world go ’round.”
“You in some kind of financial trouble? I have money. I can help you out if you let me go. You could do hard time for this.” Hard time? Who was she, Olivia Benson?