Jace had been driving like a Nascar champion since they’d left The Ranch, but so far, they’d only passed a handful of cars on the pitch-black road—and no cab. His friend frowned, but didn’t take his eyes off the highway. “Maybe they stopped at a gas station or something and we passed them.”
“The two stations we’ve passed so far looked empty. Maybe you just need to go faster.”
Jace shot him a you-gotta-be-fucking-kidding-me look. “Any faster and we’re going to break the sound barrier. I’m trying to get you to Brynn with all our limbs still intact.”
Reid gave a derisive snort and stared at the taillights of the black SUV they were gaining on. Jace cut into the left lane and glanced over as they passed the vehicle. “Huh. Looks like we aren’t the only ones skipping the Bacchanal tonight.”
“What do you mean?” Reid turned to look over his shoulder, but the Escalade was quickly becoming a black dot in the distance, the large vehicle no match for the high-powered sports car.
Jace shrugged. “That was Davis Ackerman. He’s a member at the club.”
Reid grimaced. “Seriously? Women actually sleep with that dirtbag?”
“Some,” Jace said, his tone wary. “But Grant has had to work hard to find him matches. Davis’s proclivities are pretty fucked up from what I’ve heard.”
Reid smirked. “Let me guess, he’s into extreme humiliation? He always excelled at doing that at work.”
“More than that,” Jace said as he passed another vehicle. “He wants the pain sluts—girls who claim they don’t have limits. A few weeks ago, Grant had to call in a medic because Davis had bitten a girl’s neck so hard, it had gushed blood. He’s been warned twice about biting.”
“Jesus.”
r: Roni Loren
She stilled, her blood running cold.
“That’s right. Good girl.” He ran his other hand over her bared shoulder, the scar. “So, have you missed me?”
TWENTY
now
Jace bent at the waist, hands on knees, and wheezed with yet another fit of laughter.
Reid gritted his teeth. “Are you done yet, asshole? Because I could use a little help here.”
Reid had tried unsuccessfully to free himself from the cuffs Brynn had secured him with. But all he had to show for it was a whole lot of sweat and a bent sofa bed frame. Jace had been his last resort before calling staff. Now, he wondered if staff may have been a better option.
Jace coughed, trying to get a hold on his laughter. “Dude, I’m sorry. But this is funny as shit. At least she only cuffed you and didn’t stick a plug in your ass or something. What the hell did you do to inspire this?”
Reid laid his head on the pillow and stared at the scattered papers in front of him. “She went through my bag. Saw that I’m working on an appeal for the guy who’s in jail for her mother’s murder.”
Jace’s tone turned serious. “And you didn’t tell her?”
Reid craned his neck and shot him a lethal glare.
Jace raised his palms. “Okay, okay. Not my business. Let me look for the keys.”
After a few minutes of searching, Jace found what he was looking for and released Reid from the bed. Reid wrapped the sheet around his waist and rubbed his reddened wrists. “I seriously fucked up this time, man.”
“Well, that’s obvious.” Jace straddled one of the dining room chairs and frowned. “What haven’t you told me?”
Reid sighed, then spilled the whole story. He hadn’t told Jace from the start about the appeal because he knew his friend would’ve never agreed to get him into the club under those pretenses, but he needed to come clean now.
Jace stayed silent a full minute after Reid stopped speaking, his expression neutral as he processed the information. “So you didn’t come here to help Brynn and win her back like you told me? You came because you needed to know where your star witness was?”
“Yes. No.” Reid scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I don’t fucking know anymore. Most of it was because I needed to know where Kelsey was and, I won’t lie, part of me wanted revenge on Brynn for hurting me all those years ago—I couldn’t wait to remind her what she’d walked away from.”
“But…”