5
Harley
I knew I wasn’t being fair to Liam and frankly, I was surprised at how well he was keeping his temper in check. The truth is, I wanted to provoke him. I wanted him to leave me alone or at least show me his true colors. I was tired of the good guy act because I knew it was going to be a facade. If he got violent, I could roll up the window and be safe in my car. If he drove off, then at least I would be alone instead of with a biker.
But he was stubborn and unyielding. And something about the way he was looking at me wanted to obey. I wanted to do what he said. And he was right. I would be safe in my car from him. “Okay,” I said. “You can check my car if you want, but I doubt it’s fixable.” The car was on its last leg. It was barely holding on when I bought it second-hand, but I didn’t drive often, so I hadn’t gotten around to getting a new car.
I pressed a button to pop the hood of the car and I watched Liam disappear for a while. After a few minutes, he called out, “Okay, try to start it!”
I turned the key and the car roared to life. I smiled, feeling relief for a second, only for the car to die immediately again. Liam started swearing.
After a couple more tries, he walked around to me. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I tried but no luck. I’ll call a tow truck for you.”
I looked at the time. It was close to one in the morning. “I don’t think we’ll find a tow truck at this hour.”
“There’s a couple of club members who are mechanics,” Liam said. “They usually work on bikes, but I’m sure they’re set up for cars too. I’ll give them a call.”
I shivered. “No. Thank you. I don’t think I can handle being around more than one biker at a time.”
He nodded, luckily not pushing the issue. “I can give you a ride home,” he said. “Or to a nearby motel if you prefer.”
I bit my lip. I hadn’t been on the back of a motorcycle since Reaper kidnapped me. Just the thought of it made me scared. “I can walk to a motel,” I said. “There’s got to be one close by.”
“There’s one about a mile away,” Liam said. “I’ll walk with you.”
“That’s not necessary–”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “It is.”
He had that tone again, the one that made me want to obey him and do what he said. God, this was insane. It was the dead of night and I was going to be walking with a stranger. I had to have a death wish. But I couldn’t just stay in the car all night. It was going to reach below freezing, not to mention I would be a sitting duck in case someone did want to hurt me. “Okay,” I said quietly. “But I have pepper spray. So don’t try anything.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, with a slight smile.
I grabbed my purse and got out of the car. I shivered as wind sliced through my jacket.
Liam quickly took off his jacket and handed it to me. “Here,” he said. “Put this on.”
I swallowed and took the jacket hesitantly. Normally I hated leather jackets. They always meant danger before. But I didn’t feel like that with Liam and his jacket. Maybe I was just desperate to stay warm, but his jacket felt like safety. I put the leather jacket over my own and zipped it up. It was so big on me that it fit easily over my jean jacket. I looked at Liam and was surprised to see he was only in a t-shirt. “What about you? You’ll be freezing.”
He smirked. “Careful now. If you start showing men like me concern, then we might think you owe us something.”
I looked away, blushing as we started to walk down the street. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I was angry and embarrassed but I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You’ve been through hell,” he said. “I get it. But I promise the Hell’s Reneages are different. We don’t run brothels or deal drugs. We try to protect our towns. Not rip them apart. And we never ever hurt women.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I want to believe you,” I said. “It’s just… hard.”
“I know,” Liam said quietly.
We walked in silence for a while. Liam wasn’t bad company. It was surprisingly comfortable with him. When I was with Reaper, he never wasted time talking, usually throwing me a few insults and backhanded compliments. Now I knew he had been wearing me down, making me easier to control and more eager to please. Everything came with a price with Reaper. If I needed a ride home, then I had to make out with him first. If I wanted him to take me to dinner and the movies, then he made me do even more.
Liam wasn’t like that. He was fine being quiet. He didn’t push me about seeing my father. And he had tried to help me multiple times without asking for anything in return. Maybe he was biding his time and trying to lure me into a false sense of security, but it didn’t feel like it. “How was my dad today?” I asked.
If Liam was surprised by my question, he didn’t show it. “He was better today,” Liam said. “More like his usual self.”
“Did he mention me?”
“Yes,” he said. “But I’m the only one in the club who knows about you. I haven’t told him I found you, though. But I fucked up and mentioned Reaper’s name. So he knows I tried to find you.”