Chapter Thirty-Eight
I held my tongue as we pulled out of the compound and onto the main road out of town. I tried to take in my surroundings. I hadn’t been in Athens for long and had really only been into town. I hadn’t had much to do with the surrounding area, so my knowledge of where we were grew slimmer as we drove further away from the clubhouse.
“When they notice I’m gone, all hell is going to break loose,” I told him, staring out the window.
He chuckled. “I warned them that you were there. Let them know that you didn’t know what you’d gotten yourself into and were clearly innocent. So it was better for me to remove you before they start arresting the brothers.”
“I knew exactly what I was doing there,” I told him, turning my body to face him. “I was fucking the members, all of them, several times a day. It was good, real good.”
His features tightened, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly in his hands.
“Sometimes I even had two at a time,” I whispered, knowing my words would be like venom, seeping into his veins.
Simon liked simple sex. He had control, he got off, that was all.
“How do you think I felt Hadley? Having to tell my company that my wife was now whoring herself out to a group of bikers?” I felt the tightness in his words. He was upset, he hated being made to look like a fool, and that was exactly what I’d done. He took a few deep breaths, calming himself.
I wanted to make him angry, I wanted to throw him off. Simon liked control. He liked order. But anger was like a disease, it made us do things we wouldn’t usually. It fueled us, and we ignored our instincts.
I wanted him to make a mistake. It was the only chance I had to make it out of this alive.
We pulled off the side of the road, the car turning down a driveway. The grass on either side was long like it hadn’t been used in a long time. When we came to the end, I spotted a large barn and a farmhouse in the distance. A forest bordered the property, and I licked my lips, eyeing the thick bushes inside it.
If I could get out, that could be my escape.
There were two more cars parked outside the barn, and I swallowed past the lump in my throat.
It wouldn’t just be us. There were more of them here.
“Before you think of outing me to these men…” he said as he pulled the car to a stop and switched off the engine, “...think about that beautiful little girl that you’ve grown so attached to. What’s her name? Macy?”
My heart raced. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
He was right. I had no idea if he would hurt Macy or not. I clearly had no idea who this man was that was in front of me. Was he the man I married, or some monster that had taken control of his body?
“She’s just a baby,” I whispered, my throat tightening. Macy’s face flashed in my head, her beautiful smile and sparkling eyes. Full of innocence and life. I slumped against the seat.
“Good girl,” Simon praised.
He walked around the car, pulling open my door and guiding me out.
Two men with rifles stepped out of the double doors to the barn, holding them open as we stepping through. They wore dark clothing and seemed older, maybe in their late thirties. They nodded to Simon as we entered, following behind us and pulling the barn doors closed.
There were more men scattered through the building, these men were different, though. They were dressed in baggy jeans and hooded sweatshirts, bandanas covering their heads.
Gangsters. These were the recruits that joined the gang just to be a part of something. Kids, looking no older than Meyah, nineteen at the most. They didn’t know any better, driven by power and false promises.
The roof of the barn was high with rafters, there were a few old pieces of farming equipment, plows and haymakers, all covered in dust and looking like they hadn’t seen sunlight for years and a well looked after tractor parked by the barn wall.
A table in the corner caught my eye, the two guys who sat at it looked up as we moved closer. One stayed seated while the other pushed his chair back and stood.
He didn’t look like a gangster. He had long black hair that was pulled back into a short pony at the base of his skull. His clothes were pristine, and he was clean shaven, a suit jacket over a casual shirt and dark denim jeans. Both casual and professional.
He scrutinized me with his eyes as he came closer. “I never can fault your taste in women.”
I frowned, confused as to what he meant. I looked out the corner of my eye at Simon whose chest seemed to puff with pride at the compliment.