Chapter Twenty-Six
Iwasgoingtokill Julian. When I saw where Mac and his goons had taken Hank and me, I said a prayer that I would stay alive long enough to murder Julian and bring him back to do it again. The broken-down shed that Mac referred to as their clubhouse was very clearly a sad place where a lot of drugs were done. I could smell the cigarette smoke and despair before the door was even kicked open.
The inside was just as bad as the outside, and I immediately held Hank tighter and pulled his blanket over his head. I didn’t want him breathing in the air or any of the assholes okay with kidnapping a woman and child for lower liquor prices even looking at him. I snarled at Mac when he touched my arm and pulled away.
“You’re going to sit over there and play nice until I need you.” He pointed to a disgusting old couch that sat way too low to the floor, like the bottom had come off. “I don’t want to hear a peep from you.”
I shrugged off his hold again. “What exactly do you think I’m going to be able to help you with?”
Reba appeared on my other side and dug her nails into my arm. “Move it, bitch.”
“Easy, Reba. We’re not going to hurt her if she behaves herself.” Mac raised his eyebrows and waited until I perched on the very edge of the couch. “We’re going to motivate Julian to lower his prices. To nothing. He gives us that sweet discount, and he can have you back.”
I frowned. “Are you kidding? That’s the grand plan?”
Mac shifted and put his hands on his waist. “What’s wrong with my plan?”
“Oh, I don’t know, the fact that Julian doesn’t want me. He’d just turned me away when you found me. You kidnapped an unwanted woman. You’re not getting shit from him for me. If anything, he might send an extra bottle of moonshine as a thank you for taking me off his hands.”
“Nice try. The news is all over town about your being the Steele brothers’ plaything. And that’s Julian’s son.” Mac took a menacing step closer to me. “He may not want you, but maybe he’ll care to save his son.”
I sprang off the couch and glowered at him. “You’re not going to touch him.”
“Maybe not.” Shrugging, he backed away. “Who really knows?”
“Sit back down!” Reba hissed at me, her anger nearly tangible. “You think you’re so smart. You’ll be sorry soon. When Julian doesn’t come to rescue you and the Steele brothers move on to their next whore, you’ll be ours.”
A cold wave of dread and fury rolled over my body, and I did my best to sit perfectly still to avoid showing it. Blake heard me talking about men on motorcycles. Julian knew who was coming to meet him. They’d be able to find me. I just hoped they did it soon.
I tried to remain invisible as the clubhouse filled up as the night dragged on. They were having a party, preemptively celebrating getting free booze. From what I could tell, they were already getting high on something that didn’t smell natural. They jeered at me when they moved past, but for the most part, no one even spoke to me. Hank was starting to get antsy and kept trying to yank the blanket off of his head, but I didn’t want any part of him exposed to the things happening in the space.
I knew he was getting hungry and I knew he’d be so upset that he couldn’t help crying soon. I didn’t want to think about what was going to happen when we couldn’t remain invisible. I was truly scared as I sat there, watching men fighting and grabbing the women around them. I could feel a few of the men staring at me. I wanted to get out of there so bad that I’d started shaking. My heart was in my throat, and I felt like I was going to throw up at any moment.
Mac came out of a back room at one point and waved his phone at me. Shouting over the music and party, he announced that moonshine was on the way. “The pretty little thing over there is to thank! Seems Julian is sweet on her after all.”
I stared at my feet, sure that Julian had probably just said whatever they wanted to hear before going back to whatever he did in his cabin. He didn’t care about me. Not enough, anyway.
A bottle smashed across the room, and a fight broke out between two women. The men cheered them on instead of breaking it up, and I watched in horror as blood was shed.
I had to get out of there. Everyone at the party seemed absolutely insane, and I was going to be hurt if I didn’t do something. I could feel it in my bones. I wasn’t safe. That meant Hank wasn’t safe.
The moment I stood up, Reba was there again, shoving me down. “Get up again and I’ll make sure you learn a lesson tonight.”
I bit back my anger and readjusted Hank, who was starting to cry. “He needs food.”
“What do you think this is, the Applebee’s? He’ll be fine.”
“He’s a baby. He needs food or he’s going to start screaming his head off.”
“You’d better keep him quiet,” she snarled at me. “Or else.”
A big man with a nasty-looking snake tattooed on the side of his face moved closer to us. “You look a little lonely, sweetheart. You want some company?”
Things were building to a fever pitch. I needed help. I had a really bad feeling in my stomach.
“Answer him!” Reba kicked my foot and hovered over me. “You think you’re hot shit, but you’re nothing. When someone talks to you here, you answer them with respect.”
I was just opening my mouth to reply, with what, I hadn’t a clue, when both doors into the building, front and back, were kicked open, and a collection of cops came running in. Chaos erupted as the drunk and drugged women and men tried to run but were taken down by eager cops. Reba was grabbed and pushed against a wall before being handcuffed, while the man who’d wanted to keep me company was pushed to his knees and threatened while another cop searched him.