Dragon's Second Chance Romance - Riley Storm Page 0,51

and was letting Gayle drive her to the tents Balance the Scales had set up on the outskirts of town. There, she would put in another eight hours of community service.

“Good morning,” the woman said cheerfully. Then she gently elbowed her companion. “Say hello, Thomas. Be nice.”

“Oh. Hello. Good morning,” the man said, smiling at her. “Sorry about Liddy. She’s a chatty one.”

Claire smiled, forced to cover up a snicker as Liddy turned a look on Thomas.

“What?” the older man said, lifting the one hand that wasn’t on a cane, protesting his innocence. “You are!”

“Come on, you old fart, we’ve got another lap to go. Doc says you need to get more walking in, you know that.”

Thomas grumbled something, and Claire continued on her path, no longer needing to cover her mirth at the cute older couple.

Now, that was love.

Her mind shied away from the word for a moment, but the day was simply too beautiful for Claire to care. She let the thoughts of love and happily ever after slide on over her. She wasn’t going to stress on those. Not today!

Exiting the park, she waited for a pair of trucks to pass before jaywalking, skipping over the lawn and into the parking lot of city hall. Gayle lived in a row of townhouses just behind it, and there was a path out back that would be much faster than walking all the way around by following the road.

A car came along behind her, and Claire shuffled to the side as it passed slowly, the driver hunting for the perfect parking spot. She wished him luck on his search, wondering if he would find it. At this time, the spots were mostly empty, so the odds seemed in his favor.

Just pick one, she thought to herself as the car kept on driving, turning the corner and disappearing behind the building itself. Silly driver. There are plenty of good spots that—

“Ack!”

It was the only sound she could make as someone loomed up between two trucks as she passed and clamped a hand over her mouth, hauling her down into the shadows between vehicles.

Doors opened on both trucks, blocking her from view of any casual passerby. She kicked and struggled mightily, but the person holding her had arms of steel, far too strong for her to overcome. She tried to open her mouth wide, in hopes of biting down, but the cool prick of metal under her chin made her go still.

“That’s what I thought,” her captor sneered as a familiar face came around and efficiently tied her legs together at both the ankles and then the knees. “Give him your hands as well. Wrists together.”

Reluctantly, Claire extended her hands as ordered so that Lyle could tie them together as well.

“In my truck,” Pete ordered once Lyle was done, and the two of them put her into Pete’s truck with the help of Jones, who casually came around and lifted her by her ass with a chuckle. Pete got in the back seat with her, his hand still over her mouth, the steel blade of the knife occasionally flashing into view as he sat down on the rear bench seat.

“Now, you two remember what to do? Go on back, look out for any cops, and get all the good shit. I’ll meet you there with this bitch. Got it?” Pete asked, waiting for a response from both of them before he nodded and shooed them on their way.

Then he turned his attention back to her.

“So here’s the deal, bitch. You make a sound when I take my hand away, and I turn you into a drug-riddled meathole for all the boys in Kennewick to have whenever they want. I won’t kill you. I’ll make you suffer.”

Claire went cold at the harsh tone of his voice. She’d only ever heard Pete get like this once before. He’d never directed such fury her direction, and she suddenly feared for her life, regardless of his threat.

“You understand me?” he snapped.

She nodded briskly, wanting to ensure he understood she would be good.

“Telling the cops about me,” he spat, reaching over her to close the door. “Fucking bitch. You’re going to pay for that, trust me.”

“What the hell are you doing Pete?” she asked as he removed his hand and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Ridding myself of you for good,” he growled, the truck coming to life. He turned the dial up on the stereo, deep thudding bass filling the cab.

It would be all but impossible