to listen to you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re an asshole, and going on that date with you was the biggest mistake of my life. Now why don’t you let me go before the cops start looking for you, and we can just call it a day?”
He looks me dead in the eye, and I don’t miss the regret and sadness there. “I should have taken you straight home. But I didn’t. I wanted to stretch out our fuckin’ date as much as I could and now it’s landed us here, in this messed-up situation. But I’m trying to handle it, okay? I couldn’t just leave you back there, knowing what you saw, and knowing those men also saw you.”
In some fucked-up way, even though it’s the same thing Chains and Crow said to me in the car, I can see it from his side and get where he’s coming from. He had seconds to think about what to do and he made this decision. However, in my world, kidnapping someone is not the appropriate answer. To him, this seems almost normal, and I’m not okay with that.
He thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants, and somehow justifies it to himself.
It’s fucked.
“You tied me up,” I say, scanning his gaze. “And left me in a car with men I don’t know. None of these things are normal.”
He sighs. “You’re right. I made the wrong call. But I can’t go back and fix what happened.”
I appreciate his honesty and admitting fault, but it doesn’t change anything. “I need to call my sister and let her know I’m okay. Can you at least let me do that? She’s going to be worried sick.”
He studies me. “And what are you going to tell your sister?”
Looking down at my hands, I say, “That I’m okay and not to worry.”
“More like tell her where you are and to call the cops,” he replies in a dry tone, pulling me off the counter and leads me back outside.
After my first botched attempt at an escape, and with nothing to lose, I decide to try once more. I look toward the gas station attendant and call out for help.
“Help me! Call the police! He kidnapped me!” I scream as he simply looks at Temper and says, “See you next time.”
My jaw drops open and I stop short, Temper nearly colliding with me. I turn toward him. “Seriously? What, you have gas attendants on your payroll? What kind of bullshit operation is this?”
“He looks the other way, we bring him business. It’s a business transaction,” Temper replies, his cheerful tone making me want to scream.
“You’re an asshole!” I call out.
I don’t know who I’m speaking to, because they are all assholes, each and every one of them.
“You want me to sit in the car with you?” Temper continues. “You said you were pissed that I left you in there with strangers. I don’t usually let anyone ride my bike, but I guess for you I can make an exception.”
He’s clearly not right in the head.
I tell him as much. “There’s something seriously wrong with you. Ride your bike—it’s basically been your girlfriend for all of your life, so I wouldn’t want to make her jealous.”
The men don’t laugh, but I can tell that they want to, especially Crow, whose expressions are very open. I don’t miss his lip twitching or the fact that he looks away to try to compose himself.
Temper makes a noise in the back of his throat. I can tell I’m frustrating him, but what does he expect. Still, he’s gentle with me as he helps me back into my prison, and sits in the back with me, letting Chains ride his pride and joy.
“You can message your sister,” he says after several minutes of tense silence. “Just let her know that you’re fine, you’ve gone on a trip for a few days and will be home soon.”
My eyes widen. “And wouldn’t that just be so convenient for you. I’m not going to lie to my sister, no way in hell.”