Skid stood back up and walked over to the window, looking outside, crossing his arms. My breath caught. Was that it? Was I safe for now? He glanced back toward me, thoughtful.

“The guy Toke took is my brother,” he said. “Not just my club brother—my half brother. Only family I have. Believe me when I tell you I’ll do anything to get him back. Don’t think being a woman protects you. Nothing will protect you. Got me?”

I nodded.

“Good girl,” he said. “Keep it up and maybe you’ll live.”

He turned and walked out.

I lay there forever, needing to pee so bad it hurt. I supposed I should’ve asked Skid to take me to the bathroom before he locked me down. Sooner or later I’d wet the bed. I didn’t care. I’d rather piss myself than call for Skid to come back and help me. Then I heard a scream and the sound of something shattering against the wall my room shared with Em’s.

I forgot all about my bathroom situation.

“You cocksucking bastard!” Em shrieked. I held my breath as I heard another thump. Oh, God. Was she fighting with him? Was he raping her? Her voice was full of pain and I felt sick to my stomach, because whatever was going on over there wasn’t good. The noise died down. I lay in the dark, counting the seconds. How had something this crazy happened to someone as normal and boring as me?

Goddamn Reapers.

Ruger’s stupid fucking club. First Em got stabbed and now we’d been kidnapped. It was like some horrible virus, creeping in and destroying everything it touched without warning.

If I got out of this alive, I was never touching Ruger again.

I couldn’t be with a Reaper, no matter how much I wanted him. I couldn’t allow this to be a part of my life. It couldn’t be part of Noah’s life, either. If Ruger wanted to see my son, he’d damned well leave the club out of it.

As for me? I was done with him. Well and truly done. I knew it in my gut and in my bones—any man whose reality included women getting kidnapped wasn’t good enough for me. He wasn’t right, no matter how he made me feel.

Period.

I closed my eyes tight as Em screamed again.

I woke with a start as the bed dipped.

Where was I?

I heard Em’s voice and it all came back.

“You okay?” she asked. I opened my eyes to find her sitting next to me. I studied her, looking for signs of abuse or crying.

She didn’t look like a rape victim, though. She looked pissed as hell. If anything, she was prettier than usual, her cheeks full of color and her hair wild and free. Early morning light filtered in through the window. Hunter stood in the door, eyeing both of us, face unreadable. I couldn’t believe I’d actually fallen asleep.

“I need the bathroom,” I said, my voice hoarse. God, I felt hungover.

“Can she go to the fucking bathroom?” Em asked Hunter, her voice cold.

“Yeah,” he said, walking toward me. She stood and moved out of his way, putting as much distance between them as possible. I tried not to flinch as he unlocked me, rolling away as quickly as I could despite my aching muscles.

“C’mon,” Hunter said. “Both of you.”

Em took my hand and we walked out of the room together, her fingers squeezing mine. I wanted to ask if she was all right, find out what had happened. No way I was going to talk in front of him, though.

We turned into the small bathroom, which didn’t have a window. Em shut the door behind us, pausing long enough in the doorway to glare at Hunter in some kind of silent battle. Then the door shut.

I rushed over to the toilet, incredibly relieved.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, looking over at her. She ran her hands through her hair, then crossed her arms and rubbed up and down. “How are you? Did he hurt you?”

“My pride? Definitely,” she said, eyes snapping. “Not physically. I can’t believe this. Seriously—I can’t believe how stupid I was. I actually invited him to come and meet me. I made it so easy. Idiot.”

I didn’t reply, washing my hands as we swapped places, then cupping them to take a drink. My mouth was all cottony.

“Do you have any idea what’s going to happen to us?” I asked. “Skid scares the crap out of me.”

“Did he hurt you?” she asked, her voice sharp.

“No.”

“That’s good. This is a pretty fucked-up situation,” she said. “Toke—he’s the one who cut me at the party—he’s gone off his rocker. This shooting thing makes no sense to me at all, but if it really happened, we’re screwed. Nobody knows where Toke is, not even Deke, and he’s Toke’s president. They’ve all been looking for him since the party. Cutting me was not okay, and Dad wants to make sure he pays for it.”

“Shit,” I muttered. “So your dad couldn’t give them this Toke guy, even if he wanted to?”

“I don’t think so,” she said slowly. “I mean, he’s really protective of me. When Toke hurt me like that, Dad lost it. If Dad could find him, he’d be found already. We’re pretty fucked here, Sophie.”

“Do you think they’ll hurt us?”

She considered the question.

“Liam won’t,” she replied. “I mean, he won’t hurt me. I don’t think he’ll hurt you, either.”

I cocked my head at her.

“You do realize he was lying to you all along, right? Just because you liked him doesn’t mean you can trust him, Em.”

“Oh, I know that,” she said quickly, then shook her head ruefully. “Believe me, I’m well aware that I’m the fuckwit who got us into this.”

“You’re not a fuckwit,” I said forcefully. “He’s a liar and he’s good at it. Not your fault that he targeted you.”

It was the Reapers’ fault, but I figured rubbing it in wouldn’t be particularly helpful.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “But I’m serious—I really don’t think he’ll hurt me. I’m more worried about Skid.”

“It’s his brother they’ve got,” I told her. “His real brother. I think he wanted to hurt me.”

“You guys okay in there?” Hunter called through the door.

“We’re fine,” Em snapped, startling me. “Give us a fucking minute, asshole!”

My eyes went wide.

“That was pretty bitchy,” I hissed. “Do you think that’s smart? Maybe I’m reading the situation wrong here, but don’t we want him in a good mood?”

She snorted sarcastically.

“Fuck that,” she replied. “I’m a Reaper and I’ll be damned if I’ll suck up to some Devil’s Jack dickwad.”

“Well I’m not a Reaper,” I said quietly. “And I’d just as soon not die here and leave Noah an orphan, so don’t piss him off.”

She looked chastened.

“Sorry. I guess I have my dad’s temper.”

“Too bad you don’t have your dad’s gun.”

“No shit, right? And I’m the good girl in the family. You should see my sister.”

“You have one minute,” Hunter called through the door. “Then I’m coming in.”

Em washed her hands and we left the bathroom. I avoided making eye contact with Hunter, who stood back and jerked his head toward “my” bedroom.

“Go in and lie down on the bed,” he said. “Both of you.”

We did what he said—although I could see it killed Em to obey—and two minutes later he had us both cuffed to the bedstead. Thankfully, he only did one wrist each, which was way more comfortable than Skid’s method.

“I’ll bring you some food,” Hunter said, tracing a finger across Em’s cheek.

She glared at him. “I’m gonna buy a bright red dress to wear to your funeral, Liam.”

“Yeah?” he replied, eyes narrowing. “Make sure it’s short and shows off your tits.”

“I hate you,” she hissed.

“Keep tellin’ yourself that.”

He walked out, slamming the door behind him. I bit my tongue, wondering what the hell that was all about.

“Don’t worry,” Em said after an awkward pause. “We’ll find our way out of this. We’ll escape somehow. Either that or the guys will find us.”

“Do you have any ideas?” I asked, wondering what the hell was going on between them. “Did he tell you anything, give you any hints or clues about where we are?”

“No.”

I waited for her to say more. She didn’t, and that worried me even more.

“So what did you do all night?” I asked slowly. Em ignored the question.

“I wonder if one of them will leave at some point,” she murmured. “If we wait until there’s just one in the house, I’ll bet the two of us could take him. Or even if we distracted him, at least one of us could get away. Go for help.”

“Do you think we’re really out in the middle of nowhere?” I asked. “Have you seen outside?”

“Haven’t seen outside, but we barely drove long enough to get out of the city,” she said. “There may not be any houses next door, but there has to be something within walking distance. We just need to find a way out of these handcuffs. If we can find a paperclip or a pin or something, I can pick the lock.”

“Really?” I asked, impressed. “Where did you learn that?”

“You’d be surprised at all the things I know,” she said, her voice dry. “Dad believes in being prepared.”

The door opened and Hunter came in balancing two paper plates. He had a couple bottles of water clutched under his arm and I suddenly realized how hungry and thirsty I was. My stomach growled. He set everything on top of the little dresser in the corner. Then he walked over and unlocked the handcuffs.

“You’ve got ten minutes,” he said.

We got up and grabbed the food. It was just plain peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, along with some chips, but it tasted as good as any meal I’ve ever had.

“In a minute, we’re going to call your dad,” Hunter said to Em. “Let him know you’re alive, and find out if he’s made any progress.”