Chapter 1
Hawk
Leaving the party to go get Annie after her douchebag of a boyfriend stranded her is a no-brainer. I left Cam drunk with no keys and Damon to deal with Olivia. He wanted Olivia to leave Annie alone but paying her too much attention might make Olivia even more territorial.
I ride as fast as I can down the country road until I get to the pull off. Annie sits on one of the railroad ties they use as curbs. Her arms are wrapped around her knees, making her look small in the headlight of my motorcycle.
How could someone who cares about her abandon her out here? In the middle of nowhere? It’s not even walkable back to town. Did Chase plan to leave her out here and then come back later? Hoping she’d be grateful to be rescued after he abandoned her?
Fuck him.
We’re going to destroy Chase Chadwick.
I park and cut my engine. As I cross the lot to her, I shrug out of my leather jacket. It’s not that cold out tonight, but the wind can be chilly when I ride. She doesn’t look up as I approach.
Draping my jacket around her shoulders, I squat in front of her and lift her chin. Fuck. Her face is tear-streaked. Her blue eyes are watery. She won’t meet my gaze.
I push down all the fury I feel toward Chase right now and focus on the girl before me.
“Hey there, Annie.” I brush my thumb over a stray tear on her cheek.
She sniffles and whispers, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I slide my hand to cup her jaw, and she leans into my touch. I don’t know if she’s aware she’s doing it. The need to protect her at all costs flows through me.
“For making you leave the party.” Her eyes remain downcast.
“You didn’t make me do anything.” I blow out a breath. “I was getting worried about you when I got your call.”
She trembles and pulls my jacket around her tighter. “I didn’t know who else to call. My mom’s busy. Cam was drinking. Damon—” Tears slip free. “I don’t have anyone else?—”
She cuts herself off on a small sob with the back of her hand pressed against her mouth. Fuck. My chest aches to see her like this. I sit next to her on the railroad tie and wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into my side.
“Did he hurt you?” I ask, quietly. We don’t know much about their relationship except he cheats on her. It’s an asshole move. He may have gotten rough if she didn’t want to be with him. Right now, she doesn’t seem hurt besides emotionally. But if he hurt her physically...
No one would stop me from tearing through him. Not Cam. Not Damon.
“He grabbed my arm, but mostly he scared me.” She rubs her arm and sighs. “I told him I knew he was cheating on me. He wanted to...”
She turns into me and buries her face in my chest. Her shoulders shake as she cries softly against me. I’m going to kick Chase’s ass. But I have to ask.
“Did he force you?” I try to keep my anger out of my voice. Not that we’re much better, but at least we give her a fucking choice. And if he did, I’ll encourage her to press charges, because fuck him.
She shakes her head and her eyes get this far off look. “I ran away before he could touch me, and he left me. Got in his truck and left me out here in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t even know if I had my phone.”
I glance around the area. There are a few low lights for the parking lot and there’s moonlight, but otherwise it’s dark out here. It’s a few miles outside of town, and the nearest gas station or house isn’t close. If this is the type of shit he pulls, we need to rethink letting her remain with Chase.
It may be part of the plan, but I’m not risking Annie.
Right now, I need to get her some place safe and warm.
“You ready to ride, baby girl?” I brush her hair off her cheek and behind her ear.
Her eyes lift to mine, searching. “Are we over?”
Fuck. The hurt and resignation in her eyes are almost my undoing. The party tonight. Cam is hopefully sleeping off his keg stands. The girls were all over me, but I didn’t touch any of them. But Damon... Fucking Damon had Olivia all over him tonight.
He had a good reason. Mia thinks Damon is into Evan. Olivia was suspicious, and for our plan to work, we need to keep that a secret.
