She felt so fucking useless, helpless. A pawn to be sacrificed. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to help Ranger.
“Here’s the deal. Are you listening?” Cross asked when Ranger’s eyes stayed focused on the syringe a beat too long. “You get me my money and you get this needle. Simple, easy, and oh so worth it. Aren’t you tired of fighting? Of that empty feeling pulsing through you? You know the answer, you know how to fill that void.”
“Stop it!” Toni shouted, not knowing what else to do. It was like he was hypnotizing Ranger, lulling him into compliance.
Cross shook her violently, pulling strands of her hair from her scalp and making her cry out.
And for the briefest of seconds, the warrior was back. “Don’t hurt her!”
Cross stopped shaking her, returning his attention back to Ranger. “I have no intention of hurting her. She’s innocent. The only reason she’s here is because of you.Youbrought her, my boy. But you can save her. If you don’t…” Cross let the threat hang unspoken as he tipped her head to the left by her hair, exposing even more of her throat to the needle pressed against it.
“How… How do I know you’ll let her go?” Ranger looked weak on his feet, like his legs were struggling to hold up his body weight. He was pale and shaking, licking his lips as he stared at the needle.
He wasn’t even looking ather.
“I already told you, I have no reason to harm her. Do as I ask, andyouget this needle, not her.” Cross said it like it was the simplest transaction in the world.
And the saddest part? She could see it in Ranger’s eyes. The longing, the pull. He was believing what Cross was telling him.
“Liam, no?—”
But once again, Cross dropped his hold on her hair to clamp his hand over her mouth again. “Sorry, my dear, but Ranger’s smart enough to make this decision on his own without any outside interference. Isn’t that right? You want the heroin, and you know how to get it.”
“I…” Ranger swallowed hard, his voice sounding parched. “I don’t have it on me.”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t have expected you to, but you know how to get it. Transfer the funds to my account, or Toni gets this needle instead of you. Time to choose, son.”
* * *
Ranger felt caughtin a spider’s web. No, it wasn’t like he was stuck, waiting for the inevitable bite that would kill him. It was like he was being pulled in too many directions. Was this how it felt to be drawn and quartered?
He wanted to kill Cross.Cross!How many people were going to betray him before he learned to stop trusting them? But what was he to do when the man had a needle filled with heroin at Toni’s throat?
That heroin… It was so close. If Ranger rushed Cross, he could take it. Overpower him. Get it for himself. It wasright there. He just had to get it before Toni did.
Toni. Fuck. She was so scared. He needed to protect her, needed to get her away from Cross. Cross was right. It was Ranger’s fault she was even here. He’d been the one to bring her here. If she got hurt, it was on him. Rangercouldn’tlet her get hurt. Cross had told him what he wanted, told him how to set Toni free. But Ranger had been down this road before. He’d taken that needle, and Becks had still gotten hurt. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, make that same mistake again. She was so scared. Ranger hated seeing her tear-streaked cheeks and the uncertainty in her beautiful eyes, but he didn’t know how to reassure her.
He didn’t even know how to reassure himself.
The loose powder was right there, but fucking Cross was right. Ranger didn’t want the powder. His mind, his body, knew the needle. Hewantedthe needle. Hedeservedthe needle.
Round and round in his head, each pull tearing him into pieces. Who would win? Would he even recognize himself when it stopped? Would he want to?
He could escape. The solution was right in front of him. Cross had it, was offering it to him. He could take it, leave this plane of existence and never have to feel this fucking void that was tearing him open from the inside out again.
He could befree.
“I don’t have access,” he realized. The syringe was so fucking close. Could he take it from Cross? Was he fast enough?
“Can you get the access without notifying your club?”
Demo would know the second he touched the accounts. Keys would be the only one who could get around that. Ranger certainly didn’t have those computer skills. Did he have anything on Keys? Anything to keep the kid’s mouth shut where he could transfer the funds?
Ranger mentally snorted. Of course he didn’t, and even if he did, he’d have to find a way to keep Rose from spilling the beans, too. In the limited time that he’d gotten to know Rose, he’d picked up on how attached those two were. What one knew, the other would, too. He wouldn’t be surprised if they somehow implanted chips in each other’s brains to share things telepathically.
Ranger’s eyes flicked to Toni. Cross had his hand over her mouth now. Fuck! When had he done that? Why hadn’t Ranger noticed? Her tears were gathering on the edge of his hand, a river meeting stone. It broke something in Ranger to see her like that.
This was his fault. All his fault. He needed to save her. No,hedidn’t need to save her. He wasn’t even armed, not allowed to carry a weapon anymore. He wasn’t worthy of saving her. But he could alert others who were, others who would take care of her and watch out for her. Protect her in his stead.
