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“You can relax. You’re safe now.”
Darting my gaze to the driver’s seat, I see a young man, definitely younger than me, craning his neck to look me over. It hits me that I’m differentiating these guys by age, because I have no idea what their names are. Tears stream unbidden down my cheeks, but I don’t cry. Instead, I laugh so hard, I can’t tell if it’s laughing or hysterical crying. I can’t bring myself to look at my hands again, but maybe if I don’t, it’ll be like the last twenty-four hours didn’t happen.
My chest hurts, and my throat feels like it’s closing.
The guy who caught me jumps into the van, slides the door closed, and barks to the guy up front to drive. Then, his attention is solely on me, and I swallow hard.
“You’re safe now. My name is Cas. You’re Holly, right?”
All I can do is nod.
“Listen, our plan just went to shit, so it looks like I just traded my brother for you. I need to know everything you’ve seen and heard since he took you.”
The dizziness returns, the urge to vomit growing stronger. “I need to go to the hospital.”
Frowning, his jaw tightens and I hold my hands up for explanation. The frown is soon lost and with the gentlest touch I’ve ever felt, he takes hold of my wrists and inspects the damage.
“Fuck! He torched your hands?” The way he looks at them confirms what I already know: it’s bad. It’s very fucking bad.
“He knocked me out because I wouldn’t stop screaming, and when I came around, they were like this. He said if I wanted to know why, I should ask Tal, or Ethan, as that’s apparently his real name,” I babble on.
His head jerks up. “Say that name again.”
“Ethan.”
I’ve angered him, that much is clear, though he keeps his voice level when he says, “I’ll have a doctor take a look at your hands and help you. I’m sorry, but I can’t take you to a hospital.”
That flicker of hope dies. Cas may not be Bert, but he’s the president of a motorcycle club, and even I know he won’t want me in a hospital where I’ll be questioned. I’m about to find out how the club works, and I’ve never wanted to be home listening to my father tell me how to live my life more.
Chapter Eleven
Tal
The plan failed, but I couldn’t give a shit. My only concern is getting to Holly. She’s been with that asshole for twenty-four hours, and anything could’ve happened to her in that time. During the ride back to the club, I followed behind Sparky when I should’ve stayed in formation way down the line, but nothing is keeping me far from her. I’ve tried real fucking hard to stop myself from imagining what kind of brutality he’s been inflicting on her, and I completely failed.
When Luca stops close to the bar door, I screech to a stop, nearly crashing into the back of the van. My bike falls onto its side in my haste to get to her, with everything moving in slow motion. Cas jumps out of the van first to help her out by her arms, not her hands. When I see why, time stops.
They’re so familiar, because I’ve lived with seeing hands like that my whole life.
Her voice cracks when she confronts me with, “He said you’d know why he did this to me.”
“Yeah, I’d like to know why too,” Cas growls, leading her into the bar while ordering for the doc to be called in.
Jogging up behind them, I wrap my arm around Holly’s waist, feeling relieved when she doesn’t flinch away. Cas takes us into the back room and Sparky and Slade are the only brothers who join us.
Kicking out a chair, I sit Holly down before falling to my knees in front of her. Inspecting her burns, I have to swallow the bile threatening to erupt from my throat. She’ll have to live with these scars for the rest of her life.
“Ethan?”
Distractedly, I stand and face Cas. The look of disbelief on his face has me realising my mistake. He called me by my birth name—a name he shouldn’t know.
“Motherfucker!”
Shooting forward, his fist connects with my face, forcing me stumbling back into Holly. The old prick packs a punch, that’s for sure, and he’s not finished. Drawing his fist back, he delivers another blow to my jaw, sending my head flying the side. Before I can test to see if it’s broken, he lands another blow, and then another.
The assault doesn’t stop until Sparky’s finally able to pull him off of me. Moving away from Holly, I lean on the table as I flex my jaw.
“Are you going to explain what the fuck’s going on here?” Sparky bellowed.
