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“That’s an interesting nickname for him,” she said instead. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you what I’m about to, but he’s the enforcer… And he’s not someone to play around with.”
“Great.”
She chuckled. “That’s not a bad thing. All the guys think that he’s a borderline psycho, and honestly, he might be.”
“What’s his name?” I asked, blurting out the question before I had thought it through. I knew that she couldn’t tell me, but I was so curious about him.
She didn’t answer, but didn’t shut down either. “I think he’s got a soft spot for you. I’ve never seen the man get on his knees for anyone—not even his brothers. He’s the kind of guy that is unphased by death and violence… But that soft spot,” she paused, looking up and meeting my eyes, “might be the way you make yourself an asset if nothing else.”
I swallowed, my mind flashing back to the woods as she started working on my hand. It was as if I already innately knew that. My instincts had taken over when I had kissed him in the woods, and maybethatwas why I did it. Well, that’s what I would tell myself anyway.
“These will have to be tended to,” she motioned to the stitches on my torso. “And I’ll leave the supplies to take care of it here. Do you have any other aches and pains? I saw your feet, but Neosporin and staying off them should be enough to heal.”
I shook my head, my heart dropping as she continued to gather her things to leave. “Are you close by?”
“Um…,” She hesitated, like she wasn’t sure if she should answer that. “I’m not that far, but to be honest…you’re alongway from town.”
My stomach knotted up. I had a feeling I was. “Do you think I could get a shirt?” I wanted to wrap my arms around myself and hide the black lace bra I had on, but the cuts were too painful.
“I’ll tell them to come up with something,” she assured me, sympathy in her tone. “Maybe something more comfortable than jeans too? What size do you wear? I can tell them to get you some things.”
“I wear a size six in jeans, so like a medium in sweats. I wear a medium in everything—I like my clothes loose,” I add. “How long do you think I’ll have to stay like this?”
“I’m sure they’ll get you a change of clothes as soon as I ask,” she said to me. “But if you mean stayinghere,I don’t have an answer for you.”
I nodded, not sure which I actually meant. “Thanks, and thanks for taking care of all of this.”
“Not a problem,” she said, patting my bare shoulder. “Just remember…make yourself an asset, Rachel. They’ll protect what they think is worth something—not that you’re not.” I had a feeling she was frowning beneath her mask. “I don’t like this shit. Anyway, just keep your grit. I can tell you’ve got a lot of it.” With that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the stairs. However, she stopped before she ascended.
“Oh, you can shower with those,” she said, pointing to the stiches.
“Okay.”
She nodded and trotted up the steps, knocking on the door at the top. I could hear their muffled voices, and I stood to my feet, wincing at the searing pain on the bottom of my feet. I hadn’t even really noticed it in the moment when I had been running, but now…
Now it was horrible.
I limped toward the bathroom, slipping in and shutting the door behind me. Taking a deep breath, I kept my eyes off the window, focusing on starting the water. My entire body ached for some reason, but I ignored it. I stripped out of my jeans, seeing the other small cuts from the thorns that had torn into my skin.
Stepping into the shower, I shut my eyes as the warm water poured over my shoulders. Surprisingly, it didn’t really sting, however, regardless of the pain, tears slipped from my eyes. I was finally alone, and in a place that I could just let it out. I was giving myself the chance to breakdown. Because after this…
I had to focus on making myself an asset.
Chapter 8
Axle
“We’re not getting in touch with her partner.” My voice was defiant. “The moment we try to extort more than one party for money, we’re going to get ourselves in a fucking mess.”
“WeoweCharlie a lot of money, and I intend to get that fucking money.” Viper is pissed, and his fist slamming down on my kitchen table is enough to startle Will back a few steps. “We have never been on his bad side, and I don’t want to start now. We’re fucking desperate—and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
I hated what he was saying, not because I didn’t know that he was right, but because it was complicating the kidnapping situation. “We could just let her go and start over.” If we did, I would pledge my fucking allegiance to her to keep her safe from Victor Sanchez. He was a level above me, being just a flat-out sadistic fuck. I might be a cold-blooded killer, but I wasn’t a sadist.
“We’re not letting her go,” Will spoke up. “We have to take advantage of this situation. What’s Victor Sanchez worth?”
“No way,” I growled. “We’re not handing her over to him. I don’t give a shit what he’d pay.”
“Whoa,” Will raised his brows at me. “I didn’t mean hand her over. I just meant there’s gotta be a hit out on him—and we have the perfect bait.”
