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The fury lurking in his dark eyes immediately faded, to be replaced with confusion. He blinked several times in rapid succession, as if swimming through a fog, and trying to erase the effects of her words. “I’m … I’m sorry. Um, what were you saying?”
Vivi smiled and let go of him. “I was saying, I’d love to see the inside of a real biker club. Even one that sets up shop in a root beer factory when there isn’t any root beer. Come on!”
She turned and skipped toward the open door of the factory, ignoring all the big bad bikers staring at her. The only way to truly disarm someone was to do the exact opposite of what he or she expected. Once inside, Vivi looked around, taking in the décor. For a motorcycle club, it didn’t disappoint. Posters of naked women were all over the walls, interspersed with pictures of heavy metal bands and sleek motorcycles. The ceiling was painted black. Several couches and chairs were scattered around, and a pool table sat off to one side. Several scantily clad women stared at her, inspecting her up and down with obvious disdain. A bar ran along the back with a mirror lining the wall.
“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “This is awesome. You know, I watched all seven seasons ofSons of Anarchy, so I think I’m an expert on biker décor. Oh! I like the shelf with the pyramid of beer cans. And the neon liquor signs are spot on. You have the obligatory naked women posters, although they all have fake boobs. Do men really like that? Oh! What’s that?”
She hurried over to study a plaque on the wall. A mounted bat lay spread out, the wings pinned to hold it in place.
“That poor bat.” She glanced at some random biker. “Did you kill it?”
“No.”
“I get why you have it there. They’re nocturnal creatures. A literal symbol of darkness. Do you know in early Christian Europe, they were considered no different that rats? Simple vermin to be killed. Slavic societies believed that a bat flying over a corpse could reanimate it. So, equating them to raising the dead was a logical step. But bats are very helpful, you know. They control flying pests, they pollinate plants and disperse seeds. They’re very important to the ecosystem. Not to mention they’re super cute.”
“Even vampire bats?” someone else asked.
“Of course.”
“You’re not afraid of them?” still one of the other men asked.
“Only the ones that come from Transylvania.”
Several people chuckled at that. Vivi continued her inspection of the clubhouse, moving slowly through the room.
“Aren’t you afraid of us?”
Vivi turned toward the man who asked that question. She tilted her head. “Why would I be afraid of you?”
“Because we can eat little girls like you for dinner,” another man said sarcastically. He flicked his tongue out, mimicking a snake, but it didn’t scare her. Nothing really frightened her because once you caved to fear, it took over and ruled. Panic and anxiety led to bad decisions, and once terror took over, the mind turned to mush. There was a reason why people in horror movies always did the one thing that got them killed.
Snake Man reached out, like he was going to grab her arm, but Cross’s booming voice stopped him cold.
“Don’t touch her!”
Everyone turned and he parted them like Moses did the Red Sea. He came to stand in front of her, staring into her eyes. The flame of rage she’d seen earlier had disappeared.
“No one is to touch her,” he repeated, frowning. “You are not to talk or touch any of my men.”
She arched one brow as she waited for his next move.
He leaned down, so close to her ear that his breath stirred her hair. He did not touch her as he whispered so only she could hear him. “What did you do to me?”
“I did nothing,” she whispered back.
Indecision warred with annoyance. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen the combination on someone’s face when they talked to her.
“Scarlet, escort her to her room.” A man with red hair stepped forward. The word “Enforcer” was stitched into his cut. “Know this, Miss Wence, you are a prisoner here. You will stay confined to your room. Food will be brought to you. And when your sister cooperates, you’ll get a few moments to talk to her. You won’t escape until I set you free. Do I make myself clear?”
“As crystal.” Vivi gave Cross a small smile. “But you know what shatters crystal? Too much stress. Even the strongest can be damaged.”
She turned to follow Scarlet, wiggling goodbye to everyone with her fingers.
“There better be Netflix!” she called out, leaving the room behind her quiet as a tomb. “The plan that doesn’t have commercials!”
Chapter Three
Three Months Later
