“I kind of gathered that.”
I followed her out of the apartment and over to my car. Remembering her cake was in the trunk, I quickly opened the door to the backseat and was waiting for her to put the bag inside when she gasped with fright. I quickly turned, but before I could see what had startled her, I felt something crash against the back of my head, and everything went black.
I had no idea how long I’d been out when I was woken up by the sound of a man’s voice. His tone was loud and harsh, but my head was throbbing so hard that it was difficult to make sense of what I was hearing. I felt a strange movement, like I was riding in a vehicle, and I tried to open my eyes, but the pain in my head was excruciating. I attempted to move but couldn’t, and panic surged through me when I realized my hands were bound behind my back. Thinking Rossi had finally found me, I started wiggling my way out of them but froze when I heard the man’s voice again. “You thought you could just walk out on me… after all I did for you! After all I did for all of you!”
It was at that moment I realized I was in the back seat of a car, and Mazie was sitting in the front with a man I’d never seen before. I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear the terror in her voice as she stammered, “I-it wasn’t like that.”
“It wasn’t like that? You’re saying you didn’t just up and leave without looking back? Is that what you’re fucking saying?” The man was growing angrier by the second. “You stupid, fucking whore! All of you… each and every one. Just a bunch of stupid, fucking whores!”
“I’m sorry, Gary. I didn’t—”
“Don’t you apologize! Not now!” he barked. “It’s too late. You and those stupid Ruthless Sinner assholes are going to pay for what you’ve done.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m taking back what’s mine,” he snarled.
The car came to an abrupt stop, and Gary opened his door and got out. He aimed a gun at Mazie and ordered, “Get out. Now!”
She did as he ordered, then asked again, “What are you going to do?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
I thought he’d forgotten that I was in the back seat until the door opened, and I felt someone grab me by the legs, pulling me from the car. Once I was on my feet, I could finally get a good look at the man who’d kidnapped us. He was wearing a pair of worn-out khakis and a ratty button-down that fit snug around his pronounced belly, and his greasy dark hair was combed back, making him look like a seventies porn star. His eyes were dark and filled with utter disgust as he shouted, “Move!”
“Where are you taking us?”
“Shut your fucking mouth and move before I put a bullet in your friend here.”
I did as he ordered and started walking forward. I took a quick glance around, hoping there might be someone who could help us, but we were behind an old brick building without a soul in sight. Gary motioned me to the back door. Once he’d reached into his pocket for the key, he unlocked the deadbolt, then waved his gun forward, directing us inside. The lights weren’t on, so it was difficult to see as we made our way down a long dark hall. When I stumbled, I got a hard shove forward and another round of shouting. “Move your ass!”
“Please, Gary... Don’t do this,” Mazie mumbled. “Just let us go.”
“Not gonna happen.” When he turned on his phone’s flashlight, I could finally see that we were inside a strip club. It wasn’t as big as Stilettos, but it had two stages with a small bar in the back. Gary grabbed me by the arm and led me over to one of the chairs, then forced me to sit. He towered over me as he snarled, “I’ve seen you with him. I know you’re seeing one of those Sinner assholes. I know what they did!”
“What are you talking about?”
“They got my liquor license pulled, had my power cut off, maxed out all my credit cards, and froze all my goddamn accounts! They not only stole my girls, they fucking crippled me!”
After seeing what Jared had finagled with my stuff, I knew he was talented, but I never imagined he was capable of doing all the things that Gary just rattled off. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You know damn well they’re responsible for this!”
“There’s no way they could’ve done all that.”
“Stop with all the fucking lies. I’ve heard the stories. I know those damn assholes are behind it.” He reared back and slapped me cross the face, busting my lip. He looked down at the blood trickling from my mouth and smiled, clearly pleased with what he’d done. “I’ll admit, I never planned on taking you, but with those dickhead MC boys always following the girls around, I didn’t have a choice. Looking at you now, I’m thinking it was all for the best. You’re gonna put on one hell of a show.”