His brows shot up in disbelief, and he barked, “And how the fuck did that happen?”
“If you’d calm down and stop yelling at me, I’ll tell you!”
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I’m trying, Jess. I’m really fucking trying, but my patience is about at an end, so just tell me.”
“They picked me up at a rest stop just west of town. Brought me the rest of the way. I thought…I thought at the time, it was just because I was a girl, you know? But that wasn’t it. Turns out they had an ulterior motive.” She saw his jaw lock.
“They hurt you?” She knew what he meant, and she shook her head.
“No. Not like that. But I’m sure that was on the menu for later, they just never got that far.”
“What fucking happened, Jess? Tell me everything.”
She nodded and turned to look out the window, her mind going back to that afternoon that they’d ridden into town.
“It didn’t take me long after we hit town to find out the real reason that they’d agreed to give me a ride. It was the fact that apparently I was a dead ringer for the dead wife of the President of the Jacksonville, Florida, Death Heads’ Chapter. A man ironically enough called—”
“Florida.” Ghost finished her sentence for her. Seems he knew the man.
She nodded, shrugging. “Yes. I guess they thought it would earn them some points if they presented me to him like some gift from the great beyond or something. It was sad and ridiculous at the same time. At least I thought so until I met the man. He stared at me stunned speechless. And then began talking to me as if I actually were his Rose, reincarnated or back from the dead or something. I was terrified, not only by the man himself, but also by the craziness I saw in his eyes. He was definitely less than sane.
“He latched on to me; pulling me onto his lap at the table in the bar they’d dragged me into. And that’s where I stayed, unable to get away as they drank round after round, and his hands got friendlier and friendlier. I knew I was in trouble, way more trouble than I’d ever bargained for, and I didn’t have a clue what to do except to brazen it out.”
She could see her words were affecting Ghost. He didn’t like hearing this, any of this, especially the part about her being in trouble and helpless against those men. But she had more to tell, so she kept going.
“After awhile, it became obvious to me that they were waiting to meet some other club members, and when they finally showed, Florida got up, putting me in the charge of his men, telling them not to take their eyes off me. Apparently, Florida didn’t want to let me go, at least not yet.”
“He wasn’t done playing with you.” Ghost said it not as a question, but as a statement.
“No, he wasn’t,” sh
e confirmed.
“Go on.”
“I watched him move off toward the back hall, followed by these other men who, judging by their bottom rockers, belonged to the Texas Chapter of the Death Heads.
“After a few minutes, I asked to use the restroom. The two men left in charge of me grudgingly agreed, but watched me like a hawk. I’d hoped there’d be a window in the tiny bathroom that I could climb out of, but no such luck.
“Then, as if fate had given me a second chance, there was some kind of a ruckus in the bar that drew my guards’ attention to the far end of the hallway. I peeked out in time to spot them moving to see what was happening. While they were distracted, I dashed around a corner at the end of the hall hoping to find an exit. What I found instead was a dead end with only one door. When I heard them coming, I dashed inside what turned out to be a utility closet with mops and brooms. I pressed to the back in the dark, hoping they wouldn’t look inside.
“And that’s when I heard voices coming through the wall, and I recognized Florida’s. They were having the meeting in the room on the other side of that wall. And I overheard it all. Every word they said came through loud and clear.
“A moment later, the door was flung open, and they pulled me out of the closet. When they did, they realized they could hear Florida’s voice coming through the wall.
“One of them shook his head at me and told me I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life.
“He dragged me into the office, and a pissed off Florida had looked up from the desk, asking what the hell they’d brought me in there for.
“They told him how I’d tried to run, and that I’d heard every word.
“Florida had looked ready to kill his men for the fuck up. Then his eyes had dropped to me, and he’d growled for them to take me back to the camp so he could deal with me later.
“They dragged me out, forced me on the back of a bike and drove toward their campsite. As we rode out of town, I knew I had to make a move. I knew once they got me to their campsite, I would never get away. When they stopped at a light, I jumped off the bike, dashing through buildings and alleys until I came to the bar where I found you.”
She’d told him all of it, the whole story, leaving nothing out.
“Why didn’t you tell me all this shit before?”