Diesel (Savage Brothers MC-Tennessee 2)

“Finally, something we can agree on,” I whisper.

“You’re exactly where I led you to be, Rory. You always were so stupid, easily manipulated. I used that to my advantage.”

“That’s not possible,” I whisper. “I found Whitefish on my own!”

“You found Whitefish, because I left magazines about it all over the fucking house—some of those magazines I had to have specially printed. You took your time about getting there, but I knew eventually you’d turn up here. I just had to wait.”

My mind flashes back to the hiking magazines and camping ones that were delivered to the house in Virginia. I didn’t think about it before now, but they were there. Even as I traveled here there would be posters up about Montana… The last rest stop before I decided to go to Montana there was a big billboard poster on a sign by the interstate that was congratulating Whitefish on being voted most family friendly town of the year.

I didn’t actively take all of that in, but it did plant seeds in my brain. I see that now. When I looked at the map and picked a town in Montana at what I thought was random… by then I guess it was only natural I’d pick Whitefish.

My brother is right… I am stupid.

“I see you’re finally putting it all together. Incidentally? That look on your face right now? That’s more than worth the price that gigantic billboard cost me. Do you remember the one, Rory?” he asks, his voice low like he’s whispering a secret, his face full of joy… a sick, twisted, perverted joy… that of a hunter who has caught its prey…. that prey being human…. That prey being me. If my brother hadn’t inherited our father’s business, he most assuredly would have become a serial killer.

“You’re sick,” I whisper.

“Now was that nice? It’s been a fun game and you haven’t even had all of it revealed yet. That comes next.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, still numb for realizing that all this time I’ve never been free… I’ll never be free when it comes to King.

“Oh, I can’t tell you now. That would ruin the show you’re about to witness. Cuff her, Wolf,” he says and this big man, older than me, kind of cute if he didn’t look so mean, comes toward me with a set of handcuffs hanging off his finger. His hand and what I can see of his wrist is heavily tattooed, and he reminds me of one of those men who would be more at home in jeans and a t-shirt, but he’s still wearing the dark black suit that my brother requires of all of his men. He’s new. I haven’t seen him before. He probably took Tony’s place. If I wasn’t so sick to my stomach I’d smile. Tony always thought he was so irreplaceable. I warned him my brother thought everyone was. He really should have listened.

Wolf barely looks at me, he doesn’t care that he’s bringing me back to my death. Then again, none of my brother’s men ever did.

“Sorry about the restraints, Rory. Can’t have you trying to get away before you see your nephew, now can I?” King smiles.

“King, let me go. I am of no use to you,” I tell him, fear starting to choke me. I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to live—

“This time you have great value, Rory. More than you know.”

“I do?” I ask, doubting those words, it’s all part of his game. He’s created this grand game and for King there always has to be a huge payoff. I should have remembered his fondness for chess before I left. Maybe if I had, the Whitefish signs would have been a red flag for me. I doubt it… my brain can’t fathom a man who would even begin to do that…

“You’re going to take care of my child until he’s old enough to train.”

Another wave of nausea threatens to overcome me and if Wolf hadn’t had my hands behind my back and secured with the handcuffs, I would have been stupid enough to hold my own stomach. Until this point, I hadn’t even thought of my own child. Being a mother is still new to me. The thought of being in my brother’s clutches when he finds out I’m pregnant is so terrifying that bile rises up in my throat and I have to swallow it down. I get dizzy, the fear is that strong.

“Let’s load up boys. We have a rabbit to catch,” King orders.

The man he called Wolf, puts pressure on my cuffs, yanking me up so forcefully that the metal bites into my skin. I stumble to my feet as he practically drags me behind my brother. We get outside and I look at Noah’s house partially in panic, because I don’t want Noah to see me like this. Even with the way things are, I know in my heart Noah would try to save me and I don’t want him to get hurt.