Rocket (Hell's Handlers MC 5)

As she continued toward freedom, she thought she heard Stephanie call her name.

With only a few feet separating her from the exit, a strong hand closed around her upper arm at the same time a familiar scent invaded her senses.

Logan.

How could she have been so stupid?

“No!” she yelled again as he jerked her back around. Why wasn’t anyone helping her? She was being attacked in the middle of a coffee shop and not a damn soul was helping.

She had to get away. She struck out wildly, aiming for whatever she could hit, but he wrapped her in a bear hug from behind, ending her pathetic attempt to fight him off. “Please, don’t,” she said as he started to walk her toward the others.

“Jesus, Chloe, I’m not going to fucking hurt you. I would never hurt you.”

But he had. The pain cut so deep it nearly sliced her in two.

Chloe could barely process what was happening. Her brain screamed with so much fear she couldn’t think. All she knew was she needed to get away. She tried to suck in a monster breath, prepared to scream the place down, but the air got stuck in her throat. It was then she realized how dizzy she was and how shallow her breaths had become.

“I can’t…” She wheezed a whistling sound. “I can’t b-breathe.”

Logan’s hold immediately slackened, and the next thing she knew a chair hit the back of her legs and he was shoving her down into it. A gentle hand clasped the back of her neck, guiding her head between her knees.

“Slow your breathing, baby,” Logan whispered in her ear causing her to focus on slowing the choppy, rapid gasps.

“P-please l-let me g-go,” she managed to get out around the gasps.

“I can’t do that.” Logan said, and she’d swear she heard sadness in his voice. But that didn’t make sense.

You can thank the Handlers for this.

She hadn’t thought it could get any worse than the kidnapping. But with the group of scowling bikers frowning down at her, she had the feeling shit hadn’t gotten anywhere near the fan yet.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“YOU NEED TO move,” Rocket growled down at Stephanie where she stood sentry outside his own goddammed room. It’d been three hours since Chloe arrived at his clubhouse. Three hours since he witnessed her lose her mind with panic at the mere sight of him. Weeks of progress undone in a matter of seconds, all because he was trying to protect her from a threat she had no idea existed.

Fucking Esposito deserved to die almost as much as Lefty.

“Look, Rocket, I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but she took one look at you and freaked. You have any idea how hard it was to convince her to come back here? I thought I was going to have to get Izzy to slug her and drag her unconscious body here, which given her history would have probably made her have a complete breakdown. After begging for a half hour, Izzy and I were finally able to make her understand there was a credible threat to the club and her association with you put her at risk. I swore on my life no harm would come to her here and that this is the safest place for her. Don’t you dare break my promise and hurt her further.”

“She’s stronger than you think,” he said, giving her his most lethal glare.

A former FBI agent, Steph didn’t cower easily. She glared right back up at him.

“Swear to fucking Christ, Stephanie, if you don’t move I will toss your ass—”

“Wanna tone it down a bit, brother?” Mav’s furious voice broke through Rocket’s red haze. Shit, his brother was gonna rip him a new one for trying to intimidate his ol’ lady like that. And rightfully so.

Rocket stepped back, running a hand through his hair. Ever since he’d walked in that damn coffee shop and spotted Chloe, he’d been spiraling out of control.

Mav’s shoulder slammed into Rocket as he made his way to Stephanie. It was the least he deserved for speaking to her the way he had.

“You good, babe?” Mav asked.

“Totally fine. He’s not as scary as he thinks.”

Mav grunted, clearly not ready to join Team Rocket.

“Shit. Sorry, Steph. I just need to talk to her.” This time, Rocket tried for genuine instead of asshole.

She cocked her head. “I don’t get it, Rocket. You said she never saw your face. She shouldn’t have known who you were on sight. What’s going on?”

Mav may have been shitty over the way his ol’ lady was being treated, but he was smart enough not to let that interfere with club business. “Hey, babe, why don’t you go downstairs and hang with Izzy and Shell? I think they’re making some food.”

Folding her arms, she turned her displeasure on her ol’ man. “Seriously? You’re sending me off to the kitchen?”