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  “Sounds good, man,” Torture said as he looked me up and down for the umpteenth time. He patted Rip on the shoulder and walked off, swigging his beer as he swaggered back to the bar like a man about to get laid.

  “That was easy enough,” Rip said to Shark. “You ready to go make some money?”

  “Make us some money,” Shark corrected him. “Two hundred bucks for that pussy!”

  I hung my head down as we all climbed out of the booth. As we were leaving, a herd of heavy boot footsteps began trampling inside the door.

  “Uh, oh,” I heard Rip say as he looked to Shark.

  Shark looked slightly uneasy. “Keep moving. Keep your head down.”

  As we walked out, myself sandwiched between them, I glanced up to see if the men were from another gang or if they were another chapter of the Marquis Devils. The minute I lifted my head, I was met with the most familiar green eyes I never thought I’d see again in my life.

  “Red!” I yelled out at the top of my lungs.

  Red was in his own world, but quickly turned towards the sound of my voice. He squinted, as if I looked familiar to him, and scratched his curly red hair. I remembered then that I was no longer blonde, which wasn’t helping things.

  “Red! It’s me, Mia!” I called out to him. I knew he had no reason to care about me or want to help me given how our last interaction went, but at that point he was the only hope I had in the entire world.

  I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head and immediately fell to my knees. By the time I reached my hand up to comfort the throbbing pain in the back of my skull, everything went black.

  CHAPTER 18

  By the time I came to, I tasted the tacky, sticky glue of what could only be duct tape across my mouth. My lips were covered by a strip of it, and I was breathing heavily out of my nose.

  “Mmm,” I said through the muffle of the tape. I wanted them to know I was awake. I could see the soft pink glow of sunrise filling the sky, which told me we’d been driving all night. I’d been out for hours.

  “Look who’s up,” Rip snorted.

  Shark flipped around and shot me the most evil look he’d ever mustered yet.

  “You like that tape on your mouth, you little bitch?” he said. “I knew it. I knew you just couldn’t keep your mouth shut. You cost us two hundred bucks, you little whore. How you gonna get that back for us now?”

  “Not to mention we had to reconfigure our plans,” he said. “You blew our cover.”

  Shark nudged him in the rib cage as if to tell him to shut the fuck up.

  “You think you had it coming to ya last night,” Shark heaved. “Tonight’s going to be even worse for you. I’m talking at least two to three men an hour for six hours. That pussy’s taking a pounding. It’s only fair.”

  My eyes burned hot as tears began to flow. I knew they were serious. I knew I had pissed them off, but I didn’t regret it. Not yet. Yelling at Red was my only opportunity to get away from them. It may have backfired on me, but I would have kicked myself had I not at least tried.

  I thought about how Raze had thrown away his phone. Even if Red wanted to get a hold of Raze, and I was sure he wouldn’t want to, he’d have no way to do so. Red probably hated me anyway. He probably figured I had moved on to another MC. He never saw me as anything besides a common biker slut wannabe. He owed me nothing.

  We drove for a few more hours before stopping at a rest stop just off the interstate. It was completely vacant. Not another car was parked anywhere near us, though I could still hear the whirring of all the other vehicles as they passed us by on the interstate.

  “I’m gonna take a piss,” Shark said. “Rip, don’t let her out for any reason, you hear?”

  “Got it,” Rip said as he turned his body around to face me.

  Shark climbed out of the truck, turning to look at us before turning back and heading inside the rest stop.

  I reached my hand up to peel off the duct tape but soon realized my wrists were also bound together. I looked up at Rip, begging and pleading with my eyes to un-restrain me. I hoped he had an ounce of humanity in him, though my instincts told me I was wrong.

  “I can’t undo ya,” he said. “Shark would kill me. You know that.”

  I wiped my tear stained cheeks on my shoulder as they had begun to make my cheeks itch as they dried. I glanced around to see if there was a sign of any sort, telling me where we were. I saw a green sign with the Nevada state flag on it, and I wondered if we were heading closer to Raze. Maybe they’d put a ransom on me? Maybe they’d contacted Raze and were going to meet up with him? Maybe we’d run into him somehow? A million thoughts raced through my mind as I had suddenly gotten back an ounce of the hope I’d completely lost earlier.

  Shark climbed back in the truck a few minutes later, and I saw him look back to make sure I was still gagged and bound. I rolled my eyes at him the moment he turned back around.

  “My turn,” Rip said as he climbed out and ran for the bathroom. I’d never noticed before, but he sort of had a waddle about him. Sort of ironic for someone who was in some bad-ass biker gang. He seemed so harmless sometimes, but I knew better. His worst quality was that he did whatever he was told. He didn’t think for himself. He was nothing but a minion. An evil minion that did whatever he was told without question.

  Shark reached back around and ripped the duct tape off my mouth without any sort of notice. I swore it pulled out every tiny, downy soft hair on my face.

  “Ouch!” I cried out, though I was beyond grateful to have that thing off my face. I liked my lips a little, which were dry and sticky at the same time, and tried to wipe them off on my shoulder.

  “Now,” he said. “Did you learn your lesson?”

  I nodded slowly. I wanted him to think I was a good, obedient little girl. I didn’t want the duct tape on my mouth again.

  “You make one more outburst like that again, and you’ll be sorry,” he said. He didn’t get into specifics, but knowing him, I was better off not knowing anyway. He was capable of anything. He was a monster.

  Coward, I called him in my head. Pathetic coward.

  “What the fuck’s taking Rip so long?” he said to himself as he peered around the parking lot.

  A red minivan carrying a family pulled up right next to us. One by one, the members of the family started piling out. They had at least three kids, maybe four. They looked like such a happy clan. They all stood around and stretched their legs, and the little boy who was maybe no older than five, jumped and ran around the empty parking space beside them.

  “Get down,” Shark growled as he must have remembered I was sitting upright in the back. I hadn’t even realized I had sat myself up. Usually I knew better. I guess he didn’t realize it either.

  “They’ve already seen me. Wouldn’t it be weird if I suddenly laid down and disappeared?” I asked. I knew I had a good point.

  Shark sighed. “Yeah, whatever. Just don’t make eye contact with them. Face away.”

  Rip finally returned after several long minutes and climbed back in the truck, starting it up.

  “What the fuck took you so long?” Shark asked as he swapped him over the head.

  “Ouch, geez,” Rip replied. “I had to shit. Since you just have to know.”

  “Come on. Let’s go,” Shark replied as he nodded towards the interstate. “We’re wasting time.”

  I tried to be as quiet and unnoticeable as possible in the back seat, something I’d become very good at lately, as I hoped they wouldn’t make me lay down again. I felt paralyzed much of the time as I felt like Shark would reach back at any moment and cram my head down on the back seat.

  My eyes danced around as much as possible, trying to figure out where we were headed. I saw signs that said Reno was just an hour away, and I assumed that’s where we were headed. My stomach ruffled a bit with butterflies as I hoped and prayed Raze was still there. Knowing him, however, he was probably on his hog, wind at his back, trying to find me. He had probably left Reno d
ays ago when he first saw that I’d been taken.

  Deep down, I wondered if he thought maybe I’d left on my own accord. I hoped and prayed that he knew me better than that. My purse and all my belongings were still in the room. He was smart. I had to believe he’d know that I’d never leave him.

  I looked up at the clock on the radio as my stomach began to growl. It was almost eleven now, and we’d been driving for hours. I wanted to ask for food so badly, but knowing how I screwed up their horrific money-making scheme the night before, I knew I didn’t have a leg to stand on.

  My eyes focused on the bottle of soda resting in the console in the front. I had never been a huge soda drinker, but in that moment I was parched and wanted nothing more but to feel the cold, sweet, sugary wetness filling my mouth and dripping down my throat. I’d have given anything for a sip, just one sip, but I knew it was out of the question.

  As we drove off, I realized I, too, had to pee. I had missed my chance though, I just knew it. I squeezed my legs together, terrified to ask them to let me relieve myself, and tried to ignore the burning sensation. Each bump in the road sent my bladder reeling, though, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold it.

  CHAPTER 19

  “Guys,” I said softly. “I really have to go to the bathroom.”

  “We just left a rest stop!” Rip said. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Ha, you had your chance,” Shark snickered.

  “I didn’t think you’d let me go,” I said. “And I didn’t realize I had to go so bad until a little bit ago. Please.”

  They were silent, and I could tell Shark was particularly annoyed with me.

  “Pull off over there,” Shark said to Rip as he pointed towards an exit sign that led to a highway.

  Rip took the exit and turned right onto a dusty highway. They drove for a bit until they spotted a gravel road. My bladder was about to burst, so I squeezed my legs tighter and tighter. It was all I could do to not piss myself in the truck.

  “Over there,” Shark said as he pointed to a seemingly secluded yet wide open area. Nothing but cacti, sand, and rocks surrounded us.

  Rip pulled the truck onto the side of the road, and Shark hopped out.

  “Don’t try anything stupid,” he said as he let me out.

  I climbed out and took my time stretching out my cramped legs. That backseat was painfully small, and I’d been crammed back there for pretty much half a day.

  “Hurry up,” Shark huffed as he took in our surroundings. He seemed to be looking over his shoulder. I prayed right then and there that someone would drive by and I could flag them down, but I knew the likelihood of that was slim to none.

  I walked around to the back of the truck and my fingers fumbled to undo my jeans. I turned my face only to be met with Shark standing right in front of me with his arms crossed, staring.

  “You’re going to fucking watch me?” I snorted. “Can’t a girl get any privacy?”

  “I’ve got to make sure you don’t do anything stupid,” he said, his eyes burning into mine. “Trust me, watching you piss doesn’t do a damn thing for me. Don’t flatter yourself.”

  By that point I didn’t have time to keep arguing with him. I slid my jeans down and popped a squat, bracing myself against the truck and spreading my legs wide as to avoid any splatter. This was the only good thing about the crotch-less teddy I still had on.

  I peed for what felt like minutes, and soon a sweet relief poured over me. I felt normal again for a split second, aside from everything that was going on. I felt slightly human.

  “Come on, get back in the truck,” Shark said as I took my time pulling up my jeans. I think he could tell it was deliberate, but I didn’t care.

  I walked slowly back towards the passenger door, kicking the rocks all the while. They felt hard and rumbly under my feet and reminded me of the night I followed Raze to his hotel room when I was about to be initiated for the first time with his dad and uncle.

  Shark opened the door and shoved his hand onto the back of my head, forcing me in.

  “Ouch,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head. His fingers had been tangled in my messy hair, and I was pretty sure he’d ripped out a small fistful when he did that.

  “Shut up,” Shark said before turning to Rip and huffing. “I’m getting so sick of this bitch.”

  “Won’t be long,” Rip said.

  I’d never seen Shark’s head whip around so fast when Rip said that. I saw him shoot Rip a dirty look, as if to tell him once again to shut the fuck up. In my head, I knew it could only mean two things. Either they were going to kill me or they were going to sell me to someone. I’d heard of human trafficking before, but I never imagined it would happen to me. The thought of being with men a million times worse than Rip and Shark sent chills throughout my body. I’d rather be dead.

  “What the fuck are you doing sitting up?” Shark said as he caught a glimpse of me through the corner of his eye. “You know you’re supposed to lay down back there, bitch.”

  “Sorry,” I said as I laid down slowly. So much for going unnoticed again. I rested my head against the scratchy upholstery and closed my eyes. I wanted to black out. I wanted to pretend like this was all just a really bad dream.

  Several hours later, I opened my eyes. I kicked myself for falling asleep, but I knew it didn’t matter anyway. It’s not like I could sit up and see where we were going. I heard the grumble of the truck pulling off the highway and turning left. I watched as the night sky lit up little by little. We seemed to be driving to some town with an ounce of civilization, which could either be really bad or really good.

  “We need to get some gas,” Rip said. “Gettin’ low.”

  “I’m starving,” Shark said. “Could go for a couple cold ones too.”

  They pulled into a gas station, and the fluorescent lights filled up the truck, illuminating all of us in its garish glow. I stared up and out the window, watching the swarms of hundreds of thousands of bugs that called the lights home.

  Rip stepped out and stretched his legs, while Shark stayed in the truck with me. He glanced back at me, shot me a look, and took in our surroundings. As soon as Rip climbed back in, Shark hopped out.

  “I’m going to run inside and grab a six pack,” he said. “Watch her.”

  “Yep,” Rip said.

  I stayed lying down, like a good girl, and wished more than anything that he’d find it in his heart to bring me back something to drink as well. My mouth was parched, and I knew I was becoming dehydrated. Even my eyes were dry. I didn’t think I could cry again even if I wanted to.

  Shark returned a few short minutes later with a six pack of icy, cold beer.

  “Let’s go get some grub,” he said to Rip. “We should probably feed the girl too. She’s got a long night ahead of her.”

  My heart sank. They really were going to pimp me out and make me pay for fucking up their little plan.

  Rip started up the truck and we rumbled out of the gravel parking lot and back towards the highway. I looked up through the windows as I watched fast-food joint after fast-food joint pass us by.

  “There,” Shark said as he pointed towards the right. “Let’s go there.”

  The truck pulled up to a drive thru and Rip and Shark bickered over what to order. I tried to tune them out. Sometimes they were as bad as an old married couple. They, of course, didn’t ask me what I wanted, but I heard them order an extra cheeseburger, so I assumed it was for me. They pulled up to the next window to pay. The sound of music from the 1950s or 1960s pumping out of some outdoor speakers filled the air. It must have been some type of old-fashioned burger joint.

  My mouth started watering as best it could at the thought of chomping down on a juicy cheeseburger.

  “Guys,” I said meekly from the back. “I’m thirsty too.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Shark said. “We ordered you a drink.”

  I was shocked. It was one of the nicer things they’d done for me. Maybe they were starting to soft
en up a bit?

  “Pull back there,” Shark said as he pointed towards a dark area of the parking lot. “We’ll eat there.”

  “Street view,” Rip said. “I like the way you think.”

  “No, it’s just more secluded,” Shark said. He seemed to be annoyed with Rip, and a little more agitated than usual the entire day. I wondered if he was nervous about something or if he was just super pissed at the way I’d thrown a huge wrench in his master plan.

  “What time are we…” Rip asked Shark, purposely not finishing his question.