Collateral Read online

  Shark was able to work his pants off and slipped his underwear down around his ankles. He kept rubbing himself to try to make himself harder, but it still wasn’t working. He crawled up to my head and shoved his cock into my mouth, probably hoping that would help, but it was still pretty flaccid.

  “Motherfucker,” he mumbled to himself. “This never fucking happens.”

  He seemed to be embarrassed, something guys like him rarely experienced, and I took great pleasure in knowing that deep down, he was just a hot-blooded American man who couldn’t get it up. I racked my brain trying to think of ways to downplay the situation. I didn’t want to make him angry or give him any reason to want to hurt me and take his frustrations out on me.

  He reached one hair-covered, thick-fingered hand down between my legs and began fingering my pussy as he rubbed his cock with his other hand. This man was trying everything. It still didn’t work, much to my relief.

  I could see his eyes drooping, and I hoped to God he was going to be passed out soon.

  “Don’t just fucking lay there,” he said to me. “Do something. Put yourself to work.”

  “Kind of hard when I’m restrained, don’t you think?” I asked sweetly. “There are a lot of things I could do to you if I had my other hand free…”

  I took the tip of my finger and traced it down the side of his hip, deliberately avoiding his floppy dick.

  Shark glanced over at Rip, who was now officially passed out, and seemed to be considering retrieving the keys. My cuffed hand was beginning to fall asleep, and achiness was starting to set in and travel down my arm. I couldn’t imagine sleeping the whole night that way.

  “I learned a lot of things as a biker girl recruit with the Black Ice,” I lied, trying to sell myself. “None of those things I can do when I’m cuffed to a bed post.”

  Shark groaned and grunted as he turned to slide off the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed, hesitating, and I tried to think of something else I could say to further persuade him. He stood up, wobbled a bit, then sat back down to balance himself. He was way drunker than I’d realized.

  And then, without any warning, he fell back onto the bed next to me and passed out. His snores echoed through the room and cut my soul like a knife. Any chance I’d thought I’d have to escape that night was completely gone. I was stuck to the bed, handcuffed, and not going anywhere.

  CHAPTER 15

  By the time I awoke, my arm was throbbing with pain and numbness. I glanced over at the clock, which read five in the morning, then I glanced over at Shark, who was passed out right next to me. The combination of his pungent, middle-aged man body odor and day old booze breath was enough to make me hurl right then and there. He slept with his mouth open, and a little puddle of drool collected right on the pillow case. I glanced down and saw his pale, naked ass.

  I tried not to move my cuffed arm. The more I moved it, the more shooting pains ran down my arm. I wondered how long it would take to do some permanent damage to my arm. It had been hours without any good circulation going to it.

  Forcing myself to fall back asleep was going to be my only option, but the only problem was I was wide awake. My mind was tasked with the important duty of thinking up some kind of escape plan. I had decide the next time we were out in public, if that even happened, I was going to scream my head off. I didn’t care how silly it looked or how awful their threats were. I was going to do whatever it took to get free from those assholes.

  I laid in bed, not like I had a choice in the matter anyway, and waited for Rip or Shark to wake up to free me. My bladder was achingly full from downing all that water the night before, and I needed to relieve myself like no other.

  I watched the minutes tick by on the alarm clock, one by one, and each one felt slower than the one before. Soon enough it was eight, and Shark began to rustle a bit.

  “Shark,” I whispered.

  “Hmm,” he moaned. He was displeased with me trying to bother him so early, I could tell.

  “I really, really have to pee,” I said. “My bladder’s about to burst. Seriously. I have to pee. Now.”

  I crossed my legs in an attempt to squeeze it in and not piss all over the bed, but I knew it was only a matter of minutes before I’d have no choice.

  “I’m going to pee the bed,” I said. “Five, four, three…”

  “God damn it,” he said as he sat up. He placed his feet on the floor and walked himself over to the bathroom. I watched as his floppy dick swayed with each footstep.

  “Um,” I whispered out. “Keys?”

  “Just wait one god damned minute,” he said. He flung the door open, and I heard the sound of a steady stream of urine hitting the toilet water. He was relieving himself first. What a fucking asshole. What did I expect from him though?

  “Here it comes, here it comes,” I whispered loudly. “Oh, my god. I’m going to piss the bed.”

  Shark flushed the toilet and scrambled back across the room to grab the handcuff keys from Rip’s table. He scrambled back and let me loose, and I took off like a bat out of hell for the bathroom. It had never before felt that good to pee. I swear I peed for at least a full minute, maybe even longer. It kept going and going and going.

  I massaged my arm, which was still throbbing, and tried to test it out to see if there was any feeling left. It became tingly, like a million little needles poking it, and within minutes I could start to feel a little bit of normal sensation.

  I stood up and flushed the toilet, then went to wash my hands. The cool water and soap felt good. I felt so dirty from the night before. I felt so dirty for not showering in almost two days.

  “Hey, Shark,” I whispered out. “Can I take a shower?”

  He didn’t reply at first, and for a split second I had hoped that maybe he was passed back out again and I could make my getaway. I didn’t care that I was stark naked. I would run up and down the streets naked if it meant having my freedom back and being reunited with Raze.

  “Yeah, I guess,” he growled back. I was pretty sure everything about me annoyed him.

  I peered around the corner and saw him lying in bed. He was definitely awake and likely for the day now. My dream of booking it the hell out of there was soon dashed, but the thought of a hot, steamy shower was a treat I wasn’t expecting.

  “Leave the door open,” he called out.

  “Of course,” I replied, hoping he couldn’t hear the rampant sarcasm in my voice.

  I flipped on the shower head and turned the dial to about as hot as I could stand. I felt filthy. The thought of their hands all over me, inside me, touching, groping, and fondling me made me want to puke. I grabbed a complimentary soap bar that was still, luckily, freshly unwrapped, and got busy.

  The water was so hot, I felt like it was going to scald my skin off at times, but it made me feel clean. The hotter it was, the cleaner I felt. I ran the bar of soap over every square inch of my body, rinsed off, and then did it again. I did it a third time and wanted to do it a fourth time until I heard Shark yelling out and asking if I was done yet.

  “Almost,” I yelled back.

  I shampooed my hair, as some of the dark hair dye ran down my body and swirled around the drain. I covered my hair in conditioner and soaped my body up once again. I couldn’t get enough of that clean smell. I hated smelling like those men. I hated smelling like that musty motel room and that old rusty, blue pickup truck.

  I opened my mouth up and gargled some of the hot water, swishing it around in my mouth. I hadn’t brushed my teeth in almost two days either, which was highly out of the ordinary for me. I couldn’t stand having bad breath, and I could still taste their dicks in my mouth if I thought too hard about it.

  I rinsed my body off once again and got all the conditioner out of my hair. Being clean in that moment felt almost like a million bucks. I reached my arm out and hesitated for a bit before reluctantly shutting off the fresh stream of steamy water.

  Climbing out, I grabbed a thin, white bath towel from the nearby
rack and dried off. The towel was tiny and barely enough to get the job done, but I took my sweet time. The smell of fresh soap permeated off my steamy skin, and for a brief second I forgot where I was.

  “Bitch,” I heard Shark yell out. “You done now? Some of us need to shower too.”

  “Fuckin’ women,” I heard Rip say.

  “Yes,” I called out. “Can I have my clothes back?”

  I stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in my towel and eyed the pile of my pajamas over by Rip. I didn’t want to put on dirty clothes after getting all clean, but I didn’t have anything else to wear.

  Rip threw them across the room and they landed in two separate spots. He laughed as I bent down to pick them up and my towel came apart. I slipped my top on and then stepped into my yellow pajama pants. Wearing dirty clothes had never felt so good before, and I was grateful for them.

  “Don’t get too comfortable in those,” Rip said. “We’ll get ya something else to wear soon enough. Something real perdy.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ve got it all taken care of.”

  I looked at Shark, who had his best poker face on, and got no read on him. He slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. Within seconds, I heard the shower running.

  “What’s your plan with me?” I asked Rip. Rip seemed like the brawn and Shark seemed like the brain of the operations, so I hoped I could get a little information out of him if I played my cards right.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he chuckled. “Sorry. Not for you to know, sugar britches.”

  “What do you have against Raze?” I asked. “That’s what this is about, right?”

  “Maybe,” he said as a sinister grin spread across his face. “Maybe not.”

  He was proving to be a little smarter than I gave him credit for.

  “Are you going to tell him you have me?” I asked. “I assume your entire plan is pointless if he doesn’t know I’m here. I’m assuming you want him to come and get me, and then you’re going to try to exact some sort of revenge. Am I right?”

  Rip pursed his lips as if he seemed to agree with me but couldn’t say anything.

  “I’ve been in this world for a while now,” I said. “This MC world. I know how sick and twisted you guys are. I know that us women are nothing but pawns.”

  Rip placed his hands behind his head and leaned back. He seemed to be listening to me.

  “Do you have kids, Rip?” I asked.

  “I do,” he said. “A son and a daughter.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m someone’s daughter too,” I said. “What if someone did this to your daughter?”

  Rip laughed. “That would never happen.”

  “Oh, yeah? Why not?” I asked with my arms crossed.

  “She knows better than to date a biker or get involved with the gang,” he said. “Plus, I haven’t seen her in five years. She’s protected by another chapter out east. No one can get to her. No one will touch her.”

  “That’s what you think. You just can’t be sure,” I said. “Things happen.”

  “Are you threatening my daughter, bitch?” he asked as he leaned forward. His face suddenly grew serious.

  “No, not at all,” I said with my hands in the air. “I would never. I’m just trying to prove a point. People are evil.”

  I looked him up and down and he sat back in his chair. I could tell this conversation was quickly becoming counterproductive.

  “You know Raze’s not even in the Black Ice anymore,” I smirked. As soon as the words escaped my mouth, I realized what a mistake I’d made. Now they’d know that he wasn’t under any sort of protection anymore.

  “Really?” Rip said as he leaned forward. “Tell me more.”

  “No,” I said, trying to think of a way to backtrack as fast as possible. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I don’t believe you for one second,” he sneered. “What do you mean he’s no longer with the Black Ice?”

  “He’s on a solo mission,” I lied. “That’s all I know.”

  “A solo mission?” Rip repeated with a winced face. “Never heard of such a thing.”

  “It’s something new they’re doing,” I said. “The gang is planting a bunch of sleepers all around the country. They’ve got them everywhere. Men just waiting for the call. Men just waiting to be told what to do and who to do it to. He recruits and trains them. They’re everywhere.”

  I was proud of myself for thinking so well on the fly, but I could tell Rip still wasn’t buying it completely.

  “I’m just saying, you should be careful,” I said. “You might think Raze’s alone, but he’s not. He’s got all kinds of resources in just about every town in every country in America.”

  Rip laughed a hearty, belly laugh.

  “Oh, man,” he said. “You just about had me.”

  “Fine,” I said, trying to hold my own. “Don’t believe me. You’ll see soon enough.”

  “What the fuck are you two dim wits talking about?” Shark said as he walked out with a towel around his waist. His blonde, frizzy chest hairs were soaking wet and laying limp down his chest. Disgusting.

  “This bitch is trying to say that the Black Ice have sleepers all over the country, just waiting to attack when they get the call,” Rip said as he pointed to me like I was some moron. “Like they’re the fucking CIA or something.”

  I glanced up at Shark to gauge his reaction. He didn’t seem to buy it completely, but he didn’t make any kind of snide remark like Rip did. I could tell it seemed somewhat believable to him, or at least I hoped.

  We were suddenly interrupted by a rapping on the door. I hoped against all hope that it was Raze, ready and waiting to kick their asses and take me away, but I knew that was unrealistic.

  Rip stood up and peeked out the peep hole.

  “It’s Rat Hole,” he said as he unfastened the locks on the door and let him in. “Hey, man.”

  A scrawny guy with facial tattoos and a shaved head stepped in from outside. He was strapped in fifty tons of black leather and looked about as mean as could be. He had a plastic bag of something under his arm and his helmet under his other arm. He wore a cut with the Marquis Devils logo on it and a bunch of other intricate patches and symbols. I couldn’t make them all out from across the room, but I knew it meant he was a higher ranking member. My guess was that he was not quite presidential status but pretty close.

  “This her?” he asked as he nodded my way.

  I took a step back and sat on the bed as I watched.

  “You got the stuff?” Rip asked.

  Rat Hole tossed the plastic sack towards him, and I watched as he rifled through it. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it seemed like they might have been clothes. I hoped for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. A bra. Underwear. Anything. I had to get out of these dirty, human-secretion stained pajamas.

  “These will definitely do,” Rip said as a sinister smile spread across his lips. “Good work.”

  “I took ‘em from some of the other bitches,” Rat Hole said. “Asked ‘em for their nastiest stuff.”

  I swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat as I realized it was not jeans or t-shirts they were talking about.

  I turned around to see Shark standing behind me, fully clothed now, and smelling somewhat decent.

  “You got the stuff?” Shark asked.

  “Yep,” Rat Hole said. “Was just showing it to Rip. You guys definitely got a good little plan going. Pretty genius if you ask me.”

  “Yeah, tell that to Snake and Blue Eyes, will ya?” Shark said. “Been trying to work our way up for years.”

  My mind raced as I tried to imagine what sort of plan they had cooked up for me now. Then again, I was probably better off not knowing. If I knew, I’d spend the rest of the day obsessing over it and working myself up pretty bad.

  “See you guys tonight,” Rat Hole said as he nodded to each of them. “You know the place, right?”


  “The Matterhorn Pub,” Snake said. “Nine.”

  “Right,” Rat Hole replied as he left.

  I had a tiny bit of information at least. We were going out to a bar that night. At least I assumed they were taking me with them. I couldn’t imagine them leaving me back here all by myself.

  My stomach fluttered with anticipation as I knew exactly what I would do in that bar. I was going to scream and yell and make a scene. I was going to beg someone to call 9-1-1. I was going to get my freedom and send those assholes behind bars for kidnapping and assault. They were going down, and it was going to happen that night. I was so sure of it.