Diesel (Devil's Mafia Brotherhood Motorcycle Club Book 1) (10 page)

Tania paced the room. Was he telling her the truth? Did he actually intend to meet someone or was he planning to sneak away so that she never found him? Tania went inside her bathroom. His things were still there: the aftershave, the bottle of cologne that he favored, and even his night suit. Either he didn’t know that she would find out so quickly or, perhaps, he thought that he would be able to wind her around his finger and convince her that this was for the best.

            Maybe he would just say sorry and move on. Perhaps he never intended to come to her house. She was confused, conflicted. Should she wait for  him or go after him? Tania made up her mind. She would find him. Where was he? Most likely, he was at the warehouse, probably gloating about everything with his friends or his business associates. The man was a monster. He was probably laughing with them about it. She called a cab and told the driver to take her to the warehouse.

When she reached there, the place was empty, deserted. She bit her lip as she looked at the dream property she’d thought she would be able to get with such ease. It didn’t seem so long ago that she thought to make a success out of her career by purchasing this for the client, and now it had cost her the job.

No, that was Riley’s work. He was the one responsible it. Tania went to the gate. It was locked. The keys had probably already been handed over to the new owners. She hated it. It was humiliating to lose, but it was depressing to do it because someone fooled her.

She turned around and much to her astonishment, he was parking his bike not too far away. She strode forward. “What the hell was this about?”

His color paled. She saw the emotions that coiled in his eyes and knew that he thinking of a story to tell her. “Tania, what are you doing here?”

She wanted to punch him. “I should ask you the same thing. What are you doing? Inspecting your new property? Came to see if everything looks great for the new owners? You bastard.”

“You know? How? I only just found out right now during my meeting. The guy who handles the finance of our company told me that he’d already sighed the deal. I was taken aback.”

“Liar,” she spat out the word. He took a careful step forward towards her. How could she have thought that he was handsome? How could she have imagined that he had a good heart? What made her think that she loved him? He wasn’t the man she thought he was. Who was he? Was everything a lie? Did she even know the man she gave her body to? She hated that she’d allowed him to put his hands on her. If only she could wipe away the last few weeks. Once she’d thought that they were the best time of her life, but now it was obvious that they were a BIG FAT LIE.

“I am not lying,” he pleaded. “Please believe me. I didn’t know.”

“How can that be so? You were the one talking to Xavier.”

“He stopped talking to me. I was afraid that the deal fell through, but then I met Charlie and he told me that it was still going on,” he said.

She didn’t believe a word he said. “So you had some inkling that it was going down that way but you didn’t tell me anything.”

He walked closer, looking desperate. “Tania, I love you. I really do. I didn’t want to keep you in the dark, but I didn’t have anything to go on. There were only doubts that something wasn’t right, but then…how could I have told you when I didn’t know anything myself?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. How long would he continue to lie? Love? He didn’t even know the meaning of that word. Once she would have been blissfully happy to hear him say that, but, now, all she could think about was that she was stupid to have given him her body and heart. She was so close to being in love with him. She’d harbored such silly notions, but now it all fell apart. “I hate you.”

“Don’t say that, please.” He took another few steps forward until they stood right opposite each other.

She wanted to claw out his eyes, but she kept a rigid control on her hands. She was already in enough trouble, and there was no way she was adding assault to it. Also, she didn’t believe in violence. It wasn’t a solution. In this situation, there was no solution. The damage was done, and she would have to live with it. “We’re finished, Riley.” The words hut her. The pain was almost physical. She actually felt as if her heart broke inside her chest. Having never suffered so much after a break up, she wasn’t prepared to deal with so much anguish. This was hell. This was torment. She wanted to never see him again but yet the thought of not gazing at his beautiful face filled her with an ache.“Over. Forever. Goodbye.”

She attempted to walk past him, but he grabbed her hand. “Don’t do this, Tania. Trust me. I’m going to get to the bottom of this mystery. There is something fishy going on in my organization. They haven’t told me anything. I’ve to figure out what they are hiding, and I am going to need your help to do so.”

She attempted to shrug out of his grip. Why the hell would she help him? She didn’t even believe him. He was merely spinning silly stories now to befuddle her. “You are crazy.”

He didn’t let go. “Please. I am crazy about you. I love you. This wasn’t meant to happen. There is more to this story and even I don’t know the half of it. Together we can find out.”

She didn’t have any idea as to what he was saying but she didn’t want to listen to his lies anymore. “You’ll have to do it alone. I’ve got other things to do, such as finding a new job.”

He looked aghast. “You lost your job?”

“I did, yes.” She lifted her chin high. No way was she going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he broke her. “But don’t worry about me, Riley. I am going to bounce back. No one can keep me down for long. Worry about yourself and your soul, because that needs a lot of work.”

He let go of her arm. “I am so sorry, Tania. I didn’t know. Believe me, I didn’t know.” She couldn’t – dared not – trust a word that he uttered. He was snake, a low life, and he wanted her back in his bed because maybe he had a good time there, but he certainly didn’t harbor any real feelings for her. She was done with him. “I love you,” he said again.

The control that she maintained for so long slipped fast. How dare he make a mockery of their relationship? Did he think she was so stupid that she would fall under his spell again? In a corner of her mind, a new noise registered. It was a sharp click followed by a strange humming sound. Since she was upset, Tania didn’t even bother to glance around to see where it originated from.

“Don’t say those words to me. I don’t want to see you ever again,” she shrieked.

“But I can’t live without you,” he said.

She sneered. The anger, the hatred, that was roiling in her veins spilled forth so that she was enveloped in a strong fountain of emotions. She was angry. Tania had never been so enraged in her life. No one ever hurt her quite like this. He could say these words to her a hundred times but she would never be able to believe him because he didn’t mean them. If he meant them, he wouldn’t have done what he did. Love meant sacrifice. Love was commitment. He didn’t possess those qualities. He was far from her ideal man. How could she have ever thought that she would be happy with him? It was her mistake. And she would never make such an error again.

She laughed. The sound echoed in the silence of the place. It was as if they were the only two people in this world. No one else existed or mattered. “If you can’t live without me, Riley, then, perhaps, you should die…because in this life, you are never going to get me ever again.”

With those words, the world exploded. Since she faced the warehouse, she saw the red hot flames and the huge fountain of fire that erupted. She couldn’t believe what she saw. It was unreal. In movies, this looked amazing, but in real life, it made her freeze. She couldn’t think, couldn’t move. She was stuck on the spot. The sound was deafening. Crash. Boom. Sizzle. And the heat was intense. She screamed.

Her gaze shifted to Riley and, much to her surprise, he was flying towards her. He lunged forward and when she fell on the hard ground, he was on top of her. Something whizzed past his head, maybe some kind of a metal sheet that was blown away by the explosion.

“Stay down. Down!” he yelled. 

Those were the last words she heard. Her only thought was that he was trying to protect her. At this time when he should have been thinking of saving his life, he covered her body with his so that she wouldn’t get hurt. A man who meant to deceive her wouldn’t have done it. Maybe he did love her. It was now too late. Everything was ruined. Everything went black. It was the end – and now maybe she would find some peace.

Read on for an excerpt from the sizzling sequel

She’d been in many dicey situations before when Tania woke up on that fateful day; she knew that this was nothing like she ever experienced before. It took her a few seconds to realize that she wasn’t in a familiar place. She sat. Memories flooded into her mind and she resisted the urge to speak – the red-hot flames, the explosion, and the searing pain in her arm where she was hit by a piece of metal that was blown off the roof of the warehouse when it blew up.

Riley! He tried to kill her. She couldn’t think of another explanation. The man she’d thought she was nearly in love with, the great guy who charmed her, he was the one responsible for putting her in this impossible situation. Sure, at the time when he lunged at her when the explosion took place, she might’ve initially assumed that he was trying to protect her, but that was her imagination. She’d wanted to believe that because it made her feel better. Now, she knew the truth.

Did he bring her here after the warehouse was destroyed? Why did he blow that place up? It wasn’t an accident. She was pretty damn sure of that. Someone triggered that blast. He likely had an accomplice.

Who was Riley? He wasn’t the man she thought he was. Had she been dating an illusion?

With a wince, she rolled out of bed and stood. The room was bare except for the bed she slept on and a table that was shoved against one wall. Walking over to the door, she turned the handle. As expected, it didn’t budge. She was a prisoner in this place. Tania felt dizzy, not because she was weak but because she was scared. Whoever brought her here did it for a reason and she was pretty sure that she wouldn’t like it when she found out what it was.

Before her captors came to see her, she needed to escape. She marched to the window and shoved aside the dark brown curtains that covered it. Much to her disgust, the entire window was boarded with wooden planks that were nailed to the wall. Even if she tried, she wouldn’t be able to remove them with her bare hands. Since she didn’t have another choice, Tania went into the adjacent bathroom. She took a quick shower and wore the same clothes again.

Hunger gnawed in her stomach but at least she felt slightly human. The only window in the bathroom was eight feet off the ground, contained bars, and was only a foot in width. There was no way she could escape from this place. Rather than make unsuccessful attempts and deplete her energy, she went back to the room and waited for someone to come. 

She would bide her time and flee when the opportunity presented itself. Tania wasn’t a quitter. She was a fighter – and there was no way in hell that she was ever going to give up without a battle.

Her watch didn’t work, making it difficult to know how much time had past before someone opened the door and strode in the room. With no absolution, she estimated that it must have been at least two hours since she had woken up. The man wore a black mask on his face, and he was carrying a tray. Was it Riley? From the width of the shoulders and the height, she could tell that he wasn’t.

When he spoke, her assessment proved correct. “Here is something to eat.”

She glanced at the tray he put on the table. It contained three pieces of bread and butter. She was desperately hungry, but she was keener to get some answers. “Who are you? Why have you kept me here?”

He surveyed her as if she was something of mild interest. “You’ll stay here until we figure out what to do with you.”

That sounded ominous.

Her heart pounded as she fought to control the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. What the hell was that supposed to mean? What did they want to do with her? “I…let me go. You can’t just kidnap a person against their will. It’s against the law.”

He laughed. “It’s not the first illegal thing we’ve done. You worry about yourself, and let us figure things out for ourselves.”

He left the room before she could make up her mind regarding her next move. Tania instantly regretted her decision not to attack him the moment he strode inside. She’d wanted to get some answers out of him, but it was obvious that he – or they – weren’t willing to tell her anything. The man’s statements were menacing and didn’t bode well for Tania’s future. She needed to leave this place as fast as she could before they decided to take some action.

What did she know that made them wary? There was something in her past that landed her in this trouble but, for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out as to what it was. The only connection that made sense was Riley. He had to be the reason why she ended up here. She was in this trouble because of him. If she ever got her hands on that man, she would wring his neck gladly.

Where was he? After locking her here, didn’t he have the courage to come in front of her? Didn’t he have the guts to face her? If he didn’t, she would find him and make him pay for what he did to her.

Tania went to the door, put her ear to it, and listened for any sound. None was forthcoming. Where was the man who gave her the food? Had he gone away from this place or was he still around? There was only one way to find out and that was to leave the room. Sitting here and moaning over the situation wasn’t going to change something. She would have to do something drastic to escape. If she waited for them to make up her mind about her, the end result might not go in her favor.

Who were these people? Why did they hold her prisoner? What did she know that was dangerous to them? She didn’t have answers, only questions. But one thing she had in abundance was her courage. Tania sat on the bed to consider what she could to change this situation. She didn’t want to remain here for long. Her gaze fixed on the door. It was locked, of course. She’d heard the distinct click when the man went out but…

Her hand moved to her head. After the shower she’d left her hair open, but it wasn’t that way the morning she went to office for the last time. Walking into the bathroom, she picked up the two pins that she’d left on the counter. She examined their sharp points. It might just do. Tania wasn’t a wild child during her childhood days, but one of her friends certainly was. That girl, Mia, could open a locked door or window with a pin. She’d once sneaked into the principal’s office to steal the exam papers. Tania had never approved of her friend’s underhand ways, but she did spend some time learning them – one never knew when such skills would come in use.

And now, she was going to find out if she had, indeed, learnt something helpful. She took the pin to the door, sat on her knees, and studied the lock. It was an old fashioned one that used a key. Luckily, she couldn’t see the key on the other side and she could see evidence that the lock was recently removed and then put on backwards so it could be locked from outside, rather than the other way around.

“Piece of cake,” she muttered.

Taking her bobby pin, she snapped it in two. Dropping half of it on the floor, she bent the other half until it was at a ninety-degree angle, making it resemble a makeshift tension wrench. Putting the point of it inside the lock, she wriggled it around while holding it steady. Her heart pounded so loudly she thought the person on the other end, if someone were, indeed, standing there, would hear it. She heard a click and felt the pin move, almost as if she held a key in her hand.

She stood, took a deep breath, and turned the handle. The door opened without a sound. Without wasting any more time, she walked out. She stood in a narrow, dusty corridor that was no more than four feet wide. To her right was a door straight in front and another in the wall, and to her left was another door in the wall. She’d to choose which direction to take. Tania could hear a low murmur of voices coming from her right. There were at two least people in the room next to hers. She gazed at the door that stood directly opposite her and decided that it must lead outside. She could smell freedom as easily as she could scent her own sweat. But in order to get to it, she would have to walk past the room in which people lingered.

Or she could go to her left and explore the room, but if there were no chance of escape from it, she would waste precious minutes doubling back. She’d never been a nervous decision maker. Tania edged along the wall until she reached the door from where she could hear voices. Two people were talking.

“She can’t stay here for long.”

“We’ll get word regarding her soon,” said the same man who had given her food. “The high members will tell us what to do.”

“If they tell us to…”

“What must be done will be done,” said the man in a cold voice. “She is a danger to Devil’s Mafia Brotherhood and if she has to be removed, we will do so.”

What the hell were they talking about? Who was Devil’s Mafia Brotherhood? And by
removing
, did they actually mean that they would kill her if they thought it was necessary? Fear coursed through her veins as she realized the danger she was in. It hadn’t fully sunk in until this point. Now, she felt an overwhelming need to rush across and head for the door but if they saw her, she would be hurled back into the room and there might never be another chance like this.

“Did she eat her food? I should go get the tray back.”

Her heart skipped a beat. If the man came out now, she would be discovered. Perhaps she could go back and sit inside, but then she would never be able to lock the door from inside.

“Leave her alone for some time. I’m just waiting for that call,” growled the other man.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Someone stood and walked to the other side of the room. Taking a chance, she peeped in to take a quick look. One man was heading towards the bathroom door and the other was bent over his phone. She didn’t wait to see if this was the right opportunity. Tania seized it. She rushed towards the door and pulled at the handle. No sound came from that room. They didn’t see her. She was safe for now.

What if the door was locked?

The handle went down all the way and the door opened. She edged out and stood in the front yard of a house. The garden was bare; not a twig grew and a single tree stood against one wall, but the gate was open and she couldn’t see a lock. She knew this was her opportunity. Without wasting any more time, she rushed through it and found herself on a street she didn’t recognize. She’d never been out to the suburbs before and, looking around, she noticed the houses were all run down and dilapidated. Not a car sped by on the street.

She ran towards the nearest juncture she saw. Reaching it, she turned the corner and sped on. Any moment now, she expected someone to scream her name and rush behind her but she didn’t hear any commotion. Maybe her absence still hadn’t been detected. If so, it was indeed a lucky break. She didn’t have any money or phone, and she knew hitching a ride was definitely not a good idea, especially when she didn’t know where she was. She finally reached a busy street and took deep breaths. Her legs hurt and sweat dripped down her forehead. What could she do now?

Should she head for a police station? What would she tell them? She’d been in such a hurry when she escaped the place that she didn’t notice the house or street number. It was doubtful she would be able to find it and even if she did so, those people might not be there. They would certainly not be there for her to bring the police on their head. She would look like a fool if she showed up there and didn’t find any evidence that she had, indeed, been kept as a prisoner.

No. It was better to head back home and count her blessings. For now, she was free and that was all that mattered.     

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