Wayward Soul (16 page)

I shake my head and smirk. Dom knows how to deal with snobby mothers? I would never have guessed. My mom looks at me with a small smile.
“
So, you
’
re not dating this man?
”
she questions with her standard, stuck-up expression.

“
No, mom. I
’
m not. But I
am
dating someone else.
”

She whips her head in my direction.
“
You are? Are his parents well-known? Is he a doctor, a lawyer?
”
I smirk and Dom laughs. My mom looks at us in shock.
“
He
’
s
…
he
’
s not from a good family?
”
she asks, looking between us. I shake my head and I swear she almost has a stroke.
“
Casey, why do you have to do this to us? We gave you everything you could possibly need. Why are you trying to ruin our family
’
s image? What is
wrong
with you?
”
She stands and walks over to me.

I don
’
t realize she
’
s going to slap me until I feel her hand make contact with my cheek. My head jerks back and my hand goes to my face. I can
’
t believe she hit me. Well, actually, I
can
, but still
…

Dom stands up and pulls me up next to him.
“
I know you don
’
t approve of my lifestyle and I
’
m fine with that, but she
’
s your daughter. You're supposed to love her no matter what. She
’
s not a business deal, and I won
’
t stand around and let you hit her. Just be glad I was the one here and not her old man because he would put you in the ground for even touching her.
”
She stares at him in shock.

Hell, I
’
m a little shocked myself. My mom shrinks back from him, telling us to see ourselves out because she doesn
’
t want filth in her house.

We walk outside and Dom stops me before I can reach his bike.
“
You okay, Case?
”
he asks. I rub my cheek again and he pulls me to him.
“
Come on. Let
’
s get out of here. You deserve better than these people.
”

I try and swallow the lump in my throat.
“
Okay,
”
I whimper.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I get on the bike behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. I wish Gunner was here.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

My head is throbbing and my vision is hazy. What the fuck happened? I didn
’
t have anything to drink last night, so I can
’
t be hung over. I look around and I try to move my arms, but I
’
m tied to a chair. The bedroom is dark and I don
’
t hear any noise coming from the house. Who the fuck tied me up?

The only thing I can think about is Casey. Her beautiful smile, her auburn hair falling in her face, the way she is passionate about the people she cares about, the look in her eyes when she said she loved me
…
I won
’
t let him take her from me.

“
Alec,
”
his scratchy voice says, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“
What the fuck do you want?
”
I spit at him.

He shakes his head at me.
“
Now, my boy, that's no way to greet your father.
”

“
Fuck you! You may be my father by blood, but you will never be my family.
”

Laughing, he walks over to me and dangles my phone in front of me.
“
Well, son, you may want to rethink how you talk to me. I am thinking about bringing your little girlfriend back here to hang out.
”
A smile forms on his lips and he starts to type something on my phone.

“
You fucking touch her and I
’
ll put a bullet in your head without even thinking twice,
”
I yell, trying to shake loose from my restraints.

“
Well, you know, she really has a bangin
’
body, son. You did real good with this one.
”
He looks at the screen and whistles.
“
Damn, son. Look at this. My, my. She is a fucking looker.
”
Turning the phone so I can see the screen, he shows me a picture she must have just sent.

The picture is of her with nothing on, and she has one arm covering her lush tits and the other on her pussy. Fuck. I can feel myself get hard. I know the exact sounds she makes when I put my hands on those spots on her body. The picture disappears and I see the conversation. He
’
s been talking to her! That motherfucker is acting like me!

“
Well, Alec, I was thinking of bringing our dear girl back home. What do you think?
”

He
’
s going to act like me to lure her back here and there is nothing I can do about it.

“
You know, you and your whore of a mother are going to get what
’
s coming to you, but I
’
m starting with this little redhead. I
’
m going to let you watch me take her over and over again. That little bitch won
’
t know what hit her by the time I
’
m finished.
”

“
I can
’
t wait to fucking kill you, you stupid bastard!
”

I watch his fist come flying at my face and all I can do is try and duck my head, but I don't move in time. His fist smashes into my left cheekbone and I hear it crack. He lands a few more blows until I can
’
t keep my head up any longer. Wincing, I spit blood on my hardwood floor.

I can feel the blood dripping down my face and can taste it in my mouth.
“
Alec, should I ask your little girlfriend to come home now? Or do you want to spend some more time getting reacquainted?
”

“
You
’
re such a goddamn pussy,
”
I snarl.
“
If you were a real man, you wouldn
’
t have to tie me up to kick my ass. Hell, you wouldn't beat a woman that
’
s half your size, either! You
’
re just a fucking coward!
”

He grabs my hair and pulls my head back.
“
You little shit. I am twice the man you are. At least I don
’
t try and act like I am a fucking badass. You couldn
’
t even find me. Who's the fucking bitch now?
”

“
Fuck you. Untie me and we can see who the bitch is.
”

Pushing my head away, he just laughs.
“
It will be more fun when I get your girl here and you can
’
t do anything about it. All you
’
ll be able to do is watch. And, trust me, I will be happy to take all my anger out on her.
”
He smirks and walks back out the door.

My hands are going numb and the only thing I can think about is Casey. He
’
s going to bring her here. I can
’
t allow that to happen. Looking around the room, I don
’
t see anything that I can use to free myself.

I can feel my pocket knife still in my pocket. If I can only get it out and cut the damn ropes off. They are cutting into my skin and the more I move, the more raw my skin becomes.

A few minutes later, he walks back in, grabs my head, and sticks a syringe into my neck. The world goes dark again.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

While Brant
’
s been busy, I have been spending time with Anslie and the twins. All the club whore
’
s keep whispering about Brantley already having an old lady and how she is going to be pissed about Anslie. But I told her if she really wants her man, she needs to fight for him and stop letting people get between them.

“
Case, can you get me that bag?
”
Anslie asks, trying to get Sev dressed. I hand her the bag, then check my phone.
“
You
’
ve been checking that thing all morning. Why don
’
t you just call him?
”

“
He
’
s probably busy. Plus, I don
’
t want to seem clingy. What if he has another girl or something?
”
I ask, pouting.
“
Ugh, I hate being that girl. I never complain about a guy not calling me. Typically, that
’
s what I am looking for, but he
’
s different.
”

She looks up and stares at me before saying,
“
Case, you're in love with him, right?
”
I nod.
“
Then do something about it. Make the move and tell him you can
’
t stand being here. Hell, tell him what your mom did to you. I know that
’
ll get him to come here. Please don
’
t be like me and let him slip through your fingers. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have made promises to you.
”
She walks over and wraps her arms around me.
“
Casey, I love you like a sister so I
’
m telling you this with love. Get off your ass and go get your man.
”

I give her a watery smile and hit the CALL button on Gunner
’
s name. It rings and rings, then his voicemail picks up. I leave him a message, telling him to call me when he gets a chance, then hang up.

Anslie gives me a sad smile, telling me to try again later or try texting him in case he
’
s on a run and can
’
t talk. Last time he was on a run, he was gone for a whole day.

I spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out with Anslie and the boys, watching movies, eating popcorn, and playing games.

When Brant finally comes into the room, the boys are already passed out. Looking at Brantley, I can tell he wants me to leave, so I grab my phone and my shoes, then make my way down the hall to my room.

As much as I love everyone, I don't really want to be here because there is nothing here for me. I wish things between my family and me were different, but I could never be what my parents want me to be. They wanted perfect little clones of themselves because they were unhappy with everything in their own lives. That
’
s just not me and it never will be. I want to have fun and live free. Even if Gunner doesn't realize we are meant to be together, I won't stop fighting for us. I will show him that our souls are tangled together and we won
’
t ever be able to get them untangled. Plus, I don
’
t want to. I want him to be my forever.

Waking up in the morning, I realize I am still dressed and my hair is all over the place. After showering and getting ready for my day, I check my phone for any messages or calls. My breath catches when I see his name on my screen.

Sexy biker:
Babe, sorry I missed your call. I
’
ve been thinking about you, though. Can
’
t wait to see you.

Me:
Miss you more, Gun.

For some reason, he
’
s not calling me beauty anymore. That
’
s weird. He always calls me that, unless he
’
s trying to get a point across. Maybe something's wrong. I pull up Anslie
’
s number. It rings forever before she answers breathlessly,
“
Yeah?
”

Smirking, I say,
“
Hey, dirty bitch. I need to talk to Brant really quick.
”

I hear her whisper something, then he gets on the phone.
“
Yeah, Case?
”
he says. I can see why he turns Anslie on so much. His phone voice is sexy as hell!

“
I think something
’
s wrong in Seattle,
”
I say quickly. This is starting to feel like d
é
j
à
vu, but Gunner isn
’
t here to make me feel better.

“
What do you mean something
’
s wrong?
”

He probably won
’
t believe me, but I have to try.
“
Gunner is acting weird. He won
’
t answer my calls and when he finally texts me back, he doesn't call me by my nickname. You both call Anslie and me by our nicknames, not our real names. Please call him and see if he
’
s okay.
”

I hear his sigh.
“
Okay, Case. I
’
ll let you know what he says, yeah?
”

I let out the breath I was holding.
“
Okay. Thanks, Brant,
”
I whisper.

I end the call on my phone and lie back on the bed. Not knowing what
’
s going on is killing me. It
’
s almost like I can feel there
’
s something not right going on back there. Now I just need to find out what.