Without Light (New Adult Biker Gang Romance) (Night Horses MC Book 2) (5 page)

BOOK: Without Light (New Adult Biker Gang Romance) (Night Horses MC Book 2)
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Finally, he pulled onto an unmarked dirt road and it didn’t take long to get to a large clearing.

 


Home sweet home,” Merle said.

 

I’d caught a glimpse of the cartel’s headquarters through my streaming eyes, it was all concrete and neon and barbed wire.

 

This looked more like…

 


A summer camp?” I asked, incredulously.

 

Merle grinned.

 


Yeah,” he said. “It was super cheap, and had plenty of space to spread out.”

 

There were a few old gazebos that kids probably used to make lanyards for Arts and Crafts in, that now seemed to be storage for who-knew-what, covered with tarps bungee cords.

 

A huge metal garage with a few of the bay doors open dominated the scene, looking like an airplane hangar or mechanic’s shop transported accidentally into a wilderness idyl.

 

The swimming pool still looked, well, like a swimming pool. There were even deck chairs and pool noodles scattered around, the bright colors and cheerful domesticity striking me as completely surreal.

 


Oh,” I said.

 

It was all too much, after so much time in a cell.

 

I swallowed.

 


How long?” I asked, turning to Merle.

 

He sighed.

 


Nine days,” he said.

 

I nodded, slowly.

 


My parents must be freaking out,” I said.

 

He looked away.

 


Merle?” I asked. “Are my parents okay?”

 


Yeah!” he said immediately. “They’re fine. They’re… they’re mad. They’re really angry.”

 


What do you mean?” I asked. “They’ve called the cops, right?”

 


Um,” he said. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

 

I planted my bare feet in the gravel. “No way,” I said. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what the fuck is going on.”

 

At that point, my body betrayed me. After three or four meals in, apparently, nine days, as the adrenaline faded, so did my ability to stand.

 

Merle caught me.

 


Easy, honey,” he said. “Easy. Let’s just get you inside.”

 


Fuck you,” I grumbled.

 

He laughed as he picked me up and swung me over his shoulder. I ended up face-to-ass with him. It was an excellent ass, but that didn’t make it a comfortable way to be carried.

 


Quit squirming,” he grunted. “I’ll put you down in a minute.”

 


Why aren’t we going in there?” I asked, waving vaguely at the largest building.

 

He ignored me.

 

He didn’t carry me that much further, stopping and grabbing both of my legs with one hand while he opened a door with the other. I heard him drop his keys and cuss, but he left them until he dumped me on a bed.

 


I’ll be back in a minute,” he said. “Don’t fucking touch anything.”

 

He picked up a quilt from the end of the bed, shook it open, and tossed it over me. It wasn’t until I automatically wrapped it around myself that I realized that my teeth were chattering.

 

Merle left, scooping up his keys and leaving the door open wide.

 

I sat there, shivering, staring at the sunlight, drinking in the view.

 

The biker who rescued me came back in and started to shut the door behind him.

 


No!” I cried, trying to leap off the bed and stop him and only managing an awkward lunge. “No! Leave it open. Please.”

 


Okay,” he said. “Yeah. No worries. Door’s open.”

 

I sat back, breathing hard, hugging my knees to my chest, wrapped in the quilt - Merle’s quilt, I realized. Merle’s bed. Merle’s room.

 

He sat down beside me, not touching, but close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body.

 

I turned to him like a sunflower.

 


Here,” he said. “Brought you a cup of chicken soup.”

 

He handed me a mug that smelled achingly familiar. It was hot and bland and tasted like every other canned chicken soup I’d been given when I was sick.

 

I missed my mother.

 

I started to cry again, quietly this time, just weeping absently as I sipped the soup.

 

Merle didn’t talk. He didn’t ask me questions. He just sat there with me as I cried and drank my soup and tried to get warm. When I finished, he silently handed me a can of Coke, unopened and cold.

 


Thought this might make you feel a little better,” he said. “Don’t drink the whole thing or you’ll just get sick.”

 

I nodded.

 

We sat there for an hour, me sipping at the Coke and leaning on Merle, enjoying his warmth, staring hungrily at the sun and the sky.

 

I finally started to look around.

 

The room was clean, and fairly tidy, but full of stuff. I saw a pile of greasy engine parts, and a few spic-and-span ones. There was a minifridge and a laptop, a pile of folded laundry - all the normal detritus of living.

 

Plus, well, the engine parts.

 

I suppose that that was normal detritus if you worked on motorcycles, though, and Merle had already told me that he did some legit work as a mechanic and repaired his own ride.

 

There were two white doors, one open to show a hallway, one closed. I looked quickly away from both and focused on the one leading outside.

 


Thanks,” I whispered.

 

I handed him back the half-full can.

 


Did it help any?” he asked.

 

I nodded.

 


I feel a little more human,” I said. “You wanna tell me what the fuck is going on now?”

 

I kept leaning on him.

 


The cops… have not been called,” he began. “The assholes who took you used your phone to text your parents that you were tired of their bullshit rules and weren’t coming back. They checked the logs and found a series of texts between you and me from a few weeks ago about how you were going to run away with me.”

 

I sat up straight.

 


We hadn’t even met,” I said.

 


I know,” he said. “You’re eighteen, though, and so, legally, you’re an adult. Apparently they called the cops and the cops said they couldn’t do anything. You’re not legally required to be anywhere.”

 

I blinked.

 


So, my parents think I’m just… mad at them?” I asked.

 


I showed up at your door and they about ripped me a new one,” he said. “I got the whole story from them and figured out where you were by asking around a little.”

 

I slumped back against his shoulder.

 


They must be so angry,” I said. “I’m probably failing all of my classes. Fuck.”

 


Do you want me to take you home now?” he asked.

 

I hesitated, and shook my head.

 


Nothing you can do about it right now,” he said. “Just get some rest.”

 

I nodded.

 


Can I ask…” he began, softly. “What happened? What did they do to you?”

 


Are you asking if they, uh, if they raped me?” I asked, trying to sound more casual than I felt.

 


Yeah,” he said. I could feel the tension, the anger, radiating from him.

 


No,” I said. “I think they would have in another day or two.”

 

He nodded.

 

When he turned to face me, his shadowy, stubbly face, was drawn.

 


I’m so glad they didn’t,” he said. “The thought of them touching you…”

 

He grimaced.

 

I reached out and stroked his cheek, surprising a smile out of him.

 

I looked down at myself, in my stolen club dress and, well, nothing else. The skirt was so far up my thighs, I’m pretty sure if Merle had looked he could have seen everything I had.

 


Merle?” I said softly, looking down at myself.

 


Yeah?” he asked.

 


I’m so gross. Like, super disgusting. Do you have a shower? Can I maybe stay there forever?”

 

He laughed out loud.

 


You’re not the loveliest flower I’ve ever smelled,” he said. “Come on. Plenty of hot water.”

 

He stood up and held out a hand, pulling me onto my feet. It wasn’t my imagination - he carefully looked away until I pulled down the skimpy dress.

 

Merle seemed like such a good guy.

 

I still wasn’t sure whether I was grateful to him or furious at him.

 

He led me into the bathroom and showed me where the towels were, disappearing briefly and coming back with a pile of clothing.

 


I don’t know what you’d wanna wear,” he said. “I grabbed a bit of everything.”

 

He left the stack on the counter and went back into his bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

 


No!”
I screamed.

 

He reappeared almost instantly, to find me shaking in a corner. He grabbed my arms and forced them down from where they were protecting my head.

 


No,” I said. “No, no, no. The door. No. Please don’t leave me in here, I’ll be good.”

 


Oh, sweetheart,” he said, wrapping me in his arms and just holding me for a few long moments. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. No one’s shutting you in anywhere.”

 

I shook my head, mutely.

 


Being silly,” I said. “Sorry.”

 

One moment, I was on top of the world, the next, I was cowering in a corner. Everything seemed too large, too bright, too suffocating, too enclosing.

 


Want me to just hose you down out there?” he asked with a grin.

 

I laughed, a little.

 


No, but…” I hesitated. “Will you stay with me?”

 


Sure,” he said. He stepped away from me and sat down on the closed toilet, facing the wall and starting in on a long, involved story about a buddy of his who’d fallen in a mud-pit and then tripped and landed in a  grease patch on his way to the shower and had ended up just giving up and letting someone else hose him down.

 

I stepped into the shower and tossed the disgusting dress out. Merle raised his voice a little to be heard over the spray.

 

It felt so good to be clean.

BOOK: Without Light (New Adult Biker Gang Romance) (Night Horses MC Book 2)
5.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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