Wild Nights(36)

“Here,” R.J. said as he grabbed a comforter off the spare queen bed and threw it over me.

“Th-thank you,” I stuttered. I didn’t know what to think. He was being so kind. Maybe he was just trying to calm me down so I’d be a good lay? I had no idea what he was doing. For all I knew, he was just as manipulative and fucked up in the head as Blaze.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, and I instinctively jerked away from him. He placed his hands up in the air almost apologetically.

“Listen,” he said. “I’m not here to do anything to you.”

“Y-you’re not?” I asked. The tears that had started to form in my eyes were quickly beginning to dry up.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay,” he said as his eyes traced the duct tape that was nearly cutting off the circulation to my hands.

I shook my head no and hung it low.

“Look at me,” I cried. “Do I look okay? I’m fucking tied to a bed with duct tape and being told I have to fuck a strange guy so the man who kidnapped me can get into your motorcycle club.”

The waterworks immediately turned back on and it was like a weight had been lifted. I couldn’t stop. The tears fell one after another. Saying those words and admitting the reality of the situation was freeing and depressing all at once. I didn’t even know if I could trust this guy, and I had just told him all of Blaze’s dirty secrets.

“When I saw you tonight at the bar, I could tell something was amiss,” he said. “The way Blaze wouldn’t let go of you. He fucking walked you to the bathroom. He was parading you around. Controlling you. And the entire time, you just hung your head like you were some slave.”

“I had to do whatever he wanted,” I said. “He threatened to put a bullet in my head if I didn’t.”

R.J. shook his head.

“I won’t pretend that I’m some angel,” R.J. stated, looking me directly into my eyes. “But I would never in a million years do to a woman what he’s done to you. You’re not cut out for the club life. You’re not cut out to be an Old Lady. You don’t fit in with us.”

I didn’t know where he was going with that, but I was listening intently.

“Blaze is a prick,” he continued. “We all know that. He shouldn’t have brought you into this or exposed you to this lifestyle. He’s a fucking moron for doing that.”

I nodded. I was truly at a loss for words. The president, the man with the most power in their little circle, was being kinder to me than anyone had been in a long time.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” he said. “And away from Blaze.”

“Are you serious?!” I said, a genuine smile spreading across my lips for the first time in days.

“Yes,” he said. He turned back towards the door, stood up, and looked out the windows. I assumed he was checking for Blaze.

He glanced down at his watch. “We don’t have much longer. Blaze is outside sitting in his truck. I’m sure he’s counting down the moments until he gets you back.”

R.J. walked back over to the bed and ripped the duct tape from my wrists, freeing me.

“He thinks you’re going to offer him full membership into the club,” I said.

“Ha,” R.J. laughed. “That will never happen in a million years.”

“Then why do you give him false hope?” I asked.

“He makes assumptions. Haven’t you figured that out yet?” R.J. replied. “He only hears what he wants.”

“Why does he want in your club so bad?” I asked.

“No clue,” he replied as he gently massaged my wrists. It was sweet and unexpected. “He’s been a hanger-on for the last year or so. He’s a little obsessed. A little unstable. A little bit of a loose cannon. We have no place for impulsivity and guys like him in the club.”

“Why don’t you just tell him?” I proposed. “Maybe he’ll move onto another club.”

“That’s where it gets complicated,” he said with a winced face. “He’s sort of my half-brother.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I said. My jaw dropped to the floor.

“We’re not that close,” he said. “I hardly know him, but we just reconnected not too long ago, and I feel like I need to let him down easy. There’s no telling what he’ll do if you don’t reciprocate his feelings.”

“God, don’t I know it,” I lamented.

Suddenly there was a pounding at the door. It seemed rather aggressive and made me wonder if it was the police.

R.J. popped up and calmly strutted over to the door.