Boxed Set: Steel: Blacthorne MC Romance (21 page)

E
lla

Jackson was talking to me. I knew that because his lips were moving, but I couldn’t process the words coming out of his mouth.

I was finding it extremely hard to come to terms with the fact Jackson had thrown a hood over my head and bundled me into the back of a truck.

I stared around at the truck’s interior. I’d never seen it before.

“Where did you get the truck?”

Jackson tilted his head, studying me, looking at me as if I was a little crazy. He was probably right. It wasn’t the first question most people would ask if they were in my position.

“I borrowed it.”

Jackson said the words slowly as if he understood I was having trouble taking all of this in.

“I’m sorry about the way I got you out of there, Ella. But I wasn’t sure you would trust me enough to agree to come with me.”

He reached out to brush my hair back from my face, and I flinched away from him. His hand fell back down to his lap.

“What are you planning to do to me?”

Jackson frowned, and he shook his head. “
Do
to you?” he repeated. “Nothing. Ella, I’m getting you out of there, away from Blackthorne.”

I stared back at him blankly, still not convinced I could trust him.

“Ella, you are safe now. I’m going to take you to the sheriff’s office, then head back and tell them that you ran away. We are less than a mile away from the town we visited.”

I was still in shock. I was so sure it had been Nick who’d taken me. He was the one who had promised to get me out of there.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked Jackson.

“Because you need to get home.”

I nodded miserably. “But they’ll come after me.”

Jackson shook his head. “They won’t, not in New York. Once you’re out of Nevada, you’ll be out of Victor Blackthorne’s reach. He wouldn’t dare make a move in New York without the backup of his crew.”

I licked my lips. “But what about Nick. He’ll —”

“Don’t be dumb, Ella.” Jackson’s voice was sharp.

His words stung because I knew I
was
being dumb.

I should have been grateful at the chance to get away, but instead, I felt hollow inside at the realization I would never seen Nick again.

I swallowed and ran my hand through my tangled curls, trying to get a hold of myself.

As my mind began to clear, and I could think logically again, I looked up at Jackson. “So
you
are the undercover cop?”

Jackson smiled. “Ten out of ten, Ella.”

I tried to take it all in. Jackson was probably the person Victor trusted the most, even over his own brother, Damien, and he had absolutely no idea that Jackson was betraying him.

“Aren’t you scared of what Victor will do when he finds out?”

The smile left Jackson’s face, and his strong jaw clenched. “I’ll be fine.”

Would he?
Jackson was tough, confident and sharp, but was he a match for the evil, sadistic Victor Blackthorne?

I chewed on a thumbnail, something I tended to do when I was deep in thought and nervous.

After a moment, Jackson patted me on the shoulder. “I’m going to drive into town now, Ella. Are you ready?”

As ready as I would ever be, I supposed. I nodded.

I couldn’t believe I was actually going to get out of here. This time tomorrow, I could be back in New York. Free.

Jackson drove along the main street and into town. The sheriff’s office was situated a short distance from the main street. Jackson turned left just after Terry’s coffee shop and then pulled up outside the sheriff’s building.

Jackson turned off the engine and turned to face me. “This is it. Ready?”

I suddenly felt panicked, and I shook my head. “No, not yet. Can we get a coffee first and talk about it?”

Jackson frowned and shook his head. “You know Nick doesn’t deserve this devotion, right?”

I felt my cheeks grow hot, and I looked down at my hands clenched in my lap. “I don’t know what you mean.”

I wasn’t going to admit it, not even to myself.

“Well, I would flatter myself it was because you wanted to spend more time with me,” Jackson said. “But this is about Nick, isn’t it?”

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and deny it, but I couldn’t.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jackson unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to me. “Come on. We’ll go to the diner and get a coffee.”

I quickly climbed out of the car and followed Jackson, finding it hard to keep up with his large strides.

He held open the door for me at the coffee shop, and I entered and saw Terry behind the counter.

She seemed over the moon to see Jackson’s tall, broad-shouldered frame again. She blushed and giggled over us as she took our order for coffee, and we took our seats at the same window table as before.

We didn’t talk until Terry had put our cups of coffee down in front of us.

Once she’d left us alone and stopped gushing over Jackson, I took a sip of my coffee then said, “I don’t think Nick is a bad man. Maybe you could help him get out?”

Jackson narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “He’s really got you good, hasn’t he?”

I carried on, ignoring Jackson’s skepticism. “He’s trapped. He doesn’t want to be part of all this.”

“He’s not innocent, Ella.”

“Who is?” The question burst from my lips as I gripped my cup of coffee. I was desperate to get Jackson round to my way of thinking. I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Nick to get hurt again.

“Who is?” Jackson repeated my question. “
You,
Ella. You’re the innocent one in all this.”

I leaned back in my seat. I wasn’t doing this right. I wasn’t managing to convince Jackson.

“Look, Ella,” Jackson said, leaning forward and staring into my eyes. His voice was gentle as he continued, “They’ve used you as a hostage. I’ve seen this type of thing before. You’re mixed up. All these intense emotions are flying around, and you’ve confused that with something else…” His voice trailed off.

I could tell he was frustrated that he couldn’t make me see sense. He was a good man, and his intentions were honorable. Any woman would be lucky to have a man like him.

I was trembling now, and my cup shook in my hand so much I had to put it down.

This was so hard.

I met Jackson’s intense gaze and bit down on my lip before I confessed, “I know it’s crazy, but I want to go back to him.”

Jackson looked irritated. “That’s just nuts, Ella.”

“I’m scared,” I said simply.

Jackson sighed and reached out to cover my trembling hand in his large warm one.

“You’ve been through a lot, but it’s over. You can go home now. You’ve got this, Ella. I know you can do it.”

N
ick

She’s gone
.

When I got back to the room, I knew. I couldn’t explain why, but I knew she’d left even before I’d searched the rest of the bar and the parking lot.

I should have rushed to tell Chad, Tom and Jackson and organized a search for her, but I didn’t because this was her chance to escape.

Ella didn’t trust me enough to wait. And why should she? I’d let her down enough.

I’d made contact with an old buddy, probably the only person I really trusted in this world, arranging for him to take Ella back to Vegas. But he couldn’t make it until next week, and I guess Ella wasn’t prepared to wait. Who could blame her?

Having her around had made me remember what it was like to enjoy life again. Christ, she almost made me believe I could be a better man. I allowed myself a second to wonder what life might have been like if I’d gone with her.

Could I have gone?

No. Once you were in the Blackthorne crew, Victor said there was no way out but death.

I sat down on the bed, closed my eyes and remembered how her sweet curves felt pressed close to me.

I hadn’t done much for her. I hadn’t helped her when she really needed me, so the least I could do now was stay here until somebody else noticed she was missing and raised the alarm.

I couldn’t give her much, but I could give her time to get away.

E
lla

Jackson dropped me right outside the sheriff’s office, but he didn’t hang around. I guess it would have taken far too much time to explain who he really was and what he was doing there.

Jackson was working deep undercover and couldn’t let anyone know who he really was, even the local sheriff.

His last words to me were: “Take care of yourself, Ella. Don’t look back.”

I stood outside the sheriff’s office, watching Jackson’s truck get smaller and smaller as he drove away.

Once his truck had finally disappeared from view, I turned to face the modern metal and glass door. I yanked it open and stepped inside.

There was a woman in uniform behind the desk and she looked up as I approached her.

“Can I help you?”

My heart was thundering in my chest. This was it. I blurted out a made up story, telling her I’d managed to lose my purse and get lost, but luckily some kind bikers had helped me and taken me to the sheriff’s office.

It was ironic really. I’d dreamed about getting away and reporting Victor Blackthorne, but I didn’t want to tell the Sheriff’s department about the kidnapping.

It was crazy, but even now, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything that would get Nick into deeper trouble.

The woman’s eyes grew wider and wider as I told my story, and I wasn’t sure if she believed me.

“Come and sit down,” she said kindly. “You’ve certainly had an adventure. My name is Tia, and I’m going to take you to see the sheriff. We’ll get you home, don’t you worry.”

Tia left me sitting there in the reception area and went to tell the sheriff about me.

The sheriff’s department, from what I could see, consisted of just a few rooms, and I could hear the mumbled conversation as Tia told the sheriff my predicament.

After a moment, Tia returned and gestured for me to stand up and come with her. She led me into the sheriff’s office.

“This is Sheriff Morrison,” Tia said. “He’ll be able to help you.”

She patted me on the arm and then left me alone with the sheriff.

He was a large man, overweight rather than muscular. His brown uniform stretched tight over his belly, and he didn’t bother to stand up as I came into the room. He rubbed his large nose with his thumb as he stared at me.

The overhead light shone on his bald patch.

“Why don’t you go ahead and tell me everything you just told Tia?” he said.

I felt incredibly nervous, but I cleared my throat and did my best to keep my story straight as I told the sheriff I’d managed to lose my purse and found myself stranded out here.

He seemed particularly interested in finding out which group of bikers had helped me, but I didn’t see any reason to lie about that. It seemed to me it was safer to stick to the truth as closely as I could. Otherwise, I would forget what I said and be caught out in a lie.

As the sheriff listened to my story, he kept his face blank until I mentioned the Blackthorne crew.

His eyes narrowed, and I felt a frisson of fear run through me.

I didn’t like the look he gave me or the slow smile that spread across his face.

“They were very nice to me and dropped me off here. I’m not sure what I would have done without them,” I said and shrugged.

The sheriff picked up a pen and tapped it against a pile of paper on his desk. “And this was the Blackthorne MC? You’re sure?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Sheriff Morrison gave me a long, cold smile. “I see. I’ll just make a few phone calls. If you could wait in reception, Tia will make you a coffee.”

I got shakily to my feet as the sheriff picked up his phone.

I tried to reassure myself that everything was going to be fine and that by tomorrow I would be back in New York, but the sheriff gave me the creeps.

Almost an hour passed, and in that time, Tia had fixed me two cups of coffee, but there was no sign that the sheriff had done anything about getting me out of there.

I got up from my chair and stood by the reception desk. Tia looked up from her paperwork.

“I’m sorry to be a pain. I just wondered if there was any news on when I would be getting out of here?”

Tia smiled at me. “The sheriff’s arranging someone to come and pick you up and take you to the bus station in Dorset City. I’ve arranged some petty cash for you. I just need you to sign the paperwork after I finish filling it in.”

I felt a rush of relief. “Oh, that’s great. Thank you.”

As I returned to my seat, the sheriff came out of his office, looking shifty.

“Go and get me some doughnuts from the coffee shop, Tia,” the sheriff demanded.

I wondered if he ever used the word please.

Tia looked up from her form filling and frowned. “I’m just filling in the paperwork—” she complained.

But the sheriff shut her down with a stern look. “Just go,” he said sharply, and then added in a softer tone, “I have a craving for those chocolate coated donuts, and you know how grouchy I get with low blood sugar.”

Grumbling under her breath, Tia reached for her purse and then headed out, leaving me alone with the sheriff.

I watched her go with a feeling of panic building in my chest. I couldn’t explain it. For some reason, I couldn’t help feeling the sheriff wanted to get her out of the way.

The sheriff went back to his office, leaving me alone in the reception. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe he did just have a craving for donuts.

Only a minute later, a huge guy, with long, dark hair and a yellow bandanna, walked into the reception area.

The sheriff waddled out from his office, and I began to feel very nervous.

The big guy in the bandanna nodded at me. “Is this the girl?”

The sheriff smiled, his rubbery mouth stretching over his yellowing teeth. “Yes, that’s her.”

The huge guy in the bandanna suddenly grabbed my arm.

“What’s going on? Get off!” I said, attempting to pull away from him. “Are you the person who is taking me to the bus station?”

The huge guy chuckled as he pulled me outside. “Something like that.”

I turned behind me, desperate to see the sheriff, but he’d shut the door on us.

I was in serious trouble. I had no idea what was going to happen next. If I didn’t react quickly, I would be screwed.

I let out a scream, and he clamped a hand over my mouth.

I struggled desperately against him. But he was too strong, and my attempts to get free were hopeless.

He leaned down, putting his lips close to my ear. “I like it when a woman struggles. If you carry on like that, you’re gonna get me excited, honey.”

I shuddered in horror and then made my body go limp like a rag doll.

This was ridiculous. How could it happen again? I was like some pathetic heroine in a B-grade movie, getting kidnapped by bikers.

I’d had enough of being a victim.

I stamped down hard on his foot, making him curse, and in his shock, he released me.

I ran faster than I ever had in my life before. My feet slapped against the sidewalk. My heart thundered in my chest.

I had to get away.

The diner. If I could just get to the diner, someone there would help me. Tia would be there.

I’d just managed to get to the turning to Main Street when I felt him grab me again. He covered my mouth with one hand, put his other arm around my waist and carried me back to his bike as I twisted and turned and bucked my body against him desperately.

“You’re a feisty one,” he growled. “I’m looking forward to taking you back with me so we can have some fun.”