Snatched (8 page)

He'd been smiling somewhat up until that moment. "I don't rape women…or men for that matter. What happened at the house was the only way I could keep you alive. Otherwise Rez would have trounced you himself before slitting your throat."

She realized the truth of his words. She
had immediately
sized up the other biker as someone who would kill before he a
sked any questions. Most of the bikers
had seemed
equally murderous
.

"
I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Actually you don't seem the type…not like the others
, anyway
.
Why
are you so different than the rest of them?

He shrugged, rose and walked to a little kitchenette
area
made up solely of a sink,
a small
microwave
sitting
on a
chair
and a
mini
refrigerator.
He grabbed a glass from the one cabinet, ran the water in the glass then drank it in three swallows.

He turned to her. "Sorry for my bad manners. Want a glass?"

She shook her head.

"I don't want anything."

"Well, I'm going to have to feed you sooner or later. I'll probably go out for burgers later. You like
In-N
-Out
?"

She didn't answer.

"You should try their
"
Double Double
"
burger
. More meat than you can
possibly fit into that pretty mouth of yours
."

"What's that supposed to mean?"
She sat up
straight
,
suddenly
suspicious. "If you're insinuating something…"

He held up a hand.

"Hold on
, hold on
. I'm
not
suggesting anything
.
Trust me, i
f I was expecting anything
from you
, I
wouldn't simply
imply it
. I would
t
ell you
outright
."

"
So i
f I'm staying here tonight, where
am I going to
sleep?"

He nodded to
ward the bed.

"
And
where
are
you
going to sleep?"

"Where I always sleep. M
y bed."

Her stomach
did a somersault
.

"I thought you said you
did
n't expect
me to sleep with you."

"Oh, I expect you to sleep with me
, alright
.
I j
ust
don't expect you to
fuck me
.
Look, don't get your panties all twisted up.
I can't take the chance of you taking off, so w
e're going to have to be handcuffed together
.
Nothing more than that, I promise.
"

"And
why would
I trust
anything you say
?"

For the first time in the hours she'd been
kidnapped
, she saw real anger on his face.

"Fuck
! If I'd wanted to fuck you I would've done it back at the house
! You're not here because I want you! You're here because I have no choice! It's my life…and yours! I'm not willing to die and mess up
month
s
of
investigation…"

He cut off suddenly.

"Investigation?" she asked confused.

"Forget it! Just forget it!"

He paced the kitchen
area for a few seconds. Then
grabbed
the jacket off the floor, held it out to her.

"Put this on. We're going out."

She took the jacket, held it like it had cooties hidden in its seams.

"Where
're we going
?"
she asked.

"Does it matter?"

She bit back a snap.
Not wise given the circumstances.

After a second, he said, "We're going to get something to eat. I'm hungry and you'll be hungry soon enough
even if you're not now
. Don't need
you starving
to death
."

"I don't want any burger."

"Too bad.
'Cause t
hat's what you're getting."

She
started to protest than
thought better
of, instead
gingerly put
ting
on
his
jacket. It
was a few sizes too big and smelled of male musk. S
urprisingly
the smell wasn't offensive to her.

He
opened the door, indicated
with a wave of his arm that
she should go
out
first.
After he locked the door behind him, he straddled the bike. Unprompted, s
he took up position behind him.
So strange how this
was
becoming a regular
thing
, almost normal somehow
.
Her
life had changed
so drastically
in
only
a matter of hours.

He hit the throttle, took
off with a roar
.
Instinctively, s
he clung hard to
his waist
. At times during the ride, she had to rest her face against his back to shelter her skin against the flailing wind. Years ago, she'd entertained the thought of getting a mo
ped. A
fter today, a
ny lingering desire she'd had about becoming a speed queen
was
duly dashed. She'd be lucky if she ever
want to get
on a Schwinn two-speed again.

In a few minutes they were speeding down Sunset Boulevard. The rush hour traffic was already in full flux
and the cars
sat
at a standstill
. He deftly
maneuvered
between the standing vehicles
, hardly slowing down, and always somehow making the lights. Soon they were at the telltale red-roofed white restaurant. He maneuvered
into the drive-thru line, drove up to the speakers and ordered two Double Doubles, fries and strawberry shakes. She hated strawberries.

He grabbed the order
at the window
, paid
the blond woman wearing a cutesy hat. The woman spared
Nailah
a glance
which
instantly
turned
in
to a
questioning stare
.
To the woman, she and the biker probably made a strange pair.
Nailah
thought
for a second that now was the time to give a signal
, maybe
even
cry
out.
Maybe the woman had seen a news item about her kidnapping. Just as she'd decided to mouth a plea, it was already too late as he pulled off. And she mentally kicked herself for missing a vital opportunity.

Yes, he'd promised to keep her safe. But what good was the word of a gang member? Oh, he wasn't a Crip or a Blood, but in the end,
he and his gang were no better
. Straight up criminals.
  And her proven philosophy in life, criminals were never to be trusted.

They got back to the room and he led her in, his hands
laden with bags. Inside, the smell of the food hit her, made her stomach rumble. She didn't want to admit to herself that she was hungry because it would give
him a point.
She resumed her seat on the chair.
When he handed her the wrapped double burger with cheese, her mouth began salivating. She warily bit into the sandwich, hiding the pleasure of the
taste of it. Had to
keep
from
wolfing
it
down
in several bites.

She still wore the jacket
but didn't make a move to take it off if only because she didn't want to sit around in a torn tee. By now she
had become accustomed to
its smell,
his smell.
She was becoming accustomed to him. Still, she d
idn't relish the idea of lying next to him tonight or the next night.

She'd missed
one
opportunity. She wouldn't make that mistake again.
If she was going to get away, s
he
would
have to make a move soon, at least before he handcuffed her and she was bound to him for the night.

He sat on the bed, chomping down his own burger, all of the bags set beside him.
Without a word, he picked up a bag of fries, handed them to her.
She took them, finished off her burger
before tasting
the
first
fries.
Hot
and salty the way she liked
. Another point for him.
Why did they have to taste so damn good?

Finally he handed her the shake. She
hesitated then took the proffered cup. Although she
hated strawberries
she needed something
cold
to offset the heat of the room and
the warmth of the hot food in her stomach.
Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be. Actually, it was kind of tasty. Damn.
Strike three.

The thing about straws is that some ha
ve
more pull than others. And this shake was particularly thick.
She'd had to work her mouth to get the first taste
up
. Sometime during the third or fourth draw she realized he
had stopped eating
altogether
and
was sitting
totally
still.
S
taring
at her. Or more specifically, at her lips
working
the straw.
The look was
fixed and disquieting. She stopped
, the cold long cup still in her hand
.

"What's your name, anyway?" he asked out of the blue, his stare locking her eyes. After all this time, he only now thought to ask.

"Nailah."

"Pretty name. How you spell that?"

"Why is that important
?
After all, y
ou w
o
n
'
t know me in a couple of days.
And h
opefully w
e won't ever cross paths again.
Please God."

He was quiet
again
, his stare
still
unwavering.

"I guess your mother never taught you that it's impolite
to stare
at people
like that."

"My mother didn't teach me a lot of things. She couldn't. She died before I was three."

She hadn't expected
him
to
be
so candid.
T
hat little tidbit
was something she
'd
rather not
know. She'd
didn't want to
know anything about him for that matter. It
made him too human
, made him seem something other than a biker
creep
capable of kidnapping and probably much
, much worse. No,
she didn't want to share
sad tales
.
There'd be
n
o Stockholm Syndrome for her.

At least he wasn't
looking at her
now, but was gathering up the empty bags and cartons around him
.
Good
. She'd been surprised at her stomach's reaction to those dark eyes skewering her. Something like
the
fluttering she used to get
back in school during the
first
giddy
days of
one of her
crush
es
.

It didn't help that he had that unkempt dark looks going for him. He'd probably bedded every woman in that house. Especially those two blondes who'd looked as though they would murder her on the spot.