Not if.WhenI pull it off.
As soon as Bump opens one of the massive steel front doors, I’m blinded by the sunlight, even though it’s waning. For a second, I feel as discombobulated as Cinderella running from Prince Charming before the clock finished chiming at midnight.
Except I’m not Cinderella, and Gabriel Legend is no Prince Charming. In a fairy tale, he’d be the villain.
A breeze catches the messy tendrils of my hair, sending a raft of shivers across my bare skin.
He’s a villain, Scarlett. You only agreed because you had no other safe choice.But even then, I know I’m lying to myself.
I agreed because I want to see Gabriel Legend again, and I’m not ready to deal with the implications of that particular realization.
I stride to the curb, forgetting about Bump, and fling my hand into the air to summon a taxi. I have to get the hell out of here. Right now, before I make any other bad decisions.
Bump snags my wrist and yanks it down. “Gabe said I put you in a cab. I’ll get it.”
He releases me to put two fingers in his mouth and unleashes a shrill whistle. A yellow car signals to change lanes and approaches.
Hurry. Hurry.I chant in my head as urgency takes over.I have to get out of here.I scrub my hands up and down my arms, chafing the skin to bring some warmth back into it.
I’m only wearing my tank and leggings from the staged jog past one of my clients’ new boutiques. Jordy was supposed to get photos of me to post on social media to help get more people into the boutique.
Oh my God.I freeze as the thought hits me.They’re going to wonder what happened to me. Shit-buckets. What am I going to tell them? What if Jordy didn’t get the shot? I can’t go back like this.
The cab stops at the curb, and I dart toward it, reaching for the door handle.
“Wait a minute,” Bump says, grabbing my wrist again.
I whip around to look at him. His thin face has light brown whiskers and is that of a full-grown man, but there’s something very childlike about his tone and actions. I’m not sure what Bump’s story is, especially with the strip of hair missing on the side of his head, but I have a feeling it’s a colorful one.
“What?”
All lightness and humor drains away, leaving behind the man that kidnapped me. The chills are back, and they don’t have a damn thing to do with the breeze whipping through the city.
“You don’t talk about this. Not to anyone. You understand?”
“Bump—” I say his name as I tug at my wrist, but there’s nothing childlike about his grip. It carries the power of a full-grown man.
“No. You listen. Gabe is mybrother.You hurt him or hurt the club, and I hurt you. You get me, lady?”
Whatever naivete his tone carried before, it’s gone. His threat is delivered with the ice of a hardened killer. At least, until his lips tilt into a lopsided smile.
“Plus, I think I could like you, and I don’t really wanna hurt a girl. So don’t make me. ’Kay?”
I swallow the saliva pooling in my mouth as the hair on my arms stands on end. There’s something even more menacing about him when he says it with a smile.
I opt for firm and confident with my response. “We’re clear, Bump. Make sure the VIP sections are ready for me. Tell your brother I’ll be in Saturday night.”
He grins huge and nods three times. “See you later, Scarlett. Be safe.”
I open the back door of the cab and slide inside. Only then do I release the breath I was holding. I give my address to the driver and drop my head against the seat.
Jesus Christ. What in the actual fuck have I gotten myself into this time?
I stare down at the phone in my hand.
Two new texts. One missed call. Dozens of social media notifications. And yet ... not a single message from Jordy, the photographer who should have noticed thatI got freaking kidnapped,or anyone wondering what happened to me.
When everyone is staring at a screen, I guess it’s true that no one notices what’s happening in the real world.