Steel: Blackthorne MC #1 (3 page)

I headed to the bar and ordered two margaritas. Just one more drink, I promised myself. I’d give Nick an hour, and if he wasn’t back by then, I’d go back to my own hotel.

I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up.
 

My head was banging, and my mouth felt like sandpaper. I sat up slowly, clutching my head and realized I had been sleeping on the floor. I stared down at the horrible swirly pattern on the carpet. This didn’t make any sense.
 

Bits and pieces of last night started to come back to me. I remembered the tequila shots and laughing and joking with my best friend, Claire. I felt dizzy as I remembered the hot biker… Had that really happened or had it been a crazy, vivid dream?

The curtains were drawn so the room was only dimly lit, but I could tell I was in a hotel room. Of course, that made sense now. I remembered we’d come to Vegas to celebrate the end of the school year and toasted the end to my first year of medical school, glad to see the tiring year of college behind us.
 

I blinked down at the carpet and began to feel uneasy. I didn’t recognize
this
hotel room. It wasn’t the one I’d checked into yesterday with my friend Claire. I was sure it wasn’t the room I’d gone to with Nick either.

A snorting sound behind me made me jump. I looked around quickly and realized with horror that I wasn’t alone.

A huge man dressed in black leather was sitting propped up on a chair blocking the doorway. His head rolled to the side as he snored softly, and I saw a tattoo of a spider on his neck.

My stomach flipped, and I was sure I was going to be sick.

I hastily looked down and was relieved to see I still had the same clothes on I was wearing last night. The man seemed vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place him. He was massive and had a dark ragged beard. He looked majorly scary, not the type of person I’d choose to share a hotel room with under normal circumstances.

But this situation was anything but normal. My mother would freak if she could see me now.

My eyes scanned the rest of the room. It was just me and the bearded man. So where the hell was my friend, Claire?

I needed to get out of there fast. I slowly got to my feet as my head screamed in protest. I desperately wanted a glass of water. I was seriously dehydrated.

But as I stood there, looking at the huge man blocking my exit, I had no idea what to do next. Thankfully he was still asleep, but how was I going to get out without waking him?

My mother would have a field day with this if she found out. But that was unlikely since we hadn’t spoken for six months. How could I be so stupid? How could I let myself get this drunk and put myself in this situation? My eyes drifted over to the cabinet beside the bed which had an old-fashioned phone on top.

My best chance was to phone through to the reception desk and ask for assistance, in case this guy turned nasty, but I didn’t want to risk waking this man before I could make the call, in case he didn’t want to let me go. There was something about the position he had taken up, barring my exit, that filled me with fear and some dim and distant memory from last night told me I was right to be afraid.

Holding my breath, I crept over to the phone, but as I reached out my hand to pick up the receiver, a voice behind me made me jump.

“Not so fast, sweetheart.”

I turned around to see the bearded man grinning at me. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and then stood up, and I was shocked to see he was even taller than I first thought. The man was a giant. I took one step back.

“I need to get out of here,” I said in a shaky voice.

I knew I had to move quickly. There was something threatening in the way he looked at me.

I gazed around, looking desperately for my purse but I couldn’t see it. I decided to forget about the purse and make a run for it. I could worry about my personal belongings later when I was safe. I darted forward, slipping around him to get to the door, but his meaty hand enclosed my arm in a vice-like grip, pulling me back.

“What’s the rush?” he asked, putting his face close to mine and raising his eyebrows.

I clamped a hand to my forehead. My legs felt wobbly, as if I was going to pass out. The thought occurred to me that perhaps somebody had put something in my drink last night? But I had drunk a lot, so it could have just been the effects of the alcohol. I wished I had gone back to my hotel after Nick had left. Why had I waited? I couldn’t even remember if he’d come back.

I tried to pull my arm away, but he held it too tightly.

I decided it was in my best interests to act as if I wasn’t afraid.

“Where’s my friend?” I demanded. “I want to see Claire.”

A smiled twitched on his face as if he was amused that I was the one making demands. “Claire has gone home,” he said.

That didn’t make any sense.
Claire wouldn’t have left me
.

“You’d better let me go or I’ll scream,” I said, glaring at his fat fingers curled around my arm.

“That wouldn’t be smart,” he said. “But if you really want to go outside, go-ahead.”

He stepped out of the way, and for a moment, I was so surprised that I just looked at him. After another second passed, I came to my senses and quickly rushed forward, flinging open the door and stumbling out before he could stop me.

The harsh sunlight hurt my eyes, but I kept on moving forward. I’d taken ten steps away from the motel room, when I suddenly stopped and looked around. Something was wrong. The motel was the same standard construction as hundreds of motels found all over Nevada. It was a low building, with a paint job that had seen better days. It looked untidy and desperately in need of updating, but that wasn’t what freaked me out. What had stopped me running was the fact there were no other buildings near by, no cars in the parking lot and no sign of any other people anywhere…

The only vehicle in the parking lot was a gleaming chrome and black motorcycle. I guessed that belonged to the bearded guy.

The sun was directly overhead, and it was so damn hot. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I tried to swallow. I turned in a circle, desperate to see some way out of this mess, but there was nobody to help me.
 

There had to be a reception around here somewhere.

I decided my best chance was to walk around the outside of the building and try and find any other signs of life.

The bearded man followed me, chuckling to himself as he ran his hand through his messy hair.

I walked quickly, looking in the windows and trying to open every door I came across. I had no luck. It seemed like we were the only two people here.

I stared out at the vast expanse of desert stretched out around us. I’d come to Las Vegas, the city of high-rise hotels and bright lights, but there was no sign of any of that now. We had to be somewhere in Nevada, but I had no idea where.

I felt tears prick my eyes as I realized the futility of my situation. I wrapped my arms around my midsection and turned back to face the bearded man.

It must have been my imagination, but I thought I saw a glimmer of pity in his eyes, then he said gruffly, “If you’ve finished your little tour, let’s get back to the room and get some water.”

“I don’t understand. Where am I? And who are you? Why is there no one else around?”

He looked over his shoulder at me as he started to walk back in the direction of the room we’d been sleeping in. “You don’t remember?”

Again he chuckled. “You know a pretty little lady like you should watch her alcohol intake.”

I gritted my teeth.
Asshole.
“Just answer my question.”

But to my irritation he didn’t respond. He just carried on walking away from me, so I had no choice but to follow him.

The sun was so hot and my head was pounding.

When we reach the front of the building, the bearded man ducked inside and a few seconds later came out holding two bottles of water. He handed one to me.

It did cross my mind briefly that it might be drugged, but I was so thirsty I decided to drink it anyway.

The water felt cool and delicious as it ran down my dry throat, and I guzzled it greedily.

The man was watching me with an amused expression. “You want another?”

I nodded and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

He had just handed me another bottle when I heard a distant rumble. Despite the heat of the sun, I shivered and looked behind me. A long way in the distance there was a cloud of dust. My stomach tightened with fear.

The sun was dazzling, and I held up a hand to shade my eyes. For some dumb reason, I took a step closer to the bearded man by my side, as if he was my protector, which was crazy.

“Right on time,” he said.

I looked up at him. “Who is right on time?”

By now the cloud of dust had grown closer, and I could see that a group of bikers were approaching us at speed.
 

My stomach flip-flopped. I was sure things were about to get a whole lot worse.

***

They brought their bikes to a stand still only a few yards away, and I could feel my whole body trembling. I knew I was in danger, but I didn’t know what to do about it.
 

There were three bikers. One was the spitting image of the giant, bearded man by my side. I did a double take and looked at both of them in turn. They had to be brothers.
 

The second man had a shaved head and thick dark eyebrows, which looked like beetles perched over his eyes. He gave me the creeps as he looked me up and down.

When I turned to look at the third man, I gasped. It was Nick. My hot tattooed biker from last night.
 

He looked at me differently than the other two. Their gazes had been hungry and speculative. But when he looked me there was a different expression on his face — disappointment.

That confused me. Why would he be disappointed?

I took a step towards him. “Nick?”

But the huge man next to me put a hand on my shoulder, keeping me in place.

Nick didn’t say anything. I couldn’t understand it. Why was he acting like he’d never seen me before?

The man with the shaved head and the beetle-like eyebrows walked forwards and stopped in front of me. He leaned down and put his face only inches from mine. He was so close I could see the pores on his skin. I flinched. I couldn’t help it.

“So this is the girl, Chad?”

“Yeah, this is the one,” the bearded man said, squeezing my shoulder, as if he was warning me to behave.

The man with the shaved head nodded slowly.

“I don’t know who you are,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “But you need to let me go. I’ll be missed.”

He looked at me for a long time. The expression on his face didn’t change and then suddenly he burst out laughing. All the others, apart from Nick, joined in.

Then the shaved headed man said, “And where exactly would you go?” He turned around and gestured behind him to the barren desert.

“I’d hoped you’d be gentlemen and take me back to the nearest town,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Either that, or let me use your cell phone. I seem to have lost my purse.” I gave a pointed look to the bearded man standing next to me, who I strongly suspected of stealing it.

“Cell phone?” He dug into his leather jacket and pulled out a tiny cell phone. He glanced at the screen and then thrust it in my face. “Look at that, no signal. How about you guys?” he asked the others. They all checked their phones in turn and then shook their heads, almost like a comic routine.

“So, Nick,” he said. “Are you going to be a gentleman?” The man with the shaved head smiled and his gold tooth flashed in the sun.

Nick walked forward and looked down at me with his piercing blue eyes.

There couldn’t have been more of a contrast between him and the other bikers. He could have been a model on the cover of GQ magazine. His features were even and his tanned skin was smooth. His lips looked soft and kissable…

My gaze travelled down his neck, lingering on his broad shoulders. Last night we’d been so intimate, yet today he was acting as if he’d never seen me before. I swallowed and looked back up at his face. He was looking at me intently.

Then he turned back to the man with the shaved head. “She’s no threat to us, Damien. We should just drop her at the next gas station.”

But Damien scowled and looked scathingly at Nick. “Oh, we should, should we?” He looked around at the two bearded brothers and then pointed at Nick. “Nick thinks he’s the one giving orders now. He’s telling us what we should do.”

I understood in that moment that Damien was dangerous. He had a chip on his shoulder about something, and there were definitely power struggles going on in this group. A situation I really didn’t need to get into the middle of.

Nick jerked around to face Damien, but then he winced. I wondered if he was regretting telling Damien I wasn’t a threat or whether he was actually hurt, but a moment later, his expression cleared. “We don’t need any hangers on. She’ll just slow us down,” Nick insisted.