Page 8 of July 27

"You'll do fine. You rode behind me before," said Ruger.

She wasn't sure, but she believed the first time she rode behind him, he'd tied her to his back. She swallowed the fear, which stopped her from getting on behind him.

"C-can you tie me—"

"No." He put a helmet on her head and then held out his hand. "Get on behind me and hold on."

Her vision blurred, but the tears never flowed. She no longer cried. No matter how often it felt like she would drown from the unshed tears, she refused to let them fall.

She climbed on behind him and hurriedly wrapped her arms around him. He was too big. She couldn't latch her hands.

He grabbed her wrists and moved her hands to the side of his vest, where the leather strips were braided into the material.

"Hold on here." He let go of her hands and leaned to the side, placing her foot on a peg. Then he repeated it with her other foot. "Don't let go."

Ruger put on a helmet and started the motorcycle. He wasn't messing around. He wanted her gone.

She closed her eyes the moment the motorcycle started moving and slipped into the void she'd made when the men were beating her, where nothing could hurt her. Not even Ruger.

With the wind in her face and the vibrations coming from the motorcycle, she couldn't ignore what was happening. She opened her eyes and stared at the road, watching the yellow stripes down the middle of the road blur past her.

She had no idea how much time had passed when Ruger stopped the motorcycle and shut off the engine. Her ass was numb and continued vibrating.

In the distance, boats bobbed in the water next to a pier. People walked up and down the boardwalk, unaware of the war inside Rachel. She knew better than to cause a scene.

A car pulled up in the parking lot, several spots away from them. Ruger patted her leg.

"Stay here." He got off the motorcycle and walked over to the vehicle.

A man stepped out. She blinked against the glare from the water, recognizing Corbin, her brother's friend.

Her stomach cramped. There was nothing wrong with Corbin. He was one of the guys who ran around with her brother. He wouldn't harm her. But danger followed everyone she knew.

Ruger returned to her. "He told me you were friends. You're going to go with him."

She pushed his hands away. "I want to stay with you."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm no better than the men who hurt you." He picked her up as if she weighed nothing and set her on her feet. "He'll take you home."

"No." She snapped her gaze to Corbin. "I'm not going home."

Corbin opened the back door of the car. "It'll be okay, Rachel. You're not going to your house. Shady worked a deal and got an apartment in Offshore, away from the house for you."

Her thoughts sped up. How far away from the house? What if she knew nobody there? How was she supposed to pay rent without a job?

"Go on now," urged Ruger.

She walked to the car, looking over her shoulder at Ruger, begging him silently to let her stay with him. They'd gone through so much together. Why couldn't he understand why she wanted to stay?

Corbin stepped out of the way. She slid into the backseat. The door shut before she could beg Ruger to change his mind and let her return to the clubhouse with him.

He remained standing by his bike, gazing through the window at her. The heaviness in her chest grew.

He was going to let her leave. She'd never see him again. She had no one.