Chapter 8

Cody kept observing the kennels like a wolf on the hunt. He had his eyes set on Snow White, sensing easy pussy. He’d never had much of an understanding of the meaning of consent.

I stopped by his side on the porch. “Don’t you have better things to do than to salivate over the Vitiello girl?”

He scoffed. “I don’t spend half my morning gossiping with the cunt.”

“I’m trying to gather information from our captive while she’s in our hands,” I lied. It had been the original plan but whenever I was near her, any carefully laid out plans evaporated.

“What kind of info? How much cock she can take into that filthy mouth of hers?”

“Just stay away from her. We both know your dick has a life of its own.”

I strode into the house and was immediately hit with the smell of a wild party. After hours outside in the fresh air, the stench almost made me pass out. Gray had thrown up in an ice bucket and someone else had pissed into a beer bottle. That mixed with the odor of a dozen sweaty bodies was a potent mixture.

I found Earl already up and in his chair at our meeting table, smoking a cigar. He could hold his liquor pretty well after decades of training. A half-naked girl lay on top of the table, fast asleep.

“You left the party early,” he said, not bothering to take the smoke out of his mouth.

“I’ve had enough parties to last me a lifetime, and I still don’t think we have reason to celebrate just yet.”

“When I was your age, I didn’t say no to a party or pussy.”

“So nothing changed,” I said with a grin.

He chuckled then coughed and finally took out the cigar. “What did the bitch say? Did she cry and beg you to release her?”

I shook my head. “She’s too proud. Got more of her father in her than I thought.”

Earl’s expression darkened. “We’ll see how long she keeps that Vitiello arrogance.”

Something in Earl’s tone made me uneasy. If he disliked someone, truly disliked someone, that person better made sure to stay away from him.

“When are you going to ask Vitiello to exchange himself for his daughter? I want to get this over with and finally get my hands on Vitiello himself.”

Earl didn’t react, only squinted down at the cigar in his hands.

“That’s still the plan, right?” After my initial reluctance regarding the kidnapping, Earl had insisted we’d keep Marcella as briefly as possible. Now he seemed to be having his thinking hat on again, and that was never a good thing.

“It is, but it would be too easy, and that’s the last thing I want to give Vitiello, an easy way out of this. He needs to suffer emotionally before we really tear him apart.”

I was the last person who wanted to spare Luca Vitiello pain in any form. He needed to suffer as much as possible for ruining my childhood.

“We’ve gone through plenty of shit but we need to stay on track or risk getting our asses kicked again. I’m sure the asshole already suffered plenty after he found out we got our hands on his daughter.”

“One night. That’s what you call plenty of suffering? You pissed your goddamn pants every night for the first three months you lived with me. That’s suffering, Mad. Let Vitiello piss his pants from fear for his precious daughter’s life. Once he’s come crawling, we can still exchange her for him and torture him to death.”

Earl’s voice made it clear that the discussion was over for him, and he being as stubborn as a mule, I knew it was futile to keep talking.

A man’s scream rang out, followed by cursing and Marcella’s cry of pain.

“What now?” Earl muttered, annoyed, pushing out of his chair, but I was already on my way out of the room.

I stormed out of the house, my eyes darting to the kennels where the noise was coming from. The dogs were barking up a storm, jumping against the cages, but my eyes were drawn to Marcella’s cage. Cody was inside, grabbing Marcella by the arm and shaking her.

He slapped Marcella across the face so hard she fell to the ground with a yelp. I charged down the pathway and into the cage and grabbed his arm, stopping him from hitting her again.

“What the fuck is going on here?” I growled.

Marcella sat on the ground, touching her cheek, which was bright red. From the way she pressed her lips together, I could tell she was fighting tears.

“Answer me,” I hissed, giving Cody a shake.

He shook off my grip and clutched the side of his head where he was bleeding profusely from a cut in his hairline. He made a move as if to attack her again but I shoved him against the bars.

“What happened here?”

Why the fuck wasn’t anyone answering me?

“The whore attacked me with her fucking shoe,” Cody seethed.

I followed his pointer finger toward the high heel on the dirty floor, and almost started laughing.

“That’s a Louboutin, not some shoe,” Marcella said haughtily, still holding her cheek, but no longer appearing close to tears.

I had no clue what that meant. I owned exactly two pairs of shoes.

I sent her a death glare. “You better shut up.”

Cody was a vindictive asshole. Provoking him would not only make her life a whole lot more difficult but also mine if I wanted to make sure she got out of this unscathed. Earl stood on the porch, watching over the events. I wasn’t sure what his angle was, so he probably wouldn’t keep Marcella safe. It was ironic that it fell upon me to protect my worst enemy’s offspring.

“What were you doing in her cage?”

“I was supposed to feed her. The cunt doesn’t deserve food, if you ask me.”

“Nobody asks you, Cody. Next time you better pay attention before she pokes your eye out,” I told him. “Or better yet, let me or Gray handle the meals.”

I preferred Cody far away from her. Eventually he wouldn’t be able to keep his ugly dick in his pants. I really didn’t want to add that kind of shit to my list of sins.

“Whatever,” Cody muttered, rubbing his head as he left the cage. The last look he sent Marcella told me I’d have more sleepless nights. He stalked away, muttering insults.

Earl shook his head at Cody. His disapproval would only increase Cody’s desire to pay Marcella back for humiliating him.

I turned to Marcella. Her blouse had lost another button and was covered in grime just like her feet but the look in her eyes was as proud as the first time I’d seen her. I held out my hand to her and to my surprise she took it without hesitation. I pulled her to her feet. She stumbled against me and I wasn’t entirely sure if it was an accident. Instead of pushing her away at once, I enjoyed the feel of her breasts pressed against my chest for a moment as I looked down at her face. Grabbing her shoulders, I moved her back. “Does it hurt?” I asked, motioning at her red cheek.

She shrugged. “Your biker buddy has it worse. I think I knocked his last brain cells out of his head.”

“Maybe you should get down from your high horse before someone knocks you down. Everyone around here is eager to break the spoiled princess. Keep that in mind before you act out again.”

“My father will save me soon. I bet he’s already on his way with an army of loyal followers at his heels. And you’ll find I’m difficult to break,” she said simply.

Her absolute certainty that her father would save her rubbed me the wrong way. Her absolute trust in her father enraged me. I wanted her to doubt him, to hate him. I wanted her to show a crack in her cold New York princess façade. This side of her was too much like her father.

I smirked. “Maybe because nobody’s tried to break you yet, Snow White.” I stepped closer again until I towered over her and inhaled her scent. “You grew up in a castle behind protective walls built by your fucking father.”

Fuck, part of me wanted to break her, but the other, the other wanted to find out more about her, wanted to win her over to my side. Breaking women wasn’t my thing anyway. Cody and a few other guys, on the other hand might find it enjoyable.

Marcella only watched me but there was a flicker of unease in her eyes. She knew what I said was true. She’d had a very sheltered life. The only problems she’d encountered so far were if her shoes didn’t match her dress. I came from a very different world, one filled with blood and pain.

“Do you want to break me, Maddox?” Marcella asked, and the way she said my name, her tongue caressing every syllable, raised goose bumps on my skin. Fuck. Never before had a woman given me goose bumps.

Her blue eyes seemed to bury in my soul, digging and searching. “I’m pretty busy.” I backed away and picked up the shoe. “I’m afraid I’ll have to confiscate this until your release. Though, I’m sure you’ve got an impressive collection at home and won’t miss a pair.”

“When will I be released?”

I walked out of the cage and closed the door. “When your daddy is ready to hand himself over.” She didn’t need to know the truth. Maybe she’d finally learn to despise her father if she thought he hesitated to offer himself for her.

“Will you give me clothes to change or an opportunity to wash myself?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to piss me off on purpose. “I’ll send someone down with a bucket of water later. But I don’t think any of the girls want their clothes ruined in the kennels.”

“You’d probably prefer me to sit here naked,” she muttered.

“No,” I said, and I wasn’t even lying, because I had a feeling seeing Marcella naked would mess with my brain in a way that I really didn’t need.

I got off my bike. Since Marcella’s arrival three days ago, I always parked my bike farther down the hill so I had to walk past the kennels and could catch a glimpse at her. What I saw made me pause.

Her blouse was ripped. One of those fancy see-through sleeves hanging by a thread. This morning before my run that definitely hadn’t been the case yet. Fuck. Why did Earl have to insist I check our gun and drug storage?

I made a beeline toward her, my pulse already speeding up. “What happened?”

Marcella poked around in her bowl of scrambled eggs. I got why she didn’t eat them. They looked like they had already been eaten.

“Someone needs to take a cooking course,” she said, as if she didn’t know what I was referring to. She had a talent to drive me up the wall. I unlocked the door and a subtle tension entered Marcella’s body. I’d noticed it before and as usual it rubbed me the wrong way.

I motioned at her ripped sleeve. “What happened?”

She finally looked up from the bowl. Her cheek was still slightly swollen from when Cody had slapped her and the sight still upped my rage.

“Cody wasn’t happy with my refusal to acknowledge his presence so he made himself unmistakably known.”

I gritted my teeth against the onslaught of fury I felt toward the idiot. He always needed someone to pick on, preferably someone female. “What exactly did he do?”

Marcella narrowed her eyes in that assessing way that she had. “Why do you care?”

“You are our leverage against your father. I won’t allow anyone to mess up my plans by damaging the leverage.”

“Newsflash: the leverage has been damaged before.” She motioned at her cheek. “And I doubt ripping my sleeve will be the last thing Cody does. He seems to like it too much.” She tried to sound flippant and cool, as if nothing that could happen concerned her in the slightest, but there was the slightest tremble in her voice that betrayed her cool to be a charade.

“Cody won’t touch a fucking hair on your head again. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Your last warning didn’t have the intended effect. And your uncle doesn’t seem to care if he damages the goods.”

That was true. Earl’s concern over Marcella’s physical intactness was limited to her being alive long enough to torture Vitiello with her safety and blackmail him into handing himself over.

My phone rang. I picked it up. It was Leroy, one of the prospects detached to our old clubhouse to keep watch. His breathing was harsh. “Mad, they burned down everything.” His words tumbled over each other, ripe with fear.

“Slow down, who burned down what?” I had an inkling what might have happened though.

Marcella put down her plate and pushed to her feet. I realized it might not be the best idea to let her find out too much. Even if she didn’t have any implants that we could detect, I had a feeling she was clever enough to use any morsel of information against us.

Listening to Leroy’s rambles, I left the kennel and locked it again, to Marcella’s obvious displeasure. As I’d feared, Vitiello had burned down our previous clubhouse—which had also been in a secret location and not easy to detect. “You safe?” I asked the prospect.

“I don’t know. A few of them followed me but I must have shaken them off. I don’t see them anymore.”

“You know protocol. Don’t come here until you’re absolutely sure nobody’s following you. Until then, stay with one of the pass-arounds.” Going to an old lady would be too risky and until we could be sure our safe houses actually were safe, he needed to stay away from those as well.

“Will do,” he said. He still sounded haunted.

Ignoring Marcella’s curious expression, I hung up and jogged up to the clubhouse to give Earl the bad news. I found him in his office with a club girl, one of the pass-arounds, on his lap. In the past, the sight had always made me furious on Mom’s behalf but she always said she didn’t care as long as she was his old lady. Bikers couldn’t be faithful, especially the prez. I thought she was being too easy on Earl, but her gratefulness after he’d taken her into his house—and bed, after Dad’s brutal death reached further than my reasoning.

“Club business,” I said.

Earl unceremoniously pushed the girl off his lap and I didn’t look anywhere near his groin area. I’d seen his dick on too many occasions like this already.

“What’s so important?”

“Bad news about our old clubhouse.”

Earl leaned forward on his chair as if he was preparing to lunge.

“Vitiello found it and burned it down. He must have hoped to find his daughter there and probably wanted to send us a message with its destruction.”

Earl jumped to his feet. “Motherfucker! I’ll give him a fucking message if he wants one!”

He looked livid. His head didn’t just get red, it got purple and a vein in his forehead swelled grotesquely. That was never a good thing.

“He’s trying to intimidate us. If we ignore his message, this will only enrage him more.”

“Ignore it? The fuck I’ll do that. He needs to realize who’s pulling the strings, and it’s sure as fuck not him.”

“What’s your plan?” I asked carefully as he paced the room, cracking his tattooed knuckles.

Instead of an answer, he stalked out of his office like a man on a mission. “Gather at the kennels!” he barked at the guys lounging in the common room.

Most of the club brothers were on runs, but Cody, Gunnar, Gray, and a prospect were around. They all got up and sent me questioning looks as if I knew what kind of madness Earl had in his mind.

“Take your phone with you, Gray!” Earl ordered.

I followed Earl as he rushed outside.

“Why do you need a phone? You can use mine as well.”

“Calling Vitiello is a big risk, Prez. He can track us,” Cody butted in.

I almost rolled my eyes. As if Earl didn’t know that. Everyone who’s been doing illegal shit for more than a day knows how easily phone calls could be tracked.

“Do I look like an idiot?” Earl snarled. “It’s to record a video for the motherfucker, Vitiello.”

My pulse sped up, wondering what kind of video Earl had in mind.

Marcella’s expression turned worried when she spotted us heading her way. “Hey princess, time to show your daddy not to mess with us.”

Marcella’s eyes darted to me, then to Earl.

“Get naked,” Earl ordered.

My head swiveled around. “Why?” I asked, my voice alarmed.

“Someone’s eager to see pussy,” Cody snickered, mistaking my worry for excitement. He was such a fucking moron. Earl, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly how I felt about the situation.

“Can you upload the video on the internet without any link to this location?” Earl asked Gray.

Gray looked put on the spot. “I guess so.”

Earl slapped him over the head. “I guess so won’t do if you don’t want Vitiello to skin your balls.”

“I can do it,” Gray said quietly.

“You want to post a video of Marcella naked online?” It wasn’t as bad as what I’d feared when Earl had asked her to get naked, and it would definitely coax a strong reaction from Vitiello.

Earl nodded but he looked at Marcella. “Get naked!”

She shook her head, her head held high. “I certainly won’t undress in front of any of you.”

“Oh, you won’t? Then we’ll have to do it for you,” Earl said with a nasty grin.

Cody was already salivating at the prospect of getting his hands on Marcella. “I can do it,” he said, sounding like he’d never seen a pussy before.

“No, I want to do it,” I growled, sending Cody a scowl. Then I glanced at Earl and allowed my expression to become leering. “I want Vitiello to know that I’m the one who undressed his precious princess.”

Marcella sent me a disgusted look.

Earl gave me a benevolent smile. “Go ahead.” He nodded at Gray. “Get your phone ready.”

I unlocked the door and stepped inside the cage, straightening my cut so it would look good in the recording.

“The rest of us will howl and hit the bars in the background,” Earl instructed, as if Cody needed an incentive to do so.

Gray positioned himself in a corner of the kennel so he could film Marcella but also the others as they swarmed around the kennel.

The dogs began to bark and jump against the bars, fired up by the heated atmosphere.

Marcella took a step back when I approached her but then she caught herself, straightened her shoulders and lifted her head to send me the most condescending look I’d ever seen, as if I was a cockroach not worthy to be squashed under her expensive shoe. Anger rushed through my veins. In moments like this, she reminded me too much of her father. Why was I even trying to protect her?

I stopped right in front of her, torn between fury and concern. This was quickly getting out of hand.

“Get her out of those clothes,” Earl shouted.

“I’ll count to five then I’ll start to record,” Gray said.

I reached for Marcella’s blouse and noticed the slight tremor in her body. My anger quickly evaporated but I couldn’t reason with Earl and I sure as fuck wouldn’t allow Cody to put his hands on her. I began to unbutton the remaining buttons of her blouse. My fingers brushed across Marcella’s skin and goose bumps erupted all over her body, but all I could think about was that I’d never touched skin softer than hers.

She jerked back when I reached her midriff. “I’ll do it myself.”

“Hurry the fuck up, will you?” I snarled, knowing this would reach Vitiello.

I took a step back and watched as Marcella unbuttoned the last button then pushed her blouse over her shoulders. After that, she shimmied out of her black pants. The fabric floated to the dirty ground, leaving her in black lace panties and a black strapless bra. I didn’t even try not to check her out. It would have been physically impossible. The draw was simply too strong.

“The rest too,” Earl growled.

Marcella’s fingers trembled when she unhooked her bra and she swallowed visibly when it dropped to the ground. Her pink nipples puckered. I dragged my eyes away from her round breasts and met her gaze, trying not to act like a fucking pervert but it cost me every ounce of self-control I never knew I had.

In the background, Earl and the others began to howl and hit the bars. The dog’s barking soon became shrill and excited. Marcella hooked her fingers in the waistband of her panties, her hateful eyes hitting me before she shoved the flimsy fabric down. For a heartbeat, my gaze darted down, like a reflex I couldn’t control, but there wasn’t enough time to soak up the full enormity of her beauty. I only caught a glimpse of a triangle of black and slim thighs before I caught myself. I fought the urge to step in front of her to shield her from the hungry eyes of the others. I didn’t want to share the sight with anyone, even though I didn’t have any right to see it myself. Fuck. I never cared if any of the girls I slept with were passed around my club brothers, so why did I care about Marcella?

“Turn around,” Earl ordered. Marcella’s wrath now hit him. She was trembling and fear swam in the depth of her blue eyes but you couldn’t tell from her cold expression.

With a grace few people would have managed in a dirty kennel, surrounded by leering men and raging dogs, Marcella turned around slowly. I realized I’d stopped breathing when the last item of her clothing had hit the ground and quickly sucked in a deep breath. I needed to get a fucking grip. I focused on Cody, trying to gauge his reaction. He was practically salivating, eager to mount her. Luckily, Earl’s expression was mostly calculating, even if he too watched her with a sort of slack-jawed hunger—which any man would upon seeing Marcella’s body.

Eventually, Earl motioned Gray to turn off the recording. Marcella stood still, her arms hanging loosely by her side. Looking the way she did, she had no reason to be shy about her body, but that wasn’t why she seemed completely unfazed by her nakedness. She was too proud to show any weakness. I wondered what was really going on in her mind.

“Let’s hope for you that your daddy gets the message,” Earl said before he turned and headed back to the clubhouse, probably to dip his dick in club girl pussy.

Gray, the prospect, and Gunnar soon followed him. Only Cody remained, still checking out Marcella.

“Why don’t you fuck off?” I muttered.

“Why? So you can dip your cock in that virgin pussy? I didn’t hear you call dibs.”

I glanced at Marcella. Virgin? She had been dating that Italian douchebag for over two years. I knew the Italian mob was traditional but even they must have stepped into the twenty-first century by now. Marcella’s face was still hateful and eerily proud.

“Nobody’s going to call dibs,” I growled.

“We’ll see,” Cody said and finally turned around and left. The moment he was gone and out of earshot, I turned to Marcella. “You can get dressed.”

She smiled harshly, but I didn’t miss the glistening of her eyes. “Are you sure that’s what you want? Don’t you want to call dibs on my virgin pussy?” She spat out the last two words in disgust. It was obvious that she wasn’t used to talking dirty.

I almost asked if she was indeed a virgin. Then I decided it was better if I didn’t know. It was completely irrelevant to our plan, and yet my thoughts circled around this tidbit of information since Cody had brought it up like flies around shit. “Just get dressed,” I said sharply, annoyed at myself.

Marcella covered her breasts as she bent down to retrieve her clothes then tiptoed toward the hut where she draped them as if they weren’t ripped and dusty.

“I didn’t know this would happen,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure why I was telling her this. I didn’t have to justify myself or the club’s actions to her.

“You enjoyed it,” she muttered as she pulled her panties back on. I’d seen her wash them in the bucket of water from my window last night.

There was no denying it. Marcella was prettier than in my imagination. Fuck, pretty was an insult for her. “Are there men who wouldn’t?”

“At least one,” she said as she dressed herself fully. I wondered whom she was referring to.

“Your fiancé?”

“Ex-fiancé.” She fixed me with a look. “So what’s next? Are you going to post a video of every biker having a go at me?”

My pulse sped up. “No,” I growled. The mere idea of letting that happen set my blood aflame. “We aren’t animals.”

She gave me a doubtful look. I couldn’t even blame her after the show Earl had just put on.

The fierceness in Maddox’s voice caught me by surprise. “Why do you care? Or do you want me for yourself?” I asked.

I resisted the urge to rub my arms. That wouldn’t get rid of the dirty feeling on my skin where they had leered at me. Focusing on Maddox had helped a little. His gaze, other than that of his biker friends, hadn’t made me feel dirty. I wasn’t sure what it was about him that calmed and exhilarated me all at once. It was an absolutely irrational feeling.

Still, my stomach dropped when I thought of the recording that would soon find its way into the internet, onto millions of computer screens, even Dad’s and Amo’s. I hoped they wouldn’t watch. I also wished none of the girls who despised me would see me like that, but that was wishful thinking. They would all jump at the chance to see me humiliated. At the mercy of these bastards. I wouldn’t allow them to make me feel degraded.

Maddox stalked out of the cage and locked it, as if he couldn’t stand another moment in my proximity. He lit a cigarette and glowered up at the clubhouse but didn’t answer my question. I wasn’t blind. I had seen the way he looked at me, no matter how hard he tried not to look.

He took a deep pull from the cigarette and exhaled. “I’m a better choice than Cody,” he muttered.

My stomach coiled at the implication. The mere idea of Cody touching me made me want to throw up. Maddox, on the other hand… I wasn’t repulsed by his body, and I didn’t dislike him as much as could be expected. Not to mention that he was probably the only chance to get out of here. None of the other bikers had shown the slightest interest in my well being.

“You aren’t any kind of choice. Nobody asked me what I want.”

Maddox nodded. “I’ve got to go.”

Fear overwhelmed me and I lunged forward, grabbing on to the bars. “What if Cody comes down here to get what he wants? I doubt your uncle would care.”

Maddox tensed, but I couldn’t read his expression when he turned to me. A few blond strands fell over his baby blue eyes and the gash that looked like a peculiar dimple deepened further as he scowled. “Cody can’t do anything without my uncle’s permission.”

Was that supposed to calm me? Cody was like a starving man who’d spotted his next meal when he looked at me.

Maddox’s gaze held mine and what I saw in his was pure hunger. I shivered and pressed even closer to the bars.

“You can’t let him have me,” I whispered. I could be yours, I let my eyes say. He wanted me, had wanted me from the very first moment. I needed him on my side if I wanted to survive this. I couldn’t rely only on Dad and Matteo to save me.

A war was raging in Maddox’s eyes. Maybe he realized why I was flirting with him. He flicked away his cigarette, stomped on it before he moved very close to me, only the bars between us. The dogs let out yaps of excitement. He brought his face so close our lips were almost brushing.

“I’m not stupid,” he growled. “Don’t think you can manipulate me. I’m not like that sappy ex-fiancé.”

His furious eyes darted down to my mouth, wanting, despite everything. He suspected me and yet he couldn’t stop wanting—wanting what he shouldn’t. I didn’t look away. I exhaled, then drew in his scent, a mix of leather, smoke and sandalwood. Nothing I’d ever appreciated but Maddox made it work. My body wondered, longed for something I’d been denied for so long.

“Who says I’m manipulating you?” Then I amended. “But even if I were trying to do it, you don’t have to let me succeed. You could just use me like you think I’m using you.”

“I don’t have to use you. You are at our mercy, Marcella, maybe you forget. I could do with you whatever I want without any consequences whatsoever.”

“You could, but that’s not who you are. You want me, but you want me willing.”

Maddox’s knuckles turned white as his grip around the bars tightened.

“You don’t know me.”

“No, I don’t. But I know one thing for a fact,” I whispered and then brushed my lips so very lightly over his, trying to ignore how my body heated from the light contact. “You can’t stop thinking about me, and after today you’ll dream about my body and how it would be to touch me every waking moment and even when you sleep.”

He jerked back from my lips as if they’d electrocuted him. I too had felt the zap rushing through my body at the brief kiss. “Don’t play with things you can’t control, Snow White. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” He turned around and left. He was probably right. Maddox was a different type of man than I was used to. He was crude and didn’t have an ounce of respect of my father. He’d love to piss him off. But that was part of why I was drawn to him, despite the horrible situation. Not that my desires held any meaning. I needed to get out of here, no matter how.

Maddox kept his distance the rest of the day, and luckily no one else came by either.

My stomach rumbled again. After the recording, I’d been sure I’d never be able to eat again, I felt so sick. The last few days I’d longed for my cell phone, now I was glad it was gone. My Instagram and Messenger were probably bursting with messages because of the nude recording. I shoved the thought away and glanced to the left.

Satan paced the kennel beside mine again. She probably was hungry too. I hadn’t seen anyone bringing the dogs food. I hopped off the hut, the only place in the shadow, and moved cautiously closer to the dog.

She threw me a quick look, then paced back and forth in front of the cage door again. Her water bowl was empty too. I peered toward the house. In the afternoon heat, the dog needed something to drink, even I knew that. I considered calling Maddox. Maybe he was in his room and would hear me but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

The door of the house opened and I called, “Hey, the dogs need water and food!” Then I realized it was Cody. I snapped my mouth shut but he already headed my way with a wide grin.

I stepped back from the bars, wanting as much distance between us as possible.

“What do you want, princess?”

I swallowed my revulsion and pride. “The dogs weren’t fed today and Satan doesn’t have any water.”

“The dogs are more vicious when they are hungry. There’s a dog fight tonight, so they need to be sharp.”

I grimaced. “I doubt they can fight if they die of thirst.”

Cody leaned against the bars, letting his eyes travel along my body in a very disgusting way. “What do I get in return for giving them water?”

I scoffed. “Not what you want.”

His face hardened. He picked up the hose they used to fill the bowls but instead of pointing it there, he brandished the end at me. My eyes widened a second before cold water hit my chest. I stumbled back but there was nowhere I could seek cover, unless I crawled into the dog hut, which I’d never do. The dogs barked excitedly. I turned around so the water hit my back. Eventually Cody turned the water off. I was completely drenched. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Cody grinning maliciously.

“There’s your water. You sure you don’t want to give me a little something so I fill the dogs’ bowls?”

I scowled, and he tossed the hose away before he walked off. My kennel was completely wet but the water slid down the slight slope toward the cage doors and didn’t reach the other cages. Satan got on her belly and tried to squeeze her muzzle under the gap between the bars and the ground to lick water up but she didn’t succeed. I picked up my bowl, which was filled with water, but the thing didn’t fit through the bars. Satan watched me closely. I didn’t have any experience with dogs, so I couldn’t tell if she was friendly or waiting for a chance to eat me.

My pity for the beast won out even as my pulse quickened. I scooped up water in my hands and carefully moved them through the bars. After a moment of hesitation, Satan approached me. I tensed when she opened her muzzle but only her tongue darted out and she began to drink eagerly. I repeated the process several times until she seemed satisfied.

“What are you doing?” Maddox asked, startling me so much, I bruised my wrists when I jerked them back through the bars. Satan let out a sharp bark at the quick movement.

“Giving her water.”

Maddox scanned my drenched clothes. “And why are you wet?”

“Cody hosed me down instead of giving the dogs water when I asked him to fill their bowls.”

Maddox’s expression flickered with fury. “Asshole,” he muttered, then he frowned. “Why do you even care if the dogs have water or not?”

“They’re locked inside a cage without a fault of their own, just like me.”

Maddox shook his head with a strange smile as he picked up the hose and filled all the bowls with water. By now, it was getting dark.

“Is it true that the dogs have to starve so they fight more viciously tonight?”

“Yeah,” Maddox said. “Earl’s orders.”

“It’s wrong. Dog fights are disgusting. I feel pity for them.”

“I don’t like the fights either, but the prez makes the decisions and we all follow them even if we hate them.”

I was surprised by his honesty and I could see in his face that he hadn’t meant to reveal as much. “Were you against kidnapping me?”

Maddox shook his head with a strange smile. “Do you need a blanket or towel?”

“No, it’s warm enough.”

He tipped an imaginary hat before he headed back to the clubhouse where he perched on the banister and lit up a cigarette. I had a feeling he’d watch me as long as he could forgo sleep.

Soon Denver, who hadn’t dared come near me again, and Gunnar picked up several dogs, among them Satan, and led them away. Deep in the woods, lights were set up but I couldn’t make out any details. Yet, when the first snarls and later yelps and whines echoed through the area, I closed my eyes and held my hands over my ears.