The Biker's Heart by Meg Jackson Read Free Book Online Page B

last, awful mistake.
    “ Welcome to the party, sweetheart,” came a voice behind me, right as two big, sweaty hands closed around my upper arms.
     

     
    A few minutes later, I was tied to a chair, a gag in my mouth. My mother, alive and awake, was across from me, her eyes bright with fear. I hadn’t had time to scream or even say anything before Tank had thrown me onto the chair and the other man in the room, who I’d never seen before, had slipped the gag into my mouth. Boon was lying on the bed, on his stomach, his face turned away. He could have been dead. I thought he probably was.
    My first feeling upon seeing my mother was relief that she was even still alive, and relatively unharmed. My second feeling, much stronger, was panic. There aren’t enough words in the English language to explain just how afraid I was. If I’d screwed up everything to that point, I’d really done it by throwing myself head-first into Tank’s all-too-willing hands.
    The knot binding my wrists was tight, and my shoulders were aching within the first minute. I stared at Tank, who’d been mostly silent after those first words. He was bigger than I remembered, looked meaner. His face was etched with scars, his arms huge and dirty and covered in tattoos. He had Boon’s clear blue eyes, though, and that was, perhaps, the scariest part of it all.
    “ Well, this is a hell of a nice surprise, pumpkin,” Tank said, leaning down in front of me and taking my chin in his hands. I closed my eyes, revolted by his face, his hot breath, the feel of his skin on mine. “This is really, really, just…man, I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
    He released me then, moving over to my mother. I opened my eyes again but wished I hadn’t; he was stroking her hair, his massive hands pulling roughly at her soft hair. I wanted to kill him for laying a single hand on her.
    “ My boy showed up an hour ago saying he wanted to come back. Come home to Papa. But, of course, there’s gotta be consequences. There’re always consequences. You can’t let your kids just run around doing whatever the hell they wanna do. Right, Buzz?”
    The other man in the room nodded gravely, standing in front of the door with his arms crossed. Outside, sirens wailed and I heard the screech of tires.
    “ Here’s hoping he wakes up soon. I gave him a hell of a knock. Don’t know my own strength sometimes,” Tank said, now moving to the window and peeking out.
    “ WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED. COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD,” a voice came through the air from a bullhorn. Tank turned back to me, a grin on his face.
    “ Cute, ain’t they? Thinkin’ it’ll be that easy. But now I got the sheriff’s wife and daughter. They can’t do a damn thing,” he said. “Now, the only question is: who gets shot, and who comes with us? We need one of you alive to secure the getaway. But which one? Got any ideas, Buzz?”
    The man shook his head.
    “ Me either. I think maybe we’ll let Boon decide when he wakes up. He’s gonna be the one to do the dirty work, anyway. He’s gotta prove his loyalty again. You can’t just run off on your family, you know, and expect to come home just like nothin’. You gotta prove you’re worth taking back.”
    Just as Tank finished speaking, Boon stirred. He didn’t wake up, but his arm moved slightly. Tank walked towards his son.
    “ Wakey wakey,” he said, kicking at Boon’s legs where they lay hanging off the bed. He looked back at me.
    “ Screw it. I’ll have him kill her first. Then he’ll get to spend a little more time with you before we drop you off in the nearest ditch, with some souvenir bullets in your pretty little head. Plus, he’ll get to see the way you look at him after you watch him slit her tender little throat,” Tank said with an evil grin. My heart was icy cold, my head pounding, my breathing ragged and frantic. This isn’t happening, I told myself. But it was.
    “ Hey, you little fuck,” Tank suddenly