Hostage (Predators MC #3) (5 page)

P
enni walked back
and forth across the small room. When she heard the door open, it took everything she had not to attack.

She stumbled over her own feet when she recognized Jackal.

When he closed the door behind him, fury and fear had her throwing her body against his.

“You bastard!” She tore a chunk of his hair out as she used his hair to slam his head against the wall.

“Are you fucking nuts!” Jackal twisted her hands behind her back.

Undeterred, Penni kicked then bit him on the shoulder. Struggling against him, she found herself thrown backward onto the bed. Then she found herself pinned underneath Jackal’s weight as she tried to rise from the bed.

“I hate you! When I get away, I’m going to kill you!” Penni glared up into his imperturbable expression.

“I’m here to try to save your ass.” He turned his face to the side when she attempted to rake her nails down his cheek.

“I don’t believe in turning the other cheek.”

Penni found herself lifted up like a rag doll, tossed head first over Jackal’s lap. Then a series of harsh spanks pounded down on her unprotected bottom.

“You big ape!” Penni bit down on Jackal’s thigh as she tried to throw herself down to the floor.

“I wouldn’t put up with that spoiled bitch behavior from any other woman. Quit biting me, or I’ll pull your jeans down and carry you down to the front room and let them take turns turning that ass you’re so proud of red.”

Penni stopped biting. The thought of the bikers witnessing the aftereffects of the spanking was incentive enough, but she still struggled. And the more she struggled, the harder his hand struck her bottom.

“Did you think it was funny leaving me waiting? I was nearly stung to death. I had to jump over your wall into your neighbor’s yard, and they had fucking German Shepherds. You think this hurts? One of those sons of a bitches nearly bit off my balls.”

Penni raised her head as Jackal furiously ranted and spanked her again. What was he talking about …?

She pressed her hand to her mouth as he described having to jump into her neighbor’s pool then maneuvering through piles of dog shit as he ran from the dogs.

“I bet you laughed your ass off!”

“I forgot, Jackal! I swear!” Penni wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. It took all her will not to laugh out loud at Jackal’s injured pride.

She looked up at him to see him frowning down at her. Jackal jerked her up to sit on his lap. Wincing, Penni shifted so the globes of her butt bore her weight. The bastard knew how to give a spanking, placing most of his smacks on the tender flesh between the top of her thighs and the bottom curve of her ass.

“I waited for you for over an hour.”

Penni bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I forgot. I swear, Jackal, I was going to tell you I couldn’t make it, but Grace called me, and I forgot.” She saw no need to confess that she had originally planned to leave him to face the bee’s alone.

Jackal wasn’t buying her bull and dropped her unceremoniously on the bed.

Penni watched as he straightened his T-shirt making the tan skin of his waist was visible. An irritating quiver of excitement held her still as Jackal regained his temper. Without realizing it, she had raised her hand, letting another thing go.

“What are you doing?” he asked her.

Penni lowered her hand back to her side. “Nothing.”

“Were you going to hit me again?”

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s just a habit I have.”

Suspiciously, Jackal stared back at her.

Penni tried to divert his attention from the silly habit she’d had since she was a young girl. “Are you going to get me out of here?”

“Any sane woman would have asked me that question when I came inside the room!”

Penni flushed. He was right.

“I’ve been cooped up here for two days. When you walked in the door, I took my frustration out on you. Shade keeps warning me my temper will get me in trouble.”

“Don’t mention Shade to me. I blame him for turning you into a spoiled brat—”

“Don’t you dare bad mouth Shade!” She yelled as she rose to her knees in the middle of the bed. “It’s not his fault I’m here. It’s my own fault for running out of gas.”

Penni’s head reared back when Jackal grasped her shoulders, forcing her gaze to his.

“Any other woman would have called a tow truck. I told you when we went to Treepoint that you were writing checks with your attitude that couldn’t be cashed.”

“Like I would take any advice from you.” She jerked back from his hold. Rising, she moved to the opposite side of the bed. More than getting fed up with him manhandling her, Penni didn’t want to deal with her unwanted reactions to Jackal. It was a losing battle she had been dealing with since she had first seen him sitting on his motorcycle in front of a hotel years ago when she’d had the interview with Kaden Cross.

Penni had prayed for the job as tour manager for Mouth2Mouth. It gave her the perfect excuse to move from her overprotective parents and brother. It also gave her breathing room from the man she had fallen in love with when she was just thirteen years old.

“Then you better start. The Road Kingz aren’t like the Predators; they don’t give a damn that King ordered Henry and the Predators to watch out for you.”

“I don’t—”

“Shut up!”

The sound of Jackal’s boots striding across the floor had her backing up to the wall.

Jackal braced his hand on the wall near her head. “The only reason those men haven’t already gang raped you is because of Hennessy.”

Shocked speechless, Penni reached for her own throat.

“Instead of using your head and bargaining with them, what did you do? You fucking told them you could identify who took off with their shit!”

“How was I supposed to know?” Penni interrupted another long-winded rant then quickly changed her mind at the contemptuous sneer that reminded her of Shade when he was angry.

“That know-it-all brother of yours should have warned you!”

She trembled as Jackal ran his hand down the curve of her cheek, coming to a rest on the curve of her breast.

He lowered his head, placing it next to hers. “I swore I would let you get out of this mess yourself.”

“Why didn’t you?” she whispered.

“Grace has enough to worry about.”

“Her mother is worse?”

“Yes.”

Penni held back the tears at his stark answer.

“I’ve really screwed up.”

“Yes.”

Penni felt the tip of his tongue explore the corner of her lips.

“Are you trying to pay me back for tricking you into showing up at my house?”

“Maybe …” Jackal murmured.

Penni clutched his shoulders, fighting the urge to respond to the enticement of him nibbling on her bottom lip. She firmed her mouth. She had made a promise to herself years ago that the only man who would share her bed, despite her yo-yo dating, was her childhood crush, whom she told herself she would get over when she met the right man.

Penni had lost count of how many times she had made a fool of herself to keep him off her mind. She forced herself to concentrate now.

“Did you work out a deal with Hennessy to let me go home?”

“Kind of. First, we have to go to the Spring Rally—”

Penni brought her knee up in a sharp movement. She tried to squeeze between him and the wall, but Jackal closed the space between them.

“We don’t have a choice.”

“I’m the only one here who doesn’t have a choice. I want to go home. If you’re not here to help me, then why are you here? Did Hennessy call you to get me to cooperate?”

“No. If you want to go home, then you’re going have to do what Hennessy wants. This isn’t a conspiracy between the Road Kingz and the Predators. Ice wants to help get you back for Grace. Grace could have found another job months ago. The only reason she hasn’t is because of her relationship with you. It might not mean much to you, but she loves you, and the last thing she needs right now is to be worried about you, too.”

Penni was filled with turmoil. Seeing Jackal watching her, she kept her hands from reaching upward toward the universe. Penni could imagine the man judging her. Shade was aware of her strange habit, and he would roll his eyes when he saw her praying to the universe.

“So, the only reason you’re here is to help me?”

“Yes. I’m the best chance you have to get out of here alive. If you don’t help the Road Kingz find Striker, Hennessy said none of us are going to live. The cartel the Road Kingz bought the drugs from want their money.”

“Shade will save me—”

“You believe that Shade can walk on water, but he’s still in Kentucky, and he doesn’t know you’re missing.”

“But—”

“Can you listen to me just this once? Did I let anything happen to you when I took you to Treepoint?”

“You mean when you kidnapped me?”

“I didn’t kidnap you. The Last Riders, King, and the Predators all explained we needed to keep Lily safe.”

Penni nodded her head. That was what they had all explained to her, but they had all lied to her, too. She had been kidnapped and used as a pawn. The only one who had told her the truth had been Lily. No one would ever be able to break the bond that existed between them.

Lily knew how important the truth was to her. Not many other people could understand, but Lily was one, and Grace was another.

“I’ll trust you, Jackal, but you better not be lying to me.” Penni held out her hand. “Let me have your cell phone. I’ll call Grace and Shade—”

“Hennessy doesn’t want you making any calls.”

“What about Grace? I don’t want her worried.”

“Ice will take care of Grace.”

Her hand dropped. He was lying to her. She could spot one a mile away.

“Let’s get some sleep. We leave at first light.”

Penni felt the shot of adrenaline she had experienced when Jackal had entered the room wear off. Sitting on the side of the bed, she stood back up when she saw Jackal lie down, making himself comfortable.

“You’re not sleeping here!” Penni insisted, reaching down to shove his shoulder and make him move.

“There isn’t an empty bed in the clubhouse, and I’m not fucking sleeping on the floor.”

“I don’t care where you sleep as long as it’s not with me.”

Jackal stretched out his arms, tugging her down to the bed. A long leg wrapped over her, holding her in place. Penni began to struggle against him but stopped when a seductive whisper had her freezing.

“Go to sleep,” Jackal ordered. “It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve slept together.”

Penni moved to the side, burying her face in the crook of her arm. Just like anytime she began to feel nervous, she moved her hands upward toward the stars she wasn’t able to see.

The stars were filled with good energy, guiding her to a calm when she needed to release her inner turmoil. It was a lot easier than going to a psychiatrist or prison when she wanted to knock sense into someone.

Jackal wove his fingers between hers, pressing them to her belly. “Go to sleep, Penni.”

Wearily, she decided she was on her own tonight. The universe had other souls to be concerned with.

Her mind went back to Grace and Oceane. It always took Penni a long time to settle down into sleep. Shade had told her that normal people lived their life on cruise control, while she pushed the speed limits.

She concentrated on their linked hands, unconsciously gripping his hands more tightly, sinking into the warmth at her back as her lids lowered. Some things in the universe were inevitable.

Why was Jackal the only one who seemed able to shift her mind to neutral and calm the constant turmoil in her soul? Penni should have been grateful to have someone to lean on while playing the Road Kingz’ hostage. However, she couldn’t shake the feeling that her savior may be the devil in disguise.

“
G
et dressed
.” Jackal dropped his saddlebag onto the bed then watched as Penni opened the bag. It didn’t take long before he got the reaction he was waiting for.

“These are my clothes?” She picked up her clothes, giving him an accusing glare.

“Ice used the key you left for Grace to water your plants and feed the ducks.”

Jackal could tell she was torn between having her privacy invaded or leaving her precious plants and ducks without proper care.

“Is Ice taking care of my things?”

Jackal’s amusement had Penni throwing the empty saddlebag at him.

Dodging the missile, he sat down on the foot of the bed. “Calm down. Grace would kick Ice’s ass if anything happened to your precious plants and ducks. How did you get railroaded into taking care of a pond of ducks, anyway?”

“They’re not ducks. They’re swans. I was elected into the position during the yearly HOA.”

“You were elected? You mean more than one person volunteered to feed them?”

Penni nodded eagerly. “Yes, well, I mean … One other person volunteered to feed them, but nobody liked her.”

“But they liked you?”

“Yes. I offered to pay for their food. The feed had gone up in price, and I offered to pay.”

“Why? You haven’t lived there long.”

“Because they’re beautiful.”

Jackal stared at Penni. Her expression went soft, and her blue eyes looked luminescent. He shifted on the bed.

He had been attracted to her since he had seen her walking out of the hotel lobby in Queen City. In his experience, when women saw the Predators, they either ran the other way or turned into provocative whores. Penni had flipped him off because he was parked in the wrong space. Then, when he had kidnapped her then released her, she had shown her disgust in him by spitting on him.

After Ice had married Grace, he had seen Penni at a couple of the parties that Grace had invited her to. It had only fueled his attraction.

Jackal had discovered she made friends easily, but only kept a few. It was the same with him. And she had dated most of the men in Queen City. They didn’t last long, and if they did, they joined the ranks of her friends.

He’d had no intention of being a friend. Playing the waiting game, he had patiently used any excuse to come into contact with her, only to become the brunt of her insults. Why Jackal had put up with it was uncertain. It was as if a part of her were calling out to him.

It was why he had been so pissed off when she had stood him up. When Penni had said sorry last night, Jackal had believed her, but he had also noticed that her contrition had been brief.

Jackal tilted his head as he studied Penni. King had warned him long ago that there was more to her than showed. Jackal agreed. He didn’t think he would live long enough to figure her out.

His stiff dick was tired of waiting, and he had missed having her in his bed like when they had gone to Treepoint. The Spring Rally was a four-day ride. That gave him four nights to build a fire that Penni would beg for him to put out.

Penni stared at him suspiciously as she headed into the bathroom. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?”

Jackal smoothed out his features as he picked up his saddlebag. “Nothing. Get changed. Hennessy is getting the bikes gassed up.”

“Why can’t we just take off while they’re gone?”

“A guard is outside.”

Disappointed, Penni went inside the bathroom.

Jackal had already considered making a run for it with her. However, they wouldn’t make it out of the clubhouse. The Road Kingz’ fate was in Penni’s hands. If they didn’t find Striker, none of them would come out alive.

When Ice had told him that the Road Kingz had Penni, he had been ready to call Shade and hand the mess over to him. However, it would have been a death warrant for Hennessy, and Jackal hadn’t been able to forget the fact that he had saved his life. Then Ice had further convinced him it was a bad idea.

Ice saw the benefit of having the Road Kingz if they ever needed to join forces. It was a risky move, but Ice had given his approval, letting Jackal face the Road Kingz alone.

Jackal stood when Penni came out of the bathroom. Her jeans looked like an old pair, hugging her slender legs snuggly. The blue, long-sleeved T-shirt was tight with a bright rainbow plastered across the front of her taut breasts. It was going to be a long ride to Riverside, California.

“Ready?” He dug his fingers into his back pockets to keep himself from touching the firm thrust of her breasts.

“Do I have a choice?”

“No.” Jackal knocked on the bedroom door. Hennessy had assigned Core to stay with them until they were ready.

Jackal took Penni’s arm, leading her to the clubroom where Hennessy waited.

As they approached, Hennessy nodded toward Core. “Go on outside. We’ll be there in a minute.”

What he wanted to say, he didn’t want his man to hear. Jackal had a feeling he knew what had his former friend incensed.

“Call them off.” Hennessy’s order wasn’t one that Jackal could follow. Trying to play peacekeeper between the two clubs was going take every skill he had.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jackal saw Penni’s attention go back and forth between him and Hennessy.

“They’ll stay back, but Ice wants to make sure Penni doesn’t end up as a casualty between you and all the shit you’ve got going down.”

A split second was all Jackal had to prepare before Hennessy launched his giant body at him. Planting his feet, he braced for the pain coming his way.

Hennessy barreled into him, and Jackal released Penni’s arm then wrapped his arms around Hennessy’s waist, putting him in a bear hug, trying to stop his momentum and keep himself from crashing to the floor.

He didn’t stand a chance of breaking Hennessy’s hold. Jackal couldn’t match his weight, but he clamped his arms tightly around him, giving himself time to reason with the raging giant.

“Ice will stay back,” Jackal grunted. How much did the fucker weigh? “If anything happens to Penni, King will kill all of us. Think about it! If you can’t find Striker, you’re going to need the Predators.”

Hennessy threw him off, breathing hard. “I don’t need the Predators.”

“Are you sure about that?” Jackal took the time to catch his breath, expecting Hennessy to attack again.

Hennessy rubbed angrily over his bald head.

“There’s going to be over eighteen motorcycle clubs at the rally. You think you’re going to deal with all off them and a cartel that wants their money back?”

“I have it under control!”

“Brother, you lost control when you snatched Penni. I’m trying to keep you and her alive. If she gets hurt, you won’t live to see another day.” He sighed out in frustration. “Let me help you. Ice won’t interfere unless you need back up. When you get your money back, I’ll take Penni, and we’ll disappear. We’ll all get what we want.”

“I don’t know what trouble you’re in, but I would listen to Jackal if I were you.”

Jackal shook his head at Penni. Hennessy would drop down dead before he took any advice a bitch gave him. Surprisingly, however, he stared across the room at him as if he was considering her opinion.

“You’ll keep Jackal’s word and not run to the cops when I let you go?”

Penni narrowed her eyes at him. Jackal expected her to spit at Hennessy for his question.

He tried to silently warn her of the repercussions if she lost her temper. Penni had been too sheltered by Shade. Bikers were notoriously controlling. They expected their bitches to do what they were told and not argue. Penni was the exact opposite.

“Yes.” Penni looked like she was about to choke on her answer.

Hennessy wasn’t convinced.

Jackal moved closer to Penni, laying an arm across her shoulders.

“She’ll do what I tell her.” His arm tightened around her, giving her the only warning he could. He could only do so much.

“That right?” Hennessy didn’t look like he believed him.

She leaned into his side. “Jackal’s the boss.” The nails digging into his back would leave marks, but at least Hennessy’s doubts had been taken away.

“Go make us some sandwiches. If we don’t get on the road, the rally will be over before we even get there.”

“I’ll help,” Jackal spoke up. “It’ll be faster.” Not to mention, he didn’t want to eat anything Penni made while in the mood that was brewing in her eyes.

“Don’t take long.” Hennessy left them, slamming the door to show he wasn’t happy that Ice was nearby.

“When this is all over—”

“You want us to make a sandwich for you?” Jackal addressed the man Penni had forgotten was lying on the couch behind her.

Her eyes widened at Jackal’s reminder that Hennessy wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave them alone.

“No, thanks. I’ll make my own.” Cruz laughed. “If I want to eat food that will kill me, I’ll eat at Chip-n-otle.”

“Be my guest—”

Jackal covered her mouth with his then hastily jerked it back. “What she means is I’ll pay for lunch. It’ll save some time.” He tossed some money at him. “Grab some burgers.”

“What do you want me to grab for you?”

Jackal stared at Penni in confusion as Cruz waited for her answer.

“Get her a burger, too—”

“She doesn’t eat hamburger; she’s a vegetarian.”

He almost burst out laughing at Cruz’s comment. Jackal had seen Penni eating too many chicken wings and hot dogs. He wasn’t going to bail her out of this one. It was going to be a long road trip without the foods she loved.

“Get her a veggie burger,” Jackal said mockingly. “Grab me two burgers. I’m all of a sudden hungry.”