Hostage (Predators MC #3) (6 page)

“
I
’m getting cold
!” Penni yelled into Jackal’s ear above the roaring motor.

She held him more tightly as he accelerated. Why was he speeding up instead of slowing down? Had he not heard her from behind the visor of the helmet?

Penni saw Jackal give Hennessy a hand signal. Then the bikers Jackal had passed gradually pulled off to the side of the road. When he came to a stop, Jackal slid his leg off his motorcycle to stand stiffly. The cars whizzing past them made her nervous.

“I’m freezing. When are we going to stop?” Penni complained through chattering teeth.

“Not for another hour.”

She gaped as he tugged off his leather jacket, holding it out for her to slip on.

Penni tried to move away, shaking her head. “You’ll get cold.”

He ignored her, zipping up the jacket then getting back on his motorcycle. “I’ll be fine.”

Jackal carefully watched the speeding traffic then skillfully maneuvered back onto the road.

Penni felt as if her ass was numb, and her head would fall off. She pressed into his back, hoping to share her warmth. She didn’t know why it bothered her that he might get cold.

Resting her head on his shoulder, she felt strangely secure despite the traffic. She had ridden with Shade a few times, and Jackal was almost as good. She would grudgingly admit he might even be better, but Shade was her big brother, and Penni had hero-worshipped him since she had been old enough to walk.

She was relieved to see Hennessy taking an exit with several hotel and food signs an hour later.

Jackal had ridden in the middle of the pack, surrounded front and back by the Road Kingz. The large group of bikers riding down the road were an impressive sight. Penni would have appreciated it much more if she been there willingly.

Penni attempted to get off the motorcycle when they pulled in front of the hotel.

“Wait.”

“My butt is killing me,” Penni protested yet remained seated at Jackal’s order.

“It won’t take long.”

Thankfully, Cruz came out of the office not long after, handing out room keys.

Penni wanted to cry in relief when Jackal parked his bike in front of a room. Every muscle in her body ached as she slid off the motorcycle. She didn’t know how she was going to make it three more days.

When she had ridden to Treepoint with Jackal, she hadn’t appreciated how easy he had taken it on her, giving her time to rest and more breaks. Hennessy didn’t give her the same consideration. He was pushing her on his timetable, not caring how uncomfortable he was making her.

Jackal took her arm to steady her. Penni was self-conscious as he led her to the hotel room.

She looked around the room when Jackal flipped on the light switch. It was much cleaner than she had expected.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

Penni tightened her lips as Jackal strode across the room. His lean body moved with ease despite riding on the motorcycle as long as her. He went through another doorway, and a light came on.

“It’s through there.” He raised a brow at her resentful expression.

Penni waited for him to step to the side before going inside and closing the door behind her.

Mumbling to herself, she relieved her aching bladder then washed up with the clean washcloth. When she finished, she sat down on the side of the tub.

The tiny room didn’t even have a window. How could she escape if they didn’t give her the freaking chance? Her normally cheerful attitude was cracking under the strain.

She heard male voices outside the door then the front door closing.

“Cruz is getting us some food.”

Yippee!

Penni didn’t respond.

Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her useless cell phone. As they had left the Road Kingz’ clubhouse, she had seen it sitting on top of a trash can. She had refused to get on the back of Jackal’s bike until he had gone back inside and retrieved it for her.

“Hennessy took the SIM card, so it won’t work.”

She had snatched it from his hand with a genuine smile.

She was more upset about the loss of her contact list and pictures that she’d never had the time to get printed. Penni was hoping that, when Hennessy released her, he would give the SIM card back.

She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. The universe had gifted the huge man with an arrogant nature. It was no wonder he was the president; his size alone made it difficult to stand up to him.

Penni ran her thumb over the black screen, tempted to throw it against the wall. As an alternative, she tucked it back inside her pocket.

“You’re not the only one who needs to take a piss.” The sound of Jackal’s voice on the other side of the door had her rising up to open the door.

“Sorry.”

Jackal tilted his head. “I get an apology two days in a row? I’m amazed.”

She removed his jacket, handing it back to him. “Thank you for letting me borrow it.”

“You sick?”

Penni frowned in confusion. “No, why?”

He shrugged. “I thought you would have to be stinking drunk to say anything nice to me.”

Before she could reply, he went inside the bathroom.

Ashamed, she sat down on the bed, folding her legs crisscrossed. It took her several minutes before she realized she might have a chance to escape. She was about to jump from the bed when Jackal came back into the room. Folding her legs again, she resumed her meditation position.

When a knock sounded on the door, Penni didn’t show any interest, not even when she smelled the aromas coming from the bag that Jackal placed on the nightstand.

She ignored the sandwich he held out to her.

“I’m not hungry.”

“It’s a hamburger.”

Before he could snatch it back, Penni took it from his hand. Unwrapping the burger, she didn’t even care that it had a sauce she hated.

Jackal sat down on the bed, pulling out his sandwich and taking a bite. After she saw what he was eating, she winced.

“You’re eating the one Cruz got for me?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you just tell him I was lying about being a vegetarian?”

“I figured, if you wanted him to know the truth, you would tell him.” Jackal’s mouth twisted. “Besides, I knew you were doing it to bug Cruz.”

“I was being a bitch,” she admitted, taking another bite of her own sandwich. “I’d share with you, but it’s not that good. The veggie burger is probably better. The special sauce sucks.”

Jackal handed her a bag of chips. “Special sauce?”

Penni licked her bottom lip after she finished the last bite. “Every restaurant makes their own sauce. Usually, it’s ketchup and Thousand Island. One time, I ate it, and I swear they used tartar sauce. It was disgusting.”

“Why didn’t you just tell them to leave it off?”

“You’re kidding, right? I know how to order the way I want it, but somehow, in every drive thru, they screw my order up. Don’t they mess yours up?”

“No.”

I bet they don’t
, Penni thought to herself. The sensual man sitting across from her probably had dozens of women jumping to make a burger for him.

“Well, they do mine.” Dropping a chip back into the bag, she uncurled her legs. “How did you and Hennessy become friends?”

Jackal neatly placed their trash in the take-out bag then put it in the trash can beside the bed. “Hennessy would tell you we were never friends, especially in juvie.” Jackal sprawled out on the foot of the bed. “It was a couple of weeks doing guard duty for the Predators before he would even say hi when we went on duty. It was another month before he stopped walking away when I tried shooting the shit with him. Guard duty is boring as fuck. He finally started talking to me, and we would have beers every now and then, but we were never best buds.”

“But you did.” Penni remembered the flash of emotion on Jackal’s face when he had convinced Hennessy to let Ice back him up. “Will he let me go?”

“I’m not going to give him a choice.”

She believed him.

“You’re lucky that you were on the phone with Grace when you ran out of gas.”

“Yes, I am. I’ll have to invite Grace and Ice to dinner when this all over,” she joked.

“What about me?”

Penni didn’t know how to respond. The thought of Jackal in her house was nerve racking. “You convince Hennessy to give my purse back, and I’ll fix you a four-course dinner.”

Her gaze dropped to his bottom lip. The jagged edge of the scar ended at the corner of his mouth. When he was angry, it had the effect of appearing harsh, but when Jackal was in a good mood, the effect was a sensual feast that, combined with his muscled body, had her stomach doing somersaults.

“There’s not a chance in hell of that. You keep a fucking arsenal in your purse.”

“That’s an exaggeration.” Penni pouted, throwing a pillow at his grinning face.

Jackal turned serious. “Kiss me, and I’ll get him to give it back.”

Penni shook her head. “I don’t want it back that badly.” As soon the words came out of her mouth, she realized she had screwed up.

Jackal’s expression became shuttered, and it didn’t take much to figure out how angry he was at her abrupt rebuff.

“Go to sleep. Hennessy wants to be on the road as soon as the sun comes up.”

“Jackal …” Penni moved to grab his arm. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded—”

“What did you mean, then?” Jackal pulled his arm back.

She twisted a lock of her hair. “Why do you always make me the mean person? Everyone likes me.” Penni stopped then clarified, “Maybe Killyama doesn’t like me, but everyone else does.” She waved her hands emphatically. “You kidnapped me! I was minding my own business, and the next think I know, I’m driving around the freaking country with my hands cuffed around your waist. How was I supposed to know that you and the Predators were trying to protect Lily?

“I’m really a nice person! Did I call the cops when you let me go? No!” Penni took a deep breath then resumed her tirade. “Did I jump on the chance to go out with you when you asked me? No, I don’t like the way you manhandle me. For your information, throwing a woman over your shoulder stopped with the cavemen!” She took another breath. “The women you go out with might appreciate it, but I do not! I think they need their heads examined to put up with the games you play with them.”

Penni pointed a finger in his direction when he attempted to stop her tirade. “Most of the women who work at Purple Pussycat all know you fuck them individually depending on the day of the week. The only one who thinks it’s a secret is you. You’re a manwhore. I was smart not to fall for that bullshit in high school, and I’m damn sure not going to fall for it now.” Before she finished, Penni wanted to get something that bugged her the most about Jackal off her chest. “And don’t ever call me a bitch again!”

When Jackal didn’t say anything, she couldn’t stand the silence. “I’m a really nice person.”

“You said that three times; I believe you. If I promise not to call you a bitch, do you think we can start over?”

How could she say no without coming off as the bitch he believed her to be?

“Okay.” Penni tried not to look like she was about to eat a burger with secret sauce.

“You don’t look like you mean it.”

“I do.” Penni pictured a baby duck in her mind, trying to appear more convincing.

Jackal brought his hand to the back of her neck. “Prove it.” He brushed his lips against hers.

She placed her hands on his chest, expecting him to take advantage of the opportunity. Before she could pull away, Jackal was already backing up.

“Friends?”

Penni stared back, struck dumb. She cleared her throat.

“Friends,” she agreed softly.

“I’m going to take a shower. If you need anything, yell out.”

Nodding, she watched as he closed the bathroom door. A second later, she heard the shower.

“Damn.”

The tender kiss Jackal had pressed against her lips had been exactly like she had always imagined the man she had loved since being a teenager would kiss her.

Immediately, she pressed her hands upward, throwing her worry to the universe. Usually, the simple gesture provided a calming effect, but not this time. Neither the universe nor Shade were going to help her out of this mess. She was on her own.