Venom: Dark Riders Motorcycle Club (6 page)

Finally, the door opened. Asher stepped out, his gun raised.

"You sure have a lot of balls showing up here, Venom!" he said.
 

Then he stopped. Asher lowered his gun and the energy drained from his face.

"Lily?"

"What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy to see her again," Venom said. "Especially after the visit I had her pay you yesterday."

Asher looked at me with a pained stare. The muscles tensed under his skin.

"Asher!" I yelled. "I'm sorry!"

"Is that why…" I could hear the strain in Asher's voice.

"N-"

I couldn't get the sound out. Venom's mouth clamped over mine, blocking my voice. He slid his hand under my shirt and over my breast. I tried to struggle, but he held me in place.
 

I needed to get free. It wasn't true! I wouldn't lie to Asher…at least not that way.

Keg laughed. "She's a good actress, isn't she?"

For the first time, I saw Asher's broad shoulders slump forward. He looked me in the eye, and I could see the strain in his gaze. I wanted to call out to him, hold him in my arms, but Venom's tongue was still down my throat.

Without another word, Asher turned around and walked back to the clubhouse. Each step felt like I was stabbed in the heart. I didn't want him to go. Not like this. The other bikers retreated from the windows and hid.

Venom called out one last parting shot. "See you around, Wild!"

The three bikes pealed off. They didn't even bother with a blindfold this time, and I watched the club house fade into the distance. Tears obscured my vision.

Haven't I felt this feeling before? Ah, yes. The
first
time I left Asher. Was I ever going to get to tell him how I really felt?

Even the road couldn't soothe me then. Nothing could. Everything was wrong. And there was no way to fix it.

Venom laughed as he hopped off his bike. He undid the rope around my wrists, but left the jacket.

"You might as well keep the cut," he said. "You're one of ours now. The Dark Riders will never trust you again. Especially not your little boyfriend.

"Even if you tried to go back, they wouldn't take you. So you can send all the notes you like. It won't change anything."

Venom, Clay, and Keg laughed as they left me standing in front of their clubhouse. They didn't blindfold me or anything. It must be true. They really must think there was nothing at all I could do. I posed absolutely no threat anymore.

I slumped onto the stoop of the clubhouse, looking out over the horizon. It was hard just to take it all in. How did this all happen?

All I wanted was a normal life. I had studied
so
hard. And now what? I was the property of some shitty motorcycle club and my very first best friend thought I betrayed him?

No matter how many times I racked my brain, I couldn't figure out a solution. Every single option ended in tragedy.

If I left, they would kill Asher. What would happen to mom if I stayed? And if I went to the Dark Riders? I was sure they didn't want to see my face.

I punched the wooden steps with my fist. The skin on my knuckles split, bleeding all over my hand. Served me right, I guess.
That
didn't do anything good either.

I
STOOD
UP
AND
pushed the front door of the club open. I needed to get upstairs and bandage my hand. But as soon as I started up the stairwell, I heard Venom and Joel talking. I hid against the wall, just hoping that they weren't going to turn right.

"She was even easier to control than I thought," Venom said.

"I wish I had seen Wild's face. It would have been priceless," Joel said.

"Don't worry, there'll be more to see soon enough," Venom said. "Just wait until tomorrow."

"I can't wait until those two are dead. When Wild and Mav are gone, I'll have the club all to myself."

"And you'll be friendly to the Tarantulas, of course?"

"Right."

"Now all I have to do is look forward to raping that bitch right in front of Wild. I want it to be the last thing he sees before he goes down."

The wind knocked out of my lungs. My body went cold and I started to shake, I tried to keep quiet. The pair laughed as they walked by, and I struggled just to keep my legs from buckling under me.

Once they were gone, I dragged myself up the stairs. My mind reeled. Had I heard right?

In my room, I sat on the floor. It was too much effort even to get into a chair. Everything seemed pointless.

Why had I done anything? Why did I lie to Asher? Why did I take his kerchief, or follow along with Venom's games?

I was the only one who didn't know. They had planned that ending from the beginning. Asher was never going to be saved. Neither was I. And when it was all over, they would just laugh.

My breathing got faster and faster until I hyperventilated. My pulse raced so quickly that I could hear its beat in my ears. It felt like a hand had wrapped around my heart and squeezed.

I tried to calm down, but I couldn't. This whole time I was trying to save them, but no matter what I did, it was going to end the same way.

I spent the rest of the night thinking there on the floor. I started to think of crazy things, like a suicide attack that might let Asher get away. Or maybe changing our names and fleeing to another country. One where they didn't have motorcycles.

Of course, I never found an answer. I fell asleep on the floor, muttering my escape plans to myself. It wasn't until Venom opened my door that I knew it was too late.

"Rise and shine!" he said. "Today's the day!"

When I didn't jump to his command, Venom continued with a smile on his face.

"Come on, don't you want to see your boyfriend go down in flames?"

How could he look so happy with what he had planned? Just looking at him made me sick.

"Coming," I said.

When Venom was gone, I reached into my pocket. Something was poking at me. A note. I unfolded it.

I can't wait to see you again, Lilly. I love you.

Before I even realized I was crying, tears spotted the little paper. Quickly, I wiped them off with my shirt.
 

Why did he have to go and say
that
? I should have been happy to hear those words. But they were the last things I wanted to read.

Venom came back, a grin on his face.

"Let's get this show on the road."

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Other Books by Elsa Day

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Wild: Dark Riders Motorcycle Club

Which will she choose? Love, or safety?

Lilly Clarkfeld just wants to be a regular college student. In her dreams she is a nurse, has a family, and is safe. That's not much to ask. But when she's forced to return to her childhood home because of her mother's illness, everything changes. Lilly's car crashes and she's taken in the night by the Dark Riders. It could have been any motorcycle club, but it was his.

Lilly's first love.
 

Asher Thomas is bigger, stronger, and more damaged than Lilly remembers, but he never forgot about her. They still burn for each other, but is this the life for Lilly? Can she put her white picket fence dreams on hold and trade them in for the rough love of an outlaw biker?

Copyright

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About The Author

Elsa Day loves writing stories about characters just begging to discover adulthood. Her books have romance, angst, and just the right amount of spice!

When  she's not writing, Elsa can probably be found chugging tea, listening to international music, and baking sweets. She enjoys sketching, painting, and photography, but writing will always be her first love.

Copyright © 2014 Elsa Day

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The stories outlined here are works of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All characters depicted are fictional, consenting, 18 years of age or older, and are not blood related unless explicitly stated.