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.I speed ahead of Beck, crouching low, struggling to hold back the rush of adrenaline that's coursing through my veins.At this moment, I have no outlet for it.I've got to keep it bottled in until it's time to let loose.I swing around a semi, and end up a few cars ahead of Beck, traveling along at speeds that are most definitely not going to fall within any legal limit.The road stretches out before me, numbing me to the situation and wrapping my soul up in the moment.Wind teases my shoulders, cutting through my leather jacket with knives that wake me up and make my memory so sharp it could cut.I see Amy bending over that Road King bike back in the day, so innocent but desperate to get out.I see myself, getting wrapped up in her mind, sweeping in and taking over.I've been thinking only of me, but it's really Amy whose life has changed the most.I squeeze my hands so tight that they hurt, rocketing forward, eyes scanning the cars around me.I could get lucky here, catch a glimpse of Amy and act a hero savin' her from a fate worse than death.Instead, I get a phone call.I pull over to the side of the road, skidding into the gravel with a curse and a call to Beck over the intercom.My helmet comes off and I answer the phone without looking at the number.“Austin Sparks.” It's a voice I recognize.Goddamn it.Margot Tempe.Our rat is back and apparently quite eager to piss me the fuck off.“I know you're following me, but it has to stop.I'm not going to hurt Amy, but I need you to listen to me.” My first urge is to tell her to piss the hell off, but that's not going to help my woman, and that's all that matters to me.At least we're on the right track.If she knows I'm following her, then we must've either passed her or shown up in her rearview mirror, right?“What do you want, Margot?” I ask, wishing I had taken Beck's advice and shot the woman in the back of the damn head.But that wasn't the right decision to make, and I still stand before my original choice.I listen to the pause on the line, and I just know she didn't come up with this plan all on her own.“Why Amy?”“It's not really about Amy, Austin,” she tells me as I scrub my fingers through my hair in a frustrated gesture.Beck slides in next to me and lifts his visor.I wave him away, gesturing at the highway with my left hand.Luckily, we've been friends long enough that he understands what I'm trying to say.Beck nods, puts his helmet back in place and takes off, merging into the traffic like a dancer or some shit.“This is about us.”“Who the fuck is us?” I ask, resisting the urge to make quotation marks with my fingers.Ain't nobody around to see that crap.I turn my head away from the traffic, wishing away the noise.I don't want to miss a damn word of this phone call.Doing that could change everything.“The Branded Kestrels,” Margot says, her voice muffled by the roar of a nearby semi.“The merger of Bested by Crows and Broken Dallas.”“You ain't nothin' to them, Margot,” I say, trying to slice through her Achilles' heel with words.She's always been a weak girl.If joining these assholes is any indication, she still is.“You're less than the chrome in their rides, baby.If you're trying to buy a life with Amy's freedom, you're going to be sorely mistaken when it comes time for payment.”“I'm not buying anything,” Margot snaps at me, and I wonder how much her dignity's been taxed these last few months.I'm not bluffing here.She's probably a passing consequence to these guys, a toy to be used and discarded.It's a sad, sad fact in this world.I don't know why any woman would put themselves through that crap.“How would you have reacted to a dozen guys in cuts storming into the hotel? I dye my hair blonde and put on some fancy makeup, and Triple M hardly even notices me.Not a single fucking person recognized me until I got upstairs.How fucking pathetic are you?”“Goddamn it, you stupid little bitch.What the fuck do you want? It ain't to chat my ear off, so let's hear it.”“Austin, we've got some contracts that have come due, and it's your fault we haven't been able to deliver.You're going to fulfill your end of the bargain whether you want to or not.The same offer still stands.Your women, their cuts, and money.I hope your last bank hit was kind to you because you're going to need as much as you can get.This isn't going away, Sparks.We have creditors and there are debts due.Somebody has to pay up, and it isn't going to be us.”“How the fuck is that going to get me Amy back?” I scream at her, beyond motherfucking frustrated.I've lost sight of Beck, but that's alright.As long as he's on her trail, or at the very least making the bitch nervous, that's exactly where he needs to be.I'll catch up.Then I'll pop Margot's petite little head from her shoulders.“You have to make a choice, Austin Sparks.Your woman or your club.” My heart starts to pound, so fast and hard it's like a hammer smashing a nail into my chest.I feel sick.“If you decide to choose your club, we'll keep Amy, and she'll be the first bitch in our stable of whores.”The phone clicks off, and I let out a scream.Chapter 20AustinI dial Margot Tempe right back, seething with rage [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]