Chapter 54: 54

~TESSA~

The van smelled like sweat, oil, and stale cigarettes.

The air was suffocating, hot, and thick with fear.

Mine.

A strip of duct tape silenced me before I could scream again, my wrists bound tight with rough zip ties that bit into my skin.

I was wedged between the two men like cargo, their heavy shoulders pinning me to the seat.

Every bump in the road jolted me... made the plastic bite deeper.

Oh God!! Why me? Why was this happening to me?

My chest heaved, lungs burning, eyes fixed on the dirty floor where a wrench rolled with each turn.

Ryder. Debbie. Please…

One of the men, the driver, chuckled low. “That biker boyfriend of yours? He looked ready to rip us apart. Too bad he was too slow.”

The other leaned closer, his breath sour in my ear. “Boss is gonna be real happy to see you. Says you’re coming home where you belong.”

My stomach turned. Marcus.

Home. The word made bile rise in my throat.

I shook my head hard, fighting against the tape. My muffled protests only made them laugh.

“Don’t waste your breath, sweetheart,” the one beside me said, pressing a finger against the tape as if mocking me. “You’ll be with Marcus soon. And he’s got plans for you.”

I froze. My blood ran cold.

Through the front windshield, the highway stretched on, endless, black.

No landmarks, no lights, nothing but the hum of tires and the roar of the engine.

I pressed my forehead against the cold window, straining for one glimpse of Ryder’s headlights behind us. One sign he was close. But the road was empty.

The driver adjusted the rearview mirror, eyes glinting. “She’s scared shitless. Bet the boss’ll eat that up.”

I curled my fingers into fists, nails cutting into my palms, fighting the tears burning hot in my eyes.

If Ryder couldn’t find me... if Marcus really had me now...

No. I wouldn’t break. Not for him. Not again.

But the van kept going. And the night swallowed us whole.

~~~

The van screeched to a halt. My head slammed against the side, leaving me dazed as the men yanked the doors open.

“Out,” one barked, hauling me by the arm like I weighed nothing. Gravel crunched under my shoes as they dragged me into the stale night air.

The place reeked of gasoline and mildew... a warehouse, maybe.

Shadows stretched across rusted steel walls.

A single bulb flickered overhead. Everything was... sickly yellow.

And then I saw him.

Marcus.

He stepped from the shadows, hands in his pockets, a crooked smirk spreading across his face.

He looked cleaner than the last time I’d seen him... slick suit, hair gelled back, like he’d been waiting for this moment.

“Well, well,” he drawled, eyes dragging over me like poison. “If it isn’t my little runaway.”

I tried to back up, but the men shoved me forward until I stumbled.

My knees scraped concrete.

Marcus crouched in front of me, his cologne sharp.

He reached out, fingers grazing my chin. I jerked back and glared at him through the tears I refused to shed.

“Still got that fire,” he said, chuckling low. “Good. I like it better when you fight. Makes it more fun when you finally break.”

The words made my stomach twist, but then—he pulled something from his jacket pocket. A phone.

He tapped the screen and held it up.

My heart stopped.

Sarah.

The video showed her tied to a chair in some dingy room, eyes wide with terror, a gag muffling her sobs. She looked thinner, paler, but it was her. Alive.

“No…” My voice cracked through the tape still clinging to my lips.

Marcus grinned. “Oh, yes. Sweet little Sarah. Been keeping her real safe for you. You want her breathing tomorrow?” He tilted his head. “Then you’ll do exactly as I say.”

I shook my head, tears spilling now. “You—you bastard—”

He pressed the phone closer until Sarah’s terrified eyes filled my vision. “You see, Tessa, you’re mine. Always were. You want your sister alive? You stay with me. You smile for me. You wear what I tell you to wear. You breathe when I allow it. Understand?”

My chest caved.

The duct tape muffled my sob, but Marcus ripped it off roughly, leaving my lips raw.

“Say it,” he demanded, his voice sharp. “Tell me you’re mine.”

I swallowed, every fiber of me screaming to resist... but Sarah’s face, Sarah’s shaking shoulders...

My voice came out a whisper. “I’ll do whatever you want… Just don’t hurt her.”

Marcus’s smile widened, wolfish.

He pulled a silver necklace from his pocket, a small black stone hanging at its center.

“This is the new you,” he said, fastening it around my neck.

“Tracker. So I’ll always know where my girl is.”

He leaned close, lips brushing my ear. “Welcome back, Tessa. It’s time you remembered who you belong to.”

~

~RYDER~

The garage was too damn quiet.

Her laugh should’ve been echoing off the walls, bouncing between the bikes, filling this space the way only she could.

Instead, there was silence.

The kind that pressed against my chest and made it hard to breathe.

My fists slammed against the workbench, rattling tools to the floor.

“Where the hell are you, Tess?”

The metal edge bit into my knuckles, splitting skin, but I didn’t care.

Pain was nothing compared to this. This... choking fire clawing through my ribs.

Debbie was pacing across the room, her face pale, phone clutched so tight I thought she’d crush it.

She’d called the cops. She’d called her contacts. Nothing. Not a goddamn trace.

“I should’ve been faster,” I muttered, dragging both hands through my hair, tugging hard at the roots.

My reflection in the chrome of a nearby bike caught my eye... wild, bloodshot eyes, jaw tight enough to break.

Duke’s voice cut through the rage. “You went at ‘em like a storm, Ryder. There were too many. They planned this.”

“Planned?” I spun, chest heaving. “You think I give a damn if they planned it? He took her. He—” My voice cracked, raw and guttural. “He’s got her.”

Duke said nothing. Debbie stopped pacing long enough to put a hand on my arm. She was trembling, but her voice stayed firm. “We’ll get her back. Marcus doesn’t win. Not this time.”

Marcus. Just the name tasted like ash in my mouth.

I could see his smirk. Hear his cocky drawl. Picture his hands on her.

The workbench clattered again as I slammed my fist into it, the sound echoing like a gunshot.

Tools scattered across the concrete.

Debbie flinched but didn’t let go of me. “Ryder—listen to me. Tessa needs you steady. If you go off losing it now, we’ll lose her for good. He wants you reckless.”

She was right. God help me, she was right. But the fury inside me wasn’t something I could just leash.

I grabbed my leather cut from the back of a chair and shrugged into it, my movements sharp, desperate. “I’ll burn this town to the ground if I have to. I don’t care how long it takes... he doesn’t get to keep her.”

Duke stepped forward, eyes steady, voice low. “Then we hunt, brother. And we don’t stop till she’s back.”

I met his stare, the only thing keeping me from shattering right there.

My chest heaved, sweat stung my eyes, and every muscle in me trembled with rage.

“Tessa, hold on,” I whispered under my breath, “I’m coming for you.”