Daddy may say that he only wants what’s best for me, but that’s a fucking lie. He’s not above trapping me in a life I never wanted, and he isn’t above putting a GPS tracker in my car. But I’m done playing by his rules.
Mandy Murdock is the belle of high New York society. Mandy Murdock’s daddy is a billionaire, which means little Mandy knows all the right people and rubs shoulders with all the right crowds.
Yeah, bullshit. That’s not me at all, no matter what Mama and Daddy might say about it. I felt like puking on my little black cocktail dress every time one of those insufferable billionaire brats started bragging about the new car he’d just bought.
So yeah, I’m fucking done with that. It’s going to be nothing but an open road and adventure for me from now on.
Or, it would be, if I could just get someone to slow down enough to take me into the next town. I lower my arm, feeling a little defeated now as yet another sedan speeds past me on the road. To make myself feel better, I hum a bit of a song under my breath as I scan the road for another car. Singing to myself always helps calm me down.
Come on, I don’t think I look dangerous! I’m 18 years old and barely 5’0”, wearing a tank top and jean shorts with a flannel shirt tied around my waist. I’ve got junk in the trunk, you know, and I’m proud of my thick ass and wide hips. My tits aren’t bad either, although right now they don’t seem to be helping me flag down any passing cars.
Then again, I’ve got the piercing on the left side of my nose and through my right eyebrow, and I have an Alice in Wonderland-themed tattoo sleeve that’s super visible on my right arm. I didn’t think that they cared about this kind of thing in Pennsylvania, but maybe I’m wrong.
There’s a loud rumbling sound behind me, the sound of something going fast.
I look back over my shoulder and see a bunch of motorcycles roaring down the long stretch of highway. My heart starts pounding hard in my chest and I feel giddy as I watch the sunlight bouncing off of all that sleek metal. Without a second thought, I stick out a thumb high in the air and cup my other hand around my mouth.
“Hey!” I call out. “Anyone wanna take me for a ride?”
The first motorcycles get close and I get a good look at the riders. Fuck me, they’re a hot-looking bunch in all that leather. A couple of the bikers zoom by, and I watch them pass while my stomach drops a little. My hand flops to my side and I take a step back away from the road.
Then one of the bikers peels away from the group and executes a sharp U-turn. He slows down and pulls up beside me.
“Where to, little lady?” he asks.
Fuck, his voice is husky and deep, like the quiet rumble of a powerful engine. His long, wind-whipped brown hair settles on his broadly muscled shoulders. This guy is huge, and hot. He’s got to be at least a foot taller than me. I can’t get a good look at his face, which is mostly covered by a bandana. I see my own reflection in his shades: I’m completely red-faced, and not exactly from sunstroke
As he stares me down, I can’t help but wonder if he’s sizing me up. And whether he likes what he sees. I know that I do. I muster up more confidence than I feel and give him a winning smile. I’m told that when I smile, my nose scrunches up all cute.
“Anywhere ya wanna take me!”
He chuckles, and I wonder if he thinks that I’m just some ditzy rich kid, like maybe he can smell the money on me. After another moment, he shrugs one shoulder. “Well then,” he drawls quietly, raking a shiver through my stomach. “Hop on.”
I secure my backpack and watch as he pulls out a helmet for me to wear. I move to take the helmet from him, but he pulls it just slightly out of my reach. I’m not expecting this and almost tip forward before catching myself.
He chuckles again, and oh fuck, my toes start curling in my dusty sneakers. I hold still as he carefully places the helmet over my head, and climb up on the bike behind him. Once settled, I grab the sides of his leather jacket. On the back, there’s an emblazoned logo of a skull with a halo and flames dancing wildly out of the eye sockets, and a name written in bold letters below: Savage Saints.
For a moment, my heart rate spikes again. Shit, I’m really doing this. This man is riding with a motorcycle gang, and I’m trusting Him with my life.
The biker turns his head slightly to the side. “You’re gonna have to hold tighter than that, baby.”
I lean all the way forward so that I can wrap my arms more securely around him. I think I catch a glimpse of his eyes through the side of his shades before he turns back and revs up the bike in one movement. A second later, he hits the throttle, and I sure as hell would have gone flying if he hadn’t warned me.
Besides, in this position, my breasts and tummy are pressed up against his back and I can feel his abs shifting under my palms. Being this close to him, with all the heat coming off his body, is getting me worked up. But that’s not even the half of it because the bike is vibrating like hell between my legs. Fuck, I can feel myself getting wet. All I can do is hold on tight and hope no one notices when I get off.
The biker catches up to the rest of his gang in no time. As we get close to the middle of the pack, one of the other riders turns his head and shouts something at us.
“Twisted Sinners are coming behind us! What should we do?”
Without missing a beat, my rider shouts back, “Ace, you take half of the riders and send them on a chase, and I’ll lead the others back to the club. They wouldn’t dare challenge us on our own turf.”
“Your call, Lord,” Ace answers. “But those sons of bitches are going to be running all over town saying we’re cowards for running.”
Lord’s only response is to hit the throttle, and now I’m literally holding on for dear life as we make our way to the front of the pack. If I have to guess, the Twisted Sinners must be a rival motorcycle gang, although I don’t want to think about what will happen if the two gangs cross paths. You’ve really done it now, Mandy.
I’m not gonna lie, but the rest of that ride passes by in a blur. I have my eyes shut most of the time. Luckily I don’t get motion sickness, because Lord makes some pretty tight turns as he gets us to safety. When I finally feel the vibrating bike between my thighs start to slow down, I let out a long breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. We pull up to a low, sleek-looking building and come to a smooth halt.
Inside, we grab a couple of stools at the bar, I’m both excited and a bit intimidated. Between the full-throttle motorcycle ride and the chugging guitars from the heavy metal playing over the bar speakers, my body’s pumped with adrenaline. I look over by the pool table and see bikers screaming and cursing at each other, particularly a bald guy with no eyebrows and a tattoo of a cobra on his head. I start questioning what the hell I’m doing, that’s when I hear a sweet woman’s voice ask,
“can I get you something to drink honey?”
I look over and I see a big beautiful woman with bright red hair and a huge smile on her face. Her presence calms me. Honestly, I didn’t expect to see someone like her at a place like this.
“Just some water with ice. I’m parched from being out in the sun all day.”
She brings my water and a bottle of Budweiser for Lord.
“My name is Red, by the way, if there’s anything you need, just ask.”
“Thank you so much, my name is Mandy.”
I take a sip of my water and look over at Lord. He puts out his hand and says,
“Mandy, I’m Lord.”
I give a firm shake to his dry, callous hand and finally get a good look at his sharp features and strong jaw accented by his large beard. His face is stoic, and maybe to other people, he might seem intimidating, but I just feel my heart filling up with warmth as I stare up at him.
“So tell me, Mandy, what were you doing hitching on I-80? That’s a wild thing to do!”
“I took a bus from New York, you probably saw the damn thing broken down on the side of the road right before you picked me up.”
He nods.
“I waited for about an hour for the tow-truck, then figured I’d try my luck and see what adventures the universe had in store for me today, and that’s when I found you.”
I look into his dark black eyes and smile.
Lord laughs.
“Well little lady, that’s a dangerous thing to do in these parts of Pennsylvania, it takes some balls! So, what’re you running from?”
Taken aback from his bluntness, I pause for a moment trying to find the best way to answer. The last thing I want is for him, or any of these bikers to find out that I’m billionaire Lucas Murdock’s daughter.
“I’m not running from anything, just looking for some adventure, that’s all.”
Lord chuckles, I’m sure he can sense the nervousness in my voice and the look he gives me lets me know he doesn’t believe what I just said. I can feel my face turning red and beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I can’t hold eye contact with him so I look away. Over his shoulder, I see the guy with a cobra tattoo staring directly at me from across the room, our eyes lock for a quick moment right before he looks down at his phone, and then quickly back at me with a face lit up like the Manhattan skyline. I hear Lord’s deep husky voice but can’t make out what he’s saying. When I look at him, it’s obvious he knows I wasn’t paying attention.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I said, tell me about yourself. Where are you from? What were you doing up in New York?”
“Uh, um” I’m trying to dance around the questions and I notice the man with the cobra tattoo standing directly over Lord’s shoulder, staring at me with a smirk, he’s waiting to hear my answer. I take in a gasp of air and before I can say anything, the man with the cobra tattoo shouts,
“I’ll tell you who she is Lord, she’s that fucking billionaire Lucas Murdocks daughter! It’s all over the fucking internet, he’s willing to pay a hefty reward for her safe return. Cha-ching Lord, we’re gettin’ paid! We’re gonna be able to weasel at least a few million out this rich ass scumbag. Great catch Pres! Here’s what I’ll do, I’ll get in touch with the authorities, negotiate a nice chunk of cash for us and co-ordinate the exchange.”
He’s overly excited, like a broke person who just won the lottery. He pinches my cheek and shouts, “We’re rich baby!”
Lord is looking straight at me, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking, I’m frightened. Thoughts start rushing through my mind, about how these bikers will extort my father for money and I’ll end up having to go back home, back to that bullshit life. I feel overwhelmed and I break down in tears.
Lord rises out up from his stool and yells at the biker,
“Snake! We’re not turning her in, that’s not the way our club works.”
“But, Lord we can make millions from this deal!”
“I don’t give a shit how much we can make, we’re not turning her in.”
Lord’s voice grows louder.
“Listen up everyone, this here is Mandy and she’s with me, she’s directly under my protection. So, don’t no one try to touch her, don’t even come near her!”
