She smiled at him like she’d won the cake at a cakewalk.

“Oh, we’re gonna do that no matter what,” Horse drawled. “But that’s not blood. I can think of something that is though.”

“What?” Jeff asked, his voice full of desperate hope. “I’ll do anything, I swear. If you give me a chance I’ll crack so many accounts for you, you won’t believe what we can accomplish. I’ll stop smoking, that’ll clear my head, I’ll do a better job…”

His voice trailed off as Horse laughed, and the mohawk guy shook his head and grinned at Picnic.

“You believe this asshole?” he asked. “Seriously, douche, you aren’t making a very good case for yourself, telling us just how much you been slacking.”

Jeff whimpered, and Horse saw Marie jerk forward, as if she wanted to go to him but thought better of it. That pissed him off even more. He wanted that kind of caring from her and she wasted it on her brother instead. But he was getting too worked up too fast, he needed to keep his cool. He took a second to slow down, stretching his neck from side to side, cracking his knuckles. That cleared his head.

“Let’s get a couple of things clear,” he said. “We’re not going to hurt you, Marie.”

“You aren’t?” she asked, and the surprise in her eyes stabbed right through him. She thought he’d hurt her, like her asshat ex, Gary. Might as well call him a monster. He forced himself back on track.

“Nope,” he said. “You didn’t do anything wrong, we aren’t pissed at you. This isn’t about you. You’ll keep your mouth shut if you want to survive, and you’re smart enough to know that. That’s not why you’re here.”

“Why am I here?”

“So you can see just how seriously fucked your brother is,” he replied. “Because we’re going to kill him if he doesn’t find a way to pay us back. I think he might be able to pull it off with the proper motivation.”

“I will,” Jeff babbled. “I’ll pay you back, thank you so much—”

“No, you’ll pay us back twice as much, fuckwad,” Picnic said, kicking him viciously in the side with his heavy leather boot. Jeff pitched to the floor, keening in pain. “That’s if we let you live, which is entirely up to your sister.”

Now was the moment. Horse wondered if he’d have to argue with her or just throw her in the truck, hands tied behind her back.

“I’ll do it,” she said.

Well shit. That was a little too easy. Didn’t she care about her safety at all? Nope, all she cared about was Jeff-hole. Horse snorted, disgusted, letting his eyes roam across her body. Fuck, she was hot. Even like this, straight from work, scared out of her mind. His Marie was small and curvy, with hair framing her face and tits heaving as she tried to control her fear. He’d bet a thousand dollars she had no idea the top four buttons of her shirt had come undone, showing a hell of a lot of cleavage and the outline of her black bra.

His dick approved. It wanted to squeeze between those boobs and shoot out a pretty pearl necklace for her to wear. Horse took a deep breath, this wasn’t over yet. He could fuck her tits later. Might be the first thing on his list.

“Don’t you want to ask what it is first?” he asked.

“Um, sure,” she said. “What do I have to do?”

“It seems Horse here wants a house mouse,” Picnic said. She looked blank. Picnic sighed and looked at Horse. “She’s clueless, you sure about this? Seems like work to me.”

Horse glared at him, wondering if he could hit him without fucking up his plan. Probably not. He turned back to Marie, forcing himself to stay calm, collected.

“This is your option,” he said, voice clipped. “You want to keep dumbass alive, pack a bag and climb on my bike when we leave. You do what I tell you, when I tell you, no questions and no bitching.”

“Why?” she asked, so cute and confused and blank it pissed him off even more. Didn’t she have any survival skills at all?

“So you can cook dessert for me,” he snapped.

Her mouth dropped open. Seriously, she didn’t get what was happening here? He shook his head, frustrated.

“Why the hell do you think?” he said, the words grating and harsh. “So I can fuck you.”

“You’re threatening to kill my brother just so you can sleep with me?” Marie asked, her face stricken.

Ruger walked over to Horse, draping his arm around his shoulders.

“She’s cute, but not real smart. Why don’t you let me take her for a ride, get her trained up for you.”

Ruger pumped his hips lewdly toward Marie. Horse turned and punched him in the stomach, the prick. He’d had too much of this shit, time to move along. He wanted Marie alone, naked, riding his cock. Enough with the pleasantries.

Grabbing her arm, he dragged her out of the trailer and into the orchard, pushing her back against one of the trees. She was breathing hard, making her boobs rise and fall, taunting him. He was pissed at Jeff, pissed at Ruger and pissed at Marie for being so damned perfect that she’d pushed him to this after he should have cut her loose. He’d offered her everything and she’d thrown it back in his face, yet she was perfectly willing to pimp herself out for that fuckface of a brother.

“I don’t want to sleep with you,” he told her grimly. “I want to fuck you. Sleeping, cuddling, all that other shit is for girlfriends and old ladies, and you’ve made it pretty fucking clear you aren’t interested in any of that,” he said, thinking about the leathers he’d gotten for her. What a joke. “I’m threatening your brother because he stole from the club, which had nothing to do with you. You steal from the club, you pay in blood. You’re his blood. We take you, he pays. Fucking you is just a bonus.”

“So you’re taking me to show that people shouldn’t steal from the club?” she asked, and he thought he saw a glint of understanding in her eyes. Finally.

“It’s a fuckin’ miracle, she gets it,” he muttered to no one, throwing up his hands. “Your brother’s lucky, because I wanna stick my dick in you more than I wanna kill him. Otherwise this wouldn’t be worth the trouble. If Jeff-hole gets his shit together and pays back the club I might let you go—when I’m done with you. If he doesn’t, then I’ll find some other use for you. Got it?”

Let her go? Not likely. Still, he had to play out the game. At some point she’d talk to her brother again, and when she did, dickwad needed to hear the right message.

“No games, no bullshit,” he said. He stepped away, trying to calm down, then turned back toward her. She looked terrified, clutching her hands together, tears streaming down her face. Suddenly he felt like an asshole. “You do this, it’s your choice. I’m not raping you. You’re making a decision to pay for your brother’s mistake on your back. You get me?”

She stared at him, eyes full of condemnation. That shamed him, and he didn’t like the feeling. Anger felt better.

“I’m serious,” Horse said, glaring at her, daring her to defy him. Fighting would be better than just watching her silently sucking it up for her brother. Hell, he liked fighting with her. Made his dick stand up and take notice. “You call it off any time you want. I’m not gonna lock you up and watch you every minute. You make this deal, it’s up to you to keep it. And you don’t have to make the fucking deal. Your brother’s an idiot and he knew what he was getting into. This isn’t your mess and it’s not your job to bail him out.”

“You trying to talk me out of it?” she asked with quiet dignity. “Well, you can’t. I meant what I said. I’d do anything for Jeff. Anything.”

Horse clenched his jaw and spun away from her, needing some kind of outlet for his anger and frustration before he did something really stupid. He kicked one of the trees and the throbbing pain in his foot helped him focus.

What exactly did he want from her, anyway? He needed her in his bed, in his house. She’d made it clear she wouldn’t end up there on her own. Was it his fault her brother was the biggest idiot on earth? Horse was offering them a lifeline, yet she judged him for it. Again. Just like she’d judged him for offering her a place as his old lady.