Gio (Steel Demons MC #6)

Chapter 29

Harper

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been locked up in the small, dark, windowless room. I didn’t know if it was day or night. Viper and his men had moved me from the original building which dashed my hopes that Gio or anyone would come to save me. They had no clue where I was and neither did I—if I even had a way to reach out to them, which I didn’t.

For the first few hours I couldn’t hear much, but after a while footsteps and muffled conversations sounded all around me. I couldn’t tell if it was right beside me, below, or above me, because the room was pitch black. I could stand up, but two or three steps in any direction had me right up against a wall. It had to be a closet or the world’s tiniest room.

I had nothing to do but think. Would Diesel and Rocky agree to Viper’s terms? I knew what Cole told me about the MC, that it was a democracy but there were times that Diesel and Rocky could override the vote if they decided it was best for the MC. My biggest worry was that they would decide that the mission to rescue me would hurt the MC more than anything and they would choose to let me hang.

I knew, of course, that Cole and Gio wouldn’t go for that which made my eyes fill with tears because I also knew what that meant. If forced to choose, Gio and Cole would make the foolish choice to attempt to save me without regard to their own safety. I couldn’t live with that, so I listened carefully, tested the door handle and tried for any weakness in the room where I was being held. I hadn’t found a way out, not yet, but I wasn’t ready to give up. I still had some fight in me, and I would use that until my last breath.

Wherever I was being held was busy. Music played and there were dozens of voices and noises, mostly sex sounds, all around me. I’d tried shouting, but either no one had heard, or no one cared. This was either a party house or some kind of brothel or sex club, I wasn’t sure which and even less sure that I wanted to know. I still didn’t believe that Viper planned to let me go, which had my mind racing with what else he had planned for me.

I couldn’t let myself think about that, I had to think about how I could get the hell out of here. Though with every minute that passed, it became clearer to me there was no way out without help.

This can’t be how it ends, how I end.

I refused to let this be how I ended.

I started kicking on the door, determined to get someone’s attention. I didn’t care who, even if it was one of the Reapers it would mean someone was listening, was paying attention to me. But a loud hush fell all around me, and I wasn’t sure if I should keep kicking the door or stop.

A woman’s scream sounded but that was it, there were no other sounds of distress, and I didn’t know how to respond.

Heavy footfalls sounded next, and I tensed, backing myself up into the farthest corner I could find to save myself, or maybe to give myself time to react, I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. But I braced myself for the worst.

Grunts and groans sounded that I chalked up to sex sounds until I heard the door handle jiggle and then it was yanked open. “Harper? Thank fuck!”

Gio? “Gio is that you?”

“It is,” he answered in a low relieved whisper before I felt his hands on my waist, pulling me to my feet before they were lifted off the ground. “Fuck I’m so glad to see you,” he whispered. “I wasn’t sure if I would find you.”

“You did,” I cried. “I knew you would, but I wasn’t sure how long it would take.”

“Felt like a fucking eternity,” he muttered and carried me down one flight of stairs and then another. He fell silent as he carried me, and the next thing I knew there was a cool breeze on my skin. My feet hit the ground, and a loud sob escaped. “You’re okay, Harp. You’re safe, anyway.”

I clung to Gio as if he was my whole world, because in that moment he was. Hell, in general he was everything to me. “Gio, you came for me.”

“Of course I did.” His voice had an edge to it, and I realized we weren’t out of danger yet as he urged me forward, “Come on, Harp, we need to put a lot of fucking distance between this place and us. Quickly.”

I nodded and accepted the helmet he handed me. I wanted to argue that he needed it more than I did but I knew there was no arguing with him right now. I held on tight and keep my gaze on the scenery that zoomed by, making sure that there were no motorcycles or vans following in our wake. My heart continued pounding against my chest because I knew there would be a chase or a retaliation. My brain wouldn’t let me believe that my rescue had been so easy, so free of consequences.

Too soon the Steel Demons clubhouse came into view and everything else I’d suppressed came back to me with reckless abandon. Tears slid down my cheeks and my body shook uncontrollably as the bike came to a stop and Gio killed the engine.

“Harper, you’re okay,” he whispered and held me close while I cried into his strong, broad chest. “You’re okay, baby. I got you.”

His words were soothing but still I couldn’t stop the tears. “I just,” I started and paused for more sobs to shake my body. “I just can’t believe you came for me. I wanted you to, but I never dreamed…” my words trailed off because there was nothing else to say other than, “Thank you, Gio.”

He shook his head above me, but I held him tight. “Don’t thank me, Harper. I should have kept you safe, I fucking promised. I’m so fucking sorry.”

“No!” I pulled back and shook my head. “Don’t you dare. They were organized and somehow, they knew I’d be there.” I froze as moments from my abduction came back to me. “Can we go inside? Please?”

“Yeah, of course.” He wrapped his big body around mine and guided me around the building and through the rear entrance where nobody could see us. His hand rubbed soothing circles against my back and once we were locked inside his room in the clubhouse, he pulled back and stared at me. “Harper.”

The smile that touched my lips was small but filled with fire and gratitude. “Gio, I need you to stay calm.”

“I can’t.”

“Try because I have to tell you something and you’re not going to like it.” I worked hard to remember everything I could just in case I found myself in this position. “They knew where I’d be.” The words rushed out of me. “When they grabbed me, they said the bitch said she would be here. ” I shook my head and cleared the fog. “At first I thought I was the bitch but the more I thought about it the more I realized that someone told them where I would be.”

His jaw clenched tight. “You heard that?”

I nodded and held his face in my hands because I felt him spiraling. “Who would do that? Who hates me so much they’d want me dead?” I stopped as the realization hit. “Cindy wouldn’t do this, would she?”

He stiffened with tension, and I could feel the anger course through his body until he was just a rage-filled vessel. I quickly tried to defuse the situation—I didn’t want him to go off half-cocked on the club girl without any evidence. “We don’t know it’s her, but I’m safe now Gio, because of you. I’m right here, right now because of you.”

He shook his head, ready to take on the burden of my kidnapping but I wouldn’t let him. “I promised.”

“And you got me. Here I am,” I reminded him. “I’m fine, Gio. I’m safe and other than a few bruises, I’m good. They stuck me in a room and kept me there, no one touched me.” I held his face and forced his gaze to mine. “Thank you Gio. Thank you for saving me from a fate worse than death.”

His smile spread slowly, and he held my face in return, pressing his forehead to mine. “I’m in love with you, Harper, I couldn’t do anything but burn the whole fucking world down until I found you.”

A shaky breath escaped at his intense, heartfelt words. “Gio.” My lips met his in a kiss that was hot and hungry, so raw with emotion that more tears filled my eyes.

The door to Gio’s room opened and my brother appeared with an angry scowl on his face. “You might have just burned the whole fucking world down, brother. Diesel wants to see you.” His anger subsided slightly when his gaze met mine. “Fuck Harp, it’s so good to see you.”

“Good to be seen alive,” I told him while I clung to Gio.

“Harper.” He whispered my name before he planted the softest, most intense kiss of my life against my lips. Everything he felt was contained in this kiss and I held him close and tight, reluctant to let him go. “I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be here,” I assured him. Where else would I be when the man of my dreams just declared his love for me? Those words stuck with me through a hot shower.

I’m in love with you.

Gio was in love with me, he had risked his life to rescue me. It was surreal but every atom that made me pulsed with the belief that his words were real. Genuine and sincere.

Gio loved me.

***

After my shower I sat on the bed wrapped in a towel. I didn’t want to put on the outfit I’d been abducted in, but I had nothing else to wear. I was about to reluctantly get back into yesterday’s clothes, when a knock sounded. I tentatively went to answer and when I opened the door Peyton, Ellie, Laura, Grace, and Emma were all standing there, wearing tentative smiles and heavy expressions of worry. “Harper, you look better than I expected.”

Peyton’s words made me laugh. “I feel better than I expected and it’s all thanks to Gio.”

The women stepped in and produced several bags. “We brought you a few things Gio thought you might need.”

“Thank you.” More tears filled my eyes at their kind gesture and the fact that Gio had thought to ask them. The bag was filled with clothes and underwear, toiletries, and anything else a woman could need to feel normal. “Seriously, thank you ladies.”

“We’re a team,” Laura said with a smile. “We help out when and where we can.”

“This is just what I needed.” I took the bag into the bathroom and quickly changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a loose t-shirt. Once I was done I returned to the living room, “Seriously this is so kind of you all.”

Ellie brushed off my words. “How are you doing? Really?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? I sighed heavily and assessed my emotions. “My cheek is bruised, and it still stings but I’m okay. Mostly.” I turned to them and shrugged. “Gio says he’s in love with me. I didn’t even think that was a possibility so what do I do with that?”

Ellie grinned. “Easy, you just have to figure out how you feel about him.”

I didn’t need to figure it out because I knew. “I love him. I’ve loved him since I was a girl.” He was the only person I thought about when I thought I would die.

“Then you have your answer. Tell him how you feel and grab that love by the balls,” Peyton offered with a cheeky grin. “This life is too dangerous not to live with the most intense love you can find every fucking day. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed so grab today by the balls and make it your bitch.”

“Yeah, that,” Grace offered with a smile. “But maybe with a little less violence.”

I laughed. “I will, but first I need to tell you something. I told Gio but I’m not sure how this all works.”

They all gathered closer, and I felt safe and protected. Confident enough to air my suspicions. “What?”

“Someone tipped off the Reapers about where I would be.” I told them what I heard. “I can only think of one person, but I thought they were just as loyal as you ladies.” I shook my head and covered my face. “I only told Gio, so someone had to have been listening in to share my location.”

“Shit.” Laura shook her head. “That’s not good.”

“Right? I felt crazy thinking it but it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“You told Gio,” Ellie began with a sad smile. “The guys will take care of it how they see fit. It’s what they do,” she explained. “It’s how they operate.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. I wasn’t completely sure what that meant but I nodded anyway. “What’s going to happen?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Peyton said, a sympathetic smile on her face. “But it won’t be good.”

A small part of me was happy with the answer but the other, bigger part, hated to think I might have put a target on another woman’s back, even if she wanted me dead.