VENDETTA: A Bad Boy, Motorcycle Club Romance by Lauren Devane Page A

twitching nose—so I did everything I could to increase profits.
    One flash of genius was to sell online, through sites on the dark Web, and then ship the product out cloaked in things like teddy bears or candles. I preferred the candles, because they offered a hard barrier. Dale preferred the teddy bears, because they took less time. My latest idea was to stuff a baggie of meth inside a bag of coffee beans.
    “What if I’m back before sunrise?” Billy was already using then, and I wasn’t keen to see him, but his place offered an escape from Dale’s.
    “No. Get upstairs.”
    Rage swam though me like a living thing, but I turned and headed for the stairwell.
    “Emily.” The sound of my name was a gong and I stopped, not looking back at him.
    “Get over here.”
    Fight or flight kicks in when you know something horrible is going to happen again, but sometimes there’s just nowhere to run. Sometimes your only option is to grit your teeth and bear what will be done. Wild fantasies of running to the front door and getting off the property played out in my head, even as I walked back to him and clenched my jaw, preparing myself.
    “What is it?”
    “Why do you constantly defy me when I’ve given you everything?” His face looked genuinely confused and his tone was peppered with hurt, as if I’d betrayed him somehow. From the time he took me in, he’d done nothing but use me to build his drug empire. Dale had never offered me anything that I didn’t pay for.
    “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I wasn’t sorry. Not even a little. But sometimes quietly apologizing to him would stop him from beating me. Looking down through my lashes, I saw his fist curl just before he swung.
    Pain arched through my face and I stumbled back, grabbing the couch to keep from slamming into the floor. I could have pulled myself back up then, but he’d have just hit me again and again until I stayed down, so I curled up into myself and felt his boot swing into my ribs. I choked, then gagged when he did it again.
    “Why do you make me do this, girl?” Another kick, then his hand fisted in my hair and he dragged me up. Bright red agony played in front of my eyes and I struggled to stay conscious. It had been so long—almost two months—since he’d hit me that some stupid, willful part of myself thought he wouldn’t do it again. “I don’t like having to show you your place.”
    His face was only inches from mine and his heavy breathing and wet mouth made my stomach turn over. Always I was scared that one day he’d take it farther, give in to his desire to beat me until I was broken or dead, but it wasn’t going to be today. I let my eyes close and felt him release me, heard his boots on the wooden floor and then the bang of the front door.
    Crawling up the stairs and into bed, I reminded myself to set an alarm just in time so that I’d be up to get the shipment. If they woke up Dale, I’d be in for another round with his fists.
    Dale was going to be pissed that I got caught up with coke dealers, especially The Fallen. There was no way he was going to do like he promised when he sent me to Mexico now. “When you come back,” he said, “I’ll give you your documents and enough money to get your own place. Just promise you’ll come back on weekends to work.” So I’d agreed and headed down to Mexico, not wanting to make waves when I was so close to getting what I wanted.
    Now I wasn’t going to get what he’d promised.
    All my plans were blown.
    But I was alive.
    Despite the horror of the past few days, I felt relaxed on the bed with Flash, able to look out and see the ocean. Though the beach was undoubtedly crowded, the roar of the sea muted the sounds of voices chatting or kids playing on the sand below. It was just the water, crashing against the shore before receding back down. Closing my eyes, I let it soothe me and wash away everything except me and the man next to me.
    I was terrified of him.
    Not that he’d hurt me,