Steel: Blackthorne MC #1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

if she did.”
    Damien grunted and continued to look at me suspiciously as Nick led me towards the store.
    The bell above the door rang as we entered and the clerk looked up. He was wearing a baseball cap and chewing gum. I looked at him meaningfully, wishing that I could somehow communicate that he should call 911, but his bored eyes dropped back to the comic on the counter that he’d been flicking through.
    “We need to use the restroom,” Nick said.
    “Out back,” the guy said, jerking his thumb towards the door and not bothering to look up.
    Nick kept a hand on the small of my back as we walked through into the dark corridor towards the restroom.
    “Can’t you just leave me here?” I begged, turning to face him. I had a feeling he might be slightly more open and receptive without the other bikers around.
    Nick looked over his shoulder as if he was checking that nobody else was listening to us. And when he looked back at me, I could see pity in his blue eyes.  
    “This won’t be forever,” he said. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but please believe me when I say you need to keep your head down and do as I say.”
    “Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything to you or them. Why won’t they let me go?” My voice caught in my throat as I spoke.
    Nick shook his head. “They aren’t allowed to… Not without Victor’s say so.”
    “I’ll wait out here,” Nick said as we came to a stop beside the restroom.
    The room stank, but I bolted the door behind me and leaned back onto the dirty painted door. I looked around desperately for a way to escape.
    There was a window above the toilet, but it was scarcely bigger than a cat flap, and there was no way I would fit through it.
    I briefly considered staying locked inside the restroom and then screaming for help until the sales clerk agreed to call 911, but then I dismissed the idea. It would only take Nick seconds to break down the door, and I didn’t want to find out what would happen if I pushed the boundaries that far.
    After I washed my hands, I rejoined Nick in the corridor and walked back to the shop. The other bikers were buying candy and sodas.  
    “Want anything?” Nick asked.
    I picked out a can of Coke and handed it to him.
    Nick handed the can to Chad and then escorted me out of the gas station back to the bike. It was as if he knew what I was thinking.
    “I’m glad you didn’t shout for help in there, or do anything stupid,” Nick said.
    I gazed down at the dusty forecourt. I was regretting not asking the cashier to help me. It could have been my only chance of escape.
    “I should have done,” I muttered.
    Nick shook his head sadly. “No, Ella, you shouldn’t have. If you had, they would have killed him.”  

5

    My pulse spiked when Nick said the bikers would have killed the gas station clerk, but I didn’t have a chance to respond before Chad lumbered over and handed me a Coke.  
    I took the can from Chad and drank it greedily. I was so thirsty.
    It seemed we barely had a chance to finish our drinks before Damien was back on his bike and shouting for the others to do the same.
    With a heavy heart, I let Nick help me back onto the bike. My mind was still whirring. Would they really have killed the gas station clerk or was Nick just trying to scare me into behaving? I had a horrible feeling he had been telling the truth.
    It was ridiculous believing that I could trust him. Nick was holding me prisoner, and just because he was cute and said a few nice words didn’t mean he had my best interests at heart.  
    I couldn’t understand why they were taking me with them. And I still couldn’t figure out what had happened to Claire. If only I still had my cell phone. Perhaps at the next pitstop I might be able to find a phone without anyone noticing.
    We rode for hours. I had never ridden on the back of a motorbike before and I was surprised at how physical it was. My legs ached from being in the same position. I couldn’t