Chapter 5

• "So the fault lies with you and your club? She stole from me. Disrespected me. But it's your MC I should take out my displeasure on?"
• Rain stiffened, and Daniel nearly smirked as the implications began to sink in for the biker.
• "I do not want any further issue with you than what's gone on tonight," Daniel continued tiredly. "I came here to celebrate the solidification of my alliance with your club, but I won't allow anyone to disrespect me. I would hate to make your club my enemy over such a simple fix."
• The lies slid off his tongue easily. Now all he had to do was play his cards right and he would be leaving with her and keeping his newly formed alliance with the MC. By the look of resignation that passed over Rain's face, Daniel knew he had the man right where he wanted him.
• And by extension, Kathryn.
• "What can I do to make this right?" Rain asked.
• "Gift her to me."
• "What?" Kathryn exclaimed, popping out from behind the biker to glare at Daniel. He met her stare, holding it far longer than he anticipated before her light blue eyes shifted from his, settling on his lips instead.
• "I want a gift. You."
• Her eyes widened, the beautiful blue filling up her face before she huffed in frustration. "No freaking way, jerk!"
• "Kathryn!" Rain snapped her name like a curse, running a hand down his face before addressing Daniel. "I don't speak for the club. We hold a vote for serious decisions and Kathryn is property of the Devil's Guardians. I can't give her to you without talking to my president."
• Kathryn's mouth dropped open in shock and her eyes widened with hurt. She'd probably been expecting some grand gesture of protection from the man.
• But she should have realized that in this game between Daniel and the MC, she was only a pawn to be sacrificed.
• "You can't be serious, Rain. You're my family. You all are," Kathryn exclaimed quietly, taking a small step back from the biker and looking around at the men who barely met her gaze.
• Daniel shook his head. "I won't be leaving here without taking her. You can tell your president that by agreeing to this, the favor owed to me is resolved. I'll even knock off fifty thousand of what is left of your repayment if you agree to this right here and now."
• Kathryn sucked in a breath, steeling her spine before she looked back at Daniel. Her fury fed the rage that always lived inside of him, and for one small moment, Daniel actually felt sated.
• "Deal," another biker said, slowly stepping forward. His name was Dave, and as Vice President, he seemed to be making an executive decision on behalf of his club.
• Excellent.
• Kathryn was visibly shaking as Daniel and Dave spoke quietly among themselves, but it wasn't fear that had her entire body trembling.
• It was anger. Hate.
• Maybe she'd be harder to break than he previously thought.
• He hoped so.
• .......
• Kathryn couldn't believe this. She was so mad she was shaking, and each time Daniel Ford met her gaze, she wanted to kill him. To strangle him with her bare hands.
• It was the smug look in his eyes that really set her off, not just the fact that he'd bartered for her like he might a piece of meat at the butcher's.
• And the fact that it had worked? That Rain had just rolled over and showed his belly to this guy?
• That just made everything worse.
• She was so angry and hurt that she didn't even feel scared by whatever the hell being 'gifted' to the kingpin of Chicago even meant.
• What, like she was his personal woman now? He got a little sneak peek and now he wanted more?
• He could have just asked! But men like him didn't ask permission, they took what they wanted.
• It was how he was so powerful, and why everyone was afraid of him. She should have been too, she knew that.
• But all Kathryn wanted to do was spit his face and tell him to get lost.
• And for that matter, Rain could get lost too. They'd been friends for years, and his half-assed attempt to protect her was just that; half-assed.
• Kathryn wanted to scream at them all, to tell them they were pathetic, but she held her tongue.
• Logically, she knew Rain had done all he could for her by lying to Daniel, even though this whole thing was because of him not being open with her about who she was getting intimate with in private.
• Rain might have claimed she was 'property of the Devil's Guardians, but she didn't actually belong to anyone within the MC. Technically she was just a hang around that they all protected.
• And now she belonged to The Devil of Chicago.
• Kathryn didn't bother to listen to Daniel's deep, sexy voice as he and Dave discussed the finer details of her new life.
• Instead, she fled to the changing rooms, ignoring the slew of dancers that were all lingering on the other side of the changing room door.
• They scattered like a bunch of roaches when the light came on, most of them pretending they hadn't been heavily eavesdropping on the entire fiasco out front.
• Only Heaven stood near her as the door shut firmly, biting her lip when Kathryn raised a brow.
• She expected the other woman to make some biting comment, to make her feel even worse.
• But all Heaven did was slap a piece of paper into Kathryn's palm and give her a sad look. "You call me if you need anything, you understand?"
• Kathryn's mouth tightened into a fine line to keep it from trembling as she nodded her thanks.
• She was in such a horrible spot if her arch nemesis Heaven was being friendly with her.
• God, what had she gotten herself into?
• Kathryn practically stomped over to one of the lockers lined up on the far wall, ripping open the metal door as her panic grew.
• She never should have stolen that watch. She'd thought Rain's comment to her beforehand was odd, but she hadn't even bothered questioning him.
• And now she'd been intimate with Daniel Ford and then cleaned him up.
• Men like him ruined women like her, and she didn't want to find out what he wanted from her, or why he sought to essentially buy her.
• It had to be over more than a watch. Right?
• Maybe if she just got the hell out of here while Daniel was distracted, she could make a clean getaway and start over somewhere new. Kathryn had done it once.
• She could do it again.
• She ripped off her clothes and shoes as a terrible plan formed, quickly dressing in a pair of black leggings, a tank top, and a pair of ballet flats.