Runner: A dark enemies to lovers gang romance (Sapphire Duet Book 1)
Runner: Chapter 13

“Come in.”

I pushed the door open, instantly wary when I met Gray’s amused gaze. I should have done this over the damn phone. But I couldn’t deny I was curious when they invited me to meet at their house. I already knew where they lived, but learning more about their personal lives was smart if I wanted to stay one step ahead of them. They lived on the north side, a couple of blocks from their club, and their house was huge. I’d only seen the foyer before one of their men pointed me to the study. I wondered if I could sneak away after the meeting to explore more.

I greeted Vic and Juan, relaxing a bit since they were here. Kade and Gray wouldn’t pull any bullshit with their bosses here. I quickly scanned the study, noting that the only exit was the door I’d just walked through. The room was large and different from other offices I’d been in. Two large desks spanned the back wall, proving that this odd arrangement worked for their crew. I wondered if they ever disagreed on decisions—and if they did, how did they come up with a solution if neither of them could pull rank?

It didn’t make any sense to me at all. I guessed that was why I enjoyed working solo. I could never deal with waiting for someone else’s approval to do what I wanted.

Besides the two desks, there were two black leather couches facing each other, with a small table between them. A couple of bookcases were on the left wall, but it was the right wall that caught my attention. It was bare except for four eyehooks screwed into the drywall.

Usually, there was a special room—like a basement—where torture happened, but it seemed Kade and Gray did their dirty business right here. It wasn’t a shock, and didn’t bother me, but those circle bolts had my gut twisting with a reminder that these men were as ruthless as I was.

“What did you want to talk about?” Juan asked, offering me a drink. “I thought the plan was to meet with Kade and Gray to help them with their job tonight.”

Vic glanced at his watch. “Yes, in a half hour. We want to make sure it happens on schedule.”

I smiled. “This won’t take more than a few minutes. I wanted to tell you in person that I’m not working with them tonight. Or on any of their other jobs. They’re more than capable without me.”

A tense silence covered the room as they all stared at me. Kade and Gray were frowning, trying to figure out what I was doing, while Vic and Juan looked downright annoyed that I was changing the script.

“Why?” Juan finally asked. “I thought we came to an agreement. You three would work together until the Panther job.”

“And we will.” I took a sip of my drink. “When I have a big job, I’ll include an invitation to them to join me. And we’ll continue to plan the Panther job. But I like doing things my way. Being a third wheel on jobs that I don’t plan doesn’t interest me.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for you to be part of a team,” Kade grated out.

“When it’s something I want, I can.” I shrugged. “This job isn’t something I want.”

My words weren’t the truth. I lived for any job that included stealing a car. Any job that made my adrenaline pump so I’d forget about life, I’d take in a heartbeat. It was them I didn’t want to work with. They were a distraction I didn’t need, and after Rylan’s kiss yesterday, I promised myself that I’d make my time in this city all about business.

“We’ll discuss this more in the future,” Vic said, clearly not happy with my decision. “You two go collect the car, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kade nodded as Gray kept his eyes on me. I set my glass down, getting ready to make my exit. Juan and Vic left, and I moved to follow until Kade stepped in front of me. I straightened my spine, not missing the mischief dancing in his eyes.

“There has to be another reason you’re backing out last minute,” Gray said from behind me.

“Nope,” I said, keeping my smile while my muscles tensed. They were up to something and had the advantage of being in their home. “Your little job is beneath my skill set. I don’t deal well with boring, so I decided to skip it.”

“Or you’re going to run the job by yourself and fuck us over again.” Kade moved with me when I tried going around him. I didn’t blame them for thinking that, but for once, I wasn’t planning anything behind their backs.

“Not this time,” I answered, losing my patience when Kade darted in front of me for the third time when I went for the door. “This is the only time I’m going to ask nicely. Move. I’m leaving.”

“That wasn’t asking nicely. How about you stay here while we get the car so we know you aren’t going to stab us in the back?” Kade murmured.

“Fuck you. I don’t listen to anyone—especially you two,” I sneered.

Gray was being silent, which meant he was most likely sneaking up behind me. But I refused to look away from Kade, knowing the second I did, he would attack. I feigned a move to the left, and when Kade followed, I ducked under his arm, darting to the right. Gray must have been closer than I thought because when I pulled open the door, a hand slammed onto the wood next to my head.

I didn’t even try to open the door again. I twisted around, hitting Gray inside the elbow to weaken his hold on the door. He was facing me, and his smug grin disappeared when I kneed him in the balls. He went to the ground with a pained groan as a hand tangled in my hair, yanking me back against a chest.

“You wanted to have fun with us,” Kade muttered in my ear. “Let’s see how long it lasts until you choose to leave our city.”

I giggled. “But the fun is just starting.”

His hold on my hair was tight, but I still managed to turn and wrap an arm around his waist. Hooking my leg around his knee, I shoved at the same time, bringing us both to the floor. I landed on my shoulder and hissed out a breath as I scrambled to get on top of him. He refused to let go of my hair, and I took note that he was smart enough to know not to give up his one leverage over me. If only I were wearing a wig again.

He pulled my other arm out from under me, causing me to fall back onto the floor. Bending my knees, I kicked his stomach, stopping his attempt to climb on top of me. When it came to fighting, I was better than most, but having a man who had more than fifty pounds on me pin me down would put me at a disadvantage. Reaching into my boot, I slipped my knife from its holder and swung at his wrist. I sliced enough for him to finally let go of my hair but not deep enough to do any real damage.

I rolled away from him, keeping a tight grip on my blade. I was nearly standing again when someone slammed into me, taking me back to the floor. The scent of leather surrounded me, and I grinned wickedly when I caught Gray’s eyes. He was practically sitting on my arm as he squeezed a pressure point in my wrist, giving me no choice but to drop my weapon. Too bad for him, that wasn’t my only one.

“I must be losing my touch,” I taunted as I reached behind my back with my free arm. “Men are usually down for much longer than that when I kick them there. Unless you have nothing between your legs to hurt.”

“What can I say,” Gray shot back through clenched teeth, “getting you on your ass is good motivation to push past the pain.”

I pulled my gun out, sliding the safety off and pressing it to his head. “Game’s over. Get off me.”

Gray’s eyes widened, and I smiled smugly. They were scared to kill me—with good reason. I didn’t have to show the same restraint. Although I had no plans to kill them in their own home. This place was crawling with men from their crew, and a gunshot would bring them all to me before I had a chance to escape. But these two didn’t know I wouldn’t pull the trigger.

“Can’t win against us without a weapon?” Kade ground out as Gray slowly slid off my arm and scooted away.

“No, I could. I just don’t feel like getting blood all over my new outfit.” I jumped to my feet, keeping the gun aimed at both of them. “That was a good try though.”

“Who says we’re done?” Gray asked, his gaze focused on my weapon.

I backed up to the door, and they both slowly crept toward me, making me frown. Kade darted forward, and I pulled the trigger, aiming right in front of his feet. While I was focused on him, Gray lunged at me. I swung the gun toward him, but he was close enough to grab my wrist. He raised both our arms up, and another shot went off, hitting the ceiling.

“Give it up,” Gray huffed out, backing us up until my spine hit the door. He pressed my arm above me, trying to pry the gun out of my hand.

I laughed wildly. “If I surrendered that easily, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

Kade shot toward us, grabbing my free arm and smashing it against the wall. I kicked at him, but he turned, and I got his thigh instead of his groin. My heart beat rapidly when I felt my hold on the gun slipping. I hated to admit it, but between the two of them, I wasn’t getting out of this room unless I went for the kill. Which I didn’t want to do. For one, someone was already banging on the door, which meant their men had heard the shots and I was drastically outnumbered.

Gray yanked the gun from my grasp and clicked the safety on before tossing it across the room. I fought against their hold, but neither of them relented as they dragged me away from the door. I sucked in a breath when my chest hit the wall. Kade captured both my wrists, using his entire body to keep me from moving, as Gray moved away from us. Ice ran through my veins when, a few moments later, the distinct noise of clanking chains filled the air. I tried craning my neck to see what Gray was doing, but Kade was blocking my view.

“That was a good try,” Kade mocked my words, and my jaw clenched in annoyance. One of them wrapped something cold around my wrist that was much thicker than a handcuff. It clicked when it locked, and then they did the same to my other wrist.

“You think you can keep me here?” I snapped. “You’re going to regret this when I’m free.”

“I don’t think we will,” Gray murmured as they spun me around.

Kade kicked the backs of my legs hard enough that I fell to my knees, and before I could do anything, they were both padlocking chains to the eyehooks mounted on the wall. The chains that were connected to the cuffs on my wrists. I tugged against them, knowing it was useless. The chains were short, making it impossible to get off my knees.

“Let’s see if you can slip out of those as easily as you did handcuffs,” Kade told me, satisfaction glistening in his eyes. “Our friends on the force told us how you really did a number on the two cops who picked you up.”

“That will be nothing compared to what I do to you,” I said sweetly, refusing to show them how being trapped was making my anxiety skyrocket. No one has gotten me into a situation like this in five years. This was what fucking happened when I took my eye off the mission. Gray moved to the desk and grabbed something before sauntering back to me. Heat swarmed his gaze when he crouched in front of me.

“I know how important your health is to you,” he stated, opening his hand. “I wouldn’t want you to miss your one orgasm a day.”

In his hand was a vibrating toy. I didn’t own one like that, but I’d seen them before. They created a suction, staying on the clit until it was turned off. Shock coursed through me as I shot them a flirty grin.

“Who says I haven’t gotten one already today?”

They both faltered for a moment and glanced at each other, and I laughed. They weren’t going to let me go, so I might as well make it enjoyable for myself. I sat as high as I could on my knees, straightening my back.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I goaded them. “You do know how to use that, don’t you?”

Gray’s eyes darkened, and he held my stare while pulling the waistband of my leggings. Heat swirled in my lower stomach when his hand grazed my pussy as he placed the toy where it needed to go. The second he pushed the toy on, it suctioned to my clit, and it took everything in me to stay still. I was going to enjoy the toy, but I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing my pleasure. Gray pulled his hand out and readjusted his jeans.

“Need a release?” I purred. “You should make use of my mouth while you have me on my knees. Because I can fucking promise this won’t happen again.”

“Yeah, so you can bite it off,” Gray muttered, standing back up.

I swiped my tongue over my teeth and grinned. “Why don’t you try it and replace out?”

“Next time.” Kade gripped my chin, tilting my face up. “The job shouldn’t take more than an hour. Enjoy yourself.”

I scoffed. “I’m sure I’ll have more fun than you two.”

Neither answered me as they strode to the door. Gray messed with his phone for a minute before rock music started playing through the speakers that were around the room. I tested the chains again, my chest tightening when they didn’t budge. My arms were pulled tight enough that I couldn’t reach for anything. I studied the room when the door slammed shut and spotted a camera in the corner that was pointed at me. I shifted on my knees, my anger bubbling that they’d gotten the upper hand.

I had egged them on last week about trying to run me out of town. That was before I had decided to stop playing around with them. Too late now. I wasn’t backing down. And as pissed as I was that I was here, I couldn’t help but imagine how I was going to payback this favor.

It was going to be fun.