“You need to eat more,” he commanded, pushing another bite to my lips.
“I’m not used to eating this much. I’ll get sick if I eat more.”
He grunted again, taking the piece for himself.
I’ve always had an aversion to beards, but he wore it quite well. Grim was ruggedly handsome. It was clean, as was the rest of his body. He must have showered and trimmed his hair because he could very well be on an outdoorsmen magazine.
“I’ll feed you smaller meals throughout the day. You need your strength.” Putting his fork on the plate, he took them to the kitchen sink to clean the dishes.
A man cleaning the dishes. Hell hath frozen over.
I leaned my arm over the chair and stared at him while he put the dishes in a drying rack. He dried his hands and leaned on the kitchen sink with his muscular forearms and sighed.
“You know,” I interrupted his thought. “You never told me why I’m here. Will you all use me? Or let me go?”
His brows turned downward in anger. “We would never use you, Journey.”
My name rolled off his tongue sweetly despite the angered words before it.
“Never. We don’t do that.” Grim stepped closer to me and I backed up into the chair.
“Shit,” he pulled at the hair on his head. “I didn’t mean to scare—”
“—You didn’t,” I replied. “For some reason, I don’t think you would hurt me. It’s just, I don’t know your intentions, the intentions of your club.” I looked away toward the window that was now covered by thick curtains to block out the sun.
It was obviously night. The twinkling of the stars lit up the night sky in the gap between curtains. How long had it been since I stared up at those stars? To see the moon?
“No one does something good for nothing,” I said bitterly. “There is no kindness left in this world. Before I came into the life of sex, drugs, and gambling, I thought someone was helping me out of the kindness of his heart. But in the end, he was just fetching a better price. How do I know that you and your club won’t do the same? You treat me nice now, but soon you’ll get bored or fed up with me. Whatever game you all are playing now, just cut the crap because I can’t take it anymore. Just tell me how it is. Are you going to sell me off? Get me comfortable that I want to stay, and then make me a slave for your bar?” I half yelled.
My cough came back as soon as I raised my voice. I continued to cough, my eyes watering at the sensation of not being able to breathe.
Grim set his warm hand on my back, while he placed the other hand on my chest. He pushed my hunched body upwards, helping me sit up straight.
“Calm,” was all he whispered. The humming in his chest got louder until my coughing slowed.
He picked me up from the chair and took me to the freshly cleaned couch. He took a throw blanket from the arm and wrapped it around my body, then cradled my head against his chest.
I concentrated on his humming, my cough ceased, and his hand brushed my hair away while I stared into my lap.
“There are no motives other than to get you better, for me to see you well,” he whispered. “I understand you can’t trust me or the club.”
I sniffed, trying to keep the cough away.
“I will prove to you that we’re trustworthy—that I’m trustworthy. But I must tell you, you are worth something.”
I tilted my head upward, staring into his eyes.
His eyes held a deeper, darker story. I could see pain behind them, but also a longing for hope. Getting lost inside his eyes, a dark shadow ran through looking like the shape of an animal running. It passed through his eyes several times before he closed them.
“You are worth more to me than you will ever know. More than any dollar amount, more than any bike or precious gem.” His eyes opened again, beaming at me with warmth.
“What?” I whispered.
“Journey, I’m going to keep you safe. I swear it on my life. I can’t tell you why, yet, but I’m asking you to just take the small amount of faith you have left…and give it to me.”
That was certainly a lot to ask.
Grim rose from the couch, not letting me answer, and led me to the bathroom, which was as changed as the rest of the apartment—cleaned floors, hand towels hanging, and even an array of soaps and shampoos cluttering the small shower. I picked up one bottle; it smelled of cherry blossoms and vanilla. Pretty sure it was meant for me since Grim smelled like nothing but man and bike.
