Free Save Me by Abigail Stone Page B

move Layla made had to be perfectly planned within the constraints of contracts and deadlines. She had thought that the porn industry would be different. But it wasn't. If anything, it was even more demanding. Leo might not have been a rich man, but he had time and anonymity. Two simple things that Layla would have traded her entire fame and fortune for.
    "Maybe," Layla finally said as they pulled off onto an exit for the town of Desert Shore.
    A few miles down the road, they turned through a heavy patch of trees and pulled to a stop in front of a fairly deserted looking cabin. The building was tiny and somewhat isolated from the road. Layla didn’t even see it until they had climbed off the bike and were a few feet away from it, their feet buried deep in moss and mud. She pulled off Leo's heavy helmet from her head, shaking out her hair as he lit a cigarette.
    "What is this place?” she asked, pausing in front of the down trodden wooden building and taking a deep breath. They had parked Leo's bike in a shaded area off to the side, near a dirt road that you'd miss if you were driving even just a little bit too fast. Layla was exhausted. She needed to sit down. She needed a fix. She needed a warm bath and a meal. As it turned out, she needed a lot of things, but only one would be delivered.
    "Come here." Leo called out to her, reaching for her hand. He offered Layla a smoke but she shook her head.
    "That's the thing though,” he continued, changing back the subject as he cracked his knuckles.
    “What?” Layla asked, confused.
    "I'm not entirely convinced that being cliché is a bad thing. I mean...”
    His eyes found Layla's as he walked up the rickety front steps of the cabin, kicking open the front door with very little effort. It was pitch black inside and there wasn't a single solitary part of Layla that wished to explore it further.
    "What do you mean?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
    She had started to sweat during the ride and to her complete and utter dismay, the buds of her breasts were showing through the fabric of her tank top, creating a wet t-shirt effect.
    "Isn't that kind of the American dream?” Leo finished,  "to fit in somewhere?"
    Layla had goose bumps. She broke eye contact with Leo, kicking lightly at the dirt as he exhaled a thin ring of smoke, pausing in the doorway of the cabin.
    "The fantasy is always better than the reality." Layla finally retaliated.
    "Is yours?" Leo shot back.
    Wow,  Layla thought.  He's good.
    "Touché,” she replied, her voice dry.
    Leo reached for Layla's hand, grabbing it tightly. She tried to pull away but he forced her to look at him, his eyes burning intensely against hers.
    "Well?”
    "Why do you care?”
    Her voice was shaky and uneven.
    "What about you?” she questioned, "what's so great about your life? Mr. Alternative biker."
    Leo laughed.
    "Well, it depends how you look at it.”
    "Am I rich and famous like you? Not even close. Hell, most days I can barely afford gas. But...I'm happy. I'm healthy as far as I can tell. And well…women tend to find me attractive,” he paused and Layla blushed, her cheeks flushing red.
    "All that's gotta matter for something right?”
    Layla nodded, following Leo inside the tiny cabin.
    “What is this place?”
    She shivered. There was something about the cabin that gave her the creeps. Maybe it was the fact that it was in the middle of the nowhere – far away from Hollywood or any other sign of civilization. Or at least the one she was used to.
    "This,” Leo began, extending his arms, “is our club house.”
    “Club house?” Layla asked.
    Leo nodded, reaching in the pocket of his jacket for a pack of matches and lighting one. Layla’s eyes adjusted to the new source of light. On the wall, the words ‘Disciples MC’ were painted in red paint above the anarchy logo. Layla swallowed hard as Leo grabbed her sweaty palm, pulling her completely inside the cabin as the bottles of liquor clanked against each