Free The Road Back (The Unknowns Motorcycle Club Book 3) by Ruby Reid Page A

despite all of that, the look of determination on his face was stronger than anything she had felt since Marco had stepped through her front door dressed as the mailman.
     
    She wanted to at least be able to reach out to him, to extend her hand to let him know that she wanted to be in his arms—that it meant the world to her that he had come for her. But she couldn’t even do that because her hands were tied behind her back and—
     
    Only, something was different now.
     
    When Marco and his two goons had brought her here, Marco had immediately tied her to one of the two wooden chairs that had been in the place. There was nothing else in the old building except a few empty boxes and a few decrepit car parts. She’d been tied to the chair with rope Marco had taken out of the car.
     
    The chair was made of wood, the back consisting of decorative spindles. The rope had been threaded through the spindles and around her wrists. The knots had been tight, and she’d started to feel a pins and needles sensation in both hands as the blood circulation had been slightly cut off.
     
    But that was different now. She could move her hands freely, although they were still bound together. Her heart felt a spark of hope when she realized that the rope was no longer restricted by the wooden spindles of the chair. The entire back of the chair had broken down the center when the chair had toppled over. The spindles hung loosely from the frame of the chair, allowing her to move her arms.
     
    “Twenty seconds,” Marco said.
     
    Amanda tested her shoulders by behind, her hands awkwardly trying to push herself as much as she could from the floor. She bent her legs and tried to use those, too. She did all of this slowly, barely moving at all as she locked eyes with Alex. He looked sad, and she wished she could tell him that she wished she hadn’t have asked him to leave. Of course, she could tell him that, but what good would it do now?
     
    As she tested the rope and the limits of her body, she saw one of the guns that Alex had dropped. It sat four feet from her, almost directly between her and Marco. With his back to her, he didn’t see it, nor did he care about it. He was far too concerned with taunting Alex.
     
    “Ten seconds,” Marco said.
     
    As quietly as she could, Amanda brought her legs up to her chest. She stretched her arms down, her shoulders straining from the effort, until they were under her butt. She then brought her arms forward, under her feet in a very tight fetal sort of position. When her arms were free of her feet and in front of her, she relaxed her legs.
     
    Alex was watching her the entire time. She saw that he realized what she intended to do and was terrified.
     
    With her arms in front of her, she was no longer bound to the chair. Slowly, she got to her knees. When her left knee popped, she was sure that Marco had heard it and the he would turn around to see her freed from the chair. But he stared hard at Alex, waiting for that last ten seconds to expire.
     
    Amanda walked on her knees, taking two small steps forward. As she leaned forward, she nearly shrieked when Marco spoke.
     
    “Time’s up,” he said. Last chance, Alex.” He then reached behind his back for the gun. When he did, Amanda froze, certain that his head would turn just enough to see her. But his head remained locked forward, his eyes on Alex.
     
    Alex said nothing and had even made an effort to not look at Amanda, not wanting to give her away.
     
    Amanda’s hand fell on the gun just as Marco freed his own. Marco was quicker, as his hands weren’t tied together at the wrist. But still, Amanda was able to bring the gun up. She leveled it as best she could, her arms trembling.
     
    She gathered her nerve and took aim just as Marco placed his gun to Alex’s left knee.
     
    The building was filled with a gun blast.
     
    Amanda screamed. The gun kicked in her hands, and for a terrifying moment, she was sure that it had bucked just