A CURVY HACKER FOR THE RUTHLESS BIKER GANGS

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Chapter 4

Elizabeth

“We were protecting you!” he shot back, jaw tight. “Your brother was gone. Your mother was useless. Someone had to make sure no one took advantage of you. We did what we had to do. And look at you now. You're not the girl we used to know. You've changed.”

Changed.

That single word hit me in the softest, ugliest place. It reminded me of every extra pound, every soft curve that hadn’t been there two years ago, every disgusted look Oliver had given me since the weight started settling on my hips and stomach.

Shame flooded me so fast I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hide. Tears burned at the edges of my vision.

Rave noticed immediately. I expected the same irritation, the same open disappointment I saw in my husband’s eyes every single day, but there was none of that.

Instead, his dark grey eyes held something close to interest and a quiet, dangerous rage that didn’t seem directed at me at all.

“What has he done to you?” he asked, voice lower now, almost rough with something I couldn’t name.

I shook my head hard. “Nothing. It’s none of your business.”

“Bullshit.” His frustration leaked through. “I can see it. The way you flinch. The way you fold in on yourself like you’re trying to disappear. That man doesn’t deserve you, Elizabeth. He never did. He’s weak. He’s small. He doesn’t even see what he has.”

“And you do?” I found myself scoffing underneath my breath.

“What?”

I kept my gaze on the floor and whispered, “Never mind. Please just leave.”

Instead of stepping back, Rave reached out and took my chin between his fingers, tilting my face up. Goosebumps exploded across my skin.

I wanted to believe it was only fear, but the sudden tight pull low in my stomach told a different story. I had always been attracted to the Ghost brothers, even when I hated them, even when they made my life hell.

There was something about their dark energy, the way they looked at me like they could see straight through every wall I built, that made me feel seen in a way no one else ever had.

“Look at me,” he ordered softly.

His free hand skimmed slowly over the right side of my shoulder, down the side of my breast over the thin fabric of my dress, then lower. A near-moan slipped from my parted lips before I could stop it. I fought the urge to close my eyes.

“Stop,” I whispered, voice breaking. “This is wrong.”

Rave only watched me with a strange, curious expression, like he was trying to read every secret I had ever tried to hide.

“Why did you really run from us, Elizabeth?” he asked, the words laced with frustration and something deeper. “Why choose a man like Oliver? A man who isn’t even worth kissing the ground you walk on? We would have given you everything. We still can.”

A soft gasp escaped me as his finger deliberately skimmed over the tight peak of my n****e through the dress. Heat and panic crashed together inside me.

Was he really pretending he didn’t know why I left? Why I couldn’t stand the sight of them?

“You don’t get to rewrite history,” I managed, my voice shaking. “You don’t get to pretend it was all for me when it felt like a prison.”

“It was for you,” he insisted, leaning closer, his breath warm against my cheek. “Every single thing. And this husband of yours? He proves we were right to keep the world away from you. He doesn’t deserve to touch you. He doesn’t deserve to call you his.”

I opened my mouth to answer just as footsteps approached fast down the hallway. My eyes flew wide, and I shoved at Rave’s chest with both hands.

“Leave. Now. Please—”

He didn’t even budge. Instead, he leaned in even closer, lips almost brushing my ear, and spoke one impossible sentence that froze every thought in my head.

“Come back with us. Come home, Elizabeth. I promise we will treat you differently this time.”

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

And then Oliver’s voice cut through the bedroom door like a blade.

“Lizzy!”

****

Before the bedroom door could burst open, I shoved both hands hard against Rave’s chest.

He barely moved at first, those dark grey eyes still locked on mine, the weight of his last words hanging between us like a threat and a promise all at once. But something in my face must have gotten through because he finally stepped back just as the door swung wide.

Oliver walked in.

His eyes flicked from me to Rave, confusion tightening his features for a second. Then he caught the stoic, unreadable expression on Rave’s face, and the confusion melted into a smooth, practiced smile.

“Ah,” Oliver said, voice suddenly light. “Were you able to find the bathroom easily?”

Rave didn’t even glance at him. His tone stayed flat, almost bored. “Got turned around in the hallway. Your wife was kind enough to point me toward yours so I wouldn’t keep wandering.”

Oliver chuckled, the sound false and too loud in the small bathroom. “Of course. Lizzy is always helpful when she remembers her place.” He stepped aside, gesturing toward the bedroom. “Come, we should finish discussing the partnership terms. I’d like to set a time to meet at my office and finalize everything.”

Rave gave a short nod, finally pulling his dark gaze away from mine. “Tomorrow morning works. Ten o’clock. Bring the preliminary contracts. We’ll review them together.”

“Perfect. I’m looking forward to it. Ghostbusters Tech partnering with my firm is going to change everything.”

They kept talking as they moved out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, voices calm and businesslike. I stood frozen behind them, my back still pressed against the cold tiles, nerves screaming so loudly I could barely hear anything else. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. My pulse hammered in my throat.

There was no way in hell I was going to let them drag me back to that town.

No way I was going to become their caged dog again.

Rave finally turned toward the door. Oliver walked with him, still talking about growth projections and market shares, his hand almost hovering near Rave’s shoulder like he was afraid the man might vanish if he didn’t stay close. I stayed where I was until their footsteps faded down the stairs. Only when I heard the heavy front door shut with a solid thud did I let out the breath I had been holding.

Minutes passed.

I stayed in the bathroom, staring at my own pale reflection, trying to force my racing heart to slow down. Trying to convince myself that nothing had changed, that I could still survive this the same way I had survived everything else.

Then the bedroom door banged open so hard it slammed against the wall.

Oliver stood in the doorway, face dark with pure, barely contained fury.