Sold to the biker boss

Chapter 5

Layla

I didn’t say another word after Jax told me I was bait. What could I even say?

I just turned away from him and stared at the cracked wall until my eyes blurred. I wanted to hate him so bad. I wanted to scream until my throat burned. But all I could do was sit there, clutching that bottle of water he’d handed me, and listen to the echo of his words in my head.

You’re bait. That was supposed to make me feel safe?

My stomach twisted. I didn’t know which scared me more — the thought of Viper finding us or the fact that the only person standing between me and him was Jax Slater.

The same man who’d walked out of my life ten years ago. The same man who now said my father sold me.

It didn’t make sense. None of it did. My dad was a screw-up, yeah, but evil? No. He was weak, not wicked. He was sick with gambling and bad choices, but I refused to believe he’d ever sell me on purpose.

Except he did. I saw it happen.

That truth sat in my chest like a stone I couldn’t swallow.

The warehouse felt too quiet. The air thick with the smell of gasoline and dust. Somewhere in the corner, a clock ticked — slow, steady, annoying.

Jax had moved to the far end of the room, checking guns, loading magazines like it was just another day at the office. He didn’t even look tired, though he should’ve been dead on his feet after everything that happened.

I watched him from the couch, hating myself for watching him.

He’d changed so much since the boy I used to know. Back then, he smiled. He laughed. His hands were always warm when he held me. Now his face was harder, sharper, and there was a weight behind his eyes — the kind of look a man only gets after years of violence and loss.

And still, my heart wouldn’t listen. It beat the same way it used to when he looked at me.

I hated that.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he said suddenly without turning around.

I jumped. “Like what?”

“Like you’re trying to decide if you want to kill me or kiss me.”

My face burned. “Neither.”

He glanced over his shoulder, smirking just a little. “Good. I’m too tired for both.”

He went back to his work, and I let out a shaky breath. I didn’t know if he was joking or not, and honestly, I didn’t care.

After a while, hunger got the best of me. I found a bag of chips and a can of beans in one of the cabinets. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

When I turned around, Jax was watching me again.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said, taking the can from my hand. “You can’t open this without cutting yourself.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could, he pulled out a knife, popped the lid open in one smooth motion, and handed it back.

I muttered a quiet “thanks” and sat down. He sat too, a few feet away, stretching his legs out like this was some kind of picnic.

We ate in silence for a while. The only sounds were the hum of the generator outside and the crackle of sand against the walls.

Then he said, “You still hate me?”

I swallowed. “What do you think?”

“I think you should,” he said simply.

That caught me off guard. “You’re not even gonna defend yourself?”

He shrugged. “I could, but it wouldn’t matter. You already made up your mind about me.”

“You’re right,” I said. “I think you’re a liar.”

He didn’t even flinch. “Fair.”

I stared at him. “You could at least pretend to care what I think.”

“Oh, I care,” he said quietly. “Too much, probably. That’s why we’re both in this mess.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I looked away, heart pounding too fast.

After we finished eating, I found a blanket in the corner and curled up on the couch. My body was exhausted, but my mind wouldn’t stop racing.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw flashes — the auction lights, my dad’s shaking hands, the gunfire, the look on Jax’s face when he said my father sold me.

Sleep came and went in pieces.

At one point, I woke up to the sound of Jax talking quietly on the phone. His voice was low and rough, words sharp.

“Yeah, I know they’re still out there,” he said. “Grizz is locking down the compound. We lost three men. Tyler’s missing… No, I don’t give a damn where he went. Just find him.”

He paused, listening. Then: “If Viper makes a move, I’ll finish it myself.”

He hung up and rubbed a hand over his face. I pretended to still be asleep, but my heart twisted hearing that. Three men dead. Tyler missing.

And somehow, it was all tied to me.

By the time morning came again, the air outside was heavy with heat. I stepped out of the warehouse, barefoot, the sand burning under my feet. The desert stretched for miles — no roads, no houses, just endless emptiness.

I wrapped my arms around myself, staring at the horizon. I didn’t know what to feel anymore.

Anger, fear, guilt — they all blended together until I couldn’t tell one from the other.

“Thought I told you to stay inside,” Jax said behind me.

I turned around. He was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, sunglasses on, looking way too calm for a man being hunted.

“I needed air,” I said.

He raised an eyebrow. “Still think about running?”

I didn’t answer.

He walked up beside me, close enough that I could smell the smoke and leather on his jacket. “If you run again, I won’t chase you next time.”

That got my attention. “You won’t?”

He shook his head. “You’ll last maybe an hour out there before someone finds you. I’m done saving you from yourself.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, not sure if he meant it. “You think you scare me, Jax?”

He smiled faintly. “You should.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back toward the horizon. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah,” he said, his voice quieter now. “So are you.”

For a second, neither of us said anything. The wind kicked up, carrying dust across our boots.

Then he said something I didn’t expect. “You’re stronger than I remembered.”

I looked at him, frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Back then, you would’ve cried,” he said. “Now you fight.”

I didn’t know if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult, but it made my chest ache anyway.

“I learned from the best,” I muttered.

He smiled again — small, sad. “Yeah. You did.”