Page 19 of Gatsby's Starlet
She didn’t answer.
The road narrowed even further as we drove deeper into the trees, and the uneasy certainty began settling into my stomach that wherever we were going had been chosen very carefully to stay hidden.
“Ruby,” I said again, my voice shaking slightly now. “Please… don’t make me do this.”
Her eyes flicked toward me briefly. “You don’t have a choice.”
My throat tightened. “No kidding,” I whispered.
“Just chill out,” she said. “Everything will be fine.”
“How can you let him do this to me?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper now. “Everything I’ve built… he said he’d destroy it.”
Ruby didn’t respond.
“And he said he’d hurt me if I didn’t cooperate.” I looked down at my hands. “We’re family,” I said quietly. “Sisters.”
Her expression softened for just a moment, but it didn’t change the direction of the car. “You promised you’d get close to Gatsby. I promise nothing will happen to you or the shop.”
Even thinking his name twisted something painfully inside my chest.
“He trusts you now,” Ruby continued. “Which means you’re exactly where Drago needs you. Just do it, and break up with him when it’s over.”
I closed my eyes for a second. “Ruby… please.” My voice cracked. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
Her eyes hardened again. “Just do it and don’t argue. Drago doesn’t have patience for people who don’t listen.”
The car slowed slightly as the trees began to thin ahead.
I lifted my head.
Through the branches I could just make out the faint outline of buildings hidden deeper in the woods.
My stomach dropped. “Is this it?” I whispered.
Ruby nodded once. “Yes.”
I stared ahead at the dark compound waiting beyond the trees, a cold certainty settling deep in my chest as the last stretch of road opened before us.
Whatever happened next… there was no turning back now.
***
THE TREES FINALLYthinned enough for the clearing to open ahead of us, and the compound revealed itself piece by piece through the fading light as Ruby drove forward without slowing, the dirt road widening into a rough yard surrounded by low buildings and scattered vehicles. It wasn’t what I expected. I had imagined something larger, louder—something that matched the violent stories whispered about motorcycle clubs—but the place sitting in the middle of the woods looked almost ordinary at first glance. Low metal buildings sat across packed dirt, a garage off to one side, and motorcycles parked everywhere in loose clusters like metal animals resting in the evening heat.
What unsettled me wasn’t the buildings.
It was thequiet.
Not peaceful quiet, not the calm stillness of a place where nothing happened, but the kind that felt like it was waiting for something.
Ruby drove straight into the clearing without hesitation, steering the car toward the largest building like this was just a casual stop somewhere on the highway and not the home of a dangerous group of bikers. Men were scattered around the yard, and I noticed them almost immediately—two leaning against motorcycles near the garage, another sitting sideways on the seat of his bike with one boot planted on the ground, and several more standing near a truck, their attention shifting toward us the moment our car rolled into the clearing.
Their eyes followed the car. Not curious. Measuring.
Ruby parked near the building and shut off the engine, the motor ticking softly as it cooled in the quiet air while the men continued watching us without bothering to hide it.
I turned toward her. “Ruby—”
