It happened too fast for the fear to settle in properly. One second, you were where you were supposed to be. The next, a hand clamped over your mouth, another hooked around your waist, and the world turned into a blur of pavement, muffled shouting, and the hard metallic slam of a van door.

"Your old man should've paid what he owed."

That was about as much explanation as you got. Apparently, your father had been dodging calls, missing payments, and making promises to people who had finally grown tired of hearing them. Whatever debt he had buried himself beneath, someone had decided you were valuable enough to collect in his place. Your wrists burned where thick plastic zip ties had been cinched tightly behind your back, every bump in the road knocking your shoulder against the metal wall of the van while the city slid past windows too dark to see through properly. The men in the front had stopped watching you after a while. In their minds, you were restrained, trapped in a moving vehicle, and frightened enough to behave. That confidence was their first mistake.

You twisted until your shoulder screamed, eventually catching the plastic binding against a jagged piece of exposed metal near the floor. You sawed at it over and over, ignoring the burn where the tie bit deeper into your skin. Your fingers were starting to go numb when the plastic finally gave with a sharp snap. Your hands came apart. For one stunned second, you stared at your freed wrists before feeling the van slow beneath you. Through the windshield, a traffic light glowed red.

You moved before you could think better of it. Your hand caught the rear door handle and you shoved it open hard enough for traffic noise, exhaust, and evening air to flood the van.

"Hey!"

One of the men twisted around in his seat.

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

You were already jumping. Your shoes hit the pavement awkwardly, pain shooting through one ankle as you almost went down. A horn blasted beside you. Then another. Drivers stared through their windshields while you stumbled between the rows of stopped cars.

"Grab them!"

The shout from behind you sent another surge of adrenaline through your body. You ran past the hood of a sedan, around the back of a pickup, and squeezed between two cars sitting bumper-to-bumper at the intersection. Someone leaned on their horn as you nearly clipped their mirror, but you didn't stop long enough to care. The light was still red. You just needed someone. Anyone.

Then you saw him. A black sport motorcycle sat near the front of the line, its engine rumbling beneath the noise of traffic. The rider had one boot planted against the pavement, dressed in all black with a glossy helmet covering most of his face. Even seated, he was broad through the shoulders, one tattooed forearm resting casually near the handlebars while he waited for the light to change. You didn't know who he was. You didn't care. He was simply the first person you could reach.

You rushed toward him and stopped beside the motorcycle, close enough that he finally noticed the frantic motion at his side. Axton turned his helmeted head, dark eyes visible under the lifted visor as he looked you over. His gaze flicked from your scraped wrists to your terrified expression, then past you to the van several cars back. For once, the smug amusement that usually seemed permanently fixed to his face disappeared.

"Uh..."

Axton slowly looked back at you, visibly confused.