“Course we did.” Archer’s smile grew cocky, only for him to charge at Niyol, paying no mind to the weapon he’d stored away.
Like long-lost brothers, the two of them hugged, slapping one another on the back.
I’d never been more confused in my life.
“Why, motherfuckers?” Niyol stepped away first, moving to my side. His hand went around my waist like it was the most natural reaction.
Swallowing hard, I glanced up, catching Slade’s narrowed eyes on Niyol’s hand.
“You’re a hard man to find, Hawk.” His face went neutral when he caught me looking. I immediately noted a scar that ran the length of his cheek, leading down his neck. I couldn’t help but stare, my heart thudding at the thought of how he got it.
“Good to see you too, cousin.” Niyol nodded at Slade, then narrowed his eyes when he looked back at me. “Get in the room, Summer.”
“No.” I held my chin up.
Archer laughed. “Summer, huh? Damn pretty name.” Then he looked me up and down. “Matches that pretty face.”
I rolled my eyes and folded my arms. “Fuck off.”
He laughed at that, looking to Niyol who’d stepped in front of me. “Leave her alone,” he growled.
Archer’s brows lifted in curiosity, then understanding a second later when he nodded.
I sure as hell didn’t understand anything about this or these men.
“The name’s Archer.” He jutted his hand out to shake one of mine, respect suddenly covering his face. “Sorry if we scared ya.” He motioned to Slade, then himself. “I’m a good friend of your fiancé here.” He winked and immediately my face heated.
Regardless of my embarrassment, I lifted my chin even higher and stepped back around Niyol. “Well, Archer, I’d like to say it’s been a pleasure—” I glared at him then Slade, who wouldn’t even look at me now “—but it hasn’t been.”
Because I didn’t want to deal with the devil eyes being drilled into the side of my head by Niyol, I spun on my heels and headed back into the room, making sure to leave the door open a crack.
Archer roared with laughter from the other side. “She’s feisty, that one.”
“She’s also off-limits,” Niyol hissed.
The other guy, Slade, barked back, “You got claim on all women now or what?”
“No, idiot. That’s Emily’s best friend. My ride. She’s—”
“Hot as hell.” Archer laughed again.
“And too damn good for any of us.”
Butterflies danced in my stomach. Niyol’s words growing sweeter with every second that passed, it seemed. Was that really what he thought? It broke my heart a little. Whatever it was he thought of me, I knew there was no way I was better than him. Just… different.
I dropped my bags on the foot of the bed, then reached into my pocket to grab my phone. I wasn’t going to call anyone, it was still dead, but I needed a diversion in case I was caught listening… which was exactly my intention as I tiptoed back to the door.
“Came here to warn ya. There’re some rogues on your tail,” Archer said, his voice growing serious. “Don’t stop any more than you have to. We got eyes on ya at all times, though. My buddy and his Vegas crew.”
Rogues? Vegas crew?
I frowned, and a queasy feeling replaced the butterflies in my stomach.
“Fuck,” Niyol hissed. “How many?”
“Not sure,” Slade answered. “A half dozen or so left the club when Pops was taken in. Lifers, mostly. Rage, Dom, to name a few. Don’t know if they got outsiders joining in or not.”
Niyol pinched the bridge of his nose, looking so pained that I wanted nothing more than to go back out into the hall and hug him. My guess was, though, that he was in no mood to accept my coddling at the moment.
“Flick sent us to let you know,” Archer jumped in.
“Why the fuck does Flick even care?” Niyol barked.
“Because he knows who you are, Hawk. What you’ve been through,” Archer yelled back, losing some of that cool-guy persona.
“I’m a fucking nark. No way am I going back when that label will always be on my head.”
“Oh for Christ’s sake,” Slade yelled, bumping his chest against Niyol’s. I stiffened, ready for fists to fly. “Quit being a fucking pussy and get over your one-man pity party. Not everything’s about you.”
Archer held out a hand between Niyol and his cousin, his narrowed gaze flashing between the two men. When Slade finally took a step back, and kicked one foot back against the wall, I knew right away who held the power between the men.
More unheard whispers were said, but their voices inevitably rose once more.
“Explains the camp then.” Niyol sighed. “I knew something was off. Felt it.”
The camp? He’d sensed something there? Why had he not told me? I was a big freaking girl, could easily manage anything. Why did he think he needed to handle me with kid gloves and keep secrets like that?
What else had he been keeping from me?
The trio grew quiet again, likely realizing how much of their business they had been sharing with the world out loud. That stunk for me, seeing as how I couldn’t hear them, but at the same time my little old heart could only take so much more.
Niyol had a lot of explaining to do.
“You guys got a spy in the midst,” Niyol told them, the tension in his voice thick.
“S’cuse me?” Slade asked. “A spy?”
Where was Niyol going with this? I held my breath, waiting.
“Three days before I left the pen, I got a letter. Someone inside the compound. Figured it was Flick, warning me off.”
“Obviously not,” Slade grumbled. “Flick is pissed you didn’t come back. It’s why we’re here now, damn it.”
“No. Obviously not, smartass.” I could imagine Niyol’s face, pursed lips and narrowed eyes directed at his cousin. It was horrible to say, but I was kind of glad his angry attitude was directed at someone other than me for once.
“You got this letter with you?” Archer asked.
“No. Left it in a drawer at Lisa’s.”
“All right then,” Slade said. “We’ll get it. Figure it out and then get you back home.”
“I’m not ready. Not yet,” Niyol said, sighing. “I need more time.”
Even I couldn’t understand his hesitation. Was this because of Maya? He’d insisted they were only friends, but maybe he was hiding something from me about that, too.
“It was always supposed to be you leadin’ the club someday. Flick’s only temporary. We need you back.”
My eyes widened at Slade’s admission, and pressed a hand over my mouth to hide my gasp. I tried to rationalize what I’d just heard, even repeated it in my head. Niyol was supposed to be the leader of the Red Dragon Motorcycle Club?
Holy. Crap.
On one end, I suppose that made sense, because his father had been their leader once. But it was still hard to wrap my head around the fact that the man I’d spent this week with was intended to be some big, bad leader of some big, bad motorcycle club.
“I’m not a leader,” Niyol replied. “Never wanted to be a leader.”
“You were born into like we were,” Slade said, sounding almost bored now. Talk about someone with serious mood swings. Maybe it ran in the Lattimore family.
All this talk of Niyol being a leader and coming back to Illinois not only confused me but left me wondering exactly why he seemed so adamantly against it. Especially if there was a chance he could help revamp the club like he’d mentioned to me in Nebraska.
One thing I did know for sure: escaping wasn’t the solution to someone’s problems. Take me, for example. I was on a soul-searching mission of sorts myself. But I’d still go home. Still deal with my issues too. There was no running away forever. Just running for now.
Archer’s voice grew a little louder, grabbing my attention once again. “Listen, brother. Once you get whatever shit you’re dealing with out of your system, then y
ou get your ass back home and make this right.”
I heard a slap, like someone was pounding on someone’s back. Curious, I leaned forward on my tiptoes, not wanting to get caught, but dying to see what was going on too. The first person I noticed when I peeked around the door was Niyol, face in his hands.
“Not going home,” he mumbled. “Told you.”
Archer barked back with, “Why the hell not? Give me a good reason.”
“Because I don’t want that life anymore.”
“Bullshit! We’re family, Hawk,” Slade yelled, then started to laugh, almost manically. It sent a chill up my spine. “This about Maya?” He folded his arms and quirked a brow.
There was a pause. Then Niyol lifted his head and growled out a simple, “No.”
There was a longer pause, until finally, Archer tipped his head to the side, smirked, and said words that were definitely not meant for my ears.
“Holy shit. It’s about the blonde, isn’t it?” Archer motioned his chin my way, eyes narrowing when he caught me spying through the crack. Quickly, I backed away, my chest heaving as I struggled to breathe.
“She’s the reason you ain’t comin’ back?” Slade jumped in. “Christ, it’s like Maya all over again.”
That wasn’t true. Not in the least. Niyol and I barely knew each other. Most days we didn’t even get along, and when we weren’t fighting, we were just… doing… other stuff.
He and I were not like that. Nope, not at all.
I mean, I didn’t think we were. After a while, I heard a heavy sigh… but not a single answer from Niyol. Crap.
“So, that’s it then? We can’t talk you out of it?” Archer asked. “Flick’s gonna lose it, you know.”
I frowned. Out of what? Going to San Diego? To Maya?
Silence met my ears. Either Niyol was whispering, or he didn’t have a good enough answer to share.
“And what’s gonna happen if the rogues find you first?” Slade asked this time. “Archer will keep his buddy on you as long as he can, but they’ve got their own shit to take care of right now, and we gotta get our asses back home.”
I frowned, trying to ignore the tension in my belly at the mention of those rogues again.
“I can handle it,” Niyol said, his voice steady. “Won’t be long now.”
More whispered conversation passed between the three guys. I held my breath, unmoving, a hand over my lips still. Then seconds later, soft goodbyes were said, followed by footsteps in the hall.
And just like that, they were gone.
As quietly as I could, I snuck back toward the bed and sat on the edge of it. Eyes trained on the floor, I waited for the bomb that was Niyol to drop, knowing it would be one hell of an explosion.
The hinges squeaked as the door opened slowly, and my throat went dry when I attempted to swallow. Slow, methodic footsteps echoed in the room until he stood in front of me.
“What in the hell were you thinking? I told you not to leave, damn it. I’ve been out there scouring the fucking streets looking for you, Summer.”
I glared up at him, unapologetic—also avoiding his question. “What was that all about?”
With a long sigh, and completely ignoring my question too, Niyol walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain just in time for the rumble of bikes to come to life outside.
Like a lost puppy, I followed him, and stood by his side. One half of me wanted to apologize for leaving, because I knew I’d worried him. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be some fragile damsel in distress who needed him at my side every waking minute. I could handle things my own, and other than my mini-breakdown last night over some random, wild animal, I was perfectly fine.
I looked out at the lot, finding Archer and Slade’s bikes as they pulled onto the main street. The backs of their vests held the Red Dragon emblem; a dangerous and fantasy world combined.
“You don’t know how fucking dangerous my world is.” Fingers closed around my wrist, and Niyol tenderly pulled me closer, until his arm was around my waist.
I blinked up into his eyes and scoffed, “Apparently I do now.”
“I warned you.” Unmoving, he studied me through bloodshot eyes, chest rising and falling in time with mine. “And you didn’t listen.” One step, two steps, then three, until my back was pressed against the wall. “I’m a really bad guy, Summer. But believe it or not, there are worse assholes out there who’d make me look like Jesus in comparison.”
“I swear to God, Niyol, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I will call the police. Or your sister—”
Before I could finish, I was on my back in the bed, hands above my head and trapped beneath his grip. Both of my legs were pinned beneath his straddled thighs and his hard erection pressed against my center through his jeans and mine.
Oh, God. I moaned on contact, suddenly able to think of only two things in that moment.
One: how big he was.
And two: that ring buried beneath the head of his cock—how it would feel inside of me.
“Do you like danger, Princess?” Hot breath washed over my lips as he pulled back to kiss my cheek, my chin, my neck… I shut my eyes, the sensation of having him so close to me again overwhelming. He was trying to scare me. And I liked it. “Because in my world, that’s all there’ll ever be.”
Was that a warning? Why? He was going to be in California, while I’d be back in Illinois, this time next week. Niyol wanted nothing from me but… this. Whatever this was.
Fingers moved down my arm, over my neck, the side of my breast. I shivered, skin breaking out in tiny goosebumps. Internally I answered his question. No. I hate danger. Hated everything that came along with it. Give me simple. Safe. Yet the only words able to slip out were the wrong ones.
“I like you.”
He froze, body so tense, I was sure he was seconds away from shattering.
Nose buried against my cheek, he whispered, “That was the wrong answer.”
Reality smacked me in the face with its wicked ways. My breathing grew difficult, painful. And then I couldn’t think or feel or do much of anything but—
His lips closed over mine before I could finish my thoughts, rough and wild, he kissed me like death was knocking at our door—which, at this point, it very well could have been.
Somewhere along the way, I lost myself in his kisses, like my body was made to be calmed by this beautiful, dangerous man. I was already far too addicted to his touches as it was, and each day we spent together, it was growing harder to think of what would happen in the end.
I kissed him even harder at the revelation. Harder than I’d ever kissed any man before. Then I wrapped my hands around his shoulders, forgetting who I was, let alone what was happening.
Over and over, Niyol devoured my mouth, his hand creeping under my shirt, his warm lips tasting me like he was starving.
“Fuck, Summer.” He pulled away, kissing my chin, my neck, pulling on the skin with his teeth. “I want you so much.”
“Have me,” I moaned. “Please.”
But then he froze, his forehead pressed to mine, breathing heavy. Labored.
Pained.
“We can’t do this.” He squeezed his eyes shut, propping himself up, one hand on either side of my face.
I blinked, opening and closing my mouth, one-hundred-percent confused.
Had I misjudged this all over again? Because I was beginning to think I was no longer a good judge of anything, whether it was character, situations, or life in general.
Biting my lip, so as not to rage out my frustrations, I rolled out from under him. Instead of going to the bathroom this time, I sat along the edge, praying my voice didn’t shake as I said one simple word. “Oh.”
Fingers gripped my elbow, light touches like feathers. “Sum…”
Why the nickname? Why did it have to sound so good coming out of his mouth too? Nicknames like that one were heartbreaking because they made me think there could have been something real between us, but he
was just too damn stubborn to let it happen.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
Because I was getting tired of his head games, I couldn’t give him my forgiveness. Not now. Maybe not ever again.
“We should probably leave, right?” I spat, fingers tightening into fists. “Especially if there’s a chance we could be in danger. What, with those rogues after you and all.”
He dropped his hand away. “You’re pissed.”
“Nah.” I waved him away. “You know I don’t mind the hot-and-cold stuff. Or the lies either. Nope, not at all. Keep them coming, Niyol, because you’ve been spouting them off since the day we met.”
This time I stood and grabbed my Target bag, shoving dirty and clean stuff back inside from off the dresser and floor. My eyes started to blur unwillingly, and I was so angry at myself for them, because I knew exactly what they meant.
I’d started falling for this man.
And there was nothing I could do to stop myself.
Twenty-One
Niyol
It was midnight when we finally pulled out of the parking lot. We didn’t talk, not that I was surprised, just jumped into the tiny rental that Summer had managed to secure. I could’ve stretched out in the back, slept a little, but that probably wasn’t a good plan. It was late, and dark highways meant more places for rogues to jump out from. Now, more than ever, I needed to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. Especially after what Slade and Archer told me.
Everything inside of me now said my running away was wrong. Hell, even Flick wanted me back. I could be on my way home, doing the shit I’d wanted to do for so long. Best part of it all? There’d be no Pops around to beat my ass.
Yet there I was, heading in the opposite direction. My reasoning?
She was sitting in the driver’s seat.
Slade and Arch had been right. I felt shit for Summer. Stuff I didn’t understand. First though, before I told her the truth, there was something I had to do.
Something important.
Something I’d be fucked over for.
Something nobody would understand. Maybe not even Summer.
Her Wild Ride: An addictive, steamy biker MC romance suspense novel Page 15