Flash (Iron Thunder MC Book 2)

by Kasey Krane

  “Chaz, bring it out. No use standing around here, having a chat.”

  I heard a hiss behind him and then I saw what they were going to do.

  It was a brand. Hot and steaming red. One of the guys was holding it high up in the air where I could see it. There was a logo on it. The same logo that was on the jackets these men were wearing.

  A cry escaped my lips when I saw it. The men knew my first instinct would be to run, so before I could even make a move, two of them caught me by my arms, forcibly holding me in place.

  “You are making a huge mistake!” I hissed, looking pleadingly at the man with the mustache. He eyed me up and down, undressing me with his eyes.

  “Yes, it will be a shame to mark that delicious body of yours. But you’ll grow to love it, don’t worry. A reminder of us,” he said and the others laughed around him.

  My throat was dry, my lips felt chapped, every inch of my body was shaking. I knew I was in for trouble when Billy caught me. I knew this wasn’t going to end well for me, but I hadn’t been expecting this.

  This was as good as torture.

  “This will achieve nothing. They don’t care about me. I mean nothing to them!” I screamed. I decided to try a different approach. Maybe if I could convince them I wasn’t significant, they would let me go?

  “Is that why you’ve been spending so much time with the Road Captain?” the man growled.

  I gulped and shook my head.

  “It’s just a fling. A one-time thing. I had no intention of sticking around here and he knows it. I’m on the run. Trying to get away from Billy. We don’t actually care for each other or anything,” I said.

  “Shut up. How fuckin’ stupid do you think I am?” he hissed.

  “I’m trying to be honest here.”

  “You’re trying to weasel your way out of this. But you’re going nowhere sweetheart,” he said, taking a few steps toward me.

  I stared into his eyes, trying to keep my chin up and challenge him. He stood over me, glaring, raging with anger. Then, before I knew what he was going to do, he reached over and pulled up my shirt.

  I gasped and cried out, struggling to get my shirt down but he kept it pinned up.

  “Don’t you worry, sweetheart, I’ll hold it up for you while these guys do the job. We wouldn’t want a stupid piece of fabric to get in the way,” he sniggered. The others sniggered too.

  The guy brandishing the brand in the air came toward me. I couldn’t stop the tears from flooding down my cheeks. I thought I was about to lose consciousness. The closer he got, the more intensely I could smell flesh burning. It was in my head but it seemed so real.

  I heard a shot ring out in the night sky and for a moment, thought I was imagining it. Then there was another shot and I saw the look of panic in the man’s eyes. He released his grip on my shirt and it fell back in place.

  “What the fuck is goin’ on?” he hissed.

  17

  Flash

  I knew she was gone, that Billy took her.

  With a flashlight in my hand, I went running up and down the street around my house to look for clues. I had a feeling she hadn’t been abducted from inside the house. There would have been some signs of struggle if she was. Maybe she’d gone out for a walk?

  I found the tire marks on the road, just a few houses down from mine. It looked like someone had screeched away, burning rubber along the way. Someone who was trying to get away fast.

  How was I supposed to find him now? How was I going to figure out where Billy took her? When did this happen? Was I too late?

  I stormed back to the house to get on my bike. I didn’t know where I was supposed to go; I had a general idea of the direction the car had headed to, but they could be anywhere by now. They could be out of the state.

  I promised Allegra I would protect her and now she was gone. I’d failed her, too busy with my own goddamn business, as usual.

  Had she been hurt already?

  Back in the house, I knocked my forehead on the door, standing there in the darkness of the house with my eyes pressed closed.

  I needed to find Billy. I was going to find the bastard. And if he’d hurt Allegra, I was going to kill him with my own bare hands. I was panting with rage, didn’t know where to start.

  Maybe it was time I told the others at the MC. I wouldn’t be able to do this alone. I needed help.

  Then my phone rang and I fumbled for it in my pocket. It was an unknown number.

  “Hello,” I growled, breathing heavily.

  “Is this Flash?”

  “Who the fuck is this?” I had no patience tonight.

  “You don’t need to know my name. All you need to know is that I am a Silver Knight.”

  That got my attention. I straightened up and stared at the wall with my brows crossed.

  “And what the fuck are you doing calling me?” I was ready for assault.

  “I figured you would want to know where they’ve taken your woman.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “Where is she?”

  “In the Mossy Woods. Where the Silver Knights usually meet to conduct delicate business.”

  I had an idea of the place this man was referring to.

  “And why are you telling me this?” I growled.

  “Because I have a standard of conduct. I don’t want to see an innocent woman getting hurt,” he said and then I heard the click and the call ended. That was it.

  I didn’t know whether to believe what I’d heard but what other choice did I have? I had no other leads on where Allegra could possibly be, so I had to go check this place out.

  I arrived at the edge of the park and got off my bike, turning off the headlights. If Allegra and the Silver Knights were here, I needed to be as discreet as possible.

  Twigs and leaves crunched under the sole of my shoes as I crept along the dark forest. I wasn’t sure of the exact spot the caller was talking about but I knew it was somewhere around here.

  Then I saw an orange glow emanating from deep in the forest and hurried my steps. Raised voices. The voice of a woman. Allegra. I could hear her distinctly before I saw her. I didn’t know what she was saying but there was panic in her voice. She was trying to plead.

  I stopped in my tracks. Before I proceeded any further, I needed to call the MC. I needed backup.

  If there were more than two Silver Knights, I wouldn’t be able to rescue Allegra alone.

  “Ya?” Bolt answered the call quickly.

  “Mossy Woods. Get here. Get backup. Now,” I hissed in a hoarse whisper.

  “Flash?”

  “You heard me, right? Get here now. The Silver fuckin’ Knights have her.”

  “Have who?”

  “Allegra. They’re going to hurt her. We need to get her out of here.”

  “On it,” Bolt said and ended the call quickly. I knew I could rely on him. I knew I could rely on my whole MC. No questions asked.

  Up ahead in the distance, I could still hear Allegra’s panicked voice. The closer I got to it, the more scared she sounded. Why did I leave her alone today? This was my fault. I was the one who let this happen.

  Then I saw the bikes. Six of them. They belonged to the Silver Knights; I could easily tell by the logos stuck all over them. I snuck up to the bikes and now was close enough to see the gathering.

  They were standing in a clearing, two men with their hands on Allegra, while there was one holding a brand high.

  So, they were going to brand her just like they’d branded Shards. They were going to hurt her and I couldn’t let that happen.

  I could see I was outnumbered but something had to be done. I couldn’t just stand by, waiting for backup while Allegra was branded and in pain.

  So I took out my gun.

  I did the only possible thing I could do. Any moment now, that motherfucker was going to bring the brand down on her skin, and mark her body—and she was going to cry out in pain.

  So I shot one of the tires
of the parked bikes. It rang like a loud chiming bell all around the woods, and I knew that caught their attention.

  So I fired at another one.

  That was enough to distract them from hurting Allegra.

  I got a few more bikes, though my aim was to get all six, before the Knights came running out of the clearing to check out who was shooting in the dark.

  They saw me now. Behind them, in the clearing, one of the guys still had a grip on Allegra. She saw me and I winked at her. I needed her to trust me, and was going to keep her safe.

  They charged toward me and I shot at them. I got one of them in the leg before I dove behind a tree to dodge the bullets firing in the air around me.

  “Get the fuck out here!” one of the men growled with rage. “How the fuck did you find us?”

  They were coming at me, guns blazing—and the only saving grace was the fact that it was dark. I was trying to be as silent as possible while I ran from one tree’s cover to the next. I shot at them every chance I got but I was running a one man show over here. I wasn’t going to get very far.

  But I didn’t need to wait long.

  Behind me I could hear the sound of more bikes coming to a halt. It had to be the rest of the Iron Thunder. Bolt did good.

  He brought backup and enough to outnumber the Silver Knights. Guns were fired all around me while my brothers pushed the Silver Knights back into a tight circle in the clearing again.

  The man holding Allegra had already thrown her to the ground, trying to save himself from the onslaught of bullets. She was still on the ground, hugging it and trying to stay down so she didn’t get shot too.

  The rest of my MC had the Silver Knights surrounded.

  Now that I walked into the clearing, holding my gun pointed out at the assholes, I could feel a searing pain on my left arm. A bullet had grazed my skin and I was bleeding through my shirt, through my jacket. But it didn’t matter.

  I hurried to where Allegra was pasted to the ground. I gave her my good arm and helped to haul her up. She wrapped herself around me, resting her head on my chest.

  “You okay?” I asked and she nodded.

  “I am now,” she said.

  All around us, the Iron Thunders surrounded the clearing so none of the Silver Knights could make their escape.

  “Did they hurt you?” I asked her. She kept her face turned away from them like she couldn’t look at them anymore. She was disgusted by them. She was scared.

  “No, you were just in time,” she replied.

  I looked up at Drax who was watching us carefully. He saw it in my eyes. He knew what I wanted: retribution. He could see what Allegra meant to me. I didn’t need to spell it out in words.

  We had the six members of the Silver Knights MC surrounded in the clearing of the woods. This was their space, the spot they brought people they wanted to knock off so they could do it discreetly without attracting attention. But this time, we were the ones in charge and maybe they were afraid we were going to knock them off.

  Drax stood in the center of the circle we’d made around them. Allegra was hidden behind me, one hand on my waist.

  “So you motherfuckers think you can just kidnap one of our women and bring them over here? You target the weakest members of our Club?” Drax was speaking in a low, enraged drawl.

  The guy with the mustache, whose name I didn’t know, decided to speak up for his group.

  “Nothing was going to happen to her, man, we were just going to scare her a little and let her go.”

  I could feel Allegra shudder a little behind me. I couldn’t see her face but I could sense the fear she was probably still feeling.

  “You think I was born yesterday?” Drax growled.

  “Nothing was going to happen to her!” the man repeated, a little louder this time.

  “You mean like nothing happened to our prospect? The guy you bastards branded? He nearly fucking died from shock!”

  “We wouldn’t have done the same thing to her!”

  “You do not treat women like that! Especially not our women!” Drax growled like a wild animal and strode right up to the man’s face. I caught Spike and Ghost shifting on their feet when they saw this. None of us liked the idea of our President going so close to them. But Drax knew how to handle himself. Besides, he knew they wouldn’t try anything right now. All their weapons had been taken away too.

  “There will be consequences to your actions. Do you motherfuckers understand that?” he continued. Nobody spoke. The Silver Knights didn’t dare refute it anymore. “You will pay for the Hell you unleashed on that girl and for all the ways you’ve fucked with us in the past. You want a war, motherfuckers? You got it.”

  Drax walked away from them.

  “Collect the bikes. They belong to us now. Let them find their own way back,” he grumbled under his breath.

  The Silver Knights exchanged looks with each other. Maybe they were surprised they were getting away with their lives still intact.

  Drax stopped and turned to them again.

  “Tell your President, Crash, I have a little message for him. Tell him I’m coming for him. I’m going to personally make sure he is destroyed by the end of this.”

  Drax walked away, headed back to where his own bike was parked. The rest of the members and prospects were going to take care of the Silver Knights now.

  I had to take Allegra home.

  I looked over at Bolt and he nodded. They didn’t need me here. I needed to get my arm looked at and make sure Allegra was doing okay.

  “Come on, let’s go, you’re going to be okay,” I said, pulling her up to my front. She still clung to me like she never wanted to let go and for the first time in my life, I didn’t want a woman to let me go either.

  18

  Allegra

  I didn’t think I was going to make it out of this one. I thought the Silver Knights would get what they wanted tonight. Brand me. More. Maybe find other ways to hurt me and get the message across to Flash and his friends.

  But when I heard that gunshot ringing through the air, I knew it was him. Instinctively, I was convinced he’d found me somehow. How? It was practically impossible. How did Flash know where to even start looking?

  So that was the first question I had for him when he lifted me off the ground.

  When the men dropped me to save themselves, I stayed on the ground, trying to keep myself down and safe from the bullets whizzing past.

  I peeked through my fingers, my face covered with both hands. And when I saw Flash running toward me, I cried out his name in relief.

  “How did you find me?” I asked when he lifted me up into his arms.

  “I’ll explain later. Are you okay?” he asked.

  I clung to him, reassured him I was fine. He’d got to me just in the nick of time. The Silver Knights didn’t have a chance to brand me yet.

  And then they had the balls to claim it was all for a bit of show! That they wouldn’t have actually hurt me at all! I just hoped the Iron Thunders didn’t believe it. Thankfully, they didn’t.

  It wasn’t just Flash who was protective of me, even Drax, the President, the man who had been wary of me from the start, came to my rescue. He vowed to the Silver Knights that they would seek revenge. They would make them pay for what they’d done to me. To their MC.

  For the first time in my life, I felt I belonged somewhere. I felt as if I had capable people, strong men, looking out for me.

  I literally hid behind Flash while they talked and threatened and argued. It ended with the Silver Knights being left behind, stripped off their bikes and dignity. They would have to walk back to wherever it was they’d come from.

  Flash said he was going to take me back. Take me home.

  Home?

  He made it sound like his home was my home. As though that was where I belonged.

  Even just the thought of returning to that bed, sleeping in his arms again tonight—sent thrills down my spine. I hadn’t even admitted it to myself yet, but
that was what I longed for.

  He led me to his bike, parked at the edge of the woods where Billy had parked his car too.

  “Allegra,” he said, after he’d helped me up on the seat. I looked at him, staring deep into his brown eyes. “You’re safe now.”

  The house seemed so quiet when we returned. Quiet and dark. My bag and things were all exactly where I’d left them. The housekeeper must have come around and tidied up the place—whatever I’d missed.

  “Can we have a few lights on?” I murmured and Flash went around the house, switching on all the lights. In the brightness, I started feeling a little better again.

  I could see he was bleeding from his arm, something I hadn’t noticed earlier, or rather hadn’t thought was this bad.

  “You have to take off your clothes. Let me see how bad that arm is,” I said.

  “I’m fine, it’s nothing. Just a graze. Do you want some cocoa?” he replied.

  How could a man this strong, this dangerous, this… ‘bad’, also be so gentle and caring?

  “Flash, please, let me take care of you for once!”

  He looked into my eyes and saw the urgency there. Then, without another word, he started removing his jacket, then his shirt. He was standing in the middle of the hallway in nothing but his pants. My eyes roamed over him. His chiseled torso, those intricate tattoos, his clenched bulging biceps. His chest was wide and muscular, just like his neck.

  I salivated a little and gulped in response.

  That arm looked bad, but I hoped it looked worse than it really was. His bright red blood had dripped all the way down his arm in streaks. I went up to him and touched the wound gently.

  There was barely anything more than a flicker in his eye.

  “Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?” I asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Do you have a first aid kit?”