Billionaire Protector

by Kyanna Skye

  “What the hell are you smirking at, Luke?” It took Ashton a moment to register the name. Because if the situation wasn’t fucked up enough already, he was there undercover, searching for a lead on a slew of disappearances in the south Nevada area. Needless to say, he hadn’t planned on getting involved with the notorious biker gang leader’s daughter. He just couldn’t help himself.

  Never in his life had he met someone like Neva Simone. She was dark skinned, curves in all the right places, and nothing like the quiet, submissive girls in his tribe at home. Oh yeah, he was also half lion. And as the son of the chief of their tribe, he was respected and demurred to until he almost couldn’t take it anymore. But Neva was different. She challenged him. She questioned him. And like the sappy hearted lion he was, he had fallen for her. Hard.

  It had taken quite a bit more convincing on her part but eventually, she had surrendered to the rampant and undeniable desire between them, and it had been all the sweeter for the chase. So sweet, in fact, that he hadn’t been able to give her up, even though he knew it might jeopardize his case.

  The thought brought his wandering mind back to the matter, and imminent danger to his good looks, breathing like an enraged bull in front of him. Triton Simone lived up to his name. He was huge, standing just as tall as Ashton, and that was a feat at over six foot five. He also matched him width for width, and he knew for a fact that those muscles weren’t just for show. Ashton surreptitiously wiggled his jaw, hoping that nothing was broken.

  “Listen, Triton. I’m in lov–.” He didn’t even get a chance to finish his declaration before another walloping blow to the nose stopped him cold. Ashton could feel the trickle of blood run from the wounded feature and once again hoped that nothing was broken.

  “Yeah, you better be in love with her, Luke. But until you prove it to me, you’re not getting within a hundred feet of my daughter, do you understand you little punk?” Ashton immediately nodded and was thankful for the hand he was holding to his nose to stem the flow of blood because it hid the small grin he couldn’t hold back. Little, was he? Punk he may be, but no one had called Ashton Ferra ‘little’ since he’d been about three and still playing with the other cubs.

  He was grateful for his size now. It was one of the things that had made it so easy to infiltrate the ranks of the Red Hawks biker gang anyways. It was like any hierarchy. The bigger you were, the more people naturally deferred to you. It was the same in the animal kingdom, and he had learned there wasn’t much difference between animal and human. Then, the man’s words sank in. Not see Neva? What the hell did he mean by that?

  “What the hell do you mean by that, Triton?” Ashton’s words were mumbled through swollen lips but still understandable. He did not like the way the other man grinned at his question.

  “It’s like I said. You have to prove yourself to me before you can get to my precious baby girl.” Ashton almost snorted at that, wondering what Neva would have to say about being called precious.

  “Well, what do you have in mind?” He asked, resigned. No matter what he couldn’t say no. He couldn’t jeopardize his place in the gang for the case’s sake, and he just didn’t want to jeopardize his chances with Neva for any sake.

  “You’re gonna be our runner.” Triton’s grinned turned even eviler looking coming from his bearded face.

  “Runner?”

  “Yeah. You’re gonna be running supplies for us.” Ashton shrugged. That didn’t sound too bad, and maybe it would get him a little closer to uncovering the secret to the disappearances. That was until Triton continued. “You’re gonna take the supplies across the border to Panda’s shop.”

  Ashton’s heart sank and his stomach knotted. He knew Triton wasn’t talking about state borders or country borders. He was talking about territory. Another gang’s territory, and one reputed to be even tougher and rougher that the Red Hawks if it could be believed. Ashton groaned in dismay and groaned again when Triton laughed in glee.

  “Let’s see you survive that one, pretty boy.” The gang leader strode off, quickly joined with his right-hand men and strode into the motorcycle garage they ran out of. He shook his head. The guys on his Special Forces team would be having a field day if they knew what kind of trouble he was getting himself into. The trouble that in the past he would have used his father’s billions to get out of.

  He’d lived a sheltered and privileged life as the son of a great leader, and his tribe was large and prosperous. He’d gotten used to private jets and mansions and jungle palaces. Anything he wanted with the snap of a finger. But something had been missing in his life. Purpose. Meaning. That’s when he’d found the Special Forces and the past five years of his life had been dangerous, unpredictable, and amazing. But it was situations like these that made him think about retiring.

  Ashton shook his head as he turned and headed for his own motorcycle, parked in the dirt not too far away from the garage. But he loved the thrill, loved the challenge. He thought of Neva again. The sweetest challenge he’d ever encountered. He hadn’t been lying to Triton when he told him, well tried to tell him, that he was in love with the man’s daughter. He just hoped to hell that he would survive long enough to tell the woman herself.

  Chapter 2

  Ashton absentmindedly tongued the cut that was still healing across his bottom lip, and barely resisted the urge to press the bruised purplish yellow ring around his right eye. Triton had left him in no doubt whatsoever about just how serious he was about Ashton keeping far away from his beloved daughter until he could ‘prove’ himself. Ashton snorted. Yeah, right.

  He flicked his gaze back at the bed of the pickup truck he was driving slowly down the dusty road for just a moment before turning back to the perilous path in front of him. When Triton had told him that to prove himself he would be running ‘supplies’ Ashton’s mind had automatically latched onto the idea that this missive would bring him closer to solving the case he was really there for.

  Over the past year over fourteen people had disappeared in the area, all of them young, some of them migrants or low income and high risk so it didn’t draw anyone’s attention at first. But almost two months ago now Ashton had been called in to go undercover and work his way up the ranks of the notorious biker gang, the Red Hawks, which was at the moment, his special forces team’s main suspect. And that meant Triton was suspect number one, and that meant that dating his daughter was probably a very bad idea.

  Ashton grinned. He wasn’t sure if he would exactly call it dating, but he knew his own heart and the fiery temptress had captured as surely as he was going to catch a shit load of trouble for what he was doing right now. He had looked under the canvas tarp tied down over the supplies in the back, despite explicit directions not to. He had been more than surprised to discover that they were just that, motorcycle parts. His mission: deliver them to a shop in the heart of a rival gang’s territory. The Rattler’s, somehow, had an even worse reputation than the Red Hawks and Ashton had his fingers and toes and everything else he could cross that he didn’t run into any of them today.

  “So, how much further is it?” Ashton directed the question at the large man sitting next to him. Javier didn’t respond, didn’t even look over. He just remained silent, like he had for the past two hours of the monotonous drive. Javier wasn’t a big talker. From what Ashton could tell, he wasn’t much of anything, other than surly.

  Ashton was about to ask the question again when he saw the rusty sign hanging crooked on a metal post proclaiming that they were approaching the Hot Rod Garage. He grinned and pressed down just a little more on the gas pedal. Just a few more yards and they could drop off the supplies, then turn around and head out of there just as fast as they had arrived. He had that itch in between his shoulders that he always got when something bad was about to happen, and he hoped that this time his instincts were wrong.

  He pulled into the parking lot, that was nothing more than a patch of cracked gravel, and turned off the engine.

  “Oka
y, Javier. Would you like to make the delivery, or should I?” Ashton turned to the stoic passenger, unsurprised when he didn’t answer, “Me? Are you sure? Well, okay then, if you insist.” There was no response from the other man and Ashton just shook his head as he jumped out and headed around the truck, looking for the owner of the shop.

  The large metal garage door was open revealing a large, grease-stained garage that obviously specialized in motorcycles, and also obviously hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time.

  “Hello?” He called, searching the dim interior of the space. It seemed empty at first but as he traveled further inward his extra sharp ears picked up the sound of voices. They were speaking low and hurried as if they didn’t want to be overheard. Ashton grinned. Perfect. He crept closer until he was standing just on the other side of the partially closed door that led to some sort of office.

  “…are you sure? We can’t have any more mistakes or boss will kill us for sure this time.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Of course, I’m sure.” The other voice hurried to reassure. They were both males, but Ashton couldn’t see anything through the dirty glass of the door.

  “I’m telling you, Kyle, if you’re messing with me…”

  “I’m not, I’m not, I swear! They are all at that abandoned shipyard out by Mesa del Sol.”

  “Alright, but this is the last time I’m–.” The voice cut off abruptly, and Ashton looked the long way up the angry looking man who had suddenly thrown back the door he’d been crouching behind.

  “Oh, uh, hey there. I um, I’m just lost. Yeah, I got lost and I need–.” The other man didn’t even wait for Ashton to finish concocting his lie before the first punch was thrown. Before he even had the chance to jump to his feet and face the attacker there was a sound that had his stomach sinking. He looked around the garage to see not just the two men he had been eavesdropping on, but four other rough looking men walking out to surround him.

  “Oh shit.” He whispered, and the first man laughed, the sound harsh and grating.

  “You have no idea, asshole. You walked into the wrong party.”

  “Party?” Ashton looked around, stalling, trying to think of anything to get out of the inevitable violence that was about to erupt, “I didn’t see balloons outside or confetti. And you can’t have a party without cake. I should really just go get a cake and then we can have a real– Oof!” His hands wrapped around his middle as the air was knocked out of him by the massive fist that had landed a bull’s eye straight to his solar plexus.

  “You talk too much.” The man who’d thrown the punch said.

  “Listen, I’m only going to give you one chance to walk away. I don’t want to hurt you.” As Ashton expected, they all laughed at his statement, but unlike them, he knew he was only telling them the pure and simple truth. He could see it in their eyes. They had no intention of just letting him walk away.

  With a growl, he channeled all the strength of his animal half, drawing it into his arms and all the way through his fist as he shot out with a quick jab to the man in front of him and a right hook to the man who had thrown the first punch. They went flying and he saw shock in his attacker’s eyes before they reformed the circle around him.

  Ashton wasted no time laying into the rest, not letting them lay a hand on them, but they just kept coming even as he brought them down one by one. A thick fist caught him across the jaw, throwing him back for a moment as stars flashed across his vision. He could see a thick black biker boot aiming straight at his face but just before it could land. Surprised by the lack of impact Ashton looked past the attacker to see Javier’s grinning face. It was the most emotion he’d seen from the man all day and he couldn’t help but grin back as they went about quickly taking care of the rest of the men.

  Finally, it was only him and Javier left standing and they wasted no time heading back to the truck and on the road in the opposite direction before any more men arrived. Finally, Javier spoke.

  “They were Rattler’s.” His voice was deep and monotone and made Ashton jump after the length of silence.

  “Are you sure?” Javier just nodded, before grinning at him again. Ashton smiled back, opening his mouth to thank him for stepping in and helping him but the other’s man face went blank again as if the smile had never been. They made the rest of the trip in silence but Ashton’s mind flew. He remembered what the gang member had said about Mesa del Sol. He knew the place, abandoned for years, and the perfect place to hide kidnap victims.

  Chapter 3

  Ashton stared at the trailer that was perched at the top of the hill and didn’t move. He’d gotten back with Javier only to be welcomed with open arms by the other members of the Red Hawks once they had learned of the fight. Well, everyone but Triton. Apparently, the gang leader had taken the opportunity of his absence to lock Neva away so he couldn’t get to her. The lion inside of him roared in dissatisfaction. He needed to see his woman.

  He didn’t have much of plan. Basically, he was going to sneak up to the side of the hill and prayed to god he knocked on the right window. Ashton shook his head at his own foolishness. He knew he should be focusing on the case but he couldn’t get Neva out of his system. Even after months, she was still like a drug in his system and he just wanted more. Needed more.

  Finally, he was close enough and called out in a low, whispering voice. Hopefully loud enough for her to hear.

  “Juliet! Juliet! Wherefore art thou Juliet? Let down your hair.” He thought the words out into the night and a wide grin spread across his face. She would love that. Finally, a white swath of curtains was pushed back and a small window slid open to reveal the face he had been dying to see.

  As Neva slipped from the window and walked towards him he drank her in like a man dying of thirst in the desert. With her long black waves tumbling down her back and chocolate brown eyes that seemed to see straight through him, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

  His own gaze swept her up and down, taking in the high cheekbones and full pouted mouth and traveling over every ample curve. Her body was made for sin with wide hips that begged him to grab and cleavage that teased him over the top of her tight tank top. Her dark brown skin looked like velvet in the night and his mouth watered for a taste.

  “First of all, it was Juliet who said that not Romeo, and secondly, you are mixing your stories. Rapunzel let down her hair.” Neva shook her head at him, drawing ever closer, and for the moment it didn’t matter at all what he’d said, just that it put that look in her eyes. It occurred to him then: He hadn’t spoken the words out loud. And still, she somehow knew what was in his mind, in his heart. And it wasn’t the first time this had happened with Neva. It was like their bond was already so strong she could sense his thoughts, something very rare even amongst his people.

  “I love you.” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. Her dark brown eyes widened and then filled with a love of her own as she smiled up at him. He had to kiss her, then and there. He had no choice. There was nothing else for him to do but lean down until his lips touched hers. Ashton growled low and rough in his throat at Neva’s moan of pleasure and his body tightened painfully as she melted against him. God, he loved this woman. He never met anyone who was so strong, and yet had such kindness inside them.

  “What the hell is this?” The loud shout had them both jumping apart like guilty teenagers and turning to face the rampaging Triton, who was headed their way with a baseball bat clutched in his giant fist.

  “Daddy, just hold on right there. Let me explain–.”

  “Neva, darling, you need to go inside right now. You know you shouldn’t be out running in the middle of the night in your condition. Besides, I don’t want you to have to see what I’m about to do to lover boy here.” Triton took a threatening step forward and Neva ran to put herself in front of him, protecting him. And then she said the last thing he would have expected to hear.

  “Daddy, you know you won’t risk hurtin
g me…or the baby.”

  “The baby!” Ashton cried, spinning her around. He didn’t have time to say anything else before Triton was ushering her back inside and glaring blooding murder at him the entire way. “A baby.” He said to himself and the empty night in wonder. Joy and pride and panic all tumbled through her and he just shook his head. It was amazing. And unexpected. Only true mates can become pregnant. That would explain why they have such a strong mental connection. The knowledge ricocheted through him and he couldn’t help the laugh that exploded out of him into the night. He was going to be a father.

  Hours later, he was back in his small apartment the special forces team had set up for him as his home base. It was basically a shack but it got the job done. He twisted and turned on the cot, trying to find sleep but the minutes and hours continued to tick by and finally, he sat upright. He wasn’t going to get any rest that night, he might as well quit trying.

  Thoughts of the events of the evening spun through his head and he still couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it. Him. A father. It seemed like a miracle. An unbelievable miracle. Another thought broke in. The rumor he’d overheard at the rival’s motorcycle shop. The Mesa del Sol. He shook his head, knowing he shouldn’t even be considering going out there without more intel but he was already throwing his clothes in a small bag, a uniform of black jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt.

  He grabbed little else as he headed out into the night. Ashton didn’t need weapons if he happened to come across someone with less than pure intentions, and he traveled quicker across the desert landscape in lion form than he did in a vehicle that had to stay to roads and was noisy.

  The air around him seemed to shift, moving minutely and then all at once, and within moments a large, golden lion was running across the desert sands. It seemed to fly, it moved so fast before it disappeared into the darkness.