by Simone Elise
Pulling away for air, I leaned my head on his shoulder. Why hadn’t I seen this guy before? My back arched and I pressed my chest into him as he kissed down my neck.
“Want to find a room?” he whispered hotly into my ear, while nibbling my earlobe.
Pulling my hands away from his neck, I found his hand and began to drag him through the crowd of people.
I was being a whore right now, wasn’t I? But hey, I hadn’t been with anyone since Blake, and it was time to move on; maybe a fling was just what I needed.
Walking up the stairs with him in tow, I was glad I hadn’t crossed paths with my brothers in a while. As for Jax, he was going out of his way to avoid me. Last I’d seen him; he was locking lips with a blonde.
“What’s your name, cutie?”
I turned my head over my shoulder. This guy couldn’t keep from running his eyes up and down my body. Looks like not hitting the gym off late hadn’t done too much damage.
“Amber,” I sang back, turning on my heels and placing a hand on his shoulder, at the top of the stairs. “Yours?”
“Jason,” he answered, with a cocky grin on his face.
Raising an eyebrow at his sudden smile, I turned back and dragged him in the direction of my room.
As I placed a hand on my door knob, Jason spun me around, kissing me with force against the door. I gave up trying to open the door and, smiling at his bold move, I wrapped my arms around his neck.
He moved a hand down my back and, when it rested on my lower back, me pinned to his chest, he expertly flung the door behind me open.
Flipping me around, he kicked the door closed with his foot, not breaking our kiss. I heard the dull slam of my bedroom door. Grinning against my lips, he gripped both my thighs and brought me up in the air, wrapping my legs around him. Pulling his lips from mine, the cheeky grin on his face made me smile.
“Now babe, don’t forget my name. Jason. You can scream it all night.”
Laughing with him, I shook my head lightly and then pressed my lips back against his. I didn’t care about tomorrow, or how bad I may feel.
I let myself get lost in the feel of his touch.
***
My eyes fluttered open and a small groan escaped my lips as I brought my hand up to comfort my head. I hated the morning after an amazing night.
Turning to my side, my head fell comfortably on a hard chest. Jason’s. His arm was lightly wrapped around my waist, as he slept on his back.
A small smile crept on my lips. He was one of the funniest guys I had ever met, and he really had kept me up most of the night.
My bedroom door flung open and I screamed; a toe curling scream. Jason bolted up, pulling his arm from under me. My jaw snapped shut, sending my teeth into my tongue. I rolled onto my back, pain shooting through my mouth.
I saw Jason do a sweep of the room, looking for a threat. Finally, his body seemed to relax as he took in the person in the doorframe.
“Shit, Jax. Mate, what you doing?” Jason ran a hand thought his shaggy blond hair and let out a relief coated sigh. I couldn’t help but stare at his tanned, well-built body.
Cocking my head to the side, I looked around Jason’s bare back. Sure enough, Jax stood in my room, grinding his teeth, his eyes narrowed.
“Why are you in my room?” I raised my eyebrow.
“Why are you naked?” he shot back.
Gulping, I glanced down at myself and cursed as I reached for my sheets.
Jason, however, had thought about this a second before me, because he’d already flung my sheet over my body.
“I will only be a sec mate,” Jason replied in Jax’s direction as he pulled the covers off himself and searched for his clothes.
Wait. They knew each other?
Jason pulled his jeans up and then turned to frown at me “Wait. Did you say this was your room?”
“Are you dense?” I asked seriously. “Whose room did you think it was?
Jason chuckled lightly to himself as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. “I thought we just crashed it.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked around Jason, at Jax. “You didn’t answer my question. Why are you in my room? You know it is rude to just burst into someone’s room.”
Jax rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “We didn’t know where you were.”
“Well, good thing you started your search in my room,” I replied sarcastically.
“Oh you found her. I was…”
Tyler poked his head into my room, giving Jason a once over before grinning in my direction. “Did you get lucky last night, Amber?”
Groaning, I fall back into my pillows, keeping the sheets tightly wrapped around me. “Could you all piss off?”
Tyler’s laugh ripped through my ears and I shot a glare in his direction. “Some of us are hungover you know.”
Jason leaned across and planted a kiss on my forehead. I blushed slightly; that was incredibly sweet. “Thanks for last night cutie.” He sent me a charming grin.
“Amber just got the kiss of death,” Jax grunted.
Jason rolled his eyes and sent me a wink as he pulled away from the bed. “Oh cutie, do you want my number?”
I suppressed my smile “I don’t do phone numbers. Sorry.”
“Burnt.” Tyler laughed. I saw the smirk on Jax’s face, which fueled my next move.
“But, in your case, why not?” I smiled at Jason.
Jason sent me a wicked grin, as if he knew why I was doing this.
“You can get my number off Jackson. I was forced to give it to him a while ago.” I smiled sweetly after seeing the annoyed look that crossed Jax’s face.
“You call him Jackson?” Jason asked with an eyebrow raised. “The parents don’t even call you that.”
Jax gritted his teeth and turned his back to walk away. Jason grinned as he followed him out. “See you Amber, nice to have met you,” he shot over his shoulder before walking out of the room.
Tyler however, had other ideas, as he strolled into my room, planting his butt on the edge of my bed.
“And you would be in here, why?” I asked him, holding the sheets up to my chest. “You know I’m not dressed right?”
Tyler shrugged his shoulders and shot me a smirk “You and Cole are more alike than I thought.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You can go now,” I said, pointing a finger in the direction of the door.
“You both woke up with last night’s mistakes in your beds;” Tyler chuckled lightly “Didn’t peg you as the type Amber.”
Holding the sheet to my chest with one arm, I threw a pillow at his head.
“ADAM!” Tyler screamed with amusement as he dodged my attack. I was horrified to watch my other brother walk through my door.
“GET OUT!” I screamed.
“Amber woke up with Jason.”
Adam scoffed “You didn’t?” he took in my face for a moment then scanned the messed up bed. “Of all the guys… ” he said, shaking his head.
“Would both of you get out of my room? I AM NAKED!”
“Who’s naked?” Troy strolled into my room, like he owned the joint.
“GET OUT!”
Troy gave me an annoyed glance. “I am guessing you’re the nude one.”
Letting out a sharp sigh, I screeched. “Everyone get the hell out of my room! NOW!”
“She slept with Jason,” Tyler piped in, humor in his voice.
“Why does it matter who I slept with?” I frowned “Why do you keep telling people that?”
“You know who he is right?” Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No. I know his name. Jason.”
Tyler, Adam and Troy all shot glances at each other, before bursting out laughing; I felt like it was at my expense.
“What is so funny?” I snapped crossing my arms over my chest. “Clearly I am missing something.”
I glared at my brothers; they looked so childish. If you only looked at them when they laughed and disregarded the
tattoos and scars, they were awfully cute and endearing.
Troy seemed to pull himself together, as he said, “This is just too good.”
Rolling my eyes and huffing, I added, “Fine, don’t tell me.”
“I’ll give you a hint Amber.” Tyler’s laughter slowly dried, but the grin still wide on his face. “His last name is Johnston.”
I frowned. What did that have to do with anything? But then it hit me, like a cold slap across my face. My eyes went wide. “He’s Jackson’s brother?!”
Chapter 12
This wasn’t going to be awkward; I told myself as I walked out the front door, closing it gently behind me. I was prepared to face Jax.
I hadn’t seen Jax or any of my brothers for the rest of the weekend. I couldn’t believe my luck when I heard their bikes kick off, and they didn’t return all weekend.
“Sup Sis?” Tyler smiled, and I was pulled from my thoughts.
“Morning Tyler.” My eyes glanced over the other four empty bikes. Where were the rest of them? “Where are the others?”
Tyler straddled his black motorbike “Sleeping. We didn’t get in until late.”
“Then why aren’t you sleeping?” Now taking in his slightly bloodshot eyes and pale face. It was clear he hadn’t slept much.
“Got the shortest straw.” Tyler grinned. “Come on; let’s get your butt to school.”
He didn’t look like he was up to riding that thing. “Go to bed Tyler. I can take myself to school.”
“Nope, no way. Troy will kill me, right after Cole bashes me.”
“Tyler, I think my life is more in danger if I get behind you on that death trap. Go to bed. I can get myself to school.”
“Not happening.”
“Tyler, GO TO BED! Have you even slept at all?” Now that I thought about it, I didn’t hear the bikes come back last night which meant they must have got in early this morning. “Wait, you don’t have to tell anyone. Just go back in and go to bed.”
I opened my handbag and began looking for the car keys.
Tyler frowned but I could see he was caving. “The guys will kill me.”
“Tyler, I managed to get myself to school before you, believe me, I can do it now.”
I turned my back on him and began to walk up the porch in the direction of the garage, still looking through my bag.
“Um, Amber?”
Turning around I saw Tyler leaning his bike back down. “Yeah Ty?”
I saw his lips twitch slightly; I couldn’t believe I had just called him that. I used to when I was little, and it just slipped out now.
“Cole. He had a run in with someone last night. Nothing too serious, but when you get home, could you have a look at him? I know he’s too proud to ask you himself.”
“Sure, when I get home.” I smiled slightly and turned back on my heel. Today I would go to school and I would stay there, not because I wanted to. Hell no. But I didn’t want to get Tyler into trouble and I couldn’t believe that I was willing to stay at school all day, just for him.
I was going soft.
***
I had to park my Hummer four blocks away from school. So, not only did I go to school, but I also walked to get there.
I shook my head at my own softness; I was getting pathetic. I was on my way home, heading down the highway, perhaps a little over the speed limit. Today only reminded me of how much I really hated school. The teachers were smelly and the students were ruled with hormones and were full of useless information.
Like today, when I was sitting behind Amy in math, she was telling her friend all about how Josh, one of Jax’s little school friends, had taken her to the movies, and then they even did dinner! Oh the excitement!
Glancing in the reverse mirror, I noticed how the same gray sedan was on my tail. The mirrors were tinted a deep black, making it impossible to make out the driver. That was what caused me to put my foot down harder on the accelerator. That tint wasn’t legal; which gave me a bit of insight into the driver. This was no soccer mom tailing me.
The car automatically matched my speed, keeping pace with me. I didn’t recognize the car. The highway was close to dead, and we ended up flying down the road.
I was still a while from home, and I knew I couldn’t go home now, not with a tail on me. I glanced at the fuel gauge; three quarters of a tank.
The car suddenly swung around, and slammed on the brakes, sending me off the road and into the dirt on the side. I was grateful our highway had endless dirt on each side and the trees were a few distance away; or this might have been the end of me.
I slammed my foot down on the accelerator first chance I got, and shot off in the direction of the city. I looked behind me, and noticed that my tail had also spun around to chase me.
I pushed the pedal to the metal, and was grateful for the magnificent machine I’d been handed to drive.
I saw a reflection against my mirror. Shit. I saw the large silver gun now being pushed out a side window. My reflexes kicked in; my back arched and my ears rung as a bullet shattered my back window.
I flung open my glove box. No gun. Shit, I was unprotected.
Swinging my car down the first street as we turned off the highway, my tires squealed and the Hummer had a slight body roll. I attempted to keep it under control, although I lost all control when the bullet flew through my back window.
I was in trouble; I reached over and tipped out my handbag, desperately looking for my phone and I was doing all of this while speeding down a residential street, with parked cars lining each side.
Unlocking the phone, I scrolled down the list until I reached Cole’s number. Cole would answer; he always did. The others I wasn’t too sure; Troy was a heavy sleeper.
I swung the car sideways as another bullet shot into the car. Any minute now, the guys would target the tires, and that’s when the shit would hit the fan for me.
“Hello?” His voice was husky and full of sleep.
“Cole, I’m being shot at.”
Another bullet sailed through a side window, shattering it.
“Amber, what the hell was that?” Cole now sounded awake as he screamed in alarm.
“I just said someone was shooting at ME!”
As soon as I said that, the car jerked as the back tire caught a bullet. “SHIT! They just got my back tire.”
“Where are you?”
I frantically looked for a street sign; I was going to be rolling to a stop anytime now. “Grant Street, half way up. Cole, they just got my other back tire.”
I heard the dull stomping of his feet as he ran down the stairs “How many are their?”
“Can’t see, the car is heavily tinted.” The Hummer was slowing down.
“What color?”
“Gray. They’re shooting Shotguns spa 12’s, from what I can tell.”
“How much speed have you lost?” I heard the dull throwing of something from his end.
“I will be coming to a halt in a few seconds.” I glanced at the gray car; they were happy crawling alongside. I spoke seriously into the phone. “Cole, I have a feeling I’m not going to be here long once I stop.”
I gulped slightly, not liking the idea of facing off with whoever it was, with no gun or back up. I was still a girl after all; it’s not like I could overpower a guy. Sure, I could give him a few good punches, but that was about it.
“We’re coming.”
“What, how did you get the others up?”
Cole ignored my question “As soon as the car stops, run.”
I knew that was what I’d have to do; I wasn’t going to sit here and wait for them to come and get me out of the car. But I wasn’t exactly in top shape at the moment; I mean my body was great but my fitness level, not so much.
“Cole!” I exclaimed.
I heard the roar of a motorbike. “We’re coming Amber.” His voice was stern and I heard how pissed off he was. I didn’t envy these guys when my brothers found them. They would be ticked off enough just for bei
ng dragged out of bed.
The phone died, and nerves began to bubble in my stomach. I exhaled sharply; it was time to focus. The boys would still be a bit off, even with their crazy riding.
The Hummer was squealing as there was no rubber left on the tire. Time to run like there was no tomorrow. I forced the steering wheel to turn as I went in the direction of a footpath, a park just behind it. The Hummer was barely rolling as I pushed open my door and launched myself out of it.
I heard the Hummer crash into a tree that lined the footpath, but I didn’t look back as my feet hit the pavement, jumping over a bench and darting into the park. I was already out of breath.
Cole
The motorbikes roared as we sped down the highway. Our usual formation lost as I took lead next to Troy. Our formation, rules and politics of riding forgotten, we all fled down the highway.
The street was now in view. My grip tightened around the bars; Amber was in deep shit.
Jax took off in front of us, and he turned sharply down Grant Street. We swung around everything in our way, as we all ripped up Grant Street.
Our fatigue now forgotten, our bodies clicked into overdrive; we had rage fueling us.
Spotting Amber’s Hummer, we slowed down. Slammed into a tree, the motor was still running when we pulled up to it.
“Where is she?” Adam yelled over the roar of the bikes. The driver’s door was hanging open and the car was riddled with bullets.
A gray car was parked behind it, all four doors hanging open. Four doors, four people, which meant four blokes, were chasing Amber.
Grinding my teeth, I stated matter of factly, “We need to find her.”
Troy’s eyes were narrow as he looked the car over. “You know whose this is?” he snapped in our direction, half in rage, half disgust.
My lips tightened in a firm line; of course I knew who was responsible.
Jax ripped up the curb with his bike and took off through the park, not waiting for us to confirm a plan of action. We all knew that Amber was in deep trouble and it was our fault; we were responsible for this.
Revving my bike, I took off after him, and I heard the boys follow. Amber would have to be close. Tearing through the park, I came to a stop next to Jax as we reached the corner. He nodded his head in the direction of an alley, and we tore off down the narrow path but the bikes were too bulky, so Jax screeched his to a sudden halt, yanked the key, and shot off down the path on foot.