A random voice sounded behind me. “We want to live.”
I nodded. “Then, shut up and follow me. Sly?”
“Yeah, Ash?”
“Meet us around front. We’ll have to do one girl to a rider to get out of here.”
Even though I wanted nothing more than to take—what was her name, Hannah? —in my arms and kiss her stupid, I had to get her out alive first. With a renewed sense of purpose and vigor, I led the girls down the hallway. I cleared every corner we turned until we found our way out onto the porch where Sly waited for all of us.
But I still had this unsettling feeling in my gut.
“Did you see anyone else?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. You?”
“Not a damn soul.”
“You mean to tell me the only guy here is the one I took down in the hallway?”
Link appeared from the darkness. “Seems to be that way.”
Knuckles walked up behind us. “I don’t know. There’s something off about all of this.”
Bowser walked up beside me. “You find all the girls?”
I thumbed over my shoulder. “All of them are accounted for.”
Then, a bullet whizzed by my head.
“Get down! Now!” I roared.
Another muffled bullet whizzed by my shoulder and I turned around. I threw myself at Hannah, taking her to the ground as I covered her body with my own. Gunfire rained down upon us as I reached for the one on my hip. Ready to end the firefight these assholes had started.
“To our bikes!” Link exclaimed.
With one arm wrapped around Hannah, I pulled both of us up from the ground. I held her close to me as her soft body trembled against my own, cursing Slash in an uproar. A shadow moved just beside the cabin and I took aim, popping a bullet off straight in its gut. And when the shadowed figure fell to the ground, I faced Hannah.
“You ever been on a bike?” I asked.
She snickered. “What am I, a princess? Yes, I’ve been on a bike.”
“Great. Come with me.”
I picked her up over my shoulder and she screamed. Her fists beat against my back, and it made me grin. It was a cute endeavor, trying to hurt me. But she wouldn't have enough strength in four of her to hurt me the way she thought she was.
“Fall back! Fall back!” Bowser yelled.
I continued dropping shadows to their knees as we scrambled to get back to our bikes. We let the woods and the brush cover us as we backtracked, following the path of glow-in-the-dark paint Knuckles sloshed on the ground for us to follow. It led us all the way back to our bikes, where I planted Hannah firmly on the back.
And even though her eyes were wild with anger, it didn’t make me want to kiss her any less.
If anything, it made me want to kiss her more.
4
Hannah
I didn’t know what just happened and I sure as hell didn’t know who the fuck this mountain of a man was. But all I knew was that I needed to cling to him for dear life. As the engine rumbled between my legs and my hands fisted his leather jacket, I squeezed my eyes closed. My thighs clung to him, trying to stay on the bike as we tore through dirt, rocks, and potholes. I buried my face into his back, hoping and praying we made it out alive long enough for me to slap this man for handling me the way he did.
I mean, who the hell told him he could toss me over his shoulder?
Gunfire rang out in the distance and it scared me. It genuinely scared me. What the hell had my cousin roped me into? What in the world did she expect us to weather for some cash? This was supposed to be an easy in and out sort of thing. No muss, no fuss. Her words, exactly.
I’m never trusting Slash again.
Wind whipped around us as the trees finally broke. The bumbling around of the bike’s tires against uneven dirt finally settled down as we hit the first paved road in four miles. I released my thighs while my legs burned. It felt like a million needles were poking into the tops of my hands. I’d clung to this man so hard everything in my body went numb. And I wanted to tell him to pull the hell over so I could get off.
But he must’ve had the same idea.
The bike slowed down before we eased off to the side. I heard other bikes in the distance, but none that surrounded us. The motorcycle slowly rolled to a stop on the side of a deserted road so old the yellow and white lines had faded into nothingness. Only splatters of old paint remained of the once-decorated road.
Then, the man I clung to shifted in my arms.
“Oh. Sorry,” I murmured.
I released his body as he slid off the bike. He lumbered in his footsteps and moved slowly with his turns. But as my eyes climbed up and down his body, I found him staring down at me from his perched height. My God, the man must’ve been at least six-and-a-half feet tall. His stoic brown eyes shimmered in the blue glow of the moonlight and his jet-black hair sparkled with the reflection of stars in the sky. His chest was broad, and his shoulders were mounting. The veins bulging from his neck ran just underneath the collar of his white t-shirt, forcing me to wonder how many other veins popped against his body.
Everything felt like a blur, except him.
Everything felt like a dream, except him.
Everything scared me right now… except him.
“Are you okay?”
I swallowed hard as his voice fell heavily against my ears. I saw his lips moving, but the resonant sound falling from his lips sounded like it came from somewhere else. I mean, this man was a behemoth. Stacked with muscles, chiseled angles, and rippling muscles beneath his clothes. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that fact. And as I licked my lips, trying not to imagine the man naked, I attempted to process his voice.
While it rattled my ribcage with its presence.
“Ma’am?”
I snickered. “Hannah.”
He crouched down but was still eye level with me.
“Hannah, are you okay?”
His voice sounded like home. “Relatively speaking.”
“Are you hurt? Bleeding?”
“No.”
His eyes danced along my face. “Are you thirsty? I’ve got some water.”
“Uh, no. Not—not thirsty.”
He stood back up. “Are you sure you aren’t hurt?”
“Where’s my cousin?”
“Cousin?”
I nodded. “Slash. Where is she?”
He paused. “Slash is your cousin?”
“She is, yes.”
Just as our riveting conversation was about to take off, the dull roar of bike engines caught my attention. I whipped my head to the right, trying to follow the sound as it quickly approached. My heart rate skyrocketed. My fight or flight senses told me to get out my wings and take the fuck off. My hands trembled so badly I tucked them between my thighs. But Mountain Man didn’t seem to be swayed by the noise.
So, I tried to keep myself grounded.
“Don’t worry. That’s just my guys,” he said.
I nodded slowly. “Are the other girls dead?”
“Nah. Just riding with them. We wanted to split up in case a mound of people came after us.”
I watched as a group of bikers piqued on the horizon. I slid off the bike and walked into the middle of the road, searching the oncoming silhouettes for my cousin. I wrung my hands together as the massive human being that still hadn’t given me his name stood behind me.
And when he placed his hands on my shoulders, I wanted to mold my body to the rest of his.
Holy shit, he’s so warm.
I shivered with anticipation as the engines grew louder. I counted one, two… no, four other bikes. They all rode up to us and came to a stop, and I found my cousin on the back of one of the motorcycles.
Clinging to a very thin man with a perma-grin on his face.
“Were you followed?”
Double M’s voice appeared behind me. “Nope. You guys?”
They all shook their heads as Slash hopped off the back of the b
ike.
“Hannah, holy shit. Thank fuck, you’re okay.”
She rushed to me and I wrapped my arms around her neck. I wanted to slap her across her face as well, but for now I was simply okay that she was okay.
“We’re going to talk later,” I murmured.
She patted my back. “I know. I know. Let’s just get out of here first, all right?”
“I’m Ash, by the way.”
That deep, bass voice boomed like a bomb being dropped on our heads. And as I released my cousin, I slowly turned to face him. So, Double M had a name. Ash. For some reason, it suited him. Maybe it was the way the starlight danced in his jet-black hair. Or maybe it was his smoldering look that reminded me of a fire after it had been put out. Or maybe it was how his muscles struck me—how it looked like he could pound someone into mere ash simply with his fists.
Whatever the reason for the nickname, it made me smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ash.”
He nodded. “Likewise.” He walked over to me. “Now, are you sure you’re okay? I’ve got medicine and things to patch you up with if you’re—.”
Slash butted in. “She’s fine, Ash. Now, back off.”
A blonde-headed man stepped up beside him. “You don’t get to talk to my men that way. Not after what just happened. Not after we just saved your asses.”
Slash snickered. “And what do you expect us to do? Fuck you in gratitude?”
The lean guy came up to my side. “Nah, you’re not really our type, Slash.”
I giggled, but my cousin wasn’t happy about that. She shot me a look that told me to “cork it,” so I ended up laughing harder.
I loved crawling underneath my cousin’s skin.
She was so easy to piss off.
“Did anyone bring our bikes?” Slash asked.
The lean man snickered. “You think that in saving all of your asses we thought to bring your bikes?”
The blonde-headed man shook his head. “We still have to get you guys back to the bar before you’ll have your bikes.”
Slash nodded. “Good. I need to debrief the girls and my cousin before we do anything else.”
Ash piped up. “I’m sure you do.”
The two of them stared off with one another and it was mesmerizing to watch. Everything this man did caught my attention, from the way he looked, to the way he talked, to the way he carried himself, to the sound of his voice. There wasn’t a thing about him I didn’t like, and that worried me.
Because the last time I got caught in a man’s net like this, I got my heart broken.
And my future demolished.
“So, do we want to get out of here so we aren’t sitting ducks anymore?” I asked.
The blonde-headed man pointed to me. “She’s got a good point. We need to get back somewhere that’s considered familiar territory. We’ll have an advantage there if we get hit again.”
I blinked. “Get hit? You think those idiots will come after us?”
The lean man chuckled. “Not after all the men Ash put down.”
Ash shook his head. “Come on, in front of the girls?”
My cousin rolled her eyes. “Women, thanks.”
I clicked my tongue. “Quit being so damn sensitive about everything. You tell me I’m sensitive then get pissed off at shit like that.”
“Because I’m not a damn girl, Hannah.”
“Then stop acting like it, Dorothy.”
Ash paused. “Did she just say ‘Dorothy’?”
Slash glared at me. “You’re going to pay for that.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Oh, really? And how is that?”
The guys chuckled to themselves as I cocked my head off to the side. If my cousin thought she was going to override me because she was some president of some stupid club that made stupid-ass decisions, then she had another thing coming. I turned my back to her and walked over to Ash, who stood by his bike. I threw my leg over the back end of the bike and settled myself in the passenger-seat, then turned to face the crowd.
“So, are we getting out of here or what?” I asked.
Everyone looked around at one another before Ash grinned. And that small little crook of his lips lit up his entire face. He looked like a completely different person, and I wondered what he’d look like with a full-blown smile on his face. He walked over to me and dug around in a little compartment off the side of his bike before he pulled out a helmet.
Then, he settled it over my head.
After we all got ready and my helmet was good to go, Ash slid back onto his bike. I gladly wrapped my arms around him and attached my thighs to his. I fisted his jacket like I had before and rested my head against his back. Only this time, I heard him murmuring and talking to himself.
Courtesy of the connected microphones in both of our helmets.
“I can hear you, you know,” I said.
He nodded. “Good. Glad it's working.”
He struck up the engine of his bike and tore off, following the other guys off in the distance.
“So, how long have you been with your crew?” I asked.
He sped to catch up with them. “Uh, six, seven years.”
“Nice.”
“What about you?”
“What?”
“How long have you been with the—”
I shook my head. “No, no, no. I’m not part of the crew.”
He paused. “You’re not?”
“Nope.”
“But you were running an op with them.”
“You make it sound so official. My cousin roped me into doing a favor for her in exchange for money I really needed. Then, shit went haywire.”
“Do you know why they went haywire?”
I giggled. “My cousin pissed someone off. That’s always how things go haywire. She’s got a temper she doesn’t know how to keep in check.”
“I figured as much. Glad to know my hunch was right, though.”
“What hunch?”
“That you weren’t part of the Red Pythons.”
I paused. “I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended.”
He chuckled, and the sound pulled me beneath its warm current. It rushed through my body like angry, ebbing waves, drowning me in the wondrous sound. I wanted to hear it again. I wanted to make him chuckle as much as I could on this trip back to my hometown.
“It’s not a bad thing,” Ash said, “it’s just that it’s clear you don’t belong with the rest of the girls. Your reactions; how you respond to things.”
I nodded. “I’ll take that as a good thing, then. Because some of the rumors around town about my cousin are things I could never stomach.”
“Like what?”
I shrugged. “Like, I don't know. Just things.”
“Do you have any examples?”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m being interrogated?”
“My apologies. I’ll drop it.”
But I didn’t want to stop talking to the man.
“So, what do you do for fun?” I asked.
He chuckled again. “Small talk?”
“Got anything else to talk about Double M?”
He paused. “Double M?”
“Mhm.”
“What does that stand for?”
“Mountain Man, duh. That was your name in my head until you introduced myself.”
“Well, in that case, your nickname would’ve been Frozen Yogurt.”
I snickered. “And why’s that?”
“Because you’re thick in all the good ways.”
Electricity shot through my body and my mouth went dry. So, he had noticed me, too. Oh, that would definitely play in my favor. The man was a lot bolder than I gave him credit for. I guess the “silent man” routine wasn’t all he was capable of. I drew in a sobering breath as we rode along, blazing past the town city limit sign for Hillridge Springs.
“My apologies if that was too—”
I shook my head. “No, no. You're fine. I promise.�
��
He nodded. “Okay.”
And to my disappointment, that was the last thing he said to me before we arrived at the bar.
Where my cousin tried to drag me away into a back room without giving me a chance to say goodbye.
5
Ash
“Wait a sec—can I at least get off—Slash!”
I leapt off my bike quicker than I’d ever moved in my entire life. The second we pulled up to the bar, Slash stumbled off the back of Sly’s bike and made a beeline right for Hannah. And I didn’t like the way she tugged her off the back of my bike.
“Slash, calm down,” I said.
She glared up at me. “I have to debrief my cousin. She has to come with me, now.”
Hannah scoffed. “Slash, you’re hurting—Slash! Cut it out!”
My voice lowered. “Let. Her. Go.”
Slash snickered. “Or what, big guy? She’s family, and I saw the way you looked at her. You’re not going to lay a damn finger on—”
Link walked up. “What seems to be the issue?”
Hannah stumbled off the bike before Slash pulled the beautiful angel to her side. And I immediately felt protective over Hannah. I didn’t want to give her back. I didn’t want to throw her to the dogs now that we had gotten her safe. Especially after the shit Slash tried to pull with us.
“Let me go!” Hannah exclaimed.
Slash slung her toward the bar. “Back room, now. Girls! Hey!”
She whistled and all of the girls faced her.
“Back room for debriefing. Now,” Slash said.
I stood strong. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”
The entire group of us fell silent as Slash slowly turned back around to face me.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
I stared down at her. “I said you’re not taking Hannah anywhere.”
“And why would you think you had a say in that, Ash?”
“Because I know what you did. We all know what you did. And you had no business putting someone that isn’t in your crew in that kind of danger. Your cousin is a civilian. An outsider. And you bribed her with money to participate in—”
Slash waved her hand in the air. “Tone down the big words a bit and give it to me straight, Bozo.”
Ash (Dragon Riders MC Book 3) Page 3