Because I knew I wouldn’t feel safe until he got back.
“All right. I’m gonna go pack,” he murmured against my lips.
I nodded. “Go on, big boy. Don't keep them waiting.”
And as he captured my lips one last time, I dreaded the sleepless nights to come.
Knowing damn good and well I wouldn't sleep a full night’s wink until he came back to me.
19
Ash
I stuffed a couple of outfits into the saddlebags of my bike before I looked up. And when I saw Hannah standing on my porch with her arms crossed tightly against her chest, all I wanted to do was charge her. I wanted to pick her up, kiss her senseless, and carry her back inside to make crazy, disgusting love to her. I didn’t want to leave her. Not like this. Not with that split lip and those bruises and the aches and pains she’d have to live with in my absence. It killed me inside, not to be here to take care of her. Not to see her off to her first day of work. Not to have lunch with her, or dinner with her, or wake up to her in the morning.
But I knew this was for her own good.
I knew we had to take down Skeleton in order to preserve her future.
“I love you!” I called out.
She smiled. “Love you, too, big boy!”
I chuckled. “I’ll be back soon.”
She waved at me. “You better. Otherwise I’ll resurrect you just to kill you myself!”
I shook my head and forced myself onto my bike. I knew if I continued to look at her any longer, I’d lose my nerve. And my men needed me right now. If I wanted to hold down a relationship while leading this kind of a life, I had to get used to this shit. I had to get used to leaving her behind at the drop of a dime and trusting that she could take care of herself until I got back.
Though, I had someone close to me that would be dropping in on her just to make sure she had everything she needed.
Someone I trusted with my life.
Don’t let me down, Scottie.
I cranked the engine and set off for the Iron Horse, ready to gather with the guys. But I kept stealing glances in my mirrors as I watched Hannah fade into the horizon. My heart ached with pain. My body begged me to turn around. I kept a strong head, though. I resisted all of those urges as I tore through town, speeding my way toward the bar as quickly as I could.
And when I slid into formation beside Sly, Link’s hand rose into the air.
Before he twirled his finger around, signaling for us to take off.
“You good?” Sly asked.
His voice came over the Bluetooth headset in my helmet that automatically linked up whenever we were in formation.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said.
He pushed off. “You don’t sound good.”
I pushed off beside him. “Just hate leaving Hannah when she still has to take pain meds. That shit knocks her out cold at night.”
“Scottie agreed to check in on her though, right?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“Well, then she’s in good hands.”
I really hope so. “You know Scottie finally graduated from medical school this year, right?”
He snickered. “About damn time that boy finally finished up. What took him so long?”
“Ah, well. Getting married and having a kid with cancer will put a damper on things sometimes.”
“Shit, that’s right. How’s Little Brady, anyway?”
I smiled. “In remission as of a few months ago. Hence why he got to finish up his medical residency.”
“Well, good for him. I’m glad things are falling into place in his life.”
“Me, too.”
“But I want to talk about you.”
I eased onto the highway. “What about me?”
Sly chuckled in my ear. “What gives with you and Hannah? I’ve never seen you fall over yourself like this for a chick.”
“I mean, what can I say? She’s a good woman.”
“Do you love her?”
I didn’t hesitate. “With everything I am.”
“I never thought I’d see the day.”
“What?”
He scoffed. “The day that you assholes got soft on me and decided to bunk up with women. You know, lead that traditional life.”
I barked with laughter. “This is far from traditional.”
“Hey, Link’s got his woman living with him and I hear him talking about kids sometimes with Bowser.”
“Well, fuck that nonsense. I don’t want kids. I just want me and Hannah living in that meadow for the rest of our days.”
“You gonna marry her?”
I considered the question. “One day, yes.”
“That’s about as traditional as it gets, then, bud.”
My smile fell to a grin. “I want to make her a permanent part of my life. She’s important to me, Sly. And if that means marrying her? I’d gladly do it to make her happy.”
“So, you don’t want to get married.”
“I don’t hate the idea. But it’s not like I dreamt about it as a kid or anything. I’m not that much of a bitch.”
He chuckled. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“Hey, you just wait until you finally fall in love.”
“Yeah, that’s never happening.”
“That’s what I always told myself. But one day it’ll happen. You’ll meet a gal that changes everything. And when you do? I’m gonna be right there to give you shit.”
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s nice that you actually talk right now.”
I barked with laughter. “At least no one’s telling me to shut up.”
“Yeah, well. I’m sure the moment’s coming. But until then? Keep your head in the game. Hannah’s gonna be fine with your brother checking up on her, so focus on the task at hand.”
I locked my eyes forward. “You don’t have to worry about that, either.”
The task was simple: keep Skeleton from gaining any more power or money in our area. And in order to do that, we had to track our movements. While the Steel Cobras thought they could ambush a man like this, I knew better. Hunting was a passion of mine—something I did many mornings with Scottie at my side—and in order to hunt big game like Skeleton, we had to stalk before we ambushed. We had to plot his movements before stalking out his favorite places.
And thankfully, Link understood that, too.
Tracking his movements wasn’t easy, but we did it. After paying off a couple of ice cream parlors and a gas station attendant, we figured out where the Jags gassed up, where they had their meetings, and when they’d been spotted the last time in that part of town. That kind of information was invaluable to hunters like us, and we quickly put the puzzle pieces together to create a coherent picture of Skeleton’s movements around the east part of town.
Then, we came upon something that seemed odd.
“You see that?” Sly asked.
“You mean, that abandoned parking lot full of beat-up cars that Link seems to be cruising by?”
“Yep. That’s the one.”
I pointed. “I think Link sees it, too.”
I watched our president point his finger at the parking lot before cruising past. I recognized that place, too. Me and Scottie frequented that park a great deal when we were kids growing up in the orphanage. We’d sneak out at night and climb over the wooden fence before meeting our girlfriends underneath the metal jungle gym. Like we were big and bad ladies’ men.
This place held a lot of memories for me.
And seeing Skeleton’s bike parked off to the side made me irate.
I’ll be damned if he’s going to destroy a part of my childhood.
Granted, the park was overgrown with weeds and shit now. After two children had been killed when I was in middle school in a gang shoot-out, the park had been closed down. And they never bothered to reopen it. That was what happened on this side of town sometimes. Things that were once staples were shut down and forgot about once things got too dangerous. A lot of people never saw
the point in restoring this side of things, but I always saw myself restoring it one day. Piece by piece.
Maybe that would still happen. Maybe, one day, Hannah and I would be in a position of power to be able to do something about these rundown places. Like, the hot dog and ice cream place across from the park. Or the free clinic up the street that was begging for its last leg to give out. One of these days, I’d throw some of my investment money into purchasing these rundown pieces of property and restoring them back to their former glory.
But for now, I’d settle for wiping Skeleton’s memory off the planet so he could never come over here again.
We cruised up the road for half of a mile before we pulled into an abandoned building that used to be the K-Mart in town. We circled around the side of the dilapidated place and parked our bikes in the shade to give them some cover.
Then, we hopped off and gathered into a tight circle.
“Ash, this is your side of town. What’s the best way to get into that park from here?” Link asked.
I nodded. “If we cross the road and walk up about a quarter of a mile, we’ll come across a bunch of condemned apartment buildings. Behind those buildings are overgrown walking trails that lead right into the back of the park. If we stay quiet enough, the thickness of the trees and shit will completely cover us.”
Sly nodded. “Which means we can expect those areas to be patrolled by Skeleton’s goonies.”
Bowser sighed. “Unfortunately. So, we get dressed into what we can here, then stuff our pockets and shit with as much ammo as we can carry.”
Link pointed at us. “Just make sure you don’t shoot unless you know you can make a connection. Because the second gunfire pops off, we’re going to lose him if we aren’t close enough.”
Knuckles raised his hand. “You think a couple of us should go and scout out how many people are patrolling first? Just in case shit goes south or something?”
I looked over at him. “If shit goes south, we all need to be there. There’s no point in splitting up.”
Bowser shrugged. “I don’t know. Sly and Knuckles are a hell of a team when it comes to scouting things out.”
Sly nodded. “You bet your ass we are. If we get changed into our clothes now and stay low, they won’t even know we’re there.”
Link stared down at his phone. “I just figured out what the fuck they’re doing back there.”
I paused. “I don’t like your tone of voice.”
Bowser furrowed his brow. “Who are you talking to?”
Link slid his phone into his pocket. “The Chief of Police. Word has it that Skeleton’s holding his fucking auction back there, guys.”
I shook my head. “God damn it.”
Sly clenched his fists. “I’m ready to put a bullet in this man’s head.”
Bowser swallowed a growl. “How much time do we have before the police storm this shit and completely ruin our chances of getting to this guy?”
Link licked his lips. “An hour. Maybe two. You know how slow they are to congregate and get going. But I wouldn't say any more than two hours.”
Knuckles’ head fell back with a groan. “Fuuuuck.”
I sighed. “Okay, we can work with this. But we have to come to a conclusion as a group.”
Link stared at me. “I’m a step ahead of you, Ash.”
I nodded. “Then, let’s take a vote.”
Link drew in a deep breath. “All in favor of just surveying Skeleton and tracking him after they leave the auction, raise your hand.”
I looked around and saw no hands go into the air.
“All right,” Link said, “all in favor of taking this bastard out if we can get him in our sights, raise your hands.”
And that was when everyone’s hands shot into the air. Including my own.
“Do the police know we’re here?” Bowser asked.
Link shook his head. “No. The Chief of Police has agreed to update me on Skeleton’s movements as they are updated because I have them believing we’re just trying to protect our own and avoid where he is.”
Sly nodded. “Nice cover.”
Link sighed. “It won’t hold for long, though. If we’re going to do this, we have to be swift and we have to get out of here before the police can even hear our motorcycles being started.”
Knuckles shrugged. “Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get our asses changed.”
20
Hannah
A knock at the door gave me pause. Ash had left a few hours ago, and I’d been talking back and forth with my new boss about what to expect with my job. I ignored the sound, hoping it might go away. Hoping that whoever it was would leave me alone. But the knocking became insistent before a voice behind the door sounded.
“Hannah? It’s okay, you can open up.”
Who the hell knows my name back there?
I walked up to the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me. Scottie.”
I blinked. “I don’t know a Scottie. Sorry.”
He paused. “Oh. Well, I’m Ash’s brother.”
I snickered. “Yeah, I don’t know who you are or what you want, but you can get the hell out of here. I’ve got a gun behind this door.”
I searched around for some sort of weapon to brandish in case the man on the other side called my bluff. But the only thing within reaching distance was an umbrella.
I could make that work.
“He doesn’t talk much about the orphanage, so it doesn’t shock me that he hasn’t mentioned me or anything. But if you open the door, I can show you a text from him. He wants me to check up on you and make sure you’re doing all right.”
He sounded convincing. “Step over to the window and you can show me the text through the window.”
“Whatever will get me in there. I heard you were in an accident and I want to check you over.”
I paused. “Why?”
He chuckled. “I’m a doctor, Hannah.”
“Oh. Well, still. Step over to the window and we’ll try it that way.”
I peered through the window next to the door and watched as a slender arm moved around. Long, slender fingers danced around on a black phone before it was turned around and pressed against the glass. And right there, plain as day—with Ash’s number attached to it—was a simple text.
Ash: Thank you for checking in on her. And when you get there, make sure she’s taking her meds. She likes to power through pain, and I don’t like that.
I wasn’t sure how to feel in that moment. On the one hand, it was very obvious this guy was telling the truth. But on the other hand, Ash had never made any mention of his past at all. Wasn’t this something I should’ve known about him? The idea of him being raised in an orphanage made me sick to my stomach. I tried to imagine Little Ash, and how he might have felt. How alone he must’ve been and how he probably kept to himself.
Explains how quiet he can be sometimes.
“Will you let me in now? I’d like to make sure you’re doing okay. My brother’s counting on it,” Scottie said.
I sighed. “Fine. But if you try anything funny, you’re a goner. Got it?”
“Noted.”
I unlocked the door and let the man inside. He was tall and very lean. Some might have said unhealthily so. He didn’t look a thing like Ash, though. And for a split second, I thought I’d made a grave mistake.
Then, Scottie smiled. “Don’t worry. We aren’t blood brothers. We stuck together in the orphanage. We’re brothers by shared experiences.”
I nodded slowly. “You have a kind smile.”
He snickered. “Funny, Ash said much the same thing to me when we first met.”
“I’m sure it comes in handy as a doctor.”
His eyes danced around my face. “Ash says you were in an accident? What kind?”
“The kind that my ex started but Ash finished.”
He paused. “Ah. Well. If you consent, I’d like to give you a full-on physical. Just to make sure nothing has gotte
n any worse. Are you okay with that?”
“What kind of doctor are you again?”
He smiled kindly. “A trauma-slash-E.R. doctor. I finished up my residency a few weeks ago. They just hired me on at the local hospital full-time, so I’ll be sticking around for a bit.”
“Does that mean we’re going to be having more family dinners?”
He chuckled. “I certainly hope so. I’ve missed Ash and the times we’ve had.”
“I hate to say it, but he’s never mentioned you. Or an orphanage, for that matter.”
He went to sit on the couch. “That doesn’t shock me. The orphanage wasn’t kind to us. I mean, the ladies running it did the best they could, but things weren’t perfect. I was bullied a great deal. Ash always took up for me. But that meant that from a young age, he understood that violence didn’t have to solve much if he could make people afraid of him.”
I sat down next to him. “Will you tell me about the orphanage? About Ash?”
“I’m not sure if he’d want to tell you himself first or not.”
“I mean, he had to have known you’d at least mention it in order to get into his place to see me. Right?”
He wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my arm. “You have a point there.”
“So, will you tell me?”
He smiled. “How about I tell you my favorite story of Ash and I growing up, then you ask him the rest.”
I winced at the pressure of the cuff. “I’m fine with that, too.”
“Does that hurt?”
“A bit.”
“How much?”
I shrugged. “On a scale of one to ten? Maybe a three? Just a bit more tender than I’m used to.”
“Did you have any trauma to this arm?”
I shook my head. “No. My head, yes. My face, yes. My back, ye—wait.”
“What?”
I sighed. “This was the arm my ex wrapped around my back to pin me to the ground.”
He blinked. “Sounds like a charmer.”
I giggled bitterly. “Yeah. Well, Ash was there, and that made a lot of things worth it.”
Ash (Dragon Riders MC Book 3) Page 14