by Jani Kay
“You would’ve acted the same—pricks stealing off you when you take a piss. I should’ve finished them off before Ryder came in there.”
“You’d risk all our lives because they tried to steal from you?” I growled, anger rising in my belly. “Rein it in, brother, or you’ll have to deal with me, and I don’t play nice like Ryder.”
Everyone was tired. Hours of wind and dirt roads had taken their toll. My whole body ached and all I wanted was a soft bed and a warm body beside me.
Razor settled down but Ryder stayed within arm’s reach of the hothead.
“Where is Alessandra? She spends more time in the fucking bathroom than we have to spare,” Ryder said, searching the area for signs of her.
“She went to get us all food. I’m hungry and thirsty. Thought you boys could do with something in your bellies to help keep your energy up.”
Ryder shook his head. “I’m fucking starving . . . but if you saw the mess Razor made of the guys back there, I’d get the girl and get going. If someone reports it, we’re deep in the fucking shit. Like we need that on top of everything else.”
Restraining myself from giving Razor a slap on the side of his brainless head, I went in search of Alessandra. My stomach rumbled, and I hoped she’d managed to get us food from the roadside cafe.
As I approached, she came running from the store, her eyes wide. “We’re on the television. The Don is after us. They recognized me in there. Oh, Cobra, they’re after us.” The dread in her voice made my blood curdle. “The Don—he’s put a price on our heads. D . . . dead or alive,” she panted, out of breath.
Fuck! Just when we needed a long break from the bikes, we had to get the fuck out of there. First Razor’s shit and now that. How did Pedro find out so quickly? Did somebody spy on us? I hoped Esmérelda was safe, but I didn’t have time to think.
“Come, baby, let’s go,” I yelled, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to my Harley. The stuff she cradled in her arms fell to the ground. She moved to pick it up. “Leave it. We don’t have time. This place will be swarming with all sorts of people within minutes.”
“Jesus, Fuck,” Ryder roared when he heard what happened. He was still trying to stop Razor from going back to finish the guys off. He gripped Razor by the shirt and shoved him toward his motorcycle. “Get your fucking ass on the bike and let’s go. Playtime is over. Unless you wanna stay and explain to the Don what happened?”
“Fine. But it wasn’t me who brought the Don onto us.”
“Fuck, Razor, if I don’t flatten you with my own fist,” I threatened, coming to the end of my patience. “Quit playing up and get out front. Hammer, you take the back and Ryder, you stay with me.”
I couldn’t help noticing that Ryder’s twitch had gotten worse. Maybe it was the wind in his eyes from the long dusty ride? Secretly I prayed it wasn’t anything more than that, although I knew in my fucking gut that the night was far from over. Trouble was looming, and there was no other way than forward.
Alessandra took her place behind me, shaking in spite of the hot balmy night surrounding us. I squeezed her hand and brought it up under my T-shirt, placing it over my heart, pressing her palm flat against my skin.
I spoke into her earpiece. “Feel my heart beating, baby? Until I take my last breath . . . until my heart no longer beats . . . I will take care of you. And I will die fighting for us, if that's what it takes. Now hold on tight, ’cause we gonna have to go faster than before. Think you can do that for me, my love?”
She pressed her palm flatter and harder against my heart, making it beat even faster. “Yes, I can do it . . . for us. We can do this.”
Fuck me, if I didn’t need to swallow hard. It wasn’t the time to get all mushy, but this woman had my heart and I was willing to do anything to make us finally happen. I wanted a lifetime with her and I wasn’t going down without doing everything in my power to taste that life.
Four bikes roared out of there like bats out of hell. We opened up full throttle, taking off into the night. But not before I saw at least a dozen men storm out of the building and run after us. Those fools would never catch us, but the Don? He had far-reaching arms. God only knew whom he was paying to do his dirty work in the smaller villages. I’d heard stories of families selling one another out to him for a pittance. If the reward money on our heads was large enough, every fucking man and his dog would be after us tonight. And when they found the fuckers that Razor had lain into, all hell would cut lose. Fuck. This night had just gotten worse than I’d imagined.
Chapter 22 — Cobra
“We’re fifty miles from the border,” Ryder said. “One last stretch and we’re home free.” His face was strained, and I could see the exhaustion in his eyes. Ryder never complained. Not like Razor, who’d been cranky and moody for the last two hundred miles. That was why I preferred bikes to cars—I didn’t have to listen to his whining while we were riding. He could talk to the wind and it wouldn’t affect me in any way.
There hadn’t been anywhere decent to stop for miles, but when Alessandra tugged hard on my arm, I knew we had to take a break. She assured me she’d be fine taking a walk behind the bushes to do her business, as long as the guys didn’t watch her.
My stomach rumbled and I was thirsty as fuck. Hammer had a bottle of water, so I gulped down a few mouthfuls before passing it to Ryder. “Gotta make it last; only a few mouthfuls each,” I said, rationing the water until we got to the other side. I’d buy everyone the biggest fucking breakfast at the first diner we got to once we were back in the States.
“I’m running pretty low on gas,” Hammer said, taking a leak against the nearest tree. “How about you guys?” Hammer hadn’t been able to fill his tank at the last place we’d stopped. He was last in line, and still pumping gas when Alessandra had come running out. When I yelled for us to go, he had to stop before his tank was full.
We’d managed to avoid the main hotspots along the route, and even had to deviate from the original route we’d planned because of what happened. We had to take a totally unplanned detour through a section that added another fifty miles to our trip and that had eaten into our fuel supply. I’d been watching the red needle with dread in my gut as the stretch of road continued in front of me with no end in sight.
“Yeah, mine is running low too,” Ryder said, “I thought you said we’d have a gas station on the last leg of the ride.”
“No way am I getting another fifty miles outta my beast,” Razor said.
Hammer shrugged as he tucked his cock back into his pants and zipped up. “I swear it shows on the map. But since we deviated from the original route, fuck knows where the next station is.”
After all that we’d been through getting stranded without gas was the last thing I could stomach. We’d be sitting fucking ducks, waiting for the Don or his men to pick us up.
“Christ. Not after everything we’ve been through. Please tell me we’re going to make it?” Razor said. “This wasn’t any fun. Not at all what I expected.”
“What did you expect, Razor? Because shit just got real. I’ve got a good mind to syphon the last bit of gas outta your machine and leave you behind for stirring up shit. I need to get Alessandra to the other side. You and Hammer can wait for us to come get you.”
“Are you fucking crazy? What if the Don and his men get to us first?”
“Is Razor running a little scared? Why? You’ll kick them bad guys with your boots, won't you? Slice ’n’ dice the Don,” Ryder teased. I guessed he was still fuming about the earlier incident. I would’ve thought it all very funny if it weren’t so fucking possible of becoming reality.
Alessandra came out from behind the bushes. “You wouldn’t really leave your brother behind, would you? If the Don finds him . . .” Her eyes were wide, openly showing the fear she held for Razor’s life.
I pulled her closer and nuzzled her hair. “No, baby, we’re just teasing the asshole. Scorpio Stingers never leave a brother or a member of the family behind. And i
t’s not about to happen on my watch either. We ride together or we walk together. We’ll get over that fucking line, and nobody gets left behind. Dead or alive.”
Hammer’s face brightened up. “I have a plan. What if we ring Daemon and ask him to bring gas to us? It’s not that far. You should be able to get a signal on your phone soon. We keep going till we run out. Daemon can slip over the border if we don’t make it all the way and help get us the fuck outta here.”
I wiped over my brow. That wasn’t the best of plans, but if we had no other option it was the only thing we could do. Sitting ducks. Unease gripped my gut and tore away at it.
Ryder took his phone from inside his cut. “I've got signal. Want me to call Daemon?”
I nodded. At least if my twin knew where we were he could bring us gas. He was going to be pissed when he saw the cargo we’d brought with us wasn’t the one we’d set out to collect.
I listened as Ryder explained the situation to Daemon. His fucking eye twitched so badly I could barely look at him. Ryder and Hammer had worked out roughly where we were, and Ryder told Daemon where to find us.
“The signal is bad here. But we’ll keep going till the first motorcycle runs out. Then we’ll try to call if you haven’t found us yet. But hurry the fuck up, yeah? We’re tired and hungry, and we wanna get out of here in one piece.”
Ryder hung up. “Daemon sounded way too chirpy for my liking. He said he’d bring Big Ed and Tank and get to us as soon as possible. I just hope the info we gave him about our position is correct.”
“This is a fuck-up I never want repeated,” I said, glaring at Razor.
“What? It’s not my fault.”
“Yeah, yeah. I don’t wanna hear it. We’re so fucking close, I can feel it.” I looked down at Alessandra. “How are you doing? Think you can last another hour, tops?”
She grimaced, rubbing her ass. “Another hour?” Then she broke into a smile. “Sure, why not? My ass is numb anyway, so what’s another sixty minutes?”
“Good girl, my beauty. We’re nearly there.”
*****
Twenty miles later, the motorcycle spluttered between my legs. I slowed down, and signaled to the guys that I was stopping. I turned off the engine, my heart beating so hard I feared Alessandra might hear it. We were so fucking close, yet so far.
Thirty miles to the border, it was even more dangerous than it had been back there. Patrols regularly drove by looking for people trying to cross by foot. I’d heard that it was a shoot first, ask later kind of policy when the men patrolling weren’t sure about the origin of the people they found. All denied by politicians, of course, but I had my sources that assured me it was quite the norm. Nice. Fucking nice.
Here we sat, waiting for fucking Daemon of all people to save the day. He’d crow on about it for weeks that he was the one who got to save our sorry asses. I could hear him in my head already. Smug bastard.
I considered making the last thirty miles by foot, but one look at how exhausted everyone was, especially my girl, and I knew it was futile. Besides, it was better to stay together until help arrived. We could fill our beasts with gas and get those last few miles over and done with. Every muscle in my body ached from the tension I was holding onto. My nerves were shot, and I was in desperate need of a long cold drink.
“Tell me about your twin,” Alessandra said. “Does he look like you?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We’re identical. Except I have a cobra tattoo and he doesn’t. His eyes are darker than mine, too. But most people can’t tell the difference between us.”
“That's weird. I can’t imagine two of you,” she said, wrinkling her pretty nose as she thought about it.
“Oh, there’s only one of me. Daemon and I . . . we’re nothing alike. From the outside it may seem like we are, but in reality—”
My words were cut off by Hammer jumping up from the rock he’d sat on and looking toward the west. All our heads turned as we tried to make out the moving vehicles in the distance. Friend or foe? Was it Daemon or the fucking Don? Cops? Who’d find us first?
As they drew closer, I saw that the group of vehicles consisted of only one motorcycle.
“What are those pickup trucks doing and why is there only one motorcycle? Where are the rest of the Scorpio Stinger brothers? Daemon didn’t mention anyone else was coming, and I can’t imagine Big Ed or Tank riding a truck,” Ryder said, a deep frown drawing his brows together. “Something’s wrong. Hide the fucking girl.”
I nearly laughed. “Where will I hide her? In my pocket? Look around you—there’s nothing but scrub and bush and fucking rocks.”
“It’s still dark enough. Dig a fucking hole under a bush and hide her. I’m not fucking kidding.”
One look at Ryder’s face and my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I’d never seen him more serious except on the day we’d rescued him from a sure death. “Cobra, trust me, you wanna get her out of the way.”
Frantic, I scrutinized the area. There wasn’t enough time to dig a hole. The only way I could protect my girl was with my own fucking body. Whoever came for her had to get through me first.
“It’s too late to hide her. But stop worrying; it’s Daemon. Fuck, I never thought the day would come when I would be glad to see him,” Razor said, noisily blowing out a harsh breath to signal his relief.
The biker rode ahead of the pickup trucks. With panic rising, I watched as it stopped a few yards from me. I narrowed my eyes so I could see better into the darkness. Relief washed over me as I recognized Daemon.
“Daemon, where’s Big Ed and Tank? Who are these other people in the trucks?” I asked, without greeting him. There wasn’t time for pleasantries and I wasn’t in the mood anyway.
He removed his helmet with a cocky grin, as I expected. “Stranded in the middle of fucking nowhere. How the fuck did you manage that? Which of you idiots was navigating?”
Hammer stiffened. “That would be me. We had to take a different route.”
“Yeah, I heard about your precious cargo.”
“Who’s in the truck?” Ryder and I said at the same time.
“Somebody you won't be expecting,” Daemon replied.
A few seconds later, the truck ground to a halt, sending dust and sand billowing from its wheels. No sooner did it stop than the doors opened. I couldn’t believe my fucking eyes. Behind me I heard Ryder suck in a sharp breath.
“We’re fucked.”
“No. God no,” Alessandra said, her voice strangled, as she gripped my arm tighter.
Fuck! Game over.
Chapter 23 — Cobra
I couldn’t believe it. The fucking Don. Where in hell had he come from and why the fuck was Daemon with him?
“Daemon? What the fuck, man? Didn’t both Ryder and I explain the situation to you? This is the guy we’re getting away from.”
I pushed Alessandra behind my back before Ryder took a step closer to me so that we effectively shielded her with our bodies. She held onto my cut, trembling so hard that I could feel it where I stood with my arms crossed and legs wide, ready for anything.
The exhaustion that I’d felt only moments ago dissipated as adrenaline coursed through my body. I was on high alert, and by the looks of it, so were Ryder and the other two men who’d journeyed with me through the night.
Daemon sneered. “There’s a pretty price on all of your heads, brother. But being the nice guy that I am, I didn’t sell you out. Or the fuckers with you.” He glared at Ryder, and I knew he was tempted to give him up. He’d hated my new brother since the day I’d brought him home from juvie. His gaze traveled back to me. “The man really only wants the girl. So hand her over. I get paid my money, and all is good.”
“You're a fucking traitor. Why the hell would you do this?” Ryder bellowed. I’d never seen him angrier. He moved toward Daemon, murder on his face.
“Not so fast,” my twin said, drawing a gun and pointing it directly at my heart. “Turns out that I’ve actually done business with Don Pedro b
efore. So when I called to tell him I knew exactly where his precious cargo was, he promised me a handsome reward for returning her to him.” He lifted the gun, now pointing it at my head. “You stole the fucking girl. She belongs to Don Pedro. That's theft, Cobra. Even a low-life knows there is honor among thieves.”
“No, listen—”
Daemon moved the gun from side to side. “No . . . you listen, asshole. I’m actually helping you. The Don has his spies; there’s no way you can hide the girl without him finding her eventually. Then he’d have your life for stealing from him. But first he’d make you suffer a terrible slow and tortured death.”
“You have it wrong,” Ryder said through clenched teeth.
“Enlighten us,” the Don said, grinning so that his upper lip pulled back enough to show his gums. Both men flanking him held guns pointed in our direction.
Fuck. We were screwed. And what killed me was that it was my own flesh and blood who’d turned on me.
“Let’s talk man to man, okay? Let Ryder take the girl away so we can discuss—”
Daemon threw back his head and laughed, his fingers tightening around the gun. “What kind of fool do you take me for? Now you’ve just pissed me off more.” Veins appeared on his forehead and his eyes went wild.
Pedro stepped forward, menace in his voice. “Show me the girl. If she’s damaged goods . . . if one of you have had your cock anywhere near her—”
“She’s just fine. Your beef is with me. Let’s negotiate, yeah?”
“You have nothing else of interest I’m prepared to negotiate for. The girl belongs to me. You fucking stole her!” Three steps later and the Don was in my face, reeking of alcohol and cigars and sweat. “If your brother didn’t step in and negotiate for your fucking life, you and your friends would be dead by now.” His beady eyes shone with madness in the moonlight. “Hand over the girl. I’m not asking you again.”
Alessandra drew in a sharp breath behind my back. I felt the loss of her warmth before I realized what she was doing.