Ride Hard

by Amity Cross

  “We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” I asked, watching as he tossed the pieces into the trash.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “One, you’re not making eye contact, and two, that call was totally traced.”

  Chaser raised his eyebrows and made a point of looking at me.

  “There was someone in the background,” I replied. “Heavy breathing like a total creep.”

  “Until we get back to California, we have to be careful.”

  “Do I have to cut my hair?”

  He scowled and curled his lip. “What?”

  “They do it in the movies. When people are on the run from the cops, they cut and dye their hair. Mainly to avoid security cameras, surveillance, and facial recognition.” I flipped my hair over my shoulder and twirled a strand around my finger. “Do you think I’d look good as a blonde?”

  “You don’t have to change your hair,” he said with a growl.

  “You like it long and dark?”

  “Your attitude is wearing thin, Sloane.”

  I smiled and glanced at his arm. “Any better?”

  He grunted and closed the laptop with a snap. “The same.”

  “At least it’s not bleeding.”

  Chaser stood and crossed the room, gathering our things and shoving them into the bags. I watched him with a blank expression, weighing up everything in my mind.

  We were in trouble. He knew it and was having a hard time covering it up. The hard-ass Chaser, whatever his last name was, appeared to be torn up about something. Hopefully, it had everything to do with our final destination and nothing to do with police and bad guy assassins.

  “We need to go,” he barked, throwing my boots at me. “Now.”

  “Chaser…”

  Something in my voice must’ve slapped him back into reality, because he paused, and a little of the guy who’d surfaced the night before shone through.

  “Are things going to be better once we get to Fortitude?”

  Silence stretched between us. Outside, I could hear the residents of the motel waking up and moving around. A door slammed, a TV switched on, and something thumped against the wall. Beyond, the sounds of traffic swishing past were muffled by the building at our backs.

  Chaser scowled and picked up his bag, pretending not to wince as his stitches pulled.

  “Get in the car, Sloane.”

  Sighing, I tugged on my boots.

  Anywhere was better than here, I suppose.

  Chaser was back behind the wheel, obviously recovered or tough enough to take charge again. I was wondering if he felt pain at all.

  He wasn’t always a biker—that much was clear. I’d never known him while I’d been at Fortitude, so he was a recent recruit. How old was he, anyway? He had a baby face, but there were traces of silver at his temple. That meant little, though. I once knew a guy whose hair went eighty percent gray by the time he was twenty-three.

  We were on some road full of potholes. On either side were fields of something growing for miles and miles. Neat green lines flashed past the window, representing something a great deal more orderly than my current life status.

  I was so far from being in control it wasn’t even funny.

  “Who are they?” I asked, breaking the three-hour cone of silence.

  Chaser glanced at me, then turned back to the road.

  “C’mon, what’s the harm in telling me?” I complained. “Who are the men after me?”

  “Don’t worry about who they are,” he replied. “Worry about staying alive.”

  “Someone is trying to kill me, Chaser. So far, there have been two attempts. I can’t let it go. Not when I almost lost my head yesterday.”

  He remained silent.

  “I’m in this up to my eyeballs, and I don’t know who the fuck you are, let alone what my father wants, because we both know these assholes that are after me are a thinly veiled attempt at sinking his poisonous claws back into me.”

  “That bullet was the farthest thing from a thinly veiled attempt as you can get,” Chaser exclaimed.

  “Who are they?”

  He ground his teeth. It was a wonder he had any pearly whites left in his mouth at this point.

  “Who are they, and why can’t we disappear someplace together?”

  “You need to stop trying to convince me to run away with you.”

  “I’m not going to stop because I want nothing to do with Fortitude. And neither do you.”

  “Yet another story you’ve made up to convince yourself you have a chance,” he replied.

  “Pull over,” I demanded.

  “Not going to happen.”

  “Pull over.”

  “Nope.”

  “Pull over the fucking car before I grab the wheel.”

  With a growl, he swerved to the side, the wheels flying into the gravel, and slammed his foot on the brake. I was flung forward, and the seatbelt caught and tossed me right back.

  “What?” he shouted. “What do you fucking want from me?”

  “Do you think you’re the only tortured soul in the world?” I asked, seeing red. “Poor Chaser leading the life of a hired thug. He finds shit and brings it back like a dog chasing a stick.”

  “Sloane.”

  The warning was clear in his voice, but I wouldn’t back down. I was done with this bullshit. The back and forth, the false faces, the simmering attraction. It was time to snap him in half and find out what really made him tick.

  “You hate it,” I continued. “You hate working for Fortitude. You’re not one of them. You’re too good for that petty shit. Your skills are too good. So what is it? Undercover cop? Ex-military? CI-fucking-A?”

  “It doesn’t matter who I am—”

  “It matters,” I argued. “Either you turn the car around and take me someplace else other than Fortitude or I walk.”

  “Sloane, get it through your pretty little head. If you leave and go it on your own, you will be dead before the day is done. You get me?”

  “Oh, I get you.”

  “Then why are you still fighting me?” he exclaimed.

  “Because you’re taking me to the last place on earth I want to be. Because there’s more to you than just a mindless biker carrying out the orders of your president. Because there’s something you’re holding back.”

  “You know nothing,” he snarled.

  Leaning toward him, I stared him straight in the eyes and curled my hands into his T-shirt.

  “You think I’m just some dumb girl with an attitude problem,” I murmured. “You think I can’t handle myself or make any rational decisions. You think I need a man to save me. Well, you’re dead wrong.”

  His eyes darkened. “You need to let me go.”

  “You need to tell the fucking truth, Chaser. Why did you push me away last night?”

  “You’re walking a dangerous path…”

  “Why?” I tugged him toward me. “Tell me.”

  He growled and pulled away, throwing open the door and climbing out of the car. I watched as he paced in front of the hood, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

  Well, I suppose things were well and truly cracked open now. May as well go the whole hog and roll around in the ashes.

  Getting out of the car, I strode toward him and raised my hand. My palm connected with his cheek and the crack echoed along the empty road. Epic improvisation right there.

  Chaser stared at me in shock, rooted to the spot.

  I stared right back, my body humming. From the tips of my nipples, right to my clit, I crackled with frustration that could only be rubbed out on the hood of the car with Chaser on top and inside.

  I had a feeling things between us would always come to this point. A tense standoff on the side of a road someplace, staring one another down like angry wolves on the border between fucking and mauling each other to death.

  Someone was trying to kill me to get to my father? So what?

  Chaser practically kidnapped me? So what?<
br />
  That was a gray area anyway because I went with him freely, to begin with. It was everything since that made me realize… I didn’t know anymore. All I could see was Chaser standing in front of me, his chest heaving and his gaze raking over my body. His eyes, his lips, his chest, and the dirty fantasy of his cock plowing into me on the hood of the car. Right here, right now.

  We came together in a blaze of heat, his mouth taking mine with deadly accuracy. His arms circled around me as his tongue twined with mine, exhibiting a ravenous hunger that was hard to handle.

  I melted, giving myself to his touch with an eagerness that was alarming. The kiss went deeper, the tension in my body coiling to a breaking point. His lips moved against mine, my tongue dove, my hands roamed, and all sense of where and when ceased to exist. All there was, was this kiss.

  His taste only made me want him more. He was so wrong for me, but I didn’t care. My hands roamed over his back and grabbed his ass, and my clit flared as he tensed. Fuck me… Literally, fuck me.

  Finally, he pulled away, and I stumbled back against the car, my knees buckling. My heart thrummed in an erratic beat that was borderline painful.

  I wanted to kiss him again, and go all the way to the finish line, but something told me to stay still. Don’t move.

  Chaser grasped my face in his hands and looked at me for a long time before he spoke.

  “You’ve fallen headfirst into the snake pit, and you don’t even know it,” he murmured. “It’s better you know nothing.”

  “I passed the point of no return the moment you showed up at Teasers. Full disclosure, Chaser. That’s what I want.”

  He tensed and loosened his grip on my hair.

  “I’m ready,” I murmured. “I’ll drop the smartass act. I’ll stop trying to run away. I’ll stop and listen to you. But you have to be honest with me. I want to make my own choices. I want to choose, you hear me?”

  “If I go…” He swallowed hard. “If I take you someplace else, we’ll have two criminal organizations on our tail. It’ll never stop.”

  “I don’t care.”

  He sighed, his gaze lowering to my lips. “I do.”

  I tensed, my heart twisting inside my chest. “So the only choice I have is between two evils? You understand you’re taking away the one thing I want the most? You get you’re taking away my freedom?”

  “I’m sorry, Sloane,” he whispered, letting me go. “If I have to choose between Fortitude or death, I’m choosing Fortitude.”

  Chapter 13

  Sloane

  That night, Chaser stopped at a little motel outside some nondescript town on the ass cheek of Middle America.

  Since he wouldn’t let me drive, we were forced to camp out so he could get a little shut-eye.

  Fossicking through my duffel, I took out some clean clothes and set them aside for the morning. Making a pile, I arranged everything else while Chaser banged about the room behind me.

  When my hand knocked against the heavy books I’d brought along for the ride, I paused.

  I’d already forgotten about my Poli Sci textbook and the week of lectures I’d missed while we were on our cross-country road trip from hell. Still, I carried my work with me on the off chance I would be able to catch up at some point. I knew a part of me was still holding onto the life I wanted to have even though it’d been snatched out of my grasp.

  This was one of those crossroads moments, wasn’t it? I was perched on a fence that was wobbling underneath my ass, forcing me to choose. If I didn’t, it was threatening to toss me wherever it pleased.

  Glancing at Chaser, I could still feel his lips on mine. His touch had forced a lot of things on me—desire was one of them but the other… I couldn’t quite articulate what it felt like. It was kind of like a video game where the main character leveled up and was able to face tougher enemies.

  Chaser had somehow forced me to see my situation in a different light. He’d given up something when he kissed me by the side of the road. I wasn’t sure what it was yet, but it was something he valued. The way he’d closed down once we’d gotten back into the car was a glaring indicator.

  Watching as he unfolded a map and laid it on the table, I raised my eyebrows.

  “Wow, I haven’t seen a map like that in forever,” I said, speaking for the first time since our conversation on the roadside.

  Chaser grunted and leaned over the table, studying the lines. All those roads dotted America? Considering how devoid of life it was outside, it boggled my mind how surrounded by people we really were. Even if it felt like we were in the wilderness, civilization was never far away.

  Standing next to him, I tried to find where we were on the map, but I soon gave up.

  “We’re so far off track I’m not sure where we are anymore. Are we in Missouri?” I asked.

  “We’re stuck,” Chaser replied. “There’s only one way from here.”

  “Then we go that way.”

  “The likelihood of trouble—”

  “Is a risk we need to take.” I nodded at the map. “Where are we?”

  “Here.” He jabbed his finger at a point in the middle of nothing. It fit the scene outside, but he could’ve pointed anywhere and I would’ve believed him.

  “So we either go back the way we came or go forward.”

  “They’ll be expecting it.”

  “They’ll be expecting both courses of action,” I shot back. “So we just have to deal with it. Be smart. Keep our heads down until we can shake them.”

  “We go forward,” he said after a moment of deliberation. “Nonstop.”

  “If that’s the way we have to go, then so be it.”

  He grunted and sat on the edge of the bed.

  Standing over him, I went for the higher ground tactic. I wasn’t sure if it would override his alpha asshole aura, but it was worth a shot.

  “You know, it would be much easier for me if I knew who we were dealing with,” I declared.

  He stared at me, saying nothing.

  “I told you I was ready to drop the ‘too stupid to live’ act,” I said giving him a pointed look. “Give me something to arm myself with.”

  “What’s the catch?”

  “The catch is me having a chance to fight back and not rely on you. If I know who I’m looking for, it might be the difference between living and dying.”

  Chaser ran his hand over his face and glanced away.

  “I can fire a gun.”

  “I’m sure you can,” he said.

  “I’m not the kind of woman who just sits back and waits for the cavalry.”

  He turned his gaze on me, and they burned right through me. Damn, those eyes.

  “Fortitude is in something,” he said slowly, choosing his words precisely. “Something big. It stretches beyond the normal dealings of a motorcycle club. Your father saw an opportunity… Now they’re coming back twice as hard.”

  “I knew it,” I exclaimed. “Power hungry son of a bitch.”

  “There’s a debt to be paid, Sloane. I’m sorry you had to be dragged into this.”

  I snorted and shook my head. I was the payment owed? Fucking hell.

  “Blood for blood,” I mused aloud. “After seven years, they think I’m important to him?”

  “I’m here,” Chaser said, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees. “If he didn’t give a shit, I’d be someplace else, and you’d be dead already.”

  “Thanks for the sunshine and rainbows.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He spoke to me plainly for what felt like the first time since we’d met. Like I was an actual person and not a piece of cargo. Maybe the kiss had dislodged a little of the asshole in his brain. He was softening toward me, and it made all my lady bits tingle.

  “You saved my life twice. It’s time to start playing the game.” I sat beside him. “Sloane has arrived. Boom.”

  “What was your name before?” he asked.

  “You’re changing the subject. Don’t be
such a blatant asshole.”

  He raised his eyebrows and waited.

  “Didn’t my darling daddy tell you?”

  He shrugged. “Guess he knew it wasn’t important to you anymore.”

  “Betty,” I drawled.

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Biker Betty. Lame.” I rolled my eyes. “He chose it, not my mom.”

  “Your mother… You said…”

  “I know what I said,” I drawled. “He killed her. Not directly, but he may as well have. A little bit of history repeating.”

  Chaser tensed but didn’t ask for an explanation. He was a good soldier. Keeping his mouth shut and his nose out of other people’s business was the hallmarks of a career criminal. Chaser probably had his eye on leadership. Second-in-command.

  “It’s just one thing after another,” I went on. “This isn’t anything new. Not really. Gravitate around my dad, and after a while, you’ll end up as collateral damage. It’s just reality. I’d hoped by leaving…”

  “I know.”

  Maybe it was time to resign myself to the fact I wasn’t going to escape all of this chaos. Being pulled back into Fortitude business was inevitable. If it weren’t Chaser and the mystery murder men, it would be someone or something else.

  “These people…” he began, his tongue loosening. “They could be anyone and anywhere.”

  “Mafia?”

  “Something like that.”

  “It sounds more sophisticated than a bunch of thugs. Those guys at the gas station looked like bikers. And Pube Face…”

  “Appearances can be deceiving. Next time, we won’t be so lucky.”

  I rolled my eyes. Looked like I’d been living in a bubble of false hope if I thought giving Chaser the slip had been a good idea.

  “What now?”

  “The safest place for you is with Fortitude. I still stand by what I said to you today.”

  “The lesser of two evils.”

  “Yes. It’s a matter of survival.”

  Thinking about his hands on my waist and buried in my hair, I squirmed and leaned back against the headboard. The fire in his eyes had been something else. I mean, I’d seen murder and mayhem in them but lust like that? Shit.

  “Are we going to talk about what happened?”