Rising Heat (Outlaw Biker Boys)

by Grey, Helen

  I turned to face him as he rounded the bed. “Ash, the police might be able to do something to help—”

  “And what do we say to them?” He asked, pausing to turn toward me. “Who do we tell them is after us? I couldn’t identify them. Besides, going to the police would not just open a can of worms, but a damned Pandora’s box.”

  I fumbled with the bra clasp until he moved to my side of the bed and fastened it for me. I pulled my t-shirt over my head and looked up at him. My question came out in a garbled whisper. “But who’s going to help us, Ash? What are we going to do?”

  “The first thing we’re going to do is meet Bones. Then—”

  “I don’t even know this Bones. Who is he? And what makes you think he can help us?”

  Ash moved toward the bedroom doorway. “He’s the only one I trust.”

  “But he belongs to the gang too, doesn’t he?” I stood, glancing around to make sure that I’d left nothing behind.

  “He’s leaving it, like me. Maybe he can tell us what’s going on.” He paused by the door and turned to face me.

  “Kathy, there’s a possibility that…that you won’t be able to go back to Denver, at least for a little while.”

  His words hit me hard. I frowned at him, struggling to control my emotions.

  “What would they do if they get their hands on you, Ash?” I asked. “They tried to kill you yesterday.”

  “I think they were just trying to scare me. Us.”

  I stared at him, not believing it for a second. “And if the bullet had hit you in the head instead of your arm?”

  He had nothing to say to that. What could he say?

  In a matter of minutes, we were leaving the cabin and its relative security behind. I didn’t want to go back toward Denver. What if the gang members were out there looking for him? Waiting somewhere along the way? But they didn’t know where we were. Hopefully. Had they managed to find us? Were they waiting just down the road, hidden among the trees, ready to pounce?

  Ash straddled the bike, and I climbed on behind him, wordlessly sliding the helmet over my head, strapping it on. I was getting better at this. When he started the engine, and it roared to life, I winced. I wished he didn’t have to have such a loud motorcycle. The sound of the engine echoed off the mountainside, bouncing from one side to another, reverberating down between the hills, announcing our arrival from only God knew how far away. The deep vibration rumbled in the pit of my stomach. I felt sick.

  Maybe when we got to the motel, I would say my goodbyes to Ash. This was his problem. I kept telling myself that. I didn’t want to be involved. Didn’t need to be involved. Didn’t need this trouble. Dammit!

  The bike started to move, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around his waist. Maybe I would go to the police if he wouldn’t. And tell them what? That members of a motorcycle gang were after us? Ash was right. While I believe that the gang members who had accosted us yesterday at the turnout were members of the Outlaw Biker Boys, I hadn’t actually gotten a good look at their jackets. They could very well belong to any number of biker groups that hung around Denver. I couldn’t have picked one of those guys out of a lineup to save my life. So, at least in that regard, Ash was right. But I didn’t have to like it.

  We wove our way down the mountain. The morning was crisp, and the cool air caused goosebumps to rise on my flesh. In areas where the sun was able to make its way through the trees lining the mountains and down onto the highway, it felt warm. Fresh. Staggering in its beauty as the sunlight glinted off the pine and aspen. Not a cloud in the sky. I wished I could have appreciated the beauty and ignored the pounding of my heart. The burden of uncertainty that weighed over my thoughts. What to do? What to do?

  My mind continued to roam in numerous directions as we made our way down. I had no idea what to expect. Or to believe. I didn’t know how long we rode, but the sun was higher in the sky by the time we topped a ridge and were able to see down toward the plains. He had taken it slow. He was still trying to make me feel safe. After the daring and heart-stopping high speed chase yesterday evening, I appreciated that. He was trying not to scare me. Again.

  As we came out of the mountains and into the foothills, heading down toward Golden, the beautiful vista of the valley that stretched into the plains below took my breath away. Damn, if only I had been with Ash under different circumstances, I would have asked him to stop so that we could sit and just stare out into the distance.

  The beauty of the area stilled my raging thoughts, and when we pulled into the parking lot, I felt a little better. He pulled the bike up a slanted driveway and into the parking lot of the older building, stopping in front of the office. He turned off the bike and climbed off, instructing me to wait. I nodded and watched while he disappeared. He came out a few minutes later with a key.

  He gestured for me to get off the bike and I did, removing my helmet. He pushed the bike around to the back of the building, then grabbed my hand, pulling me to the other side.

  “If you hide your bike, how is your friend supposed to find which room we’re in?”

  “He’ll know.”

  I sighed, not bothering to ask how as he slid the key into the door lock and pushed it open, gesturing for me to enter before him. I did and sat down on one of the two double beds in the room, the one closest to the window. He shut the door and then pulled the drapes shut but continued to stand to the side of the window, keeping a careful watch outside through a crack.

  I watched him for several moments. “I need to take care of your arm,” I said, brooking no refusal. “If it gets infected, you’ll be in a shitload of trouble.”

  “It’s all right,” he said. “If it gets infected, I’ll deal with it later.”

  His lackadaisical attitude really pissed me off. I stood and approached him, waiting until he looked at me. “I’m going to be blunt, Ash. You got me into this, and I expect you to get me out of it.” I gestured to his arm. “If your arm gets infected, you develop a fever, or, heaven forbid, you end up with blood poisoning or sepsis, you can’t protect me. You owe me. You owe me to do your best to get us both out of this mess. And you can’t do that if we don’t make sure that your arm isn’t getting infected. Got it?”

  He stared at me and then grinned. “You’re bossy, you know that? It makes me hot.”

  I scowled at him but couldn’t help the urge to grin. Arrogant ass. Why did he have to be so dammed cute? “Sit down and let me look at it, okay?”

  He remained still while I carefully unwrapped the bandage. I tsk tsked when I saw the wound and gave him a look. The edges of the bullet wound were red and angry looking. Swollen around the edges. Dammit. “I’m seeing signs of infection. Do you think there’s a pharmacy nearby?”

  “I’m sure there is, but I don’t want to be seen, or heard, in Golden on my chopper.”

  I understood that, but his arm still needed to be dealt with. “How about this? I’ll call a cab. They do have cabs up here, don’t they?”

  “I’m sure they do. Might be independent contractors, but they’re around.”

  I nodded. “Okay, I’ll go to the office and have the manager call me a cab. I don’t want to use my phone except for an emergency, just in case.” He nodded in agreement. “You got any money on you?”

  He frowned. “I don’t want you wandering a—”

  “I’ll be quick. Besides, they won’t recognize me as easily as they would recognize you. They’re looking for a guy on a motorcycle, not a woman going into a local pharmacy. We’re not far from downtown Golden, are we?”

  He shook his head. “No, maybe ten more minutes before you enter the main drag through town. But I still don’t like—”

  “Frankly Ash, I don’t care whether you like it or not. It has to be done. Now either you go and get the supplies, or I go.”

  “Why don’t we just wait for Bones—”

  “And what if someone is following Bones? The gang knows the two of you are friends, right?”

  He could
n’t refute that. “Actually, maybe it’s better if you’re not around when he gets here. Bones will be careful to make sure he isn’t followed, but better safe than sorry. Smart thinking.”

  He grinned his approval. It stroked my ego until I realized I didn’t have anything to be self-satisfied about.

  I watched as he reached into his back pocket and retrieved his wallet. He pulled out some bills, handing them to me. I fingered them, then looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He had given me three hundred dollar bills. “I don’t think first aid supplies will cost this much.”

  “Better to just take extra. Then you don’t have to worry about not having enough to pay the taxi. Get whatever else you need.”

  “Will your friend be here soon?”

  Ash glanced at the room’s clock radio. “He should be here within twenty minutes. Can I borrow your phone again? Just in case I need to call him?”

  I nodded and handed him my cell phone. I was nervous about leaving Ash here while I went into town by myself, but I would be innocuous. I would be quick, ask the taxi driver to wait while I ran in and grabbed a few supplies. I didn’t think I’d be gone longer than thirty minutes.

  “Okay, well, I’ll go now. If I see your friend’s motorcycle here when I come back, do you want me to just wait in the office until he leaves?”

  “Only if it makes you more comfortable,” he said. “But honestly, you don’t have to be afraid of Bones. I would trust him with my life.”

  “Let’s hope you don’t have to,” I muttered. Shoving the money into my pocket, I turned toward the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay? Maybe you and your friend can figure out a way to fix this.”

  He nodded and reached for me, pulling me against his chest. He kissed me. Hard. I was panting by the time he let me go, and by then, I didn’t want him to. “Thank you, baby. For everything. Be careful out there.”

  Pressing my fingers to my swollen lips, I nodded. “You be careful too. See you soon.”

  He looked at me with such tenderness that I had to swallow back the emotion it induced in me. No one had ever looked at me like that, and I felt lost inside his gaze. Lost in him. To him.

  Which was ridiculous.

  Turning, I opened the door and practically ran from the room, gulping in large doses of clean air. The midmorning sun shone down onto my back as I nearly ran to the motel office. The beauty of Colorado’s mountains surrounded me, and I forced myself to slow down. I inhaled deeply, allowing the peace and quiet to calm my heart. My thoughts.

  Stopping just outside the office, I considered calling the taxi, but asking to take me home instead of to the pharmacy. I could pick up my car from the pet store and leave town for a few days. Oh, I hated this. The thought of abandoning the life I’d created for myself hurt more than I thought it would. I didn’t have much, but everything I did have, I’d gotten on my own.

  Even as I considered leaving Ash, I knew I wouldn’t. I was scared, but at the same time, I couldn’t just abandon him. Maybe my vagina was overruling my brain, but I didn’t want to leave him. Besides, someone needed to take care of his arm. God knew he wouldn’t.

  He needed me.

  If I left, I would be turning my back on him just like his family had.

  Shit. I didn’t owe him anything. If anything, he owed me. Regardless, I didn’t know what to do. First things first. I would take care of his arm, then see what kind of plan he and his friend had come up with. If I didn’t like it, maybe I would ask him to loan me some money so that I could get out of town for a while. I didn’t want to lose either of my jobs, or my apartment, or my semester at school, but I also wanted to be safe. Not have to look over my shoulder every minute. To be afraid.

  Dammit. I was overthinking again.

  Pushing open the door to the manager’s office, I asked if he could call me a taxi. He nodded, punched in some numbers on his phone, and gave the taxi service the name of the motel. Not exactly the friendly type, but he got the job done. “He’ll be here in about five minutes.”

  He went back to reading his paper while I pretended to keep myself occupied looking at the myriad brochures of local activities tucked neatly into one of those travel cases near the front window. I didn’t see any movement from Ash’s room. I was surprised when only a couple of minutes passed before I saw the taxi pulling into the parking lot. As Ash had said, he was an independent taxi. The vehicle he drove wasn’t painted yellow but looked like a personal car. It had a magnetic sign on the door panel.

  Golden Taxi Service. We’ll take you anywhere you need to go and have fun doing it.

  After thanking the manager, I stepped out of the office and headed for the taxi. The driver got out and opened the rear door of the older sedan for me. I climbed in, and he settled himself behind the wheel.

  “Buckle up, miss,” he said.

  I did so. “I’m just stopping over on vacation, but I need to go to a pharmacy. Is there one nearby?”

  The driver, an older man who looked like he probably would’ve been more at home on a horse or tractor than behind the wheel of a taxi, nodded. Without saying another word, he pulled out of the motel parking lot and headed down the highway. Just as he left the driveway, I glanced back at our room. Thought I saw the curtains shift.

  I focused my thoughts on the supplies I would need at the pharmacy. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. I would make a decision about what I was going to do when I got back to the motel and was able to talk to Ash.

  It only took ten minutes or so to arrive in downtown Golden. A few minutes later, he was stopping at a Walgreen’s front door. “Will you wait for me here?” I asked him. “I’ll only be a couple of minutes.” He nodded, and I jumped out of the car.

  Inside the store, I grabbed medical supplies and a large bottle of ibuprofen. If he didn’t want them, I could certainly use them. Shampoo and conditioner, soap and a hairbrush. Two toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste. I passed the condoms and stared at them for several minutes before reaching out and grabbing a pack. A girl could hope. Even if I decided to leave, I wouldn’t say no to one final romp in the sack.

  On the way to the checkout area, I grabbed bottles of water and protein bars. Some nuts and other quick snacks. I looked into my shopping cart and was glad he’d given me extra money.

  I fidgeted while the checkout girl appeared to move in slow motion, but was soon out the door. I was relieved to see that the taxi hadn’t deserted me.

  “Sorry, I had to wait for people at the register.” He didn’t say anything. As the driver pulled out of the parking lot and headed back up into the hills toward the motel, I wondered if Ash’s friend had arrived yet. He was probably still there. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, not sure if I wanted to meet another biker, another member of the Outlaw Biker Boys, whether he was on the verge of leaving or not. Maybe Ash trusted him, but why should I? I didn’t know these people.

  I scolded myself. Ash told me he wasn’t a criminal and that he hadn’t engaged in any criminal activity, and I wanted to believe him. He said he’d risked himself to protect others. I wanted to believe that too.

  Even as I tried to think the best, my mind insisted on thinking the worst. There was no such thing as honor among thieves. Once again, my mind was racing. After I took care of Ash’s arm, I had to figure out what to do. No more waffling. I couldn’t believe it, but I was wavering between staying and going. What the hell was the matter with me? Where had my common sense flown? I should get as far away from Ash as I could, and the faster I did that, the better.

  But I didn’t want to. Plain and simple. “You’re such an idiot,” I muttered to myself.

  “What was that?” the driver asked.

  “Oh, sorry, nothing,” I replied. “I was talking to myself.”

  As we neared the motel, I gathered the bags containing my supplies and paid the driver, giving him a generous tip. He nodded his appreciation. I didn’t think Ash would care.

  Back in front of the motel office, I stood looki
ng toward our room, uncertain as to what I should do. I didn’t see another motorcycle, but it could be behind the building too. Maybe his friend didn’t show up. Or had left already. I’d only been gone about forty-five minutes, but who was to say?

  Blowing out a breath, I walked to the room. When I got there, the drapes were still drawn. I lifted my hand to knock, then reached for the door knob instead. It turned easily in my hand. I pushed the door open.

  “Ash?”

  Nothing.

  “Ash?”

  Still nothing.

  I tossed the bags onto the bed and stepped toward the bathroom, tucked behind a short wall. The door was open, and the room empty. I scowled, even as my heart picked up speed. I hurried to the door and stepped outside, moving to the corner of the building where I could see if his motorcycle was there. My heart crashed into my stomach. His Harley was gone.

  I stood frozen, not knowing what to think. At first. Then all kinds of thoughts began racing through my head. Had he just left me here? I didn’t want to believe it, but it wasn’t like I knew him very well. I glanced around the parking lot and over the hills nestled around me. I heard nothing except for the sound of a breeze gently blowing through the trees. He couldn’t possibly have just abandoned me here, could he? He was one who told me it wasn’t safe to go back to Denver, so what was I supposed to do? Wait? Would he return in a few minutes?

  What if he didn’t?

  How much would it cost for a taxi to take me all the way back to downtown Denver, to the pet store where I could pick up my car? My stomach sank. Was that the real reason he gave me so much extra? Because he knew he’d be leaving me to find my own way home?

  My confusion had morphed into fear, and now my fear was morphing into anger. “Dammit!” I swore. Biting my thumbnail, I had to make a decision. What to do? What to do? I was furious with Ash. How could he have just left me here? Why would he have done that?