Maniac: A Bad Boy Biker Romance (Winter Cobras Book 1)

by Jade Kuzma

  “That’s it,” Booth said with a smirk. “Smart move. Now… Which one of you wants to die first?”

  “I fucking knew it!” Rex said.

  “You can’t get away, Booth,” I said. “You don’t got enough bullets in that gun to stop all of us.”

  “I can stop some of you,” he replied.

  “I’ll do you one better…” I took a step toward him, my hands in the air. “…I’ll give you a chance to walk out of this. Put the gun down. Just you and me. One on one. I beat you, well, you were always gonna die anyway. But if you win, you walk away.”

  “You expect me to take your word after I kick your ass?”

  I turned toward the MC. Every man gave me a nod.

  “You have my word, Booth. If you can beat me, you can leave.”

  “Well, how can I not take the word of a man who so valiantly served our country?” He slowly placed the gun down on the ground and cracked his knuckles. “You ready for this beatdown?”

  I looked at Doc and watched him help Audrey up to her feet.

  “Get her out of here,” I said. “I’ll take it from here—”

  “No,” she said. “I’m staying here.”

  “Audrey—”

  “No. I didn’t come this far not to see this through. Booth needs the justice he deserves. I’m not going anywhere.”

  I couldn’t deny Audrey’s determination. Not when I know how hard she’d worked just to get here.

  “Micah,” Jordan’s voice boomed. “Show us what you learned in the Army.”

  He gave me a wink.

  All right.

  I already had all of the motivation I needed. Now it was just a matter of doing it. I walked toward Booth, my fists balled so tight I could feel it in my arms.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  I swung as hard as I could but Booth was ready. He moved out of the way and countered with a punch that caught me right in the ribs, making me gasp.

  Shit.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk… Is this how they’re training our men in the Army these days? I guess when you spend all your time handling a gun, you forget how to use your fists.”

  “Fuck you.”

  I turned around and faked another right hand. He moved out of the way but I was ready. Just as he stepped back, I stepped forward and caught him right on the side of the head. He tumbled to a knee and pressed his hands on the floor to stay up.

  “That’s it, Mikey!”

  “Fuck this guy up!”

  “Show ‘em what the Cobras are all about!”

  The eyes of the entire MC were on me.

  I won’t let them down… I won’t let her down…

  Booth raised up with another punch but he was too slow. He didn’t know how to fight. He was just some punk. A drug-dealer who thought he was a big shot. I moved out of the way and caught him on the jaw. The sound of bone snapping against teeth had never been so satisfying before.

  He stumbled forward. His legs wobbled. He could barely keep his balance as he tried to get back up. I stalked him and grabbed him by the collar. Another fist hammered him right in the eye and knocked him on his back. He was a few meters away from me, barely stirring. His face and mouth bloodied, his confidence was gone.

  Finish him. Do it for all of them.

  “It’s over, Booth,” I said. “You’ve got nowhere left to go. All of the drugs you pushed… All of the people you killed… It’s time to pay.”

  He crawled toward Audrey, who stood up with her arm around Doc’s shoulder. She looked down at him with all of the anger and hate I could feel whenever I was around her.

  “It’s not over,” Booth said.

  In the blink of an eye, he snatched one of the guns on the ground and jumped to his feet. Before anybody could react, he grabbed Audrey by the hair toward him and put the barrel against the side of her head.

  “Let her go!” I shouted.

  “Now I’m in control,” Booth said, his bloody grin back on his lips.

  He backed away from all of us, his hand still tight on Audrey and his gun at her temple.

  “Now I’ve got a proposal for you,” he said. “We’re gonna do things my way. You get on your fucking bikes and drive away. And I walk away, too. We both go on our merry little ways. I’ll keep her with me until then. But if you even think about trying anything, I’ll put a bullet in her pretty little blond head.”

  The entire MC was frozen. Audrey was struggling in his grip. Booth was growing more agitated with every second.

  What do I do?

  I looked into Audrey’s eyes and felt a ball of emotions swirling around in my stomach.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s okay… Do what you have to do…”

  “Audrey…”

  I could see the tears welling in her eyes. She clenched her jaw as she kept writhing in Booth’s grip.

  “I said get out of here!” Booth screamed. “Or I’ll splatter her fucking brains all over the goddamn floor! Don’t make me do it!”

  I kept staring at Audrey. Then I noticed something… Her hands slowly trailed down around her waist. One of them deftly moved into her pocket.

  What is she up to?

  “Are you deaf?” Booth kept shouting. “Leave or so help me God, I’ll kill her!”

  “All right,” I said as I put my hands up. “You win, Booth… We’re leaving…”

  “That’s more like it—”

  Audrey pulled her hand out of her pocket and flung out her switchblade. She drove it right into his leg before he could react. His piercing scream was like something out of a nightmare.

  I moved down to the ground without thinking and raised one of the guns up. One bullet was all it took to catch him in the arm and force the gun from his hand.

  Audrey kept digging her knife into his leg until he fell to his knees.

  “Audrey!”

  I rushed up to the two of them just as she pulled the knife out and stuck it into his neck. She moved her face close to his, looking right into his eyes.

  “I’m the daughter of Albert and Gloria Prescott… Two people you murdered in cold blood… Now you’ll die for it…”

  He looked back up at Audrey. The blood ran down his neck. The life slowly left his eyes until he slumped to the floor.

  I moved close and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Hey.”

  She didn’t look at me, her eyes focused on Booth’s lifeless body.

  “Hate to interrupt,” Teddy said. “We’re far from Ivory but that was a pretty big fucking explosion. I think we should get the fuck out of here. Now.”

  “Audrey… Audrey, we have to go…”

  She slowly turned her head up to me. There was no expression on her face. Not that it mattered either way. She was fine. That’s all I cared about.

  “Okay,” she said with a nod. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 26

  MICAH

  “Grant and Ash are busy with clean-up… Rex and Teddy are taking care of the bodies…”

  “Teddy had a point,” I said. “That was a loud explosion.”

  “Sutton has better shit to worry about than something like that on the outskirts. Don’t worry. By the time he gets there, him and his boys won’t find anything except some blood and the rubble of Booth’s operation. We should be worried about everybody else around Booth.”

  Jordan spoke with the kind of authority you’d expect from a club president. Despite all the shit that went down and all of the blood on my hands, I still didn’t feel worried about what could happen after.

  “It was just Booth and his men,” I said. “He didn’t have any ties. Triads. Yakuza. Cartel. MCs. Gangsters. Mafia. Nothing. As far as I can tell, he was trying to go off on his own.”

  “And that’s what got him killed.”

  Jordan gave me a smirk and patted me on the shoulder.

  “There was some money there, too,” he said.

  “I noticed that.”

  “Probably dirty. Maybe traceable. I’m guessi
ng it was intended for her.”

  “I don’t think she wants it, knowing how dirty it is.”

  “I’ll keep it safe. She don’t want it, the MC will take care of it. Katrina’s always telling me the club needs to do more for this town.”

  “There’s an idea.”

  We shared a laugh. It was hard to imagine with everything that happened, Jordan looked like he barely gave a shit about any of it.

  “Listen, I’m sorry—”

  “Don’t apologize,” he cut me off. “You got voted in unanimously. You’re a Winter Cobra. As long as you wear that thing with pride, we’ve always got your back, brother. If this shit were easy, there’d be no point to it. I’m just as happy as you are that this shit is all over with.”

  “Not completely.”

  “Yeah… I’ll be right here.”

  It was just another night for everybody else at The Bone Pit but for the MC, it wasn’t just another night. I ignored the drunken rowdiness all around me and headed to one of the backrooms where Doc was.

  He stood near the edge of the table Audrey sat on. Her jeans torn in half, she looked down as Doc wiped the blood away from her pale skin.

  “That should do it,” he said as he finished stitching her up. “It was a nice, clean shot. Got the bullet out in one piece. It’ll leave a scar but it should heal up nicely. As long as you don’t go out and do anything crazy now…”

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “I don’t have anything planned.”

  “You don’t seem like the type to plan anything.”

  “Good point.”

  She smiled softly at Doc then looked up at me.

  “I’ll give you two a moment,” he said as he stepped out of the room.

  I leaned up against the wall, my arms crossed as I looked down at the fresh wound on her leg.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “How did you know what I was gonna ask you?”

  “Because I could see it on your face. Even with everything over, you’re still worried about me.”

  “Maybe you’re right. I’m being overcautious. Or maybe… Maybe you’re up to something.” I laughed as I thought about what happened just a few hours earlier. “I should’ve known. As soon as I got in the shower, I knew something was wrong. I guess a part of me just wanted to believe you would let me handle this.”

  “I’m sorry. I… I just had to do this. I couldn’t let you risk yourself. The MC…”

  “You don’t have to apologize. That’s just who you are.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s not anymore.”

  So much happened that it took me a moment to think about all of it.

  “You really did it,” I said. “You really set up all of those explosives.”

  “I needed to make sure. Before I got that TNT, I told myself there was no going back. I didn’t have a doubt in my mind.”

  “Surprised Booth didn’t realize it.”

  “He’s only got so many goons to watch over him. Wasn’t paying attention when I set everything up around that warehouse.”

  “You’re lucky that building didn’t cave in on itself. But you were willing to take that chance.”

  “I didn’t think you’d be there.”

  She looked down at her hands. They were stained with Booth’s blood, making her pale skin even more striking.

  “How does it feel?” I asked.

  “I don’t know… I… I don’t know. It feels different. I still miss them and wish they were here with me. But… But everything that drove me. All of the frustration I had eating away at me… It’s gone.”

  She sighed a soft breath. Her smile was enough to tell me all of the relief she was feeling.

  “It’s really over,” she said.

  “Looks like it. You blew up everything Booth had and the boys are making sure there’s no trace of him.”

  “It feels weird. For so long, I wanted Booth dead and now that he is…”

  “He was a bad man, Audrey. If you didn’t do it, I would’ve done it. For Jamie.”

  “Right… I just… I just wanna go back. To how things used to be.”

  “I won’t stop you, Audrey. But injuries like that don’t heal overnight. Maybe you should stick around and relax for a little bit. I can trust you won’t go running off this time.”

  She grinned at me. I’d never seen the smile the way she did now.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “But I… I need some time to think. To get away from all of this.”

  “Sure. Whatever you need.”

  Chapter 27

  AUDREY

  One week later…

  With everything that went down with Booth, I would’ve thought I would be on edge even after he was gone. But there was some comfort in knowing Micah was there for me. The rest of his MC was watching my back just the same. I spent most of my time in my hotel room, lounging the days away and collecting my thoughts. Micah would call and text to check on me and I’d tell him I was fine. He gave me the space I needed to think.

  A week was all I could take though. It felt like so long since I last saw him.

  It was the middle of the day when I invited him over. The sun was out and people were going about their business as usual. I sat next to the window in nothing but a pair of pajama bottoms and a loose t-shirt. The door clicked open and I heard footsteps behind me.

  “You should really think about locking your door.”

  “Why? There’s nothing I have to worry about, do I?”

  I turned around and saw him standing a few meters away from me.

  God, he’s gorgeous…

  Micah had his thumbs in the pockets of his denim jeans. His leather kutte on top of his white t-shirt didn’t do much to hide the muscled physique I knew was underneath. His dark-blond hair was short on his head like he just got a fresh cut. There was just the right amount of scruff on that jawline of his to have me staring.

  “It’s good to see you,” I said.

  I stood up and gave him a hug. My head in his chest, I was reminded of how much taller he was than me. He squeezed me tight enough to force a sigh out of me.

  “It’s good to see you, too.”

  “How are things?” I asked.

  “Things are fine. Jordan runs a tight ship. The MC is still chugging along as usual. And the sheriff’s department doesn’t seem to care one way or another about Booth. He was a dealer. These things happen to men like him.”

  “Things like that happen a lot around here.”

  “Now you’re getting it.”

  I took a seat on the edge of the bed and Micah moved next to me.

  “I had a lot of time to think,” I sighed.

  “And what did you come up with?”

  “I’m… I’m okay. I know things will never go back to the way they were. And that’s fine. I don’t know what’s ahead of me but I know I can handle it.”

  “I’ve got no doubt about that.”

  “I’ve got a reminder of everything I’ve been through.”

  I tugged my pajama bottoms down and pointed at the scar on my leg.

  “Look at that,” I said. “Gnarly-looking scar.”

  “Nothing leaves a wound like a bullet.”

  “You ever been shot before, Micah?”

  “I’ve been shot at but I’m one of the lucky ones.”

  “I’m lucky, too. This… This is nothing. You don’t think it’s anything, do you? I know how superficial some men can be.”

  “Audrey… You’re even more beautiful than the day I met you.”

  He put his hands on my chin and brought my face to his. He licked my lips before parting them with his tongue. The scruff on his cheeks rubbed against mine. The way he tasted. The way he smelled. The way he felt. Everything about him intoxicated me to the point I almost forgot what I was thinking.

  “You don’t really expect a cheesy line like that to work on me, do you?”

  “I can leave if you want—”

  “Don’t you dare. It�
�s been too long.”

  I bit the corner of my bottom lip, trying and failing to hide my grin. He had a devilish look in his eyes. There was nothing like a man who made his intentions so obvious. But when Micah did it with those piercing gray eyes of his, it made me feel something inside.

  He stood up before me, his eyes locked on mine as he took his vest off. His shirt came off and unveiled his hard, tan body. Perfectly-sculpted from his broad shoulders down to that appetizing six-pack of his, Micah was everything Army training could do.

  I tossed my shirt to the side and kicked my pajamas off the rest of the way. In nothing but a pair of white panties, I helped him unbuckle his belt. His jeans fell to the floor. His underwear would’ve done the same if his dick wasn’t poking so hard at me.

  “What do we have here?”

  I put my thumbs into his waistband and gently tugged his briefs down to his ankles. My mouth watered at how much he was throbbing. He twitched and more butterflies fluttered in my stomach in anticipation.

  I took his shaft in my hand and stroked him. He sighed a deep breath, his eyes unblinking.

  “It’s been a long time, Audrey.”

  “It has, hasn’t it? No point in waiting any longer…”

  I stuck my tongue out and licked the underside of his shaft. I kept his cock from twitching away from me, my grip soft but firm. My tongue slid all the way up until I circled it around the tip. Then I sealed my lips around him and pushed my face onto him.

  God. Don’t go crazy now.

  It was hard to hold back. I never considered myself someone who slept around too much but Micah had me thinking and doing things that would’ve made me blush if I had to think about it. Only he could make me willingly suck him off and take him down into my throat.

  And I had to force it a lot more than I remembered. He was so thick and swollen, he barely fit in my mouth. But I took it. It wasn’t long before I coated his shaft with spit and massaged his tip with my throat.

  “Audrey…”

  He moaned my name softly. His voice was rough, a bit dry like it was stuck in his throat. But his grunts were only growing louder as I worked my mouth back and forth on him.

  “Audrey…”

  My eyes started to water. My lungs burned as his cock blocked off the air they were desperate for. I gagged louder on purpose to let him know just how good it felt to swallow him.