by Hart, Rebel
And baptism by fire was one way to initiate someone into my lifestyle.
“Dani, just do as I’m asking. Duck behind that dumpster and don’t you move, no matter what you hear. Got it?”
She swallowed hard. “Max?”
I growled. “Just call him. And stay down. Do as I’m asking you to do, gorgeous.”
I helped her to slide behind the dumpster before I started back down the alleyway. When I had peeked around the corner originally, I saw the two men come out of the club and go over to my bike, their eyes caressing my metal beauty as if they had a right to. But one of the guys moved quickly, practically snapping his neck as he peered over his shoulder.
And I’m pretty sure he spotted me as I dashed back for Dani.
I knew they weren’t the friendly sort, either. They were both dressed in black. All black, like those guys who jumped me just outside her dorm building. I wondered if they knew the men that attacked me. Or maybe they were two of the four guys there that night.
One of them did tell you that was nothing but an appetizer.
In the pit of my gut, I knew this was connected. I didn’t know how to prove it. But my gut never steered me wrong. It always kept me safe. It always kept my men safe. It always kept my brother safe.
Now I hoped it would keep Dani safe.
I stood in the middle of the alleyway, thankful that they hadn’t turned the corner yet. Maybe if they saw just me standing here, they’d get their focus off Dani. Because I was almost certain they’d seen her in the wake of me trying to get away from them. I squared off my shoulders as two shadows rounded the corner. My hands balled up into fists as I stood there, my feet shoulder-width apart. I was ready for a fight. I was ready for a possible takedown. I was ready to re-open some injuries.
What I wasn’t ready for was Dani getting hurt.
God, I hope she’s calling Rupert.
The massive men kept walking until they were only twenty or so feet away from me. Then they stopped. They both looked me up and down before grins spread across their faces. After they were done drinking in their fill of me, one spoke up.
“Looks like the right guy to me.”
The second man nodded. “I’d say so.”
I licked my lips. “What do you want?”
I braced myself for a battle as the first man took a step toward me.
“There’s someone who wants to speak with you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m sure they do.”
The second one nodded. “You can make this easy, or you can make this hard. We’re prepared for either.”
I snickered. “Tell me who wants to speak with me and that’ll determine how we do this.”
The first man smiled. “And spoil the fun? Nah. We don’t ever get this much fun in our profession.”
The second man rolled up his sleeves. “So you can either come with us, or we’ll take you ourselves.”
“Your choice, tough guy.”
I drew in a deep breath as both of the men stood there. I wasn’t sure if Dani had done as I’d asked. So I didn’t know if there was any point in pausing. Or buying myself time until Rupert got here. However, I did know a few things about this situation. Things that weren’t happening.
I wasn’t going with two fucking strangers to meet their mysterious boss.
Nor was I leaving Dani behind to be found by someone else.
“You know what, boys? I think I’ll take my chances,” I said.
The first man snickered. “Are you serious?”
The second man chuckled. “You owe me forty bucks.”
I nodded. “Glad I could make someone a little bit of money.”
The first man charged me, his feet moving quicker than I anticipated. The gleaming of his serrated knife in his hand caused me to step to the side. The second man ambushed me, clocking me square in my ribs with his fucking fist. And as I let out a groan, I prayed to any god listening that Dani did as I asked.
Stay where you are, gorgeous. Let me handle this.
I saw the knife coming straight for my face. I grabbed the man’s wrist and pulled him to me before knocking the two men’s heads together. I slipped out from against the wall they tried to use to corner me and picked up a metal pipe I’d stumbled over. With my back hunched and my nostrils flaring, I held my own in the middle of the alley. Ready to fight for the small amount of space I could give Dani as a safety threshold.
“What? That’s all you got?” I asked.
And as the first man charged me again, I held the metal pipe over my head.
15
Dani
I scooted further between the dumpster and the wall as I held the phone to my ear. I heard the engine of a bike roaring on the other end of the phone. But I didn’t know how much time had passed. I couldn't hear anything that was going on. I didn’t know if Max had run. Or dipped back into the club. Or lured the guys in another direction.
“Rupert. Where are you?” I hissed.
“I’m less than five minutes out! If that!”
I winced at his yelling. “We don’t have five minutes. I can’t hear anything that’s going on.”
“Stay where you are. Do as Max asked. I’m serious. I’m not far away now.”
“Hurry up!”
My heart thundered in my chest. The shadows cloaked me as I continued to grow more curious. I needed to know what was going on with Max. I needed to at least know that he was still standing.
“I’m going to try and see if--”
“Bambi, no. Just do as Max is asking you. He’s trying to keep you out of trouble.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s just a peek. Calm down.”
“ETA two minutes!”
I slowly crept away from the dumpster and peered around the corner. With his phone held to my ear and Rupert rattling off some nonsense, I watched as one of the guys charged Max. My jaw fell open as the fight began, unraveling within the confines of the alley as I knelt there. Being useless.
“Rupert, they’re ganging up on him.”
“Stay where you are. I’m fucking serious. I’m about to--”
I watched as Max reached for something. I watched him hold it over his head. And as one of those guys charged him, he ducked as Max swung. Another guy came out of seemingly nowhere and slammed straight into his gut. I saw the man’s knee connect before Max crumbled to his knees. And the sound of something metallic clanged off in the distance.
“Rupert. He’s down. What do I do? Tell me what the fuck to do!”
“What the hell do you mean, down?”
“Rupert!” I hissed.
“Stay where you fucking are. Don’t get involved. Guys like them don’t have a moral code. I’m turning onto the club’s street now. They’ll hurt you in a heartbeat. They don’t care. Trust me, just stay down.”
“I can’t just crouch here while he needs help,” I insisted.
He roared. “That’s exactly what you’ll do! Stay the fuck out of this. It’s my ass if you get hurt, too.”
I sighed. “Where did you say you--?”
“Fuck!”
I held the phone away from my ear at his exclamation.
“Fuck. Fuck. Shit. God damn it!”
I frowned. “What? What is it?’
“An accident. It’s blocking the fucking road!”
I winced. “Reroute. How much longer?”
I heard his engine revving before his voice sounded in my ear again.
“Fucking hell, three minutes. I’m three minutes out. I have to take the alleys to get to you.”
I sighed. “Better make it two if these guys are really gonna hurt a woman.”
“What? No. Bambi, damn it, listen to me!”
But I hung up the phone.
I slipped out of the crevice and stood to my feet. Max’s phone was already lighting up again, but I slipped it into my back pocket. I looked around me, trying to figure out what I could grab to use as a weapon before I charged these assholes. I slipped to the front of the dump
ster and opened the top. There was nothing but black bags of trash in there. Rotten food that made my nose curl. Leaves that had gotten blown down this way and kicked up into the damn thing.
Then my eyes settled on the glistening object in the corner.
“Bingo.”
I jumped and pulled the wine bottle out of the trash before touching back down onto my feet. Without thinking, I slipped around the corner. Max was grunting as he tried to get up. I heard the pain laced in his voice as the men kept driving their boots into his ribs.
“Get off him!” I roared.
My voice startled the men enough for them to leave Max alone. And before I could think straight, I rushed them. With the bottle over my head and my eyes trained on the men in black, I felt wine dripping down my arm. Over my shirt. Down onto my jeans as I sprinted toward them.
“Dani, no!” Max bellowed.
But it was too late.
The man that had charged Max got a bottle to the back of his neck. And as he sank to his knees, I whipped around and clocked the other man in his jaw. I whirled back around as Max scrambled to his feet. But before I knew it, one of those dumbasses had their arms wrapped around Max, ready to take him back down.
And that shit wasn’t flying with me.
“You. Let. Him. Go!”
I punctuated my words with blows to his back. I felt the wine bottle creaking and cracking in my hands. I finally brought it down against the back of the man’s head, and it shattered, breaking into pieces as he finally slumped. He took Max to the ground. I saw the man’s head bleeding as I drew in shallow breaths through my nose.
“Dani, look out!”
I whipped around, the sharp broken neck of the bottle still clutched in my hand. The other man tackled me to the ground, and I saw something shining in the corner of my eye. He started laughing, taunting me as he straddled my flailing body, holding a knife to my neck.
“You really should learn your place, bitch.”
I snarled. “Stay the hell away from us.”
I swiped at the man’s face with the neck of the bottle, catching him across the cheek. He let out a growl as Max finally rolled the other man off him and charged the guy straddling my body. I heard him grunt as Max pinned him to the brick wall. I scrambled to my feet as the man I loved landed punch after punch. I saw the dude’s cheek bleeding. I heard an engine roaring down the alleyway. And once the tires squealed up to my side, it pulled my attention away from the fight.
Long enough to see Rupert come into view.
“Get on his bike!”
Max’s voice boomed in my ear as Rupert reached out for me.
“Max, wait. No! Max!”
Rupert forced me onto the back of his bike. “Got her.”
Max yelled. “Get her out of here. Now!”
Panic rose up my throat. “Max!”
Rupert sped off, leaving Max with those two brutes. I tried to reach out for him, but I almost fell off the speeding bike in the process. Rupert blazed a trail straight to the road. People honked their horns and cursed at us as we parted the unwilling sea of bodies and engines. I clung to Rupert, trying to crane my neck back to see if I could catch a glimpse of Max.
And just as Rupert got his bike steady, I watched Max sprint away from the alley.
The bike cut a U-turn in the middle of the road. Rupert revved his engine as I watched Max make a mad dash toward his bike. My eyes whipped back to the alleyway, waiting for those men to emerge, to chase us down.
But no one came out.
“Hang on tight, Bambi. We’re following him. And don’t drop that bottle neck, whatever you do.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “Done and done.”
The second Max took off on his bike, we followed in pursuit. We raced through town, cutting corners and ducking down alleyways to avoid random stoplights. My heart leapt into my throat as we raced out of there, trying to get ourselves to safety and away from those goons.
“You’re a crazy bitch, you know that?”
I grinned at Rupert’s words. I wasn’t sure why they brought me such pleasure. But they did. I giggled as I drew in a sobering breath, feeling my adrenaline rush slowly coming out of the clouds. My head felt a bit more stable. My hands were no longer shaking. And as I gripped the bloodied neck of that damn wine bottle, I sighed.
Because the fear that had been clawing at my insides finally had a chance to rise up.
The fear and the adrenaline mingled. They met in the middle, forcing me to be aware of my surroundings. It felt like I could hear everything. Smell everything. I felt each breath of wind whipping around my body. I felt more alert than ever before. Something strong took hold of my soul, guiding me through that entire ordeal. Never had I felt so powerful before. So in control of my own destiny.
With every breath I took, I became more aware of myself. More aware of my mind. Of the beating of my heart. Of the way my blood rushed through my ears and how comforting it felt to ride on the back of someone’s bike. I loved every part of it.
But I knew I wasn’t going to like the scolding Max had in store for me.
Not like you have many options now, anyway.
I’d take whatever he dished out, but in the back of my mind I was confident in my decision. Had I not intervened, there was a chance those men would’ve taken him down. Possibly even out. And then they would’ve come after me without him to prevent them from doing so. Even with Rupert’s help, Max would’ve been incapacitated before he got there. It wasn’t even as if Max was fully healed from the last encounter.
No, I was confident in the decision I had made to get up and help defend the life of the man I loved. Even if he didn’t agree with it. Even if Rupert didn’t agree with it. I agreed with it, and that’s what mattered. And if Max really wanted me at his side, he’d have to start trusting my intuition. Trusting the moves I decided to make.
Just like I trusted his.
16
Max
I shook with fury. I felt my nostrils flaring with every breath I took. I paced up and down the driveway. Fuming. Hell, had it been any colder, I probably would’ve been steaming. Literally. What the fuck was Dani thinking? She could’ve gotten herself killed! She didn’t listen, and it almost backfired.
It didn’t backfire, though.
I shoved the voice away. I didn't need a reason. What I needed was for Dani to fucking listen to me. I cracked my neck as I finally heard Rupert’s engine off in the distance. I cracked my knuckles as they came careening around the corner. I twisted my back, cracking it into place as they pulled up the driveway.
And the second Dani slipped off the back of his bike, I ripped that bloodied bottle neck from her hand.
“What the ever-blessed hell were you thinking?”
I watched her eyes widen as she leaned against Rupert’s bike.
“You were reckless at best. You disobeyed my order, and you almost got yourself killed for it!”
I slammed the bottle neck into Rupert’s chest and thumbed over my shoulder. Commanding him to take it into the house and dispose of it.
“You used a weapon that could’ve left evidence behind for police. You almost killed a man tonight with your reckless actions. You almost got yourself killed, you almost got me killed, and you almost created a scene none of us had the capability to clean up! Do you even get how bad this was, Dani?”
I saw the fear in her eyes. I saw the reflection of my fury in her big, doe eyes, and the only thing I could do was pat myself on the back. Good. If that’s what kept her from ever pulling a stunt like this again, then so be it.
Because if I lost Dani due to all of this, I wasn’t sure I’d ever forgive myself.
“When I give you an order, I expect you to be like my men. You follow it to the letter, and you don’t deviate for any reason. You hear me? If I needed you, I would’ve called you. Simple as that. But I didn’t need you. I had things under control. There’s a reason I had you call Rupert. There was a reason, you get that?”
&n
bsp; I expected her to start crying or shaking. Or turn away from me and run until she couldn't run any longer. But instead, the fear in her eyes turned to anger. They narrowed into slits and she balled her fists up at her sides.
“Are you done yet?” she asked.
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
She took a step toward me. “You heard me. Are you done yet?”
I slowly peeked over my shoulder and saw Rupert standing on the porch. With my brother. The two of them were sipping beers while watching the show.
Fucking hell. “What could you possibly have to say right now?”
She snickered. “Well, I can start with the fact that I saved your ass.”
“You what?”
“You know I did, and yet you’re angry about it. If I hadn’t intervened with those guys, who knows what would’ve happened?”
I gritted my teeth. “You would’ve gotten hurt. That’s what would’ve happened.”
“Except it didn’t.”
“Well, it could have. And that’s the fucking point.”
“No, the fucking point, Max, is that I didn’t listen. And you don’t like that. I don’t listen to your every word and take it as gospel, and you take issue with that. Which sounds like a personal problem to me. You’re not fully healed. At your best? Yes, you would’ve been fine. But tonight, you weren’t. And Rupert wasn’t going to get there on time.”
“You don’t know that.”
She nodded. “Yes, I do. I was on the damn phone with him, Max. Watching you get pounded by two dudes who wouldn't stop coming at you.”
I glowered. “We’re going to talk about this later, you and me.”
“No, we’re going to talk about it now. You want to know why?”
I heard the guys chuckling behind me and I wanted to slit their throats.
“Fine. I’ll tell you anyway. We’re going to talk about this now because you warned me this might happen. And now that I’m all in on this, you’re the one with cold feet? You’re the one telling me to stay out of trouble when I just told you back in that damn club that I was with you, come trouble or high waters? Fuck you, Max. Fuck you for wanting to control me. Because you should know by now that you can’t.”