Her Hot Ride: A gripping and sexy biker mc romantic suspense novel

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Her Hot Ride: A gripping and sexy biker mc romantic suspense novel Page 20

by Van Fleet, Heather


  Ma put the cup back down and I looked around, trying to get the layout of the room. I didn’t recognize shit, other than it looked like I was in some sort of office with a hospital bed. The light was a tiny desk lamp that sat in the corner of the room. There was nothing else, which meant this couldn’t be a permanent locale for Pops and his little rogues. They were on the move again. Question was, were they running south or coming for us?

  I curled my lip at the thought, only for the water still in my mouth to drip over my bottom lip and slide down my neck.

  My heart raced at the thought of Emily being here somewhere. I needed to find her, hold her in my arms. I needed her to know that what had happened between us wasn’t something I’d expected, but if I got out of here alive, then I’d accept it, open my fucking arms for as long as she’d let me have her.

  “Em…” was all I could get out.

  Ma frowned at me. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Em…”

  Her face softened. She nodded. Which could only mean one thing. She knew who I was talking about. She’d seen her or met her and that meant she was here, maybe close by. I tried to sit up again, a little faster this time, but dizziness hit me full force and all the water I’d managed to get down me was threatening to come up.

  “Rest.” Ma touched my shoulder. “She’s safe right now. Angel’s keeping his eye on her.”

  Who the hell was Angel?

  Ma smiled at me, and it hurt to look at because I’d gone without seeing it since I was twelve years old. She’d died. Dad and I had buried her.

  “You love her, don’t ya?” Ma asked, pulling me out of my head.

  I frowned.

  “Emily,” she clarified, then brought the water back to my lips. Even still dizzy, I drank that shit down.

  “She’s a pretty one. But she’s spoken for, I’m afraid.”

  My eyes narrowed.

  Every ache and burn and throb was nothing in comparison to thinking about Emily being with someone else.

  “Sorry. But Chop’s claimed her—”

  “No,” I hissed and shook my head. Emily was mine, not fucking Chop’s. That traitorous bastard. I’d kill him first. Bare hands, gun to his head, it didn’t matter.

  “You need to rest.” Ma sighed. “I know you have questions for me. And I’ll try to answer as much as I’m allowed. But if you wanna make it out of here alive, boy, then you’re gonna have to play like you’ve switched sides, you hear me?”

  I gave my head a fast jerk, instantly regretting it. The pain shot down my back and arm, my ribs too.

  “It’s got to happen, Nicholas.” Nicholas. She was the last person to ever call me by my real name, other than Dad. That’s not who I was anymore though. “This isn’t your world here. This is Pops’s—”

  “No.” Never fucking ever would Pops be a part of my world.

  “So stubborn, just like that Da of yours.” She ruffled the top of my hair, which was about as affectionate as she’d ever been, then set both hands on her lap when she’d finished. “He should’ve let me go. Coming to the States was the worst thing he could’ve done for you.”

  “You… should’ve… lived.”

  She winced. “Yeah. I know it’s gotta be a surprise for you. And I’ll explain in time, like I said, but I am pleading with you, Nicholas. Do not try and be a hero. You’re too weak right now.”

  “Let me… call…”

  “Absolutely not. Nobody here has phones except for the big boys.”

  “Get… one.” I needed to call my brothers.

  When they arrived, this place would burn to the ground, and if she wasn’t careful, Ma might go along with it. I wasn’t sure whose side she was on, whether Pops and her were together. I wasn’t sure if I could trust her or love her or what. But I didn’t have time to think about that right now. Not when I knew Emily was close by.

  The door opened then, and in walked a kid. I frowned at him. He couldn’t have been much older than fifteen or sixteen. All lanky legs and arms, skinny frame, green eyes.

  I stiffened, taking him in through narrowed eyes, watching his movements, the way he stood at my ma’s side, hovering protectively.

  “Who the fuck… are you?” I managed.

  He glared at me, arms folded. The kid was pale, like he never saw the sun. Loaded with freckles too. Red hair, a little curly at the ends.

  But his eyes… Good Christ, I knew those eyes. It was like I was looking in a mirror. My chest burned with every throbbing beat. And when I looked to Ma, seeing her head down, tears on her face, I knew right the fuck away what was going on.

  This was her son.

  This kid was my blood.

  The first thing I could see in my mind was my old man. He looked like hell, just as I remembered him, but he was smiling in my memories. We were back home in Ireland. He and Ma were on the back of his bike, telling me they’d be out late. They looked so damn happy as they drove away that afternoon, Ma’s braid blowing behind her. And because I liked being home alone so I could look at my old man’s titty mags, I was damn excited that they’d gone off together.

  But then everything had changed.

  My world.

  My dad.

  “Archer?” Ma whispered, jerking a thumb back toward the kid. “This is Angel. He’s…”

  I looked at her again, away from the blood, eyes narrowing, lips pursed…

  Spit it out. Spit it the fuck out.

  But she didn’t. Instead, she stood, wiped her hands down the front of her dress, and said, “I can’t do this right now. I’m so sorry.”

  Then she left me and my new little sibling alone there together to bond.

  Just what I needed right now.

  As if being trapped in this damn bed and reunited with my ma who I thought was dead wasn’t bad enough. Now I had to do it with blood I didn’t know I had? A long-lost sibling? Fuck that.

  Still, once Ma left the room, I couldn’t help but be curious about the kid. Most of all, I wanted to know if he’d seen Emily.

  “C’mere.” I motioned him over with a finger. At least I think I did. I was just thankful I could feel the damn things now.

  The kid didn’t come over though. Instead, he stood against the wall, arms folded, staring at me.

  “Get… over here… damn it.” The words were coming easier now, but that didn’t mean shit. I may have been a little more alert, but that didn’t mean I was ready for a full-on conversation.

  He lifted an eyebrow at me in challenge. And that’s when I saw it. His smart-ass smirk. My trademark smirk. Not his.

  Or should I say our dad’s smirk.

  I sucked in a sharp breath, stomach twisting as I counted the years back in my head.

  Holy shit. This wasn’t just Ma’s kid but my old man’s too.

  I shut my eyes, lowered my head back against the bed. How? How the fuck was this possible? I needed answers. I needed real answers. But first, I needed to break out of this shithole and find Emily. And I hoped to whatever entity was out there that this kid, my blood, would become my key.

  Twenty-Six

  Emily

  “Just listen to me, would you?” Chop covered his face, shook his head too. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I really am. But Pops threatened my family. My mom and little sister. He threatened my ex too.”

  I lowered my head back against a wall, not willing to look at him while he told me the truth. About how he’d got involved with the club in the first place. How he’d spied on and betrayed his friends to make it happen.

  “When?” I asked.

  “Right after I joined up. I got… I got this email…” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t think much of it at first, thought it was a prank put on by one of the brothers. But…”

  “But what?”

  “Remember that night we first met in the bar last year? Before I started following Summer?”

  I nodded, remembering alright. Not because of the memory of meeting him, but because of the encounter
I’d had with Archer that night. I’d gone to the club on one of the rare occasions where I’d left my tiny house in search of something to make me stop thinking about Sam. He’d called that afternoon, begging me for another chance, and my heart ached because I’d had to tell him no again. Keeping him away from me and all of my baggage was the most important thing I’d ever done for our relationship, despite the fact that I missed him fiercely. The guilt had nearly killed me, to the point where all I’d wanted was to get drunk, something I didn’t do very well.

  Archer had found me at the bar drinking before Chop was around. He’d sat beside me, wordless, our thighs grazing like he couldn’t have cared less who I was, or about the lack of space between our bodies. I remembered feeling a spark then. A tiny, electric jolt that I’d played off as annoyance. But it hadn’t bothered me like I thought it would. Out of all the men at the club, he was the one who bothered me the most. I thought it was because he was the most controlling, but it seemed it was because he was the only one who let me lose control.

  My entire body had heated up. I thought something was wrong with me for feeling such opposing emotions. For a second, I’d felt something. And I’d wanted the distraction too. But then another woman had sat down beside him and blatantly grabbed his erection through his pants while his hand was still on my thigh and his lips were still against my ear.

  I was so mortified and angry with him and myself that I’d pushed him off his stool and left. Embarrassed tears had slid down my face, disorienting me to the point where I’d gone down the hall toward the dorms, only to wind up finding a crying Chop on the floor outside his room, face in his hands.

  “What happened that day?” I asked Chop, sitting up against the side of the shed he’d taken me to.

  “I got a call from the hospital that morning. My dad was hit by a fucking car. Almost died. I knew then that the messages were serious.”

  I winced, turning to him. “That was Pops’s doing? Why didn’t you say anything to Flick or Slade or my brother? Archer even?”

  He laughed. “I was barely patched in.” He shrugged. “I didn’t have a pot to piss in, let alone clout to get them to believe me.”

  “You had the emails though.” I frowned. “And your dad was in the hospital.”

  “Nobody cared, I’m telling you.” He growled then pushed to his feet, pacing in front of me. “I was their IT guy. The guy they counted on to get them details about stats and shit like that. A smart kid but a low man on the totem pole.”

  “That’s not true.” I shook my head and stood. “The Red Dragon brothers care—”

  “The fuck they did. Not that it would’ve mattered.” He laughed, but nothing about it was funny. “Pops said he’d kill my family if I didn’t help him. That’s why I did it.” He stopped in front of the door, choking on his words. “You were the only real thing I had, Emily. And… and you left. I could’ve helped you. A hell of a lot more than Archer.”

  “How did you know that I was going to leave?”

  “Who the hell do you think’s been delivering all those letters to your school, huh?” He shook his head at me as if I was stupid.

  “But Angel—”

  “He only came that night because I had to be there for Flick’s return.” He grunted. “I’m the one who let him through the gates.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not like I could give it to you. Not without blowing my cover.”

  But he could have, was the thing. Even if all he’d done was leave the letter, like all of the others.

  I looked down at my hands, too confused and tired to question this anymore.

  Chop said he could have helped me, yeah, but if he was so adamant about not angering Pops and keeping his family safe, then there was no way he would’ve risked his family’s safety just for me.

  “I’m sorry,” I told him, feeling bad in a minuscule way. Not because I liked him or even wanted to help him, but because I knew what it was like to have to choose between two things you loved. “I wish things were different.”

  “Whatever. Nothing you can do to help me.”

  I blinked, watching him move to the door. So many things were left unanswered, and I did not want to be stuck in another closed-off room, waiting for rescue.

  “Let me come too. I know they’re keeping Archer somewhere inside that building, and I want to—”

  “Archer’s as good as dead.”

  I stiffened. All the blood drained from my face, and I was suddenly so cold. “No. That’s not true. I just saw him.”

  Turning back to me with blank, empty eyes, Chop smirked. “Yeah. He is. You can trust me on that.”

  Chop closed the door and I decided there was no way I’d stay in his place like some damsel. I needed to find Archer. Get him out of here. The both of us. I just didn’t have a clue where to start looking.

  I found an unlocked and un-boarded window in the bathroom and slipped outside. Thankfully it was only one floor so the drop was more of a step. There were no armed bikers in the surrounding wooded area. No cars or anything like that. It was really weird to think this entire place was right there in the open, easy to find, no protection.

  It was dark out now, close to midnight. My feet were light as I stepped toward the main building, but the ground was littered with sticks, and no matter how many times I tried to avoid them, the crunches were inevitable.

  I went from dark window to dark window, trying to find an open one, almost giving up until I saw it. A propped-open door, no light from beneath it. It was a risk I was willing to take at this moment. I needed to get to Archer, find him, explain that the rest of his brothers would be here either tonight or tomorrow—at least I hoped they would.

  Slowly, I slid in through the door, the hinges creaking so much I had to freeze just to make sure nobody had heard me. Voices sounded from somewhere, fading to the point where it was almost too silent to be real. There were no rogue Red Dragons sitting around standing guard, not that I was hoping otherwise.

  Against a wall, I scooted down a hall, peering into rooms, holding my breath whenever the floor would squeak beneath my feet. Left and right I looked, only a few hall lights flickering above, each one making clicking or buzzing sounds.

  A soft murmur just up to my left stopped me short. It sounded like a woman, whispering. Hope had my stomach circling and dropping at the same time. Was it my mom? That woman I’d seen earlier? I sped up my pace, pausing just outside the door. I put my ear to the wood and held my breath once more, waiting and praying the halls stayed empty.

  That’s when I heard the accent. Irish. It was the woman from earlier. Angel’s mom? Hope had me twisting the knob, but before I could get it open, a figure popped up to my left.

  I jumped back at the sight of Angel, a hand to my chest.

  His hands balled into fists and he moved in closer, distrust in his gaze.

  I held my palms out. “Please don’t hurt me. I just… I need to find my friend.”

  He stopped in place, cocked his head to one side too. With an unnerving intensity, he studied me, reaching up then touching the end of my bangs. It was odd—not just his weird touching but the fact that he did it with just the tip of one finger.

  Holding my breath, I waited for him to finish, all the while thinking the worst.

  The door burst open a moment later. “Angel, have you come with…?”

  The Irishwoman peered her head out fully, eyes widening at the sight of me. She looked left and right then grabbed my arm, yanking me inside then shutting the door once Angel was in the room as well.

  “Are you out of your mind, child?” she asked me.

  Before I could clarify that I was not, in fact, a child but a college graduate and teacher, the woman went on a quiet tirade.

  “I see why he’s so fond of you, but Lord in heaven, you must have a death wish to be walking around here like you are.” She shook her head. “You’re lucky everyone’s in Church planning the run.”

  The run? What run was she referring to? As in th
e run to attack back at home? My hands shook at my sides at the thought of my family.

  My family. Summer was my family. Niyol was my family. The Red Dragons, even though I didn’t know them well? They could’ve been part of that family too. They’d sheltered me, protected me. They’d let me stay on their land and… God. They were everything that Archer had told me they were. I’d just been too blinded by the possibility of finding my mom to truly get it until now.

  The woman took me by the arm and sat me in a chair, mumbling something under her breath I couldn’t hear.

  “My name is Anne,” the Irishwoman reached for my hand, shook it once. All business. Hard, even. But there was still something about her that I respected already.

  “I’m Emily,” I managed.

  “I know who you are.” She nodded at me. “But what I don’t understand is how did you get inside the main building? It should have been locked.”

  “There was a door propped open.” I swallowed hard, nervous that she’d tell someone. I didn’t know her well enough to trust her yet. I was just hoping she was different enough to care.

  “I suppose you’re looking for your ma?”

  My heart jumped into my throat, anger and sadness combining inside. I hadn’t seen her since this morning, but she’d also been the furthest thing from my mind. It’s funny how priorities tend to change over time. I’d come here to help her escape… but she didn’t want to escape. Now, I would do just about anything to get out of here myself, but with Archer, not my mom.

  She’d made her choice, picking Pops over me. It hurt, yes—more than I wanted to admit right now. But I had a new goal to distract me: Get Archer out of here. Get him home. And maybe, just maybe, escape with him.

  “I…” I bit my bottom lip, not sure if I could trust this woman completely. Then I looked over at Angel again, and he nodded once as if knowing what I wanted to ask. For some reason, I found myself relaxing enough to say what I needed to say. “I’m actually looking for a man who was taken in around the same time I was. His name is Archer.”

 

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