It seemed odd. They looked like regular trucks. The sides of their cargo were splashed with images of fried chicken and vegetables, so I figured they were just carrying food. But why would a food truck need what basically amounted to an armed escort?
The sound of a firework going off burst in my ear. I whipped my head around, looking at the sky, but I couldn't see anything.
There were two more cracks. This time I turned behind me, and that's when I saw them. A dark group of guys on bikes was coming towards us. As they drew closer, I could see what was causing the noise. Guns. They were shooting at us.
Shit.
Another boom and the biker next to us went down. His motorcycle skidded past us, shooting off hot red sparks as it scraped along the ground. The truck ran over it, crushing it until almost nothing was left of the machine.
He was lucky he wasn't on it. He had rolled off the bike, sliding on his leather jacket in the other direction. Thank goodness.
I felt something zip past my ear and then heard the explosion. I screamed. I clutched at Asher until my knuckles turned white. My whole body trembled, and I wanted to jump off the bike. Why was anyone shooting at us?
A shot hit the ground right next to our feet, and Asher swerved. The bike felt like it was going to fall over. We were almost horizontal, and if I had put out my hand it would have touched the road.
I couldn't control my breath. It felt like I was gasping for air, and I was almost sure that everything in my stomach would be on the road soon. My face was wet with tears. Who told me this was a good idea?
The cracks started coming one after another, and I realized that the other guys weren't the only ones shooting. The Dark Riders had their guns out, pointing them behind us and firing away. Great, now I was in the middle of a gunfight.
One guy from the other group of bikers sped up. He tailed us and came close enough that I could see the patch on his jacket. Tarantulas Motorcycle Club.
Asher tried to shake him, but he kept gaining on us. Soon he was right alongside, close enough to look me in the eye.
In the next moment, his arm reached out. He grabbed my hair and jerked me in his direction. I almost fell off of Asher's bike, and I was only hanging on by an inch.
Asher turned and faced the guy. I'd never seen him like that. His nostrils flared and the veins in his neck strained against his skin. He let out a guttural roar and punched the guy right in the middle of his face.
The Tarantula yelped and fell backwards off of his bike. As the other biker lay on the road, Asher pulled out his gun. He let a shot out into his leg and a pool of blood formed around the Tarantula as he writhed on the ground.
I wanted to scream, but the sound died in my throat as I looked at Asher. What kind of man was he? Theoretically, I knew he would probably shoot someone. He carried around a gun, after all.
But it was different to actually see it in person. It was different to hear the blast and see the blood spilling out of someone. Even if they had just attacked me.
Still, a part of me that I almost didn't want to acknowledge was happy. Asher protected me. As long as I was with him, I would be safe.
Asher turned his handlebars and sped up so quickly that his bike hopped onto one wheel. I grabbed onto him even tighter, afraid that we were going to fall backwards and be crushed by the cycle. We came back down and sped ahead of everyone else, leaving them behind.
We didn't slow down until Asher drove up to a toy shop. I didn't understand why we were there, but Asher grabbed my hand and ran into the building.
We rushed past the displays of playing cards, little girl's dolls, and building blocks. Our feet stomped as Asher pushed open the employees only door and led me upstairs. That's when I finally got it.
The second floor was a vast open space. It had probably been a warehouse in the past, but now the space looked like a bunker. There were a bunch of cots on one side of the room, dried food and water on another.
Guns were hung up on the walls with ammunition in locked boxes. The windows were completely shuttered, and the only way to see the outside was with a large TV showing camera feeds from all over the toy shop.
I felt like I had just walked into the middle of an action movie. My heart was still racing, and I still felt like I should be running somewhere, anywhere.
"Lilly!" Asher said. "Are you okay?"
He crushed me to his chest. My breasts pressed up against his hard muscles and I let myself be swallowed up by his size. When he finally pulled away, I nodded.
"I'm okay," I said. "More or…"
My words were cut off my his lips on mine. Maybe it was because he protected me. Maybe it was the adrenaline. But for whatever reason I didn't hold back.
I kissed Asher back harder than I ever had before. I pushed his leather jacket off and it fell to the ground. It felt like a frenzy. Our mouths kept finding each other while we ripped each other's clothes off.
My fingers couldn't unbutton his shirt fast enough. Asher tore it off, breaking the buttons and letting it fall. I raised my arms so that he could take off my shirt and shimmied out of my jeans.
With every piece of clothing, more of our skin touched. I couldn't believe how hot he felt. It was all so fast, but I wanted it to move even faster.
We tumbled onto one of the cots and finally we were both naked. Asher hovered over me, his shoulder muscles taut as he held himself up. He seemed breathless as he looked at my naked body.
"You don't know how many times I've dreamed of seeing you like this," he said.
His kiss came to my lips again, but then it was gone. Asher explored my body with his mouth, tugging and nipping at my breasts. He moved down my stomach and slowly lapped at my thighs.
Asher paused when he opened my legs. I'm almost sure I heard him sigh.
"Yes," he said. "Just like I imagined."
Then his mouth was on me. It wasn't tentative or gentle. Asher's tongue devoured me. Even when I bucked my hips, raising them high into the air, he wouldn't stop.
I could feel his hot mouth on me, making my whole body tremble. Waves of warmth filled my body and before long I was melting under his touch. When I moaned, throwing my head back and shaking all over, Asher grabbed my hands. He threaded his fingers through mine and didn't stop licking me until I called out his name.
"Asher!"
Then he got on his knees between my legs. Asher pulled off his belt and pushed down his pants, letting his dick spring out. Quickly, he unrolled a condom and threw the empty wrapper on the floor.
Asher pressed himself against me, leaning himself just on top of my opening. All I wanted was for him to slide in. Just one thrust.
"You know, the last time I asked if you wanted to do this, you said no," Asher said. "I bet you've made a lot of guys happy by saying yes."
I bit my lip and turned away from him. It took a while before the realization set in.
"You haven't, have you?"
Asher lowered himself down on me then, bringing his lips close to my ear. He pressed harder between my legs, rubbing me with himself. It was almost enough to drive me crazy.
"Do you want me to?" he whispered. "I won't unless you ask."
His voice took on a low growl. "Ask me."
My body screamed for him. Every nerve wanted Asher inside of me, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. My cheeks burned. Why did I have to say it?
I almost didn't believe he would, but Asher backed off. He tucked himself inside his pants and sat down on the side of the cot. He held his head in his hands and sighed.
"You know," he said. "You really don't make things easy on a guy."
The next thing we heard was the deep growl of motorcycles. Asher ran to the surveillance system, and saw that four Dark Riders had pulled in. They didn't look too good.
They were drenched in sweat and dirt. It looked like they had just come out of a war zone. Well, they may as well have.
The important thing was that they were alive. Three of them seemed okay, except for a few c
uts and scrapes, but then there was the fourth biker. It was a miracle he was even able to stay on top of his motorcycle, and as soon as they stopped he fell over onto the asphalt.
We rushed to put on our clothes and Asher bolted down the stairs. I watched them all pick the guy up and bring him inside. It wasn't until they brought him upstairs and laid him on one of the cots that I was face-to-face with the reality of the situation.
"Rich?" Asher, said.
He didn't answer. Rich only continued to moan on the thin mattress. His left leg and right arm were pouring blood, and the only thing stopping the flow was a Dark Riders bandanna. If he didn't get help, he was going to die.
I stared at Rich. He probably wasn't the only one in that condition. Already, his skin was growing pale and covered with sweat. How long would it be before Asher was the same way? Or me?
I stopped myself. Duh, I could fix this. I only had a few years of the nursing program under my belt, but Rich didn't have to die here.
I rolled up my sleeves and pushed past the bikers.
"Someone get me some kind of stick, some scissors, and a long, wide piece of cloth," I said.
The guys hesitated before moving, looking at me strangely. We didn't have time for this.
"Are you going to debate whether or not you should take orders while Rich bleeds out on this bed?"
That was enough to get them moving. Rich's pulse was racing. He was gasping for air, and his skin was cold and clammy. If he lost much more blood, he would go into shock. I turned to Asher.
"Do you guys have any gauze?" I asked.
He looked at me blankly.
"Gauze, like cotton or something from a first aid kit?"
"No. Whenever we get hurt, we just tough it out," he said.
"You have enough guns in here for an armory but you don't have a first aid kit?" I yelled. "You can't tough out a nicked artery!"
The other bikers came back. They brought me a rough pair of work scissors, a spare T-shirt, and some sticks from outside. I looked at the materials and sighed. This is definitely not a hospital.
I took the scissors and cut off a piece of my shirt. At least I was sure that was pretty clean. I cut Rich's pant leg and sleeve off until I could see clean skin and pressed the piece of my shirt against the wound. In no time at all, it was completely drenched in red.
Okay, it was time for step two. I cut the spare T-shirt into long strips, ripping just to make the process faster. I tied the fabric in a knot above both of the wounds, using what was left of his clothing to pad the tourniquet. He was going to need it. This was going to hurt.
I wrapped the material around a couple more times, going over the steps in my head before I moved on. I took a deep breath. If I did this wrong, he could lose a limb.
I knotted the shirt fabric on both ends of the stick and got ready to turn. It's strange, they never tell you how hard it is to stop the flow of blood in a human body. I used all of my strength, straining to twist the sticks until Rich's blood stopped pooling on the bed. When I finally did it, I slumped on the floor. I was exhausted.
"He needs more treatment," I said. "But he should be okay, for now at least."
"Thanks," one of the bikers said.
I lifted my head and smiled weakly, but even that didn't last long. They were interrupted by the sound of a walkie-talkie.
The voice was crackly over the speaker, but we all knew who was speaking. Mav.
"Get your ass over here!" he yelled.
The other guys bolted down the stairs as soon as they heard the president's command, but Asher lingered. He came close to me and trailed his fingers over my cheeks.
"Stay safe," he said.
The kiss Asher gave me was quick, but it burned my lips. Before I could say anything, he was gone. All I was left with was the memory of his musky scent and the taste of his kiss.
I looked at the video feed as the Dark Riders left, leaving a cloud of smoke behind them. Would it be my last?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THEY MUST HAVE BEEN gone for hours. I watched the sun fade and melt into amber colors on the horizon on my own. It was too quiet there. Just me and Rich, with his ragged breath the only sound I could hear.
Every few hours I switched between staring at the video screen and checking Rich's vitals. By the time the stars came out, he was stable and I was getting more anxious.
Just how long were they going to be out there?
I wanted to grab the walkie-talkie and scream into it. Then Asher would come back. We'd leave and be safe someplace far away from here. A place without guns and motorcycle clubs.
Yeah, sure. I couldn't even make myself believe that was going to happen.
The hours seemed to stretch long. Each time I checked the clock, only a few minutes had gone by even though it seemed like an eternity. My head nodded, dropping onto my chest. Sleep came over me without me even knowing.
I woke up to the sound of men's voices. They clambered up the stairs, their heavy boots making loud thumps as they walked. It took a while before my mind fully woke up.
The guys were back. And if the guys were back, that would mean Asher was …
As soon as I spotted him, I jumped up. I ran, throwing myself at his chest. The impact was so hard that it hurt, but I was just happy to touch him and know that he was alive.
Asher picked me up, swinging me in a circle. His hug squeezed me tight, circling me with his strong arms.
"Lilly."
It wasn't until he put me down then I realized the state he was in. Asher was dirty, but I expected that. I hadn't expected what looked like knife marks trailed across his thighs. His body was bruised and battered, like he had been in a fist fight. At least there were no gun shot wounds.
When he noticed my look, Asher gave me a sad half smile.
"You wanted to know what we do," he said. "This is it."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I SHOULD HAVE SLEPT in Asher's arms. There was almost no space on the small cot, but we managed to squeeze onto it together. He fell asleep nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow, like a child.
But that didn't work for me.Every shadow seemed like it could be filled with menace. I jumped at the creaking of the floor boards, and scenes of being chased by bikers played behind my eyelids.
By the next morning, I was exhausted. I was about to collapse, but so tense that I couldn't fall asleep. It was terrible. I just wanted to rest.
Asher woke up with a smile on his face. He yawned and pulled me closer to him.
"Well, look who's up bright and early this morning?" he said.
He put his hand on my head, brushing my hairs out of place. Even with the cut on his cheekbone, he seemed happy to be awake.
"Take me home," I said.
The smile left Asher's face.
"I can't," he said. "The Tarantulas think you're my old lady. They'd come looking for you."
"Your old lady?"
"Well," he hesitated. " Almost like my wife."
"Oh."
I blushed, hoping that no one would see. His wife? I didn't even know who I was to Asher. What exactly were we?
A couple? A biker and a girl who's too curious for her own good?
Asher got up and put on his clothes. All of the Dark Riders who could manage it chomped on some energy bars for breakfast and rolled out of the toy store. With everyone gone, the open space seemed huge. It was just me and the bikers who were too injured to ride.
I tried to make myself useful. Bandages needed to be changed. Vitals needed to be checked.I did everything and anything that I could do to keep myself busy and stop my mind from wandering.
In the quiet moments, dark images flashed in my mind. I saw Asher fallen on the side of the road, his bike in flames and his body broken. I saw mom's house surrounded by Tarantulas looking for me and threatening her in the meantime. It was hard not to think that my worries were not too far from coming true.
Just a few days ago, I was in college studying to become a nurse. Then I
was kidnapped by bikers, reunited with Asher, and caught in the middle of a gunfight. I dropped my head into my hands. How had my life turned into a drama overnight?
When the Dark Riders came back, it was the same scene as the night before. Blood, cuts, and bruises. I had already run out of clean cloths, so all there was to do was wash out the wounds.
Asher pulled me aside when I was done.
"Lilly…"
He looked around, remembering that we were in a room full of his brothers. There was no privacy on the warehouse floor. So he took my hand and dragged me downstairs.
The toy store looked strange in the night. The little pink dolls weren't so cheerful without bright fluorescent lights shining on them. Without music or children, it didn't seem like a place that we should be.
Asher brought me to a small space. It looked like it had once been the employee break room, just big enough to hold a sink and a coffee maker. We squeezed into the room.
"I've been thinking about our moms," Asher said. "She would probably be telling me to 'get my ass home!' right about now
"Before she died my mom kept telling me to shape up, you know? She wanted me to do better," Asher paused and chuckled. "Even she thought I was a little delinquent.
"But when she was gone, no one cared. I asked for help, but no one would give me the time of day. They just remembered me as the little troublemaker.
"Some nights I was just so hungry. I went to diners just to stand outside and smell the food," he said. "Isn't that funny?"
Somewhere under all that stubble and muscle, I saw Asher soften. His eyes shone with wetness.
"Asher, I'm sorry I didn't know about it back then. We would have taken you in…"
"No, I know your dad would have left me to starve,Lilly," Asher said. The hardness returned to him for a moment.
"But your mom, when she came back to town, she checked up on me. Probably wanted to see if I was getting into more trouble. Of course I was.
"So when she got sick, I had to look out for her. Bought her groceries and stuff, that's all."
Asher paused. He looked away from me and fumbled with his pockets. I wanted to say something, but I didn't have the words. I knew he did more than just buy her groceries. 'Thank you,' seemed like too little to say.
Ultimate Alphas: Bad Boys and Good Lovers (The Naughty List Romance Bundles) Page 40
