by C. M. Owens
“She prefers Sarah, unless she’s in kill mode,” I point out, earning a few silencing glares. Right. Shutting up again.
“So she took her in like a stray?” Cold Eyes asks.
I almost speak, but then remember they don’t like it when I speak, and clap my lips shut again. I’m totally not telling them who I am.
“So she’s coming with us?” The other guy asks. The guy who found me in the back before Jude stuck a gun to my head. I almost forgot about him, since he’s been quiet until now.
Drex rubs the stubble on his own chin before asking, “What job was AJ—”
“Sarah,” I interrupt on autopilot, then cringe when his eyes narrow.
Don’t make the big, bad biker mad, Maya. Not smart.
“What job was she talking about?” he goes on.
“Think we could discuss that somewhere else?” I gesture to the bodies nearest to us. “I’m not the brains of this operation, but I’d say it’s only a matter of time before these guys are supposed to check in and report how many of you they managed to kill. When that doesn’t happen, more people with big guns will come in and start shooting holes in us. And our awesome assassin just walked out.”
Drex shoots a look to No Name when No Name chuckles and tries to smother the sound. He shrugs. “She has a point.”
The guy on the ground near my feet groans, scaring the shit out of me because…zombies. Zombies are totally real and the government hides it, you know.
I almost lose my feet out from under me, but two strong hands clamp down on my arms, steadying me. It’s like a live wire shoots through body from the simple contact, and I try to fight the weird reaction.
Axle releases me when he’s sure I’m not about to tackle the floor with my face, and he steps away, his hands fisting and opening a few times as his jaw grinds. Apparently touching people also pisses him off. But his touch is still lingering even though his hands are far away from me now.
Drex rolls his eyes and looks over to No Name. Would it be the end of the world if they made introductions?
“Grab the live one and toss him in the back of the SUV,” he tells Cold Eyes, and No Name goes over to help him.
“Can I ask your names? Pretty sure No Name and Cold Eyes won’t work for too long,” I say to the guys as they scoop up the guy on the ground.
I’ll be watching to see if anyone has zombie bites later. That’s one bug I won’t catch.
No Name smirks at me. “Who’s Cold Eyes?”
I point to the other guy, and Cold Eyes glares at me, only proving my point, while No Name laughs quietly to himself.
“Get on the back of a bike before I change my mind about taking you with us,” Drex says, not helping me out with the name thing. He starts to walk away before turning back and adding, “But not my bike.”
He glances around at the warehouse for a brief moment.
“Light it up,” he says pointedly at Jude.
“I’m good with the SUV,” I say as I skate behind Axle, who is putting his finger on his gun’s trigger like he’s ready for someone to jump out at him.
Don’t spook the big, bad, sexy biker.
“Bike,” Drex says again, his tone growing annoyed.
Alrighty then. Obviously I don’t tell them I’m not a fan of motorcycles, because…well, motorcycle club and all that. I’d hate to offend the trigger-happy boys.
I continue following Axle across the eerily quiet parking lot. As soon as he starts to get on his bike, I start untying my skates, knowing climbing on will be too hard any other way.
Obviously I hurry, since they may very well leave me here to get blown apart by whoever will be coming.
Cold Eyes is coming out of the warehouse, heading our way, when I finally get the skates off and Axle’s bike roars to life. I look at him, my skates in my hand, and he mutters something that doesn’t look favorable to me before gesturing for me to get on.
He snatches my skates out of my hand, and I climb on, careful to not touch him. But how do I…
“Can I put my arms around you so I don’t fall off?” I ask him.
He cuts his gaze over his shoulder at me but turns back around without saying anything. As he starts rolling away, my arms snap around his waist, my reflexes making the decision easier.
His muscles jump and bunch under my hands with the contact, and I spread my legs wider, pressing my front firmly against his back and screw my eyes shut when he suddenly takes off.
My hands tighten on the hard waist I’m clinging to, but I finally peer over his shoulder, seeing we’re going a different way than what Sarah and I did. I assume that’s to avoid any possible problems that could involve running into the second team of guys who might want them dead.
It takes longer to get to Halo, but I slowly start to relax, my hands getting lazy in their grip on Axle as they drift a little lower. I’m tempted to run my hands all over his body while he’s busy driving. But obviously I don’t want to die.
Sarah told me a lot about him and this new job I’m giving them on my way over here. She filled me in on her plan that involved keeping me safe and getting their financial situation under control.
All for the guy who doesn’t appreciate it—Jude.
Her one warning was that if I fucked her guy, she’d slit my throat. Not that I needed that warning. I’m not interested, and even if I was, I’m not an idiot.
Then she told me all about Axle. Well, all I needed to know, anyway.
Axle’s body stays tense. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m touching him or if he’s on high alert, but he’s rigid all the way back to the massive building they call home. They all pull into a large garage or hangar—not sure of the technical term here.
The space is massive and has tons of bikes already in it. The second Axle is parked, he reaches for my hands and quickly tugs them loose, dropping them fast as he stands and dumps my skates to the ground. He doesn’t bother turning around as he walks toward Drex.
“We’ll find you a room in a few. All are occupied at the moment, so we need to shuffle some things around,” Drex tells me, but I’m busy chasing Axle through the doorway after picking up my skates.
Unlike the last time I was here, there’s not a wild party going on with people screwing in the corners. Numerous guys with beards or scruff are staring at me like I’m some beast that has four heads as I hurry through the space in my socked feet with my skates in my hand.
“Who’s the derby chick?” someone asks, but I don’t hear the answer, because now I’m following Axle up a set of stairs.
I look back in time to see Drex taking a seat with the guys, his face serious as he says something, but I return my attention back to Axle as he steps into a room. I charge in with him, and he steps back, eyebrows up, as I shut the door behind me.
“I want to stay in here with you. Not in a room alone,” I say in a rush, my heart pounding heavily.
The last time I was here, I was naïve to their barbaric ways with women. Now I’m not.
His expression goes from confused to annoyed within seconds. “Out. And no. Fuck no, you can’t stay in here.”
“I am staying in here, and you’re really going to like me. I can do some totally awesome things with my hips when I’m on top, and—”
Something loud sounds from below, like a gunshot, and I try not to react. I’m so far out of my depth. It’d be easier in my town, on my turf, but…not so much when you’re not family with the bad guys.
Damn it, Sarah. What have you gotten me into?
Axle’s eyes narrow on me.
“I’m not fucking you. Are you seriously whoring yourself out for a room?” he asks incredulously.
Feeling a little brave, I step toward him, my neck craning back so I can look up into his eyes. His expression almost turns angry, but I figure that’s just his default look.
“I’m not whoring myself out for a room. You’re the only one here I’d touch, and I want to be in here with you. And it could be fun—”
&
nbsp; A squeal leaves my lips when he shoves me against the wall suddenly and slams his fists on either side of my head as he leans down to get into my face, caging me in. I hold my breath, my body tingling in silent warning to remain still as those hard eyes lock on mine.
“You think this is a fucking game?” he asks in a quiet but lethal tone. “Privileged girls get bored and want to be bad for a little while, but this isn’t the route for that road.”
I don’t speak, because I sure as hell don’t plan to tell him who I am now.
“You think you can fuck the guy with scars because he’s the easiest, most desperate one? You think that’s your in? Roll up in your ridiculous outfit and roller skates like it’s all a fun time? This isn’t a fucking game. And you’re taunting the wrong guy,” he growls. “You’re fucking with the wrong club.”
That thin line that has been holding me back suddenly frays and snaps with those words. My hands fall to my sides as my eyes narrow on him.
“I know it’s not a game, asshole,” I bite out.
His gaze doesn’t shift, and his body doesn’t stop caging mine in.
“Just because I don’t have scars all over my body doesn’t mean I haven’t survived hell too. And for the record, I wasn’t singling you out as the weak link because of your scars. I thought those scars meant you were a survivor—the strongest link. Honestly, I’m into you. Or at least I was.”
He pushes back and crosses his arms over his chest, still studying me. I straighten my shoulders, my shallow breaths growing a little stronger.
“I know this isn’t a game, and I’m so sorry that I don’t skulk around and brood like all of you. Even though I’m only twenty-four, I’d bet anything I’ve lived this life much longer than any of you, with the exception of maybe Drex. Sarah told me you’d never let anyone touch me if I didn’t want to be touched. And since you’re the only one I wanted to touch, it made perfect sense to be with you and have some fun in the meantime. But fuck you and your dick ways.”
CHAPTER 10
AXLE
Listening to her berate me instead of cowering means she’s legit about dealing with guys like us before. Her brother is a junkie and dealing drugs, so maybe I jumped to conclusions, but it’s clear she’s privileged. She has a trust fund, for fuck’s sake.
I’m struggling to believe she singled me out as the one she wanted. I’m usually the last resort kind of guy, since I’m not exactly the cuddly, pretty boy type. There’s an angle, but I didn’t understand it until she said Sarah promised her I’d never let anyone else touch her.
She turns and walks out, slamming the door behind her, and I try to figure out what we missed. I looked into Lathan and her after all that shit happened six months ago, but only found privileged, boring, private school bullshit. Nothing linking her to this world except the trust fund boy turned drug dealer.
The door swings open again, and I try not to smirk when she grabs her roller skates from the floor. She points a finger at me. “And for the record, you have to be badass to wear this outfit in front of guys like you and not feel the need to explain yourself.”
She spins and walks out again, slamming the door once more.
I can’t help but be intrigued. And a little amused.
Sarah knows something.
I call her, but she doesn’t answer. I also get to thinking about Eve coming in during our meeting, worrying it might have been Herrin setting us up. Eve always knows the details of the plans, and she would do anything at all to keep Drex safe.
No doubt she called Sarah and told her about this meeting days ago when Drex wouldn’t take her worries into consideration.
We’ve all gotten cocky. We’re lethal, but our names were forged under Herrin’s rule. It makes people more afraid of Herrin than us. We need to remember that and start being smarter, so we don’t become too fucking easy to kill.
I walk out onto the landing, looking down at the warehouse below from my metal balcony perch. My eyes immediately land on Maya as she sits down on a chair and starts tugging her skates back on.
Every pair of eyes down there—at least twenty or so—are looking at her. I bristle a little, but try to shrug it off.
I glance up, seeing Drex standing on the balcony and staring down too, and I make my way around to where he is.
“Where’s Eve?” I ask him, propping up beside him.
I don’t miss the fact his eyes are on Maya.
“She’s in the shower. I just filled her in on everything,” he says, his attention not shifting.
Why does that bother me?
“She told Sarah about that meeting,” I point out.
“Figured that much out already,” he says quietly. “She was worried about me, and she knew Sarah would take her more seriously than I did. I won’t make that mistake again. Eve has good intuition for the most part. And I’ve gotten too reckless. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but we need to be more cautious going forward. I overestimated our fear factor.”
I gesture toward Maya. “Why’re you looking at her like you want a piece?” I ask, my tone not as bored as I’d aimed for. The question comes out like an accusation instead of curiosity.
His lips twitch as he shifts his eyes to me. “Trust me when I say I have zero interest in getting a piece from anyone except the girl in my shower with my name on her arm. I’m not looking at Skater Girl like I want a piece. I’m trying to figure her out and what her role is.”
He looks back at her, and I follow his gaze, watching as she skates across the concrete floor to the bar and starts searching for something. She’s pissed. I can tell by her very expressive face.
It’s a good look on her.
My eyes refuse to move from her ass when she bends over, grabbing a glass from the cabinet. It’s been a while since my cock jumped at the sight of a girl. Been a while for a lot of things.
“I took this meeting at face value. I trusted the sources we’ve had for years,” Drex goes on. “I’m no longer taking the surface as the entire package. Your girl stood in the middle of a massacre and wasn’t at all affected.”
“She’s not my girl,” I say gruffly, clutching the railing in front of me when her tongue darts out to lick some liquor off her finger.
I also bite back a few threats when I see the others take notice. She doesn’t seem aware of anything but the task at hand as she pours another shot and tosses it back.
Drex ignores me.
“Eve threw up the first time she saw a guy die in front of her. Your girl was picking the pockets on what I assume was Sarah’s request. Despite appearances, she’s been around this type of thing for a while.”
I tense a little, thinking of how she alluded to as much. She basically said it, actually. It just seems absurd to think a girl in roller skates and a pink Bubble Gum shirt is anything less than good.
“Jude had a gun to the back of her head, and she wasn’t even the slightest bit scared,” he goes on. “That means it’s likely not the first time a gun has been at her head, and she knows that just because a gun is trained on you, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get shot.”
“Her brother took her at gunpoint six months ago,” I remind him.
“Her brother is Lathan, and Lathan is a junkie,” he says, more to himself than me. “A dealer. And a rich boy turned bad. Maybe the world doesn’t know who he really is. Neither of them. And there’s a reason they’d keep it secret. A junkie must really be scared of a secret if he doesn’t share it when he’s too high to think.”
I watch as Maya pours a fourth shot, downing it with ease, and then her neck rolls around as her eyes close. It’s like she’s slowly releasing all her tension.
“Sarah apparently likes her,” I say quietly. “She told Maya about us—detailed stuff. She doesn’t do that usually.”
Or didn’t. Sarah is a mystery to us these days.
“Sarah loves her strays,” he muses. “She took Eve in without question. Saved her life. Put me in debt to her. Eve is loyal to Sara
h. Almost as loyal to her as she is to me. And now Sarah wants this Maya girl protected.”
He again gestures to Maya as she sways with the music. She doesn’t seem to realize that has even more eyes on her now. Dash is suddenly at the bar, and her eyes open like he’s just said something to her.
When she smiles, I want to punch my friend in the fucking face.
This is probably not a good sign. At all.
“Sarah is still a sore subject for Jude. I trust her, though. But if Maya has a story, she needs to tell it. We don’t have time for surprises,” I tell him tightly.
He nods and looks back to me. “Let’s find out who exactly Maya is.”
I start to walk away, but he turns to go back to his room. When I give him a questioning look, he grins. “Eve’s out of the shower by now. I’ll be down in a minute…or thirty.”
I roll my eyes and walk down the stairs, hearing a loud, feminine giggle erupt from Eve before his door shuts.
Maya has skated around to the front of the bar, a foot of space separating her from Dash as he says something. She turns and leans over the bar to grab the tequila, and Dash leans back to get a look at her barely-clad ass in those fucking short shorts that might as well be underwear.
His eyes catch mine, and he winks at me as I make my way toward him. His smile falls as he tilts his head, studying me. My fists clench and unclench at my sides as I try to get my temper in check.
“Drex wants a meeting,” I tell him, glaring a little.
Maya stiffens in front of me as she pauses her shot-pouring. She doesn’t turn around as she finishes her task and tosses another shot back.
“Okay,” Dash drawls, arching an eyebrow. “About?”
I gesture to Maya, and he grins. “I was trying to talk her into staying in my room for a while. Drex can’t free up any rooms, even though he wants to.”
My muscles all tense at once, and my jaw grinds. Didn’t take her long to go after someone else.
His expression changes, sobering, and his eyes widen fractionally.
“But she turned me down,” he says slowly. “She’s considering staying in the hangar with the bikes, because she thinks we keep them safer than girls. Not really the worst conclusion ever drawn,” he goes on, standing up.
