A man lay beaten and bloodied at his feet.
"No!" She lunged forward, but someone grabbed her around the waist and hauled her away. Away from the light and the familiar tangle of dark hair, now matted with blood.
"Come on, girl. You don't need to see this." She recognized the voice of Terri's husband and felt a moment of regret as she drove her elbow into his side. He dropped her to the ground and he grunted in pain.
"You fucking idiots!" No one stopped her as she pushed through this time. Her father stepped forward as she fell to her knees and pulled the limp body of her lover towards her.
"Kat," her father started, but the look she threw him was so ferocious he stopped. He watched uneasily as she took the young man's face into her hands.
"You fools," she whispered, even as Tony's eyes opened slowly, blinking as trails of blood ran down from his hairline and seeped into his eyes. Kat wiped furiously at his face, trying to stop the blood, not caring about the smears of red quickly coating her hands and arms.
"Put him down, darling." Lawrence had stepped up warily behind her. She could feel him towering over her, but cautious after her outburst. "We'll take care of this, don't you worry."
"You won't touch him," Kat all but snarled, glaring around at them. "He hasn't done anything wrong."
There was silence from the dozens of men surrounding her and then her father spoke.
"Your lip. Terri said-"
"Terri said nothing, but you're all quick to jump to conclusions! Tell me," she was fighting to keep the vitriol out of her voice, "is it because you were looking for an excuse to hurt him or because you don't think I can look after myself?"
No one answered though several of the men shifted uncomfortably. In her arms, Tony had begun to focus properly. He tried to move, although he was in too much pain to do so. Kat continued, placing a stilling hand on his chest to still him.
"We were attacked by a couple of eastsiders today, up in the northern territories. They don't have any problems with letting their women fight their own battles, clearly, since the bitch I met today sure knew how to take care of herself!"
There was murmuring and cursing from the group, but Kat's attention was on her father. She knew her brothers were listening, too.
"I understand that you want to protect me, I really do. But look what happens when you think you know better! You could have killed an innocent man tonight!" Kat was shouting and her voice echoed off the concrete structures, coming back again and again to assault the men with her accusations.
"Well, what were we supposed to think? You and he both disappeared and were nowhere to be found today!" Lawrence scowled and Kat rolled her eyes.
"Fuck's sake, old man. What do you think we were doing?"
There were snickers from the crowd, even as Lawrence flushed. Her father looked like he might burst a vein in his neck. Kat wasn't having any of it. Not anymore.
"I am a grown ass woman," she snapped. "And if anyone here wants to treat me as anything less than that then I will be happy to disabuse you of that notion. As if this shouldn't be reminder enough."
There were murmurs in agreement, even as she looked back down and refocused all of her attention on her lover. The blood-flow had stopped. Even though he was curled up in a way that suggested he'd taken a few motorcycle boots to the torso, Kat figured she had turned up before they got too serious.
He was looking up at her with clear eyes now, letting her run her fingers through his blood-damp hair. Dirt and blood streaked across his face. She couldn't help but smile back when he tried to smile for her then moaned when it hurt. He tried again, this time succeeding, though his bloodstained teeth almost made her want to cry. There was no mistaking the cheeky gleam in his eyes when he finally managed to speak in a low, hoarse whisper.
"Don't be too mad at them," he started, finding her hand and squeezing it in his. "I'd have beaten the crap out of me too."
Kat knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't stop herself from laughing.
Read on for an excerpt from the sequel: Burning Rubber
Burning Rubber - excerpt
"Stay still," a hoarse voice rasped in her ear. Kat grunted and tried to dig her elbow into her attacker's side. She kicked backwards into his shins with her heavy boots. Leaning back, he pulled her with him before slamming her back into the wall. She knocked the side of her head against the hard brick and moaned in pain. As she went limp, she barely registered the words that were directed at her.
"You need to go home, little girl. There ain't nothing for you down this road. You and your boy toy need to get back on your bikes and skedaddle back to Reno come morning. Understand?"
Kat made an affirmative noise. The throbbing in her head warred with her instinct to fight, but she knew she wasn't in a position to do that.
She nodded her head. Despite turning quickly when she felt her arms released, her attacker was gone when she looked up. Gingerly, she stretched her shoulders and walked out of the bar. The cold night air assaulted her senses and made her feel less dazed.
A yell made her look up. She saw Tony run across the parking lot towards her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her slightly.
"Where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"I was in the bar," she mumbled. His voice was too loud against the pounding in her head.
"I looked in the bar, I didn’t see you."
"Probably because some fucker was shoving me against a wall in the back." She pulled her hair back and showed him the graze on the side of her face where the brick scratched her. Tony swore violently.
"What happened?" The concern in his eyes combated with his obvious bloodlust. Kat felt a thrill of pleasure. She knew he would punish anyone who hurt her.
"He grabbed me. I couldn't see his face. He started telling me to go home and that we've got no business being here or some shit like that."
Tony ran a hand over his face and pulled her against his chest. "Looks like someone doesn't want us to get to El Paso."
Kat's reply was slightly muffled against the warmth of his chest. "Why do you say that?"
"Because someone's slashed our tires, too."
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Oil and Leather: A Biker Erotic Romance (Free Devils MC) Page 3
