Burn slid out of bed and helped her to her feet. Crash ran a bath for her, then they both kissed her and went back to the bedroom to put on some clothes and order their lunch. Burn made sure he pulled the bathroom door shut when a knock sounded at the door signaling their food had arrived.
As Willow dried off, she realized that in a way, all of her dreams had come true.
She had two princes instead of one, but they had rescued her in every way that mattered, and she hoped that she’d never disappoint them.
Chapter Six
Burn swung his leg over his bike and stared out into the night. Something didn’t feel right about this mission, but he knew he couldn’t talk Blitz out of it. The Pres had seemed a little ticked when Willow had shown him her mating marks, but Blitz had held up his end of the bargain and Willow was now under protection. Blaze had left Luna at home, which meant Willow was being guarded by three Prospects and Spark.
“I don’t like this,” Crash said, as he straddled his bike beside Burn.
“I don’t either, but we have no choice. Blitz is determined to wipe out the Double Deuces.”
King, their Road Captain, gave the signal to ride out. Crash and Burn fell in line, riding side by side like they always did, and followed their club brothers into the hills.
As the darkness closed in around them, and they approached the road that would lead them to the cabin and the Double Deuces, a sense of foreboding settled in Burn’s bones.
He whipped his bike onto the shoulder of the road, with Crash right beside him.
“What’s up?” Crash asked.
Burn watched their club brothers zoom past them, not even breaking stride.
Either they didn’t care that Crash and Burn had broken off, or they were just going to ignore it. Either way, Burn knew he couldn’t continue. Something was wrong and he wouldn’t ignore the burning feeling in his gut.
“We have to get back home.” Burn turned his bike. “I can’t explain it, but
something is wrong.”
“You feel it too?” Crash asked. “Let’s go make sure our mate is safe.”
Burn nodded and pulled out onto the road, heading back in the direction of the clubhouse. They broke every speed limit along the way. Pulling into the parking lot, the first thing they noticed was the open front door. Burn couldn’t think of a single reason it would be open, unless trouble had come to visit. Other than Spark’s bike, and the bikes belonging to the Prospects, the lot was empty. But that didn’t mean someone hadn’t parked elsewhere and walked onto the property, just like they’d done with the Double Deuces.
Burn drew his weapon and waited for Crash to do the same, but his brother
surprised him and began stripping, and then shifted into his tiger form. Probably not a bad idea. They crept through the front door and looked around. There wasn’t so much as even a Prospect in sight, but as they ventured further into the room, Burn caught sight of a Prospect laid out behind the bar, a trickle of blood on his temple from where he’d been knocked out.
There wasn’t time to see if he was still alive. There were two more Prospects, Spark, and Willow unaccounted for. As they checked room by room, they found more bodies. Only Spark and Willow were still missing by the time they reached the boardroom. Burn looked down at Crash, hoping his twin was prepared for anything.
He slammed the door open and jumped back just in time to miss the hail of
bullets that would have hit him if he’d still been standing in the doorway. Crash bounded into the room, letting out a roar as he knocked down a Double Deuce who was standing near the door. Burn slipped inside the room and began returning fire, winging one of the Double Deuces and hitting a second with a headshot.
His heart hammered in his chest as he stared down the man who held Willow
hostage. Spark was tied to a chair and looked plenty pissed. Crash made his way around the table and the asshole holding Willow didn’t seem to know where to look.
He held his gun out, pointed straight at Burn’s chest, his hand wobbling.
“Don’t come in closer,” the Double Deuce warned. “I’ll fucking kill her. Dumb bitch deserves to die anyway.”
“How do you figure that?” Burn asked. “If my brother hadn’t gone in to rescue her, your ass would have fried with the rest of your brothers. There’s no way in hell we’d have let any of you escape if we hadn’t been focused on retrieving her.”
The hand with the gun shook some more as Crash moved in closer. The muzzle
jerked down and pointed at the tiger, and Burn took that moment to communicate with Willow. She slammed her head back into the asshole’s head, stomped on his foot, and then shoved her elbow into his ribs. Burn had no idea where she’d seen that move, but he was thankful for it. She dropped to the floor when the hold around her loosened, and she crawled out of the way.
Now without a hostage, the Double Deuce in front of him began to sweat. The tiger crept in closer and Burn began edging toward him as well. The gun wavered back and forth between Crash and Burn, and when the dumbass wasn’t expecting it, Crash lunged at him, not only knocking the gun to the ground, but taking the piss ant down too.
“Don’t let him kill me!” the man wailed. Tears tracked his cheeks as Crash
roared, and the scent of urine filled the air.
“Jesus, Crash. You made him piss himself,” Burn said.
Willow stood and scurried around behind Burn, placing her hands on his waist.
He could let Crash have some fun with the ass, but he needed to get Willow to safety first. The last thing he wanted was for her to see more bloodshed. She’d been around it enough all her life. It was time for that to change. Besides, he doubted Crash would thank him for letting their mate see him tear a man apart, while in his beast form.
“Crash, when you’re done playing with the Double Deuce, why don’t you let
Spark go. I’m taking Willow out front. I think she needs some fresh air.”
Burn grabbed Willow’s hand and led her out of the room. They were only
halfway down the hall when the Double Deuce began to scream. Willow pressed closer to him and Burn stopped, swung her up into his arms, and carried her out the front door. When they stepped out onto the porch, he sat on the steps with her in his lap.
“I’m so sorry we weren’t here to protect you,” he said, smoothing her hair back.
“Can you ever forgive us?”
“It’s not your fault. You had to go. I’m just glad you returned when you did. He was whispering filthy things to me, telling me about the good time he was going to have before he killed me.”
“I hope Crash makes him suffer,” Burn muttered.
The roar of bikes filled the air and his club brothers pulled into the parking lot, each pausing before coming up the steps. Blitz pushed his way to the front and folded his arms over his chest.
“Something you want to share with us?” Blitz asked.
“I don’t know if the Prospects are alive or not. There are three dead Double Deuces inside the boardroom, assuming Crash has finished playing with the last one.
They came after Willow.”
Blitz looked at Willow then back at Burn. “We failed to protect your mate, and I apologize for that. If you knew something was wrong, you should have let us know.”
Burn snorted. “You were hell-bent on revenge, no way in hell you’d have come back to the clubhouse just because of my gut feeling. It’s why Crash and I pulled off to the side and the rest of you kept going. Those behind us had to have figured out what was going on. Even the Road Captain didn’t bat an eye. No one stopped us, so we came home to protect our mate.”
Blitz nodded. “And is this still your home?”
“We’re going to look for a house, and I’ve got a hotel room for us for a week. I think Willow needs a break from the M.C. And maybe Crash and I do too.”
“Fair enough. We’ll go inside and clean up. I’ll make sure Crash comes back. I take it those are his clothes?”
Blitz asked pointing to a pile on the porch.
“Yeah. He went tiger for this one. And I’m damn glad he did.”
Blitz looked at Willow and held out his hand. “I’m sorry I doubted you, that I didn’t believe your story. If I hadn’t been so pigheaded, then none of this would have happened. If I’d ever thought you were truly in danger, I wouldn’t have kept your mates from you. I hope you accept my apology and are willing to come hang out with us sometime.”
“I’d like that,” Willow said. “But Burn is right. I need a break, even if it’s just for a week.”
Burn cuddled Willow close as his club brothers trooped past them and into the clubhouse. It wasn’t long before Crash joined them, quickly pulling on his clothes. The lack of blood and damp hair told Burn that his twin had felt the need to shower before seeing their mate. It made him wonder just how bloody things had gotten in the boardroom, but he wasn’t going to ask.
Crash took Willow’s hand and pulled her up into his arms. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine now that the two of you are here. I was scared, and I knew the two of you had gone with everyone else.”
“We’ll always come for you,” Burn said, rising to his feet. “Now, what do you say we get out of there?”
Willow’s stomach rumbled. “I never got a chance to eat the burger you had
asked the Prospect to make for me. Do you think we could pick something up on the way back to the hotel room? I’m not picky. Anything will be fine.”
Crash mumbled something under his breath and Burn elbowed him. “She’s been
through a trauma, dickhead. Besides, you know as well as I do that she’s still sore from earlier. No more playing in the bedroom until she’s healed.”
“As long as I get to sleep with her cuddled between us, I’m fine with that,” Crash said. “I’m just feeling the effects of my shift.”
Willow frowned. “What effects?”
“It makes us horny,” Burn said with a grin. “But no worries, baby, we don’t expect anything from you for a few days. Right now, we just want to take care of you.”
Her cheeks flushed a becoming pink and Burn couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her.
He was every bit as anxious as Crash to claim her again, but he could be patient. It was more important to feed her and get her settled for the night than to slake his lust. With one bite, she had become his entire world, and he knew Crash felt the same.
“There’s something I should tell you,” Willow said. “When that man had me by the throat, when I thought I was going to die, all I could think was that I wanted to be back with the two of you. I’m going to do my best to be a good mate to you both, and I think a good start would be some self-defense lessons. I don’t want to ever put the two of you in danger again just because I don’t know how to defend myself.”
Crash kissed her cheek. “Honey, we’ll get started on that first thing tomorrow if you want. But right now…” He shared a look with Burn.
“Right now, we’re going to pick up some fried chicken and have a picnic in bed while we watch movies all night. Sound good?” Burn asked.
“It sounds perfect.”
Crash and Burn cuddled her between them.
“Every night with you is perfect,” Burn said. “You’re everything to us, Willow.
And we’re going to spend the rest of our lives spoiling you and showing you just how much you mean to us.”
“I think I can get used to that,” she said softly, then went on tiptoe to kiss first him then Crash.
As they mounted their bikes, and Willow wrapped her arms around Burn’s
waist, he knew this was exactly where he belonged—with his brother by his side and their woman wrapped around him. It all might have started with an act of revenge, and a bit of arson, but he was glad Crash had heard Willow’s screams last night. Because now they’d get to spend the rest of their lives with an incredible woman who would probably surprise them over and over again. The “L” word was on the tip of his tongue, but it was too soon, and he didn’t want to frighten her, or make her feel like she had to say it back. They would have the rest of their lives together—plenty of time to say what needed to be said.
Thank you for reading Crash & Burn! I hope you enjoyed the story. If you’d like to find out about the next book in the series, and other releases, please take a moment to sign up for my Newsletter!
About the Author
What happens when you get two artistic romantics together? An
impulsive marriage proposal – and a woman who says yes (on the first
date)! While Jessica’s husband may not have intended for the words
“marry me” to pop out on their first date, she surprised him even more by saying yes! That was in 2000 and they’re hoping for many more years together.
Jessica Coulter Smith began writing at an early age, but it wasn’t until 2008 that someone convinced her to have one of her stories published. When she received her acceptance letter in August 2008, it set her on an incredible journey, one she hopes will never end. In 2010, she decided to stay home with the kids and write full-time. It’s a decision she hasn’t regretted, and one that will hopefully result in many more stories to come.
Jessica loves to interact with her readers on Facebook and Twitter! But if you send her a friend request, be prepared for cute kitty pictures and kids getting into mischief, as well as updates on her writing.
Visit her website: http://www.jessicacoultersmith.com
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