Beyond the Cut

by Sarah Castille

  His eyes glittered in the setting sun, his body quivering with unspent adrenaline. “If you’re gonna ride with a biker, you’re gonna have to suck it up. The man is the boss. And you’re gonna have to learn how to shoot in a straight fucking line.”

  “I did the biker thing,” she spat out. “You saw how that turned out. I don’t know why I got on the back of your bike, but I’m sorry I did. I should have just taken the bus.” Her voice rose in pitch as she struggled against the conflicting needs to slap some sense into his thick, chauvinistic skull, and to tear off his clothes and soothe the ache between her thighs.

  “Jesus Christ.” Cade whirled around and thudded his boot into the brick wall of the store. “Don’t be so damn difficult. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

  “Difficult? I don’t spend my time taking shooting lessons because I don’t want to shoot anyone. And this ride was a onetime thing. I’ve never been in position to act against Jimmy before, much less run him out of town. But it wasn’t an invitation to be bossed around.”

  Damn it felt good to shout and stand up for herself without being afraid of the repercussions. Jimmy would have beaten her for much, much less. But Cade stared at her, feral hunger in his gaze, burning her with its intensity.

  Then he turned and walked away.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Wound up too tight,” he muttered. “And you … that fire … those green eyes … your hair wild around your shoulders … fucking beautiful when you’re angry … too damn hot. Need to cool off.”

  Caught in a maelstrom of emotion, adrenaline, and lust, Dawn heaved in a breath. “Cade Raider Tyson,” she shouted. “You get back here and fuck me right now.”

  He stopped.

  He turned.

  And in less than five seconds he had his hand twined through her hair, his body pressed against her, his thick thigh between her legs, and his tongue down her throat.

  She loved that about him. No questions. No second-guessing. No uncertainty. She wanted him and he was with her all the way.

  “You don’t know what you’ve unleashed, sweetheart.” He sank his teeth into the sensitive spot between her neck and her shoulder and Dawn shuddered at the exquisite sensation.

  “Yes, I do.”

  He yanked open her jeans and shoved her up against the cold, brick wall, his face almost fully obscured by the lengthening shadows of the forest behind him. “Not gonna be gentle. Not gonna take my time. Need you so bad, I’m gonna fuck you hard and fast, so you’d better be ready for me.”

  “If I wasn’t ready for you, Cade, I wouldn’t have asked.” She eased her jeans down over her hips, toeing off her boot to slide one leg free. God, if anyone came out here … But why would they? The shop was isolated and, thankfully, closed.

  Cade pulled a condom from his back pocket and shoved down his jeans. “Didn’t hear much asking. Heard a sexy girl telling me she wanted my cock.”

  “I didn’t…”

  He grabbed her hair, tugged her head back, and cut her off with a kiss. Fierce. Demanding. Possessive. His tongue delved into her mouth and she tangled it with her own, savoring his taste.

  With a low growl, he pulled away and sheathed himself, then slid his hands over her ass, cupping her cheeks as he lifted her against him.

  “Open for me, sexy girl.”

  Dawn couldn’t contain the moan that escaped her lips, deep, hungry, and full of need. She’d been with other men since Cade, but none was as rough, driving her past all restraint to touch the wild side she had buried long ago.

  “Seems you can’t help being bossy.” She nuzzled his jaw, prickly with a five o’clock shadow, and then braced herself against his shoulders to wrap her legs around his hips.

  “Only ’cause I know you secretly like it.” Cade slicked a finger through her folds and groaned. “So wet and ready for me.”

  “It’s the whole vibrating motorcycle, chasing bad guys, pressing up against you, dangerous speed, shooting at people, shouting at me, being sweet, and fucking me in a parking lot thing. It turns me on.”

  Cade growled his appreciation. “You were fucking made for me, sweetheart.”

  “It’s just chemistry.” She buried her face in his neck, breathing in his masculine scent, laced with leather and crisp mountain air.

  “Fuck, yeah.” He yanked her down, his cock thrusting deep inside her slick, wet heat. Dawn groaned as he filled her. So hard. So thick. So … perfect.

  His fingers tightened on her ass and Dawn trembled. Cade had no limits in the pursuit of sexual pleasure, and after two nights with him neither did she.

  “You promised me hard and fast.”

  “Christ. You’re killing me.” Cade gripped her hips and hammered into her with a primal intensity that took her breath away. Passion burned between them. Her head smacked against the brick wall, and the rough mortar dug into her back, but she wouldn’t have traded this moment for anything. Only Cade could drive her wild.

  “Come for me. I wanna hear you.” He slid a thick finger between them to stroke over her clit, and her arousal peaked. She screamed as her orgasm ripped through her body, a pleasure so intense she could only hang on for the ride.

  Cade pounded into her, fingers digging into her skin. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he rode out her orgasm, prolonging her pleasure, before his body finally tensed and he came with a groan. His muscles bunching beneath her hands, cock pulsing inside her. Then he fell forward, cradling her against him with one arm, bracing himself against the wall with the other.

  He held her as they came down, chests heaving together, hearts pounding in unison. Then he released her, and they straightened their clothes in comfortable silence.

  “Maybe sometimes it’s okay if you’re bossy,” Dawn murmured as he fastened his belt. “Especially if it means chasing after Jimmy and having hot sex in a parking lot.”

  “Good to know.” His mouth quirked at the corners, and then he stilled.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Someone’s behind us.”

  He leaned down and kissed her slowly, reverently, lingering, as if they were alone, while he reached between them and drew his gun from its holster.

  “Close your eyes, sweetheart,” he whispered. And then in one smooth move Cade spun around, pushed her behind his back, and fired.

  SEVEN

  What’s mine is mine and I shall strive to protect it to the best of my ability.

  SINNER’S TRIBE CREED

  “I can’t fucking believe you got into a high-speed chase only three blocks from the police station. Or that you fucking shot at the Brethren on the highway.” Jagger glared at Cade as they stretched out on the rocky outcropping just above the valley where Rizzoli’s truck full of weapons was due to cross at any moment. “Or that I had to hear about it on the fucking news.”

  “I was just trying to run them outta town. Dawn grabbed my gun and started shooting. Nothing I could do about it. I was going so fast it woulda been dangerous to let go.” He looked over at Jagger and grinned. “Safety first. And there was nothing stopping her from taking Mad Dog out except for the fact she can’t shoot for shit.”

  “Jesus Christ. Someone put a bullet in his head.” Jagger turned to face him. “You think I’m stupid?”

  “Calm the fuck down,” Zane muttered from behind them. “Sound echoes in this valley. We don’t want to tip them off. The point of an ambush is to stay hidden until the last moment.”

  “You would know, since you live in the fucking shadows.” Cade snorted when Zane scowled. Nothing he liked better than riling Zane up. The guy was wound up too damn tight. Just once he wanted to make the VP laugh.

  Cade’s dad hadn’t had much of a sense of humor, either. But on the good days, when he was kind to Cade’s mom, Cade would try to make him laugh with practical jokes he bought from the corner store with the money he saved from his paper route. He’d felt an incredible sense of achievement when he made his dad smile or, even better, ruffle his hair and toss him
a compliment the way he tossed their dog, Selma, a bone.

  “At least I do something useful in the darkness,” Zane shot back. “I’m not holed up in bed banging Arianne’s friend. You do to her what you do to your other women, and Arianne’s gonna give you a belly full of lead.”

  “How about a little respect?” Cade snapped. “She’s my girl.”

  “Your girl?” Jagger’s voice cracked through the stillness.

  “Yeah.” Cade checked his weapon, an M107 .50—caliber long-range sniper rifle, in the stunned silence, unwilling to share his rationale for his split—second decision to involve Dawn in the chase and his even more uncharacteristic decision to claim her in the parking lot. He barely understood it himself. But after listening to her story in the police station, and then looking down at her beautiful, bruised face in the alley while her attacker hovered nearby, he’d been seized with an utterly overwhelming need to protect and avenge her. And that meant keeping her close, taking her with him, and then claiming her in the most primitive way.

  Mine.

  “You have a girl? What does that mean in Cade-speak?” Zane’s incredulous voice grated on him even more than Jagger’s curious stare. “Just one?”

  “Lotsa brothers got just one girl. Why not me?”

  “’Cause you’re you,” Gunner said. “Voted ‘Least Likely Ever to Settle Down’ five years in a row. Winner of the ‘Most Sweet Butts in the Bed at One Time’ prize. ‘Biker Manwhore of the Year.’ Author of ‘How to Get Laid in Less than Thirty Seconds and Leave Your Friend Drinking Alone at the Bar.’ The man who researched beds big enough for six. The list goes on.”

  “And I’ll be taking those prizes home again this year.” Cade bristled. “It’s not like I’m making her an old lady. Not interested in that level of commitment, or becoming an old man. Hell, I almost got her killed when we stopped at Big Bill’s bike shop and Big Bill came around the corner with a shotgun.”

  “I can fucking imagine what you were doing at Big Bill’s at that time of night.” Gunner snorted a laugh. “How much did you have to pay him off?”

  “Five hundred.”

  And it had been worth every penny.

  Laughter echoed around him, dying quickly when Shaggy whistled to let them know the convoy had entered the valley.

  “You’re fucking obsessed with this chick.” Zane called it straight as he always did. “She dumped you a year ago, and still you still warned the brothers away. You meet her again and suddenly she’s your girl? Just get over her, and be glad she didn’t rip out your fucking heart, rub it in salt, and stomp it into the ground while she fucked every other damn guy on the planet.”

  “Christ. He’s at it again.” Gunner sighed. “Sometimes I want to hunt down the bitch who hurt Zane so bad just to put him out of his misery.”

  Cade rolled to his side and drew his pistol, aiming it at Zane’s chest, fighting back an unexpected burst of anger. “I’ll put him out of his misery now.”

  Zane drew his own weapon, and adrenaline surged through Cade’s veins. This wasn’t about sex. He didn’t just want Dawn in his bed; he wanted more. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to hold her and keep her safe. His want was a craving, an addiction that had only grown worse since he’d met her again.

  “Stand down, brothers.” Jagger barked. “Save it for the Jacks.”

  Cade lowered his weapon and Zane did the same.

  “Fucking bastard,” Zane muttered.

  “Come here and say that.” Cade gestured Zane forward, but as he did, he caught the flash of headlights on the road below. “They’re here.”

  All their differences vanished in a heartbeat, and they took up their positions. Cade, Zane, and Jagger were on point. Shaggy, T-Rex, Tank, and Gunner had their backs. They’d ambushed protection runs before and everyone knew what to do.

  The first Jack went down under Zane’s gun, but before Cade could get a clear shot at the Jack in the lead, a bullet pinged off the rock near Jagger’s head.

  “Fuck. They’ve seen us.”

  “Scouts,” T-Rex shouted. “They’re off to the side. Two Jacks and a civilian.”

  Another bullet thudded into the dirt only two feet from where Jagger was now crouched and ready to run for cover.

  “They’re after Jagger.” Cade jumped to his feet and moved between Jagger and the shooter. “Zane. You and Gunner get him out of here. Tank, T-Rex, and I will cover.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Jagger growled. “I’m not running away from the fucking Jacks. Bring them on.”

  “The Sinners need their president.” Cade kept low and followed Jagger behind the cover of a large rock at the edge of the outcropping. “Especially now. Without you…”

  “They’ll have you,” Jagger said, checking his clip. “You can lead them. I trust you.”

  Cade swallowed past the lump in his throat. Jagger’s faith had pulled him out of a nightmare and into a world of friendship, honor, loyalty, and brotherhood. He’d helped Cade bury the past and look to a new future where he had something to live for beyond the bottom of a bottle and a mountain of guilt. But he had no desire to replace a great leader and a true friend.

  “You’re making it damn hard to protect you. Go, or I’ll shoot you myself.”

  “When your men were falling around you in that desert, did you run away?” Jagger fired a shot around the side of the rock and someone screamed. “Were you the last man standing because you were right where you wanted to be—with your men—or because you were hiding and watching them die?”

  Cade gritted his teeth against a memory that had almost destroyed him. He’d lived through the ambush only because the slaughter had been so sudden and so violent that his men had fallen dead on top of him, ironically saving his life. Even now the guilt lingered. “Fuck you.”

  “Fuck you back. Don’t expect me to be any less of a man than you were. And don’t even consider fighting the Jacks without me by your side.” He lifted his hand and Cade did the same, their knuckles bumping as fists collided.

  “To the end,” Jagger said.

  “To the end and back.”

  Jagger ducked a bullet and then returned fire. “You planning to come back from the dead?”

  “I’m not planning to die until I’m an old man.”

  * * *

  It was a little after seven when Dawn arrived at Banks Bar. She’d stayed late at the florist shop, helping her boss get the bouquets ready for a weekend wedding, and then missed her bus when she stopped to grab a snack from a nearby deli. She stuffed the sandwich in her mouth and grabbed her apron from the hook in the stockroom, hoping Banks wouldn’t be around. She had never been late before and she didn’t want to blemish her perfect record.

  “That supposed to be your dinner?” Banks emerged from the parking lot with a crate of bottles in his hands.

  Damn. Dawn nodded, her mouth too full of chicken salad to speak.

  “Not very healthy, always eatin’ on the go. You need to sit down, relax, and enjoy your meals. Better for digestion.”

  “No time,” she muttered through a mouthful of bread. “Not really a sit-down-and-relax kinda girl. I think they call me an A-plus personality.”

  Banks pulled a bottle from the crate and placed it on the stock shelf. “You’re killing yourself to feed Shelly-Ann’s shopping habit. Those girls of yours should be livin’ in style with the amount of money you’re giving their aunt.”

  “One day,” she said. “I haven’t lost hope yet. I reported the assault to the police this time and Deputy Benson thinks there’s a good chance they’ll be able to put Jimmy behind bars. My lawyer says that kind of offense will likely be enough to convince an appeals judge to overturn the custody order.”

  “You want him outta the picture, you just say the word.” Banks shelved another bottle. “I got friends who can make him disappear.”

  So did she, but she wasn’t about to share. “Then you’ll have the Devil’s Brethren hunting you for the rest of your life.” Dawn hand
ed him another bottle. “My fight, Banks, and I’ll deal with it my way. But I appreciate the offer. Always nice to know I have friends who are prepared to kill for me.”

  He gave her a rare Banks grin. “Anytime.”

  The bar was hopping by the time she hit the floor. She counted at least a dozen Sinners scattered throughout the room, most of whom she didn’t know. Arianne waved to her from behind the counter and Rob, the bouncer, nodded a greeting. Dawn picked up her tray and headed to a table of rowdy biker wannabes in the corner, looking utterly ridiculous in their TV biker show cuts.

  After one minute of putting up with their fake biker talk, she signaled to Rob to keep an eye on them. Invariably, they would get drunk and approach one of the real bikers in the bar. If they were lucky, they would get turfed out. If they picked the wrong bikers or really pissed someone off, they would be hauled outside and beaten half to death; their vehicles would be trashed, their money stolen, and she would be mopping up blood and calling for a bevy of ambulances to take them to the hospital.

  By the time she filled their drink orders, the place was full, every seat taken, and it was standing room only at the bar. Dawn worked as quickly as she could, hoping to pick up enough tips to keep Shelly-Ann quiet, at least for the rest of the week. The Pretty Reckless’s “Messed Up World” blasted through the speakers and she returned to the bar from an umpteenth trip across the floor only to find Deputy Benson sitting at the counter.

  “Hey, Doug. What are you doing in the wrong end of town?”

  His crisp dark-blue jeans, hand-tooled leather belt, cowboy boots, and button-down denim shirt made him look more like a country singer than a law enforcement officer, but he greeted her with his usual firm handshake.

  “I pulled the CCTV tapes from the night Jimmy attacked you and stopped by to check the positioning of the cameras at the bus stop. Thirsty work staring at hidden cameras, so I thought I’d come in for a quick drink before I went home.”

  Arianne pulled his beer and Dawn chatted with him every time she hit the bar with a new order. He seemed in no hurry to get home and was content to talk in abruptly interrupted snippets, with Arianne pulling up the slack when Dawn was serving tables.