Strike Fast: Prequal (Snakes Henchmen MC)

by Alivia Grayson

  Maybe I should have pulled on pants before we left the house. I’m still in my PJ shorts, I have a jacket on, and my boots, but my legs are bare. I’m not out to impress anyone, so why should I care?

  “I guess I missed this place more than I realized. I missed my friends, my house, the park...”

  “The park?” She laughs with a turn of her head.

  Yeah, it’s funny to her. The park was never much to look at, but I enjoyed playing there with my friends – Jett and Tank – until the very last minute. Until we were almost late home each time.

  We never were though. We always made it home with seconds to spare. That’s how fast Jett and Tank rode their bicycles with me on the back of either one.

  We had some great times when we were kids, my best friends through and through, always there for me, and I’ll always love them both.

  “Yes, the park. I had fun in that park with Tate and Haiden.”

  “Jett and Tank,” She sniggers. “Don’t go forgetting that they’re big, bad bikers now.”

  I roll my eyes playfully. “Like I could forget.”

  “Now, what are two pretty little things like you doing out here and all alone?”

  Ruth pulls me closer to her side. The man in front of us, the tall, scrawny, apparent drug addict is looking us up and down. I know what he’s going to do, he’s going to try and rob us. He won’t get anything from us. I didn’t even bring my phone out with me, stupidly.

  Why the hell didn’t I bring my phone with me?

  “We’re just taking a walk. We’ll be on our way now.” I pull Ruth to the right, trying to step around him, but he blocks the way. I step to the left, but he follows.

  I sigh to myself. This isn’t going to end well.

  “Hand over the money, and I won’t hurt you.”

  “We don’t have any money!”

  “It’s okay, Ruth.” I yank her behind me, yelling in fear won’t change the outcome of this. Using our heads will. “We have nothing worth stealing. We just came out for a walk.”

  He pulls a knife from the inside of his jacket and waves it in front of my face. Great, just what I need. I swallow hard. “Then you’ll take me to your place and give me what I want, or I’ll cut you bitches up!”

  “We won’t do that. We’re not showing you where we live. We have nothing to give you, so put the knife down before the police arrive.”

  “The police ain’t comin’, bitch. Ain’t no one around to call ‘em.” He steps closer. I step back taking Ruth with me.

  “Ruth,” I whisper toward her without taking my eyes off the guy. He’s filthy, twitching, jumpy, eyes red and itchy. He needs a hit. “Run. Run as fast as you can back to the apartment. Get my phone and call Shepard.”

  “No, I can’t leave you.” She’s frightened, so am I, but I’m not the kind of girl who will roll over and cry. Hell, fucking no!

  “Go!” I scream, she pulls away and runs. Good. “I don’t know what you think will happen if you use that knife on me, but I promise you it won’t end well for you.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He laughs. He’s right in front of me. I can smell the musky scent of sweat on his filthy clothes. He leans into me. I’m trying everything not to breathe in. I might puke if I do. Ruth should have gotten back to Denise’s by now. Especially running, it isn’t that far away. I just hope she’s managed to call Shepard. Not that I think for one-second he’ll make it here in time to stop this idiot doing something to me, but I won’t let him beat me, I’ll fight as hard as I can to stop him. “Ain’t nobody around to save you, little girl.” He sniffs loudly, dragging in my scent. I close my eyes and fold my arms around my body to protect myself.

  All a girl can do against a druggie trying to rob them is stand their ground. He may well cut me with that knife of his, but I won’t go down without a fight. You can believe that.

  “Back off! I’m warning you...” Is all I get out of my mouth before he’s ripped away from me. I mean literally ripped away from me, his head connecting with the wall beside us, a sickening crunching sound following.

  My heart is racing. I have so much adrenaline rushing through my body that my toes are tingling, the backs of my thighs are tight with it.

  “Fuckin’ cunt!” I clasp my hands over my mouth. Kicks, punches, head slamming against brick again and again. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Never. I don’t even understand where he came from; I didn’t hear his bike, but that could have been the fear pounding in my ear that deafened me to it.

  He repeatedly kicks the guy in the ribs, he’s no longer moving, but Stryker isn’t stopping. Why isn’t he stopping? He’s going to kill the guy!

  “Stryker, stop!” I yell, but I can’t move, I’m frozen to the spot.

  The sound of bike engines has me turning my head. Ruth called them, thank God. I don’t know how they got here so fast, and I don’t really care, I’m just glad they’re here.

  Shepard, BlackJack, and Roman dismount their bikes. Roman and Jack rush toward Stryker. I rush Shepard before he can move. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my head. “It’s okay, Sunflower; I’m here.”

  “You have to stop Stryker. He’s going to kill that guy!”

  “Good,” I narrow my eyes. He takes my arms and stands me aside. “He’s doing exactly what I told him to do.”

  What the hell? I don’t understand!

  How could he have told Stryker anything?

  Ruth had time to call Shepard, but he couldn’t have got here this quickly unless he wasn’t far away, to begin with, but Stryker? I don’t fucking understand!

  Chapter Seven

  Stryker

  I pounded that cunt into the damn concrete! If Roman hadn’t pulled me away, there’d be nothing left of him. Not that he’s still breathing cunt is long since dead.

  When Shepard took a call from Coral’s phone from her frightened friend, telling him in the most panicked voice that Coral was in trouble, he had me, Roman, and BlackJack all follow him. We were just around the corner at a bar, already on our bikes about to make our way back to the clubhouse. I took the fuck off and arrived minutes before them. I had to get to Coral, nothing else mattered to me right then.

  Cunt was so close to Coral. I honestly thought he’d hurt her. My heart was in my damn throat. Ain’t no way I’d stand by and watch a man hurt any woman, remember it enough from when I was a kid to know the damage it does. However, this is Coral, the woman who should be mine. There is no one alive who’d be that way long should they hurt her.

  Don’t fuckin’ ask me why I feel that way about her; I can’t explain it. Trust me I’ve tried to explain it to myself a million times, ain’t no answer I can come up with other than she’s forcing her way into my heart. This is dangerous.

  Back to the asshole. I grabbed him and beat the hell out of him, or the life depending on how you look at it. There ain’t nobody alive gonna hurt my girl and live.

  My girl?

  Where the fuck did that come from? I don't even know her, I’ve spent the past month avoiding her. Not that it’s been easy, it hasn’t. I can't get her out of my head, no matter what I do.

  There’s something about her that captivates me. I look at her sometimes, and all I see is my girl. She should be mine. I honestly don’t know why, but I know she has to be.

  I don’t know yet how the hell I’m going to do this, how I can possibly make Shepard understand why I want this. I know I shouldn’t want this, she's forbidden fruit. Ain’t that just sod’s law? Wanting what you can’t have always tasted so much better. I bet she tastes so fucking sweet I’ll never get enough.

  No matter what I have to do, I’ll make her mine. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want Coral. I know the second I walk into a room if she's there. The air becomes too warm. I can smell her perfume before I even see her. The second I do see her, my heart pounds wildly in my chest. She smiles at me each time, such a sweet smile that tells me she wants nothing more than for me to just talk to her, and what do I do? I
ignore her like she's got the damn bubonic plague.

  I thought I could push past this. I thought I could ignore her and what I’m feeling for her. I was doing well until I saw the junkie about to attack my girl tonight.

  I can’t go on like this. I don’t know what Coral has done to me, but I need her. I’ve never needed anyone in my life before. She walks in, and I’m fucked!

  I’ll make Shepard understand one way or another that I want Coral for my own, and not just to fuck her. Don’t ask me why I want that when I’ve never even thought about it before, but I can’t deny that I see a future for us, a good one.

  How stupid do I sound?

  I’m a biker, a low down, dirty fuckin’ biker. We’re supposed to fuck bitches and move on to the next one before the day’s out. That has never been me, I’ve always been the loner.

  Yeah, I’ve fucked women before and walked away. Never gave one the idea that there could ever be anything more between us. I don’t have any family of my own. Yeah, I’ve got BlackJack and his family, but they aren’t really mine. I’ve got the club, the brother’s, but none are really mine. I’m loyal, fierce, hardworking, but shit, don’t I deserve someone to love me for who the fuck I am?

  I don’t even know what the hell love is. No one has ever loved me, I’ve never loved anyone else. Yeah, I want to fuck Coral, who in their mind wouldn’t? She's beauty personified, but I want more. I’ve never wanted more. However, I want it with her. Fuck, do I ever.

  “That’s enough, brother,” Roman pulls me away from the sack of crap on the floor. I’ve literally beat him to death. Good.

  I turn to face Shepard, he’s smirking at me. Fucker knows how dangerous I can be. I’m a quiet guy, but I’m a fuckin’ dangerous one, one of the more dangerous men in the MC. I have fuck all in my life but my club, and I will do anything for them. No matter what that might be.

  My eyes lock with Coral’s, she’s shaking, eyes wide. I’ve frightened her, and as much as I hate that, she needs to get used to it, this is who I am. I did this for her!

  “Get this mess cleaned up. I’m gonna make sure Coral gets home. Once you’re done, you can go home.”

  Shepard doesn’t wait for a reply, he’s already on his bike, Coral on the back, and he’s gone.

  Roman and I dispose of the body. The usual place in the woods. Thrown in a damn hole and left for the wildlife to feast upon. Like anyone will give a shit that he’s even gone. Cunt looked homeless. Probably didn’t even have any family, or maybe he did. I couldn’t give a shit either way.

  “You all right, brother? You seem really pissed.”

  I stab the spade in the dirt, picking a good heap up and throwing it on the makeshift grave. “He could have really hurt her.”

  “I know that, but he didn’t. Shepard’s pleased with you, you know what Coral means to him.” I grunt and hand him the spade. He shoves his and mine in the underground bunker we have not far from where we bury shitheads like the one we just put in the ground. “She’s had a shit life. Shepard would’ve killed half the damn state if Coral had been hurt tonight.”

  “Yeah. What’s that all about?” Shepard’s a good guy, but his need to protect this girl is bordering on crazy.

  “He’s known her most of her life. He’s seen the things that girl went through, so have I.” I narrow my eyes, pulling off my leather gloves and stuffing ‘em in my back pocket. “Ain’t my place to give you any info, brother. That’s her story to tell. All I will tell you is, she went through hell as a kid. I know what you’ve got in mind.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” He stands taller. “Just be careful, Stryker. You mess with her heart, ain’t no one will save you. Shepard will tear you limb from limb.”

  “Noted.” I climb on my bike. “I’m goin’ home. I need to shower this shit off my body. Don’t wanna wake the boys.” Bullshit. I’ve never once woken them up coming in late. I promised Taylor I’d stay over there tonight, promised to take the boys fishing early in the morning. However, I don’t want to go to BlackJack’s because I want to see Coral, I need to know she’s okay. I’ll still pick the boys up early enough for fishing. I’d never let them down.

  “Just remember what I said.”

  I nod, rev my engine, and gun it back to my place.

  I’m showered, changed, and outside Coral’s door in twenty-five minutes. It’s fucking late, and I shouldn’t be here, she’s probably asleep, safe in her bed, but fuck if I don’t want to bang the damn door down.

  The streets are quiet tonight. Quiet is good. Chaos is better. Ain’t nothin’ like being in the thick of things. The heart of a fight is where you’ll always find me.

  This is a fight of a new kind for me. Never had to fight for a woman in my life. That’s not me being cocky, that’s me being honest. Women throw themselves at people like me, bikers. It’s clichéd but true.

  It’s also true that I’ve never thought about a woman this much in my life, never closed my eyes and seen her there beside me every day for the rest of our lives. The way I feel about her is scaring the shit out of me. I’m not ashamed to admit it. The thoughts of her beautiful blue eyes staring into mine right before I kiss the shit out of her has me closing my eyes. My hand is frozen right before knocking her door.

  I drop my hand and roll my shoulders, taking a lungful of fresh air, right as the damn door flies open. My eyes shoot open, landing on the blonde bombshell now staring at me with a smirk on her face. She looks wide awake. She also looks so fucking beautiful in a pair of PJ shorts and a cami top, both pink in color, nothing on her feet, blonde hair piled high on her head, tied in a bun, not a lick of makeup on her gorgeous face. She smells like body-wash. She must have showered away the shit of the night from her body not so long ago.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “More to the point, what are you doing answering the door at this hour? How did you even know anyone was out here?”

  She eyes me, arms folded around her chest, and I’d be a damn liar if I said I’m not struggling to keep my eyes on her face and not her tits. They're not huge – so what if I’ve looked before now? – however, they’re a nice handful. “I heard your bike, looked out the window and saw you standing out here. Were you going to stand out here all night?"

  “I just wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened. Realized it was late, so I was just about to leave.”

  “Don’t go.” I narrow my eyes a little. She bites her lower lip. My little bird. “I mean, as you’re already here, why don’t you come in for coffee?”

  Coffee. Like I want coffee right now. However, she does, and that’s all that matters to me.

  I follow her inside. The place is homey enough, doesn’t suit her, however. Not this apparent sluts pad. Denise, Coral’s friend and obvious slut – yeah, I went there – is now seeing Ice. They suit each other, will probably fuck each other right up, but whatever. Pair of assholes.

  “I’ll just put the coffee on.” She isn’t putting any coffee on. Fuck the damn coffee. If she really believes I came in here to drink fuckin’ coffee, she’s crazy.

  I grab her arm and swing her around to face me, a little yelp leaving her lips, her hands pressed against my chest. The fact her chest is rising and falling hard isn’t lost on me. It draws a smirk from my lips when her eyes lock on my mouth, tongue wetting her plush lips.

  Fuck, I want her so damn badly.

  “Stryker?”

  “Mark. My name is Mark.”

  Her eyes finally find mine. “Mark.” She tests my name on her tongue. I like the way it sounds.

  “You got any idea how hard this is for me? Trying to fight this attraction between us every damn day is driving me nuts, Coral.”

  Her throat moves up and down as she swallows hard. God, she’s beautiful. Too beautiful for a man like me, but I ain’t no dumb fuck who’s gonna stand here and tell you that I won’t make this woman mine just because I’m fucked up, or because I don’t know what the hell love is. I’m a man, not
a fucking alien.

  Everyone on this plant experiences love at least once in their life, no matter where that love comes from. Just ‘cause I ain’t never had it don’t mean I'll never feel it.

  Taylor, BlackJack, the kids, they’ve shown me love in some form, I guess. Parental, sibling love, and I’d be a liar if I said I don’t care for them because the fucking Lord knows I’d kill and die for them anytime it was required of me.

  However, this woman in front of me could show me how to love, I know it deep down. I don’t know much about her, but I know I want to protect her from everything bad in this world, even though I know that isn’t possible short of locking her up in a damn tower like Rapunzel.

  I'd never want to cage this beautiful creature. I want her to fly free, my little bird. There is nothing I won’t do for her. Ain’t nothing I won’t do to make her mine. Is she worth risking a bullet through the head for? Yeah, I really think she is. I can’t go on just dreaming about her. For my own sanity’s fuckin’ sake, I need to get her out of my system or make her mine.

  I can’t even stop my eyes from closing as she strokes my face with her little hand. “What’s going on, Stryker? For you to have told me your real name – because I know the men in your club don’t unless the girl is their old lady – you must...”

  I cut her the fuck off with a kiss that would light the fucking skies! Her little hands are in my hair. I have one around the back of her head, the other around her waist holding her flush against my big body. I feel like I’m holding a doll, but fuck if this doesn’t feel right. Ain’t nothin’ ever felt this right before. No other woman could hold a candle to Coral.

  I swallow her moans like a fine wine. I grab her ass and push my erection against her. She’s shamelessly rubbing against me so hard she’ll get us both off before I’ve even got her out of her clothes!

  I spin her around and press her against the wall behind her, hands above her head. “I can’t get you out of my head, Coral. I’ve tried, believe me, I’ve fuckin’ tried, but I’m just a man, dammit.”