by C. M. Owens
ADRENALINE RUSH
Death Chasers MC Series #4
By USA Today Bestselling Author
C.M. Owens
Title Page
CONTENTS
copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Author Note
Where to Find Me
Copyright 2018 by C.M. Owens
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without express written permission of the author. This eBook is licensed for your enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
The story in this book is the property of the author, in all media both physical and digital. No one, except the owner of this property, may reproduce, copy or publish in any medium any individual story or part of this novel without the expressed permission of the author of this work.
Prologue
7 years ago...
KARA
“Would you ever just go away with me?” I ask Rush, lifting my head up from his chest just enough to peer into his eyes.
“Where? And for how long?” he asks around a yawn, his arm fastening tighter around my waist.
Pop still has a week left on a long ride. As a prospect, Rush isn’t allowed to go on the big rides with them yet, since he still has to earn his place. And part of earning that place is keeping the warehouse clean, guarded, and stocked in their absence.
Only a few others who aren’t really trusted yet are still here. However, there are so few, that Rush and I have been able to actually spend real time together without having to sneak around so hard.
My father would kill him, and my brother may decide to do the same. Never can tell with Drex. He’d either not care at all, or he might kill Rush just for the disrespectful approach. Depends on his mood.
My father would do it just to hurt me. No doubt about that.
Rush doesn’t think that though. He thinks we’re being overly cautious.
Because he thinks he’s one of them, and he’s not. He’s just too naïve to see it.
“I can get money out of the account, and we can go to Bali or something just as exotic and sexy,” I tell him as I drag a finger down his chest. “And we’d stay gone, using some more money I have stashed away for a rainy day.”
He tenses, and I try to distract him by dragging my hand down farther. He captures my wrist, halting my descent, and looks at me like I’m crazy.
“Why would we do that?” he asks seriously.
Because he doesn’t see.
And I don’t want to get him killed by opening my mouth too soon.
“If I bought two plane tickets tonight, would you go?” I ask him.
That story will be printed tonight, and by tomorrow, the cops will be coming to arrest Herrin. He won’t have a chance to get out of it. The paper has all the proof, even if my brother refuses to listen to me.
Drex’s head has been twisted, since Pop has actually doted on him all these years, grooming him to be the perfect protégé. Drex can’t step outside the bubble of lies long enough to examine the truth.
Maybe if I’d been doted on, I’d be just as fucking clueless, because I wouldn’t want to see. Just like he doesn’t.
He wouldn’t even hear the evidence, let alone see it. He doesn’t want to know, because that would mean he’d have to face the truth.
And life as he knows it would be blown all to hell.
Unlike me, he likes his life.
Just like Rush.
Just like them all.
Rush continues to hesitate, thinking over my question. “I’d rather we just stay here. I’ll eventually earn my cut, and we can ride with them. Your dad won’t mind us together once I’m really in the club.”
The smile on his face is just too honest. Even though he was tossed around and kicked out of home after home until Sledge took him in last year, he’s still too naïve about just how cruel people can be.
“If I said I wanted to leave it all behind and just go be normal, happy people, would you go with me?” I go on, needing him to agree so I can tell him everything and we can get out of here before Pop gets arrested in another state tomorrow night.
He runs his finger down my cheek, a confused smile on his lips.
“No. Because we’re not normal. We’ve both seen shit that prevents us from being like the Barbies and Kens out there. This is home, Kara. And it’s the first time I’ve ever really had a home.”
“Home is just a blanket word used to describe a sense of belonging, and we can belong anywhere we want to together,” I tell him with a soft smile. “Let’s just go far away from here.”
I start to lean up to kiss him, but he moves out from under me with angry, jerky movements.
“What the hell is going on with you?” he snaps as he stands and starts pulling on his jeans with his back to me.
Sitting up and keeping the sheet clutched to my chest, I take a shaky breath.
“Seriously,” he snaps, not looking at me as he dresses. “You’ve been acting weirder and weirder for months now.”
It’s like pulling off a strip of wax. It’ll take too long to slowly try to peel it back from the edges. It’s better to just rip it off.
“A few months ago, I discovered that Herrin killed my mom, and—”
He bursts out laughing, and my heart sinks as he turns around and looks me in the eyes with an incredulous expression.
“Your mom was a junkie. And—”
“My mom and Drex’s mom both died from a drug overdose, and you think that’s a coincidence?” I ask bitterly, tired of trying to coax him into this when he should be willing to go without hesitation if he really cares about me.
It should be a simple choice between me and the club. I suppose it is, since he’s already chosen.
His look softens, and he shakes his head before running a hand through his longer hair, getting it away from his face.
“Look, I know you got issues with your dad, but accusing him of murder just because you need someone to blame isn’t fucking healthy or rational.”
Gritting my teeth, I drop the sheet and start pulling on my own clothes. I should have been gone an hour ago. If that story leaks before it’s printed, Pop will have me dead before I can get out of town.
“When he didn’t have his dick lost in a club whore, he was with Esmerelda getting his dick sucked. My mom was clean and sober for two years and left him because she got sick of catching shit he passed along. But you know Herrin doesn’t like worrying about a loose end, and once you’re in, you’re in for life. He did it, Rush. I’m not making shit up. He killed her and kept me because I was his. We need to go because—”
“No!” he shouts, cutting me off. “No,” he says calmer. “You don’t
know what it’s like, Kara. You have no idea what it’s like to be wanted by no one and survive daily for no reason other than you hope tomorrow might finally have something good to bring. Tomorrow finally came for me, and now I’m here. You take all this for granted.”
Something sours in my mouth as I stare at him like I’ve never seen him before. I never questioned his loyalty. I always thought it was to me from the first day we landed in bed together almost six months ago and started sneaking around.
Now I feel like an idiot.
I was just convenient—same age, the P’s daughter, and just fucked up enough to deal with his fucked-up-ness. Bad enough to want sex as much as him. The rest of everything between us has apparently been some stupid teenager’s fantasy I made up in my head.
“I take it all for granted?” I ask quietly, even though it’s just me parroting his words for my own sake.
“Yes,” he says, tossing his arms up. “You walk around and whine about how Herrin is, yet you have no idea what it’s like to live without his money, protection, and actual concern. You’re a princess to those fuckers who would kill anyone for looking at you wrong. You have no idea what it’s like to live without that shit or to be on your own. You’re so fucking spoiled that you look for shit to be wrong just so you have a reason to complain. But you’re nothing but fucking clueless.”
I nod slowly, my eyes dropping to the floor.
“Clueless,” I state as though I’m testing the word. “Sounds like a more accurate depiction of you. But hey, what do I know? You’ve been here a year, and I’ve been here my entire life. Clearly you know the club, my father, and my life better than me.”
Snatching my shoes from the floor, I start to head toward the door, but he grabs me at the elbow.
My eyes drop to the contact, and even as I seethe, my heart breaks a little with the reminder of how I’ll never feel his touch again.
The phone in my back pocket is buzzing, but I ignore it, waiting on whatever Rush will do next.
“Don’t leave mad,” he finally says, stepping closer.
“You don’t really get to tell me how I feel,” I state evenly as my eyes lift to meet his. “I have a father for that.”
Ripping my arm away from him, I watch as the shutters come down over his eyes, and he blows out a breath while shaking his head.
“Whatever,” he says, looking away. “We’ll talk later after you calm down or stop ragging or whatever in the hell has put you in such a shitty mood.”
Snorting derisively, I shove open the door and stalk out, not looking back. I make a quick stop by my clubhouse room, grab my backpack, and strut out of the warehouse like it’s any other day.
No one asks questions.
No one pays attention.
No one notices anything.
Except Germaine who is walking in as I walk out. He tilts his head as he frowns down at me.
“Your Pop called and said to make sure you stayed in today,” he tells me.
“I am staying in. I just need some tampons,” I say with a teasing smile that has him rolling his eyes.
He groans as he pulls out his phone, reading whatever text has just come through. “Hang out here. Let me piss and I’ll take you tampon shopping,” he says on a long, annoyed breath as he walks off, assuming I’ll be a good girl and just wait like I was told to do.
Like I usually do.
As soon as he disappears into the back, I hurry out the door and start jogging.
My phone buzzes again, and I pull it out as I head toward the bus stop. But the loud roar of motorcycles has me whipping my head toward the horizon.
I can’t see them yet, but I hear the thunder they bring before the lightning.
They’re early...
That can’t be good.
The bus stops, and I hop on, planning to take it to the actual bus station. But as I get a seat and we start moving, that ominous thunder grows louder. I can feel the vibrations even inside the bus.
Snatching the hat from my bag, I pull it low over my forehead, and wrap a scarf around my mouth as I peer out the window. Waiting for them to rattle the bus on their way by so I can see the cuts and be certain.
But I know it’s them. I’ve heard the ever-changing thunder my entire life. You know the unified sound their bikes make together. You know when someone new is riding with them. You know it like you know your favorite song they overplay on the radio until you start to hate it.
And even though I know it’s them, my stomach roils when I see them start whirring by with Herrin right out front.
With my father right out front.
The Death Dealers are back from a ride that should have lasted another week.
My phone buzzes again, and with shaky hands I juggle it out.
The name that flashes has me scrambling to answer.
“Demetri, what the hell—”
“If you’re not out of town, do not take the bus, the train, or an airplane. Rent a car and get the fuck out that way, because Herrin knows, Kara. And he’s not going to jail. I can already tell it.”
“What do you mean he knows?” I hiss, trying to keep my voice quiet as my eyes dart around the bus, searching the faces to see if anyone is already scoping me out.
“My editor came back and said he had to pull the story for some bullshit reason. He claims there aren’t enough sources to run a story like this, and the other two sources pulled out when he spoke to them. So I took it all to my friend in Homicide that I was telling you about. He told me to get out of town, and to get you out, because once he started this, it wouldn’t be pretty.”
“We already knew that,” I tell him, another shaky breath leaving me.
“Yeah. What we didn’t know was just how tied in with the cops your father really is. This all happened three days ago. Today, I get a call from a friend who knows I was working the story. He lives up north, and said he saw the Death Dealers cruising back earlier this morning. He just called me about an hour ago, and I’ve been calling you ever since.”
My entire stomach is in knots.
“So someone already warned him,” I say on a whisper.
“And the story is being squashed. No doubt that evidence will go missing. It was all circumstantial as it was. Public outrage was our only hope of even getting this shit taken seriously.”
Swallowing hard, I look back, realizing maybe I’m more naïve than I thought. Because I really thought Herrin would pay for his crimes, when no one else has ever made him pay before.
“Seriously, Kara. Rent a car. Get out of town. Hell, steal a fucking car if you have to. Just don’t use public transportation of any kind, because he’s looking already. Death Dealers are popping up at all the closest points.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Why did the guys just let me leave the warehouse? Did they know? Or were they just too low on the tier to get that knowledge?
They’d never call Rush. He’s just a prospect. Leo was there, and he’s barely a half-ass mechanic with a goofy grin. Most of the harder guys weren’t there. Just the family guys who might have lied for me...
We pull up to a stop, and Snake, one of my brother’s guys, is standing at the stop. His bike is parked up on the sidewalk, resting there like it’s a personal parking spot.
My stomach sinks as he steps on and says something to the driver. The driver glances in his rearview mirror, a nervous expression on his face, as Snake starts walking from seat to seat, looking around like he’s searching for someone.
Searching for me.
With all the bravado I can muster, I start talking in a thick, exaggerated southern drawl, changing up the tone of my voice just enough to sound realistic but certainly not like me.
“Yeah, Daddy. I’ll be home later today,” I say, causing Demetri to suck in a breath.
“One’s there?” he whispers.
“Yeah. I’m on the bus right now. I was going to head downtown, but I think I’ll get off at the next stop and wait for you at Misty’s apartment,�
� I tell him as Snake works his way to be halfway down the bus.
I’m at the very back, so it won’t be long until he reaches me.
Pulling on my sunglasses, I lower the scarf, and fix my hair out of my hat to make it look like a short bob cut instead of longer hair that is being hidden.
“Shit,” Demetri growls. “Stay on the phone with me.”
“She’s your girlfriend, so I doubt she’ll mind the chance to see you if I crash at her place instead of bus hopping just to get across town,” I go on as Snake huffs, glancing this way and flicking his gaze all over.
His gaze hesitates on me, but I continue faking my southern drawl and carry on with the faux conversation.
“Yeah. I will. I’ll also tell her happy birthday for you,” I go on, running out of improv material.
Snake turns around without going all the way to me, and I shudder out a breath as he hurriedly walks back through the rows. He nods at the driver before hopping off, and he boards his bike, driving off.
“He’s gone,” I whisper, my entire body turning to rubber as the bus starts moving again.
“Meet me at the Karina two towns north. It’s a pay-with-cash place and stay there until I get there. You hear me?”
“You need to go too. You were trying to help and now your life is at stake.”
“I’m the one who approached you with my theories and got you to start collecting all the evidence from the inside, Kara. I’m the one who dragged you into this. And for that, I’m sorry. Because of my arrogance, you’re a fifteen-year-old kid whose life is in my hands now. Meet me there. It’s two towns over, okay?”
“Tomorrow,” I tell him. “It’s too hot to get out tonight. By tomorrow, the impatience will get to Herrin and he’ll start expanding his search to Mexico. It’s the obvious thing for me to do instead of going north. I even planted a brochure under my mattress. All his guys will be pulled off the north city exits then, and I can get out.”
“Fine. But hurry. Halo is no longer a safe place for you or me. I’m getting out tonight. I’m almost out now. I’ll call you later.”
Hanging up, I stare out the window, my entire body shaking. I thought I was stronger than this. I thought nothing could scare me, not even Herrin. I was so certain that I bet my life on it.
