4 Horsemen Novella! Kayla's Ride (Sons of San Merced Erotic Motorcycle Club Biker Romance) (2 page)

“I’ll be eternally in your debt,” Famine said, smiling, his eyes beaming brighter than the sun even in the dimly lit room.

I could feel the electricity from his fingers on my leg as he gave me a quick squeeze. If they felt so nice squeezing my leg then dear god what would it feel like to have them holding me, pinching my nipples, or slipping into my…

“The car?”

My legs propelled me outside as if I’d been given an order, and I soon regretted it. It was dark behind the little neighborhood grill. A woman like me can take care of herself, but this wasn’t the nicest neighborhood in the city and the darkly lit parking lot was full of shadows. When two of the shadows detached from the wall and started slowly making their way toward me, my heart started to race.

Just a few more feet…
I thought, clenching my keys in my fist as the shadows came closer. Their faces came into enough light to be visible. They were dressed in black cargo pants and turtlenecks, but what stood out was the gear they carried. The man closest was huge, dark-skinned and carrying a rifle better suited for an elephant hunt than a dark parking lot robbery. Its enormous barrel was silhouetted against the darkness. My heart pounded even louder in my chest as the second man twisted his hand, the unmistakable glint of sharp and shining steel stretching out from his grip.

I wasn’t about to ask questions about their apparent parking lot big game hunting trip. My hands shook as I tried to jam the key into the door lock, drawing neat little scratches into the paint as I missed time and again, my eyes locked on the approaching danger. One of the men smiled an ugly grin of pure menace. A cold was of fear rolled over me.

“Can I ask you a question, ma’am?”

The voice didn’t sound friendly, and the way the two men split with one circling around each side of my little Hyundai. The key slipped into the lock, jamming in a familiar way, the way a crappy car always lets you down at the worst possible moment. I jiggled it hopelessly.

“I don’t have any money. Leave me alone,” I said, shakily. The men continued around the car as I pulled the key back out from the jammed lock, pressing them into my fist with the metal jutting out between my fingers. I started to back away from the car and the men. The building wasn’t far, I could run… I had to run.

“We’re not here for money,”

The third voice caught me by surprise, so close I could almost feel the breath on the back of my neck. I spun in place to see the man behind me, blocking off my escape. He was large, his huge frame moving to block off the light from the street. My stomach clenched in fear and I froze in place.

“Take it, just leave me alone,” I shouted, throwing the purse at the man and spinning away. A large hand lashed out, grasping my arm tightly and dragging me back. I tried to scream, throwing my weight into the man as he wrapped me up, twisting me against him and holding a dirty hand to my mouth. My cries were muffled, tears welling as the other men converged.

“It’s more fun when you struggle,” The huge man whispered quietly. His disgusting breath was hot against my neck, the voice terrifying. I kicked with all of my might, trying to escape his hard embrace. The arms held tighter, the muscles wound tight beneath skin, sinister and horrifying. One of the other men stared at my chest and I regretted ever wearing this low cut top. Adrenaline rolled through me, my last ditch effort to get away, muscles straining uselessly against the huge arms.

“Set up around the car. He’ll come looking for her,” The man said confidently.

And then I was flying.

Flying isn’t really something I’m naturally suited for, and I had little time to contemplate this new sensation as my body tumbled toward the car. Something had slammed into us, and the man holding me let go as we left the Earth behind. It was to be a short flight. My arms did their best to brace for impact, but my head swam as it smacked the fender of my little car. I slumped down next to the wheel, my hands scraping the pavement, little cuts shooting pain up my arms, vision drawing into a tunnel. Laying there, I listened as everything went dark. A gunshot rang out, the huge explosion from the giant rifle ringing in my ears. I could hear the men as consciousness slipped away. My eyes tried to focus.

I could see Famine… He was protecting me.

Chapter 2:

And Eat It Too…

I GROANED,
body bouncing in an uncomfortable seat. My eyes fluttered to life, looking at the familiar dashboard of my car. Head swimming, I started to gain back my faculties. Willing myself to look over at the driver’s seat, Famine filled my vision, jerking the wheel and racing the tiny little four cylinder engine as we bounced and weaved through traffic.

“I’m sorry for getting you into this Kayla.”

His voice seemed pained, and that’s when I noticed the blood.

“Oh my God you’re bleeding!”

Famine’s hand pressed hard into his left leg, a gash splitting his jeans where he was applying pressure. His vest was open, the shirt beneath torn and exposing his solid chest.

My training kicked in. I’d been struggling my way through the nursing program at the local university, barely getting by. A wound like that needed serious attention. I pulled my shirt up over my head, reaching over Famine’s thighs to wrap it under his bleeding leg. Drawing it up I fiddled with the glove box, pulling out a stack of napkins and a large screwdriver I kept in there.

“What are you doing?” Famine asked.

“I have to stop the bleeding. Just drive.”

I leaned back across Famine’s lap, my chest bouncing pulled his hand off the wound and lay the stack of napkins across it. Pulling the shirt around and over the paper I gripped both ends and twisted them up using the screwdriver as a handle. Famine cried out as I cranked everything down, cutting off the blood flow with my makeshift tourniquet.

“Hold this,” I said, handing off the screwdriver. I sat back up, my breath still coming in quick gasps as I stared out at the road. “Where are we going? We need a hospital!”

“No hospitals, I’ll be ok,” Famine said, the pain evident in his voice. He looked across the seat at me, my breasts bouncing in my exposed bra as we bounded along the dark freeway.

“I feel better already,” He smiled, staring across at me. I suddenly felt very insecure about my exposed body, shielding as much as I could with my hands. My heart was still beating hard in my chest. Looking at Famine’s face I could see color starting to return to his cheeks. He’d lost too much blood, I couldn’t believe he was still moving, let alone sitting there grinning like a fool.

“Are you ok Kayla? Did they hurt you?” Concern filled his voice. I couldn’t help but wince at the thought. Pain shot out from a dozen different places on my body, but I had to be strong.

“I’m fine, just a few scratches,” I held my hands palm-up to show the gouges the asphalt had made when I fell. I was a mess. Famine took his eyes off the road for an uncomfortable amount of time, staring at my hands, anger in his eyes. I had to cut the silence and get his mind back on the task at hand.

“Who were they?”

Famine went back to driving. “They are proof something is about to go wrong.” His voice seemed troubled as he continued to push the poor little Hyundai into the dark night.

“You knew them?”

“We have history together. The club pays them, they leave us alone. Somebody changed the rules.”

“Rules?”

“It’s a long story,” Famine said quietly.

I continued my little game of twenty questions. I had to, I needed answers. “Where are you taking me?”

“Home. Found your address in your glovebox. I’ll be borrowing your car, I hope you don’t mind…”

I settled into my seat, fingertips gripping my legs as the streets flew by. All I wanted was to close my eyes and forget any of this had ever happened. My head swam lightly, I probably had a mild concussion. There was nothing to do but close my eyes and let Famine get me home.

“Kayla. Do you live alone?”

The concern in his voice had my eyes snapping open. We were in a parking lot, just in front of my apartment building. I must have fallen asleep.

“Yes. Why?” I asked, aloof to the danger.

“There’s someone in your apartment.”

The words were cold as steel. I looked up and could see the huge silhouette of a of a man standing at a window. He turned and slipped back into the apartment, turning out the light. There was no question in my mind, it was the man from the parking lot. The one who’d held me close and whispered horrifying things.

“It’s him.” I whispered, as if my voice would give us away and the evil man would be wrapping his hands around me again.

“I got two of them. The big one got away. No telling how many more are out there.”

Got…
The word sat in my brain for a small eternity, rolling around. Famine, the bad boy with the beautiful eyes and cool wit, the man with the knife wound to his leg, he’d done something vicious, something animal…

“I had no choice. They were going to kill you. They were going to kill us both,” Famine said quietly, as if he could read my thoughts.

“We need to call the police,” I said, coming back to my senses. “Tell them everything. They can fix this.”

Famine sighed, putting the car back into gear and making a slow turn toward the automatic gates. “These men aren’t bound by laws. The police can’t help us.”

I shook like a leaf, the terror overwhelming me. Famine knew these men far more than I did. He knew exactly what we were up against. Something about his voice made it clear he was telling the truth.

“Do you want to live, Kayla?” Famine asked, deadpan. It was the coldest thing I’d ever heard anyone say.

“What do I need to do?” I asked meekly.

“Come with me, and don’t look back.”

“Where?”

“We’ve got a place on the west side, I’ve called ahead, the club will be waiting.”

Chapter 3:

Cold Desire

THE ROAD
stretched beneath us. I didn’t ask any more questions. We crossed San Merced. Somehow I knew I was safer with Famine, and my body succumbed to physical and emotional exhaustion. Soon, we came up on the dark alley, driving down the one way lane, turning into an open roll-up. The door came down behind us as I took in the interior. Men in leather, bikes parked in rows, and along the far wall some sort of bar with men drinking and talking.

“Where are we?” I asked, trying to make sense of this crazy adventure.

“Sons of San Merced clubhouse… It’s a safe place.” Famine replied, jumping out of the car and walking confidently toward the men with his hand still holding the screwdriver compressing the cut on his leg. I marveled at his stride, not a hint of a limp in his movements despite his wound. After a moment of talk and gesturing with someone who looked particularly dangerous, he returned to the car. I found myself being pulled from the passenger seat.

“Make yourself comfortable, I’m going to need a few stitches.”

I looked around, still shirtless, all eyes on me.

“Here, take this.”

I turned, a women holding out a white t-shirt.

“I’m Penny. You look like you could use a drink.”

“Kayla… And yeah, I probably could.”

I pulled the shirt over my head, following Penny to the bar. My head was still spinning. Famine was headed upstairs, arms slung over the shoulder of a hulk of a man as he was carried along.

“Famine…”

“He’ll be ok, one of the girls up there is an artist with a needle and thread.”

I shivered, following Penny across the room. She saddled up to the bar, next to a dangerous looking man. Muscle rolled tight under his skin, raw aggressions held back by sheer will.

“You’re bleeding…”

I stared up at the man as he reached out and turned my hands, showing the scrapes and cuts.

“I’m fine,” I whispered, shrinking under his gaze.

“I’m a sucker for a strong woman,” the man said, pulling Penny into himself as he threw down another beer and slammed the cap off the top using the edge of the hard bar.

“I’m Conquest. Club President. Tell me, what the hell happened out there?”

“I don’t know… I was going to give Famine a ride, and three men…”

“Black, white, hispanic?”

“Excuse me?”

“I need to know more than the fact they had a penis.”

“Black men. All of them.”

“The Kings… Death, get your ass over here.”

I stared as the masked man approached, lanky and silent with a bandana pulled over his face with a skull printed over the cloth. Something about the way he moved screamed danger even more than his nickname.

“This lady…”

“Kayla. It’s Kayla.”

“Kayla says the Kings attacked her and Famine. We’ve got the big meet coming up and I need to know what the hell is going on.”

Death nodded, and without a word I watched him walk to a bike, mount it, and ride out - two men working the roll-up and closing it up behind. Conquest stood up, leaving me to nurse a beer with Penny while he talked with a few of the other men. I shivered, trying to pretend none of this was happening. Ten minutes later and one beer down, Conquest returned.