Biker's Bride: A Bad Boy Romance (Demons MC) (Includes bonus novel Kinged!) (20 page)

F
ord looked at me, frowning. “You don’t have to do this, Caralee.”

“Yes, I do.”

I looked out across the construction site, butterflies churning in my stomach.

Yesterday, Ford had come back from the clubhouse and explained to me Larkin’s plan. At first I wasn’t sure, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought about how I had dragged his whole club into a war they had nothing to do with, the more I knew I had to do what I could to help.

Even if I was acting as bait.

Ford, for his part, said that it was my choice. He said he would never bring me into danger again, never force me to do something I didn’t want to do. I believed him, but I also knew that his club needed this from me.

And so I said I’d do it. Even when he warned me against it, asked me to reconsider, I knew it was the right thing to do.

Which was easy at the time. But standing in that construction site the next day only made me realize how far out of my depth I was.

“Let’s go,” Ford grunted.

We headed forward toward the spot where the deal was going down. Clutch, Spoil, Noble, Thade, and Larkin all walked with us, carrying serious weaponry.

Ahead, we saw Jetter and his people. They were standing near their bikes, but they weren’t heavily armed. Jetter was there, along with his short henchman, plus a few other club members. I didn’t recognize any of them.

We stopped not too far away.

“Good to see you, Larkin,” Jetter called out.

“We brought the girl. Now let’s talk about the drugs,” Larkin said.

“Not one for small talk?” Jetter laughed. He gestured at one of his guys, and the man brought out a briefcase. “Got the drugs right here.”

“What do you want for them?”

“Money.”

“How much?”

“Thirty grand.”

Larkin laughed. “We all know the street value of that much heroin is around ten. You want three times that?”

“You know this isn’t about the street value anymore. You want this shipment to prove that the girl didn’t steal it. I get that.”

“Thirty grand is too much. Fifteen.”

Jetter laughed. “This isn’t a negotiation. The price is thirty. If you want the drugs, pay the price.”

The whole time Jetter spoke, he was staring directly at me. It was creepy, totally unnerving. I had no clue what I was doing there or why he’d requested me, since all he was doing was talking about selling the drugs. And yet he wouldn’t stop looking at me. I had a creepy feeling running down my spine.

“We’ll talk it over,” Larkin said and then turned to the group. “Well?” he asked softly. The Rebels were far enough away that they wouldn’t hear.

“Feels weird,” Ford said. “Why did he want Caralee to come along?”

“Yeah, seems messed up,” Clutch said.

“Thirty is way too much,” Spoil added.

Larkin nodded. “Almost like he doesn’t really want to sell.”

“So what is this then?” Ford asked.

The sound of a roaring engine answered his question. We all looked up and saw a huge armored truck tear around the corner of the construction site, barreling directly for us.

“What the fuck?” Larkin yelled out.

But the Rebels were already moving. They weren’t firing, but they were getting onto their bikes. Jetter grinned at me one last time before they began to retreat.

“Hold your fire,” Larkin said as Clutch and Spoil got ready to shoot.

The armored car kept barreling toward us. The Rebels got out of the way as the car spun to a halt about ten feet in front of us.

“Run!” Larkin commanded.

We scattered, and just in time. The doors to the truck burst open and a group of Rebels jumped out, armed to the teeth.

My world exploded into gunfire.

The noise ripped its way through me, shaking my bones. Ford grabbed me and dove aside, into a large concrete drain pipe. The others found their own cover and began to fire back at the car.

I watched as Larkin pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it out into the open. Instead of exploding, red smoke rushed out of it.

Then the real gunfire began.

Larkin’s plan was simple. He had assumed that Jetter was going into this a little overconfident, that he’d make some sort of dramatic move. The night before, Larkin had placed a bunch of Demon members all around the property, and the smoke was their signal to attack.

Men poured out of hiding places. The Rebels dropped back to use their armored car as cover, but they were way outnumbered. Larkin rushed out into the open. “Stop the bikes!” he yelled.

Ford grabbed me and we made a run for it while the other Rebels were pinned down. Ford threw me onto the back of his bike and hopped onto the front. Clutch and Spoil joined us as we tore our way past the armored car, riding fast after Jetter. Clutch and Spoil went ahead, leading the charge, while Ford and I brought up the rear.

I wasn’t thinking, couldn’t think. There was only the chase and what was happening. The sound of gunfire sank away as we caught sight of Jetter and his crew just ahead.

We tore after them, running red lights, weaving through traffic. They were ahead and we weren’t gaining, but they weren’t getting away. All we needed to do was stay on them. We were clearly better armed than they were, though we were outnumbered.

Up ahead, the Rebels were getting close to making it onto the overpass. I knew if that happened, we might lose them.

Suddenly, from a side street, five more bikes tore out onto the street, nearly ramming into the Rebels. My heart soared when I saw the insignia on their backs: Demons MC.

The Rebels turned away from the overpass in an attempt to escape the Demons. We kept pace, but the other group was right on the heels of the Rebels. I heard them begin to exchange gunfire back and forth.

Suddenly, Jetter looked back at me. I swore we made eye contact. A second later, he tossed the briefcase aside, letting it scatter onto the pavement.

The guys up front swerved and then stopped, going over to the briefcase. The Rebels sped ahead as the Demons collected the drugs.

We pulled over onto the side of the road. Thade grinned at us, holding open the case.

“Got the shit, as ordered,” he said.

“You let Jetter get away,” Ford said, angry.

“Orders were to get the drugs. Larkin wanted us to let them go if possible.”

“Why?”

Thade shrugged. “I don’t fucking know. I just follow orders.”

Ford kicked the guardrail, pissed. “Fuck,” he said. “Fuck that bastard.”

“Come on,” I said to him. “We should get back.”

He nodded, grunting. We got back onto his bike and pulled off, heading back toward the construction site.

The sound of gunfire had ended by the time we got back there. What was left of the Rebels were being loaded into their armored car, though it looked like none of them had survived. Ford parked his bike and found Larkin directing the effort.

“What the fuck, old man?” he roared at him. “You let Jetter get away.”

“Watch yourself, Ford,” he warned.

“You ordered the guys not to go after him.”

“Yeah,” he said, getting in Ford’s face. They were about the same height, and I’d never seen Larkin that angry before. But I had to admit, it was pretty intimidating. “We don’t need everyone to get arrested.”

“Fuck that,” Ford said. “Jetter should die for this.”

“We get the drugs?”

“Yeah, we got them.”

“That’ll be enough for the Snakes to come down on him,” Larkin said.

Ford took a deep breath and stepped back. “What happened?” he asked.

“We killed the fuckers.” Larkin shrugged. “I guess Jetter was trying to snatch the girl, got a little too cocky.”

“Fuck,” Ford said. “I knew she shouldn’t have come.”

Larkin put his hand on Ford’s shoulder. “Relax, brother. We won today.”

“Doesn’t feel like it. Feels like we let a fucking piece of shit live.”

“Go back to the clubhouse,” Larkin ordered. “We’ll meet you there, debrief later.” Larkin turned away and addressed the Demons members that were busy cleaning up the scene. “Hurry the fuck up,” he yelled. “Cops won’t stay away forever.”

Ford walked back to me and grabbed my hand. He dragged me back to his bike. “Ford,” I said.

“It’s fine,” he grunted. “We’ll be fine.”

We got onto his bike and hit the road, heading back to the clubhouse.

As we rode, I could barely believe what I had just seen. I could barely believe I had watched men fire rifles at each other, the violence, the terror. I knew that had been a possibility, especially when Ford had told me that Larkin’s plan was basically to ambush Jetter if anything happened. But it all went down so fast, I barely had any time to think.

And the whole time, Ford kept me close. I never really believed I was in any actual danger, despite the bullets flying. It was insane, the most intense thing I had ever seen in my life.

Soon we arrived back at the clubhouse. Ford parked the bike and we went inside. We went right up to the bar, and Ford poured us two drinks.

“To surviving,” he said, clinking my glass.

“That was insane,” I said to him.

“That was war.”

I nodded, not sure what else to say. Everything was happening so fast, I could barely keep up. The only thing I had to hold on to was Ford, and yet I was just waiting for him to disappear.

I was living on shifting sand, trying to hold on.

I
knocked back my whisky and poured another.

I couldn’t believe how angry I was. Larkin letting Jetter go was complete bullshit, the worst kind of cowardice. I couldn’t tell if Larkin wanted this war or if he wanted to be a pussy-ass bitch and suck the dick of our enemies.

Caralee was quiet, but I was too pissed off to do anything about it. She had just been through something not a lot of guys witnessed, a real fucking shootout and a motorcycle chase. That we weren’t all arrested and rotting in prison was a fucking miracle.

Actually, it was because we had bribed the police big time.

But still, the whole fucking thing was madness.

And as I knocked back my second whisky, my phone began to vibrate. I grabbed it, assuming it was Larkin.

“Yeah?” I said, walking away from Caralee.

“Hi there, Ford.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Jetter?”

“The one and only. How’s our girl?”

“You’re lucky to be alive, you motherfucker,” I growled.

“Calm down, Ford,” he said. “No need for that.”

“Where are you?”

“Safe and sound, no thanks to you bastards. I had to ditch the drugs just to get away.”

“I know, you fuck. What do you want?”

“Just one thing, and then I’ll be gone.”

“Talk,” I growled at him.

“Is she worth all this? Is this girl worth getting your brothers killed?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Give her to me, Ford. Half a million dollars and my everlasting gratitude.”

“Why do you want her?”

“I’ll give her to the Snakes, obviously, make all this blow over.”

I shook my head. “You’re a disgusting fuck. If I ever see you again, I will kill you.”

I hung up the phone.

Caralee was staring at me. “Who was that?”

“Jetter.”

“What did he want?”

I shook my head. “Come on.” I walked over and grabbed her hand.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Just come on.” I tugged her along behind me, not thinking.

I just needed to get the fuck out of there. I didn’t know where I was going to go or why; I just needed to ride. We got onto my bike and I pulled out into traffic, cruising at a comfortable speed. I hit the highway and just kept going.

I felt Caralee holding on tight. I loved feeling her on the back of my bike, touching my body, breathing as the wind whipped her hair.

But she was a damn liability. She was pushing our club into war, all because I had insisted on making her my old lady. All because I’d do anything to keep her safe.

After a half hour of driving, I pulled off the main road and headed down a dirt path into a wooded area. I knew where I was going, though I didn’t know why. After another few minutes of riding down the muddy track, I pulled the bike over and killed the engine in a small clearing.

“Where are we?” Caralee asked.

We climbed off the bike. “State park just outside the city limits.”

“It’s pretty.”

“Come on. I want to show you something.”

We walked a few feet ahead. We stopped, and I heard her breathe deeply as we looked out at a gorge that cut across the park, an incredible view spread out in front of us. The park had put up a short wall that we walked toward and leaned against, looking out over the forest canopy below.

“It’s beautiful out here,” she said.

“Good spot to come after you see something like earlier.”

She nodded, biting her lip.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

“I just keep asking myself,” she said slowly, “how all this happened, how I brought all this down on you guys.”

“Wasn’t you,” I said. “It was my choice.”

“Maybe,” she said, “but I came to you. I didn’t have to.”

I just grunted. “Don’t matter now,” I said. “But that’s not all that’s bothering you.”