Rising Heat (15 page)

“Sorry to hear that.”

He stared off into the distance, as did I. This talk of family appeared to have put a damper on both our moods. I shrugged it off and glanced down at my wristwatch. “I can’t believe it’s four o’clock already. Should we head down?”

He nodded. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”

I wondered if I wanted to skip dinner. Did I want to pursue this relationship? Or should I just stop things right here and now? He said he was trying to turn over a new leaf, but still…

“Ash, would you mind if I took a raincheck on dinner?” He looked at me, then slowly nodded. “It’s not that I don’t like you. I do. But this is a lot to absorb. Would you mind giving me a day or two to process it all?”

“No problem,” he said, rising from the bench. “I get it.”

“I don’t think you really do,” I said. “All I’m asking for is a day or two. And I did ask for a raincheck. Not a cancellation. They
are
different you know.”

He grinned down at me. “I can deal with that. I’m good with a raincheck.”

I was relieved. I wanted to see him again, really I did. I just had to take my time. I didn’t want to rush into anything, not that dinner tonight would’ve been a fancy affair. But what happened earlier, our brief necking session, had startled me. I knew it wouldn’t take much to leap wholeheartedly into a relationship with Ash. But I also knew that I needed to get to know him a little better. I wanted to feel completely comfortable and at ease with him. That didn’t happen in one afternoon.

As I took the hand he offered and rose from the bench, I studied him under my eyelashes. He didn’t seem offended or upset by our discussion. I got the impression that it would be difficult to offend someone like Ash. He seemed like a straight shooter, one who would appreciate honesty from the get-go. While I had felt a bit hesitant and nervous, I’m glad we’d talked. The last thing I needed in my life right now was more pressure.

Ash

A
ll in all, today wasn’t so bad.

Sure, she cancelled dinner. Sure, I talked about stuff I didn’t want to. And sure, I’d had to deal with the Outlaws, which was worrying. But, on the plus side, I’d gotten to know a little more about her, and she had gotten to know more about me. I was still hesitant to talk about my past in depth. Hell, I was still dealing with my past and wasn’t ready to share it with anyone else. But it was a start. I felt good.

I could have been a bit more honest. I didn’t lie, just left out a few details. Nothing that would change the storyline, but still.

By the time we climbed onto the motorcycle, the mountains were cooling down, making it a pleasant evening. Skipping dinner, I’d be home way before Bones arrived. It was good that he was coming over. I needed to talk to him.

I liked the way Kathy wrapped her arms around my waist as we rode down the mountain. Liked the way she felt against my back. Liked the way her thighs pressed against the outside of mine. I liked this girl. She was certainly different from the other girls I’d dated. No, not dated. Fucked. That was it, plain and simple and crude.

But Kathy? She was someone I wanted to get to know. The type of girl I wouldn’t mind just hanging out with. No demands. No expectations. No competition.

Kathy was smart, driven, and decent. Everything that had been missing in my life. Respectability. Purpose. Goals.

By the time we got down off the mountain and I was making my way along side streets to take Kathy back to her car, I was feeling pretty damn self-satisfied. She liked me. She was attracted to me. And although she was worried about my background, it seemed like she was willing to give me a chance.

She was the first bright thing that had come into my life in a very long time. Despite the fact that our “date” was coming to an end, I’d had a damn good day. If the Outlaws hadn’t crashed in on us, it could have ended even better.

My cock twitched as I remembered the feel of her breasts, the taste of her tongue, the little sounds coming from her throat. I enjoyed every minute I spent with her, even the “talk.” I wanted to do it again. That kind of surprised me.

I felt a flash of regret as I pulled into the Jolly Pets parking lot, knowing I’d be saying goodbye in just a few minutes. The entire strip mall was almost empty, the pet store and most of the others had already closed. Just a few cars remained, and I wondered if I could get away with a last kiss.

Then I spotted them. A trio of bikes, engines off. The riders were just sitting there. Watching. Waiting. I didn’t recognize any of them.

I wanted it to be a coincidence. After all, the weather was nice. Lots of bikers would be out today. But I knew better. Staying on the far side of the parking lot, I tried to get a glimpse of their jackets. Outlaws? Rivals? Just three guys enjoying the day?

Kathy’s arms tightened around my waist, and I knew she saw them too. “Those guys, are they part of your old gang? They’re pretty close to where I left my car.”

“I’m not sure, I can’t tell from here.”

Her fingers dug into my abs. “I don’t want to go over there, Ash. Can you just take me home?”

I circled around, heading back the way we’d come. “How will you get your car in the morning?”

“I’ll just call a cab or something. I really don’t want to go over there. I have a bad feeling.”

To be honest, I did too. “Hang on,” I told her and shot out into the street, hitting the gas hard.

She squealed and held on tighter, but didn’t tell me to slow down. I made random turns, circling back, then additional randoms, keeping my eyes on the mirror the whole time.

“Where do you live?” I asked after a while.

“Thornton, just off one-twentieth.”

I had two choices. Highway or street. The interstate would be faster, but Kathy was nervous enough without me adding the stress of interstate speed to the mix. So I stayed on the roads and dealt with the stoplights, relaxing when bikes didn’t appear in the mirror.

Twenty or so minutes later, we hit one-twentieth. “Which way?”

“East,” she said, pointing. “Stay on this road until you hit Goldenrod.”

As I followed her directions, I got more and more pissed off. Kathy had been frightened not once, but twice today by bikers. No wonder she thought we were all assholes.

As she directed me to her apartment complex, I began to think of ways I might make it up to her. I knew how I wanted to do that. I wanted to use my mouth, my tongue, my fingers to make her forget. I wanted to tell her I was sorry for scaring her by making her come so hard she could think of nothing but me. I wanted to hold her all night, sooth away any nightmares. Hold her close…

Wait.

What the fuck?

I’m not a fucking cuddler.

I slowed for a red light, and the deceleration caused her to press harder against my back, her arms to tighten around me. She felt so good there. So right. Maybe some cuddling wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe I just hadn’t been with a woman I wanted to hold that close for that long. Maybe I—

Shit.

A glance in the mirror caused me to do a double take. Behind us were two bikes. A car behind them and then two more, and yet another two behind them. Fuck. I couldn’t tell if they were the same group as on the mountain or at the store.

“Hang on.”

Her hands tightened, but she still squealed when I shot across the intersection and into a large park on our right. The bike roared as I opened the throttle and sped down the winding narrow asphalt lane through the trees.

“Where are you going?” Kathy shouted, her voice filled with anxiety. “What are you doing?”

I ignored the question, focusing instead on finding a spot to hide. A side road appeared just after a picnic area, and I swung us onto the narrow trail. The thick grove of trees on our left would be perfect. I stopped the bike behind an enormous one and cut the engine.

“What’s happening?”

“I saw a group of motorcycles behind us,” I explained. “I don’t want you to be frightened, but I just wanted to make sure they weren’t part of my old gang.”

“And what if they were? Are? Do you have a reason to be afraid of them?”

“I’m not afraid. I just don’t want to deal with them with you in the mix.”

Before she could reply, the distinctive sound of motorcycles echoed around us. They were moving slowly, a cluster of six bikes, the rumble of their engines causing the birds to immediately take flight.

Kathy squeezed harder as they approached our little road, then relaxed when they passed by. I waited for a glimpse of their backs, then saw the emblem. Outlaws. They all wore handkerchiefs over their faces, but I thought I recognized the build of a couple of them. It looked like one of the guys in the lead was Digger. What the hell?

Kathy sat stiff on the seat behind me. I didn’t think they could see us here through the trees, even with her red shirt. I had to let go of the bike’s handles, I was squeezing them so hard. When I realized my heart was pounding, I blew out a deep breath, willing it to slow down.

I wasn’t afraid. Well, not for myself. But I wasn’t alone. I had this sweet, innocent woman sitting right behind me. An overwhelming surge of protection surged through me, competing with the adrenaline that had jetted my system just minutes before. I had gotten her into this and no way in hell would I let her get hurt.

As I watched them grow smaller, the same questions rattled through my head. It was clear that they were worried about me talking, that was the message back on the mountain. “Keep your mouth shut. We’ll know if you don’t.”

Talking about what?

Had they found out that I was the one who’d tipped the authorities about the sex slave ring, getting that shit shut down? If so, I don’t regret it. I still can’t believe the Outlaws would get involved in something like that. I’d been careful, not leaving the gang until almost a year later. One, I didn’t need fingers pointed at me. Two, I wanted to monitor the situation. Make sure all the women in that ring were safe.

If they’d learned that I was the leak, they’d stop at nothing to punish me. No, kill me. But why go through this much trouble to do so? If that was the case, they could have taken me down anywhere. Hell, they could have tossed me from that mountain just a few hours ago. What had stopped them?

That question was the key.

After the bikes disappeared around a curve in the road, I started mine up and eased back onto the asphalt. “Hang on,” I said for the third time that day and opened the throttle.

“Ash!”

I didn’t have to ask. Even over the roar of my bike, I heard them. But where did they come from?

Guilt washed over me. I should’ve known better. After Bones received his warning, and even after I received mine, I hadn’t taken it seriously, not seriously enough. I pushed the thoughts from my head. I needed to focus. Lose these assholes. Get Kathy someplace safe.

Thinking quickly, I considered all my options. The best bet to shake them was to head west, into the foothills, but I had to get there first. In between lay more suburbs, numerous highways branching off the interstate. There really wasn’t anywhere to disappear before then unless I managed to lose them on the streets.

“Hang on!”

“I wish you’d stop saying that,” she yelled back, but her grip became almost painful.

Her legs tightened around mine. Her grip tightened even more as she pressed her body close against my back, the side of her helmet digging into my shoulder blades. She huddled against me, as if trying to make herself smaller, to disappear. She expected me to protect her. I would do my best. I had to.

I heard several cracking sounds. At first, I thought it was one of the bikes misfiring. But just ahead of me and to my left, bark flew off a tree trunk. Fuck! They were shooting at us!

Swearing loud and long, I swerved off the asphalt road and careened down a slope, marring the near perfect manicure of the lawn near one of the picnic areas. My focus intense, I darted into the tree line again, trying to dodge trees, jerking the wheel back and forth as I wove my way between them. I had no idea where I was going, but I hoped I would soon emerge from the park boundary and end up on one of the side streets. Not a one-way or a dead end, common in Denver.

Just before we broke through the trees, pain sliced down my arm. I hadn’t heard the shot this time but knew this wasn’t a rock or piece of bark. Behind me, Kathy was a sitting duck. I had to get her out of the firing line.

Punching the throttle, I zig zagged as sharp as possible, making us a harder target. When I finally saw the edge of the park, I jumped the curb, darting in between several cars, the honking of horns and the curses of their drivers barraging my ears. I sped forward. Where was a cop when you needed one? Speeding like this on the surface streets, zooming along at fifty miles an hour in a thirty-five mile an hour zone, I expected to hear a siren any minute. I
wanted
to. If I got pulled over by the cops, my pursuers would be forced to break off, to let me go. I didn’t even care if I got ticketed. I didn’t care if they arrested me. All I cared about was making sure Kathy was safe.

I searched through my mind for the closest police station, thinking we might be able to take refuge there. No. Stupid idea. If the Outlaws knew I’d been the leak, it had to be a cop who’d told them. Plus, they’d hold me for questioning, probably escort Kathy home. But they wouldn’t guard her. I couldn’t leave her scared and vulnerable like that.

Dammit. I’d known this woman a total of three days, and I’d already screwed up her life.

I took a wicked right turn and darted into the parking lot of a huge mall not too far from where the interstate broke off into a number of smaller highways. Head west or east? West stood the mountains. East opened onto the plains.

West.

Accelerating again, I set off on one of the westward roads. This gave me options, many trails or frontage roads that headed up into the hills. I knew where to go. A place she would be safe.

First, I had to ditch my pursuers.

“Lean with me,” I shouted and felt her press harder on my back. I opened the throttle, and we shot forward. By the time we were at the top of the ramp, we were at seventy-five miles per hour. I hit the gas harder as I merged into traffic.