I hit a hard right, take a few side streets, and get a good lead on them. I know they won’t give up, though. I press the button I have hidden under my seat and the secret compartment on the dash opens.

“Whoa,” Raven says, eyes wide in wonder.

“Cool, huh?” I grab one of the unregistered Glocks I keep in there and drop it in my lap, along with an extra magazine. “Look, we can’t outrun them, so I need to get rid of them. Just stay down, and I’ll get us out of here.”

“Fuck that. You got an extra one?”

She climbs back into her seat and grabs the other Glock out of the dash. Shock turns into pride as she looks over at me, a fire burning in her eyes.

“Okay. Let’s do this,” I say, more to myself than her.

There’s an open field up ahead, so I race toward it, turn in, and face the road. I turn the high beams on so the fuckers can see us, then put my window down. She does the same.

“On my cue, start firing. There are extra mags in there.”

The bikers stop at the edge of the field, and I rev the engine. Come on, motherfuckers. They sit there, just waiting and watching. I rev the engine again and they take off toward us. I shift into gear and press the gas.

“Now, babe!”

They fire a shit-storm of bullets which hit the windshield and the grill. Raven fires at the guy on her side, taking him down after four shots. I wait until the other is close enough and fire one into his chest. He flies backwards, flopping to the ground. I need to make sure they’re dead. I stop the car and turn to her, taking her hand. She’s breathing heavily, but she doesn’t seem scared anymore. She stares into my eyes, waiting. Waiting for me to tell her our next move. She trusts me to get us out of this shit, and I will. “Get into the driver’s seat and lock the doors. Anything happens to me, you drive away. Got it?”

“What? I’m not leaving you!”

Fuck me. Each day that passes, she looks more and more like the perfect woman. I crush my lips to hers then pull back reluctantly. “Just do as I say,” I command while grabbing my flashlight from the glove compartment.

I hop out and listen for the click of the locks. The moment I hear it, I move slowly toward the biker I shot, listening to the two shitheads groaning. Make that one; one of them goes quiet. I find the one I shot, but he’s done for. I put another bullet in him anyway before I head to the opposite side and find the other fucker. Damn. All Raven’s shots connected – one in the stomach and three in the chest. The girl is good. I crouch down and remove his helmet. He coughs, blood dripping out of his mouth. “Who sent you?”

“F…fuck…you.”

“Fuck me? Nah. Fuck you, motherfucker.” I put a bullet in his neck and watch as the life drains from his eyes. “Fucker.”

I head back to the car and Raven jumps out and into my arms. Fuck, she feels good. I hold her to me tightly, thanking God she’s safe. I don’t know what I would have done if she’d been hurt. Or worse.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You good?” I ask as I toss the flashlight onto the back seat.

She nods, her head bouncing up and down emphatically. I need to get her out of here. I pull out my phone and dial Razor.

“Prez,” he answers.

“I need clean-up…and a ride. Bring the trailer, too.”

“Got it. Where?”

“I don’t have a fucking clue. Have Tek track the Mustang.”

“Got it.”

“And clear out the clubhouse. Members only.” I hang up and look down at the girl still clutching me tightly. “You never stop surprising me.”

She gazes up at me, and I brush a kiss on her lips. How many women would have done what she did? Not a lot of men would have stepped up like that. I lean against the car and just hold her, stroking her hair as I stare up at the night sky. Her words play on a loop in my mind. I’m not leaving you. And I don’t believe she would have, either. I think she would have gone down with me if it had come to that. Shit. This is exactly why I don’t keep women around, why I keep a revolving door on my bedroom. Any woman of mine would be an easy target. Is that what I’m doing to Raven? Am I turning her into a target? I know I’m a selfish son-of-a-bitch, but I want her too much to let her go. I’ll keep her safe. If I have to become her personal bodyguard then so be it. If anyone wants to get to her, they have to go through me.

The guys arrive half an hour later. They roll my bike out of the trailer and load up the bodies and their bikes. Razor walks over to me, jerking his head toward the Mustang.

“What happened?”

“Later, Razor. Church when we get back.”

He nods and heads back to help the others. I lightly squeeze Raven’s shoulders, and she peeks up at me. “Come on, doll.”

She releases me, and I grab my hoodie from the back seat. Standing before her, I place it around her shoulders and she sticks her arms in. I zip it up and lift the hood over her head. While Motor loads the Mustang into the trailer, I help Raven onto my bike. She instinctively slides forward and wraps her arms around me when I climb on. She clings to me for the entire ride, her tight grip never faltering. Fuck if I don’t like the feeling.

We roll into the compound, and I park in the garage. While helping her off, I notice she’s shaking. “Babe? You okay?”

She doesn’t answer. She’s staring at my chest, but I get the feeling she’s not seeing me. Fuck. She must be in shock or something. I pick her up and hurry inside, praying she’ll be okay. E rushes toward me.

“What happened?” He asks in a panic.

“I think she’s in shock.”

His eyes widen, and he exclaims, “She was with you?”

“Could you just take a look at her?” I really don’t need his shit right now.

“I’ll get my bag.”

I take her to my room and lay her on the bed gently. She stares up at the ceiling, hardly blinking. I enclose her trembling fingers in mine.

“You’re okay, doll.”

“I…I killed him.”

“What? No. No, babe. You shot him, but he didn’t die. I killed him.”

E enters the room and kneels next to me, trying to brush me aside. “Wait outside.”

“Why?” I ask.

“I need to do this without you hovering over me. Just give me a few minutes.”

“E –”

“Please, Gage.”

Fine. But he better know I’m not going far. I give Raven’s fingers a gentle squeeze. “I’m right outside the door.”

I pace the corridor for what seems like an eternity, but was probably just ten minutes, before E opens the door.

“She’s fine. Just a little shaken up. I gave her something to help her sleep.”

He pats my back and leaves. I hurry into the room, eager to get back to her side. She’s sitting up now. I close the door behind me and kneel in front of her. “That was one of the bravest things I’ve seen in my life. You were awesome, babe.”

She trails her fingers over the stubble on my jaw and gives me a small smile. Good. She’s snapping out of it. I fucking hate to leave her right now. “I’ve got to talk to the guys. Lie down and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I…I should go. I have work in the morning.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Millie.”

She nods and lies back down. I kiss her forehead and make my way to the chapel. Everyone’s there, waiting, all eyes turning to me when I walk through the big double doors. Except for Tek. He’s tapping away on his laptop’s keyboard. He’s our resident techie, hence the name. Fucker could have gone to MIT but stuck around here. I have no idea why.

I take my place at the head of the table. “Tek?”

“Jonas Wilde and Jerry Cane, both from Atlanta addresses. No ink, no known affiliations…just a couple of traffic tickets between ‘em.”

“No ink…so it’s not another MC or a gang. Why would they come after me?”

“Think it has anything to do with last night?” Razor asks.