9. Thunder
I hated usingAshley’s family ranch for our set up to catch the Savage Bones, but it made the most sense. We had to wait a few days for another shipment of fertilizer to be delivered, then Ashley sent Dusty on an errand to Bozeman that would keep him away overnight. She wanted to stay at the ranch, but I had her and Scamp tucked away at Priest’s cabin with him and Rae to keep both of them out of harm’s way.
A few of my MC brothers and I had staked out the ranch. We’d been sitting around for hours hoping the Savage Bones would show. I’d just taken a sip of coffee when my phone lit up with an incoming text.
Lightning:Truck just turned off the road and is headed your way.
Me:Thanks, bro.
I crouched downin the hayloft of the big barn. From here I had a bird’s eye view of the shed where the barrels of fertilizer sat. A truck inched down the drive, its headlights dark. Four guys got out, including the two I’d seen at the café. They grabbed something from the bed and disappeared inside the shed.
Juice, one of the younger guys in the club, crept out from where he’d been hiding and rolled underneath the truck. We couldn’t afford to be discovered when they left, so he was supposed to plant a tracking device to make sure we knew where they were headed.
He crawled out and disappeared back into the shadows as the Bones carried the first barrel out of the shed. Hope that this plan might actually work filled my chest. We’d been battling these thugs for so long. It was time for us to get a major win.
It only took about ten minutes for them to load all the barrels and head back out the way they came. Once they’d cleared the drive, I alerted Lightning and Juice to follow from a far distance. The tracking device blinked on the app on my phone. Looked like we were in business.
They’d taken the bait. Now all we could do was wait. Once a sufficient amount of time passed and we made sure no one was coming back to the ranch, I rolled my bike out of the barn and fired up the engine.
I had a warm-blooded curvy angel waiting for me, and I was eager to get back to her.
A half hour later,I slid behind the wheel of Ashley’s car and pulled the door closed. Priest offered to have the two of us crash as his place, but I was too eager to finally take her home. With the Savage Bones pre-occupied with moving fertilizer and our guys tracking their every move, it was safe to take her back to my cabin. I would have preferred to have her be the first woman to ride on the back of my bike except we had Scamp with us.
“How did it go?” Ashley reached into the backseat to scratch the dog behind the ears. She’d been up waiting for me and except for the quick rundown I’d given Priest, I hadn’t had a chance to fill her in yet.
“They took the barrels. Lightning and Juice are following them now. We were able to get the tracker on their truck, so even if they have to fall back, we still ought to find out where the Bones are holing up.”
“That’s great news. And you’ve got someone who can take over once you pinpoint their location?”
I glanced her way as we bounced over a rut in the road. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to let any of the guys get hurt.”
“It’s not ‘any of the guys’ I’m worried about.”
Her concern filled my chest with warmth. It had been a long time since someone had worried about me. This thing between us was new, but I was in it for the long haul. And now that I’d found her, I was going to make sure we had the rest of our lives together.
“Don’t worry about me, Baby Girl. I can take care of myself.” I reached for her hand and held it up to my lips. “And I’m going to take care of you too.”
We were almost to my place, and I couldn’t wait to show her exactly how willing I was to make sure every single one of her needs was met. My phone vibrated with an incoming call. I pulled it out of my back pocket and glanced at the screen.
“Hey, what’s up?” Either Juice was calling to tell me they knew where the meth production site was, or something had gone wrong.
“They stopped at a place way past the old lumber mill. There are a hell of a lot of them. I held back, but Lightning…”
“What happened?” Something was wrong. I sensed it deep in my gut.
“He kept going. I can’t reach him.”
“Send me your location and stay put. I’m on my way.” I hung up and stepped on the gas.
Ashley gripped the door as we rounded the curve in my drive. “What happened?”
“Lightning’s gone dark. I’m going to call Priest to come take you back to his place while I head down there.” I didn’t want to leave her, not even with a man I trusted with my own life. But my brother needed me. At least she’d be far away from whatever was going down with the Savage Bones.
“Take me with you.” Her fingers wrapped around my wrist. “Maybe I can help.”
There was no way I’d put her in danger. “The best thing you can do is stay here. I won’t be able to do what I need to do if I’m worried about you.”
She opened her mouth like she wanted to fight me on that, but I’d hold strong. My girl was tough—she’d proven that already—but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her.
The car skidded to a stop, and I jumped out to race around and open her door. “This isn’t how I pictured bringing you home for the first time.”
“Just promise you’ll come back to me.” Her palms skimmed up my chest.
I hated making promises I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep. “I’ll do my best.”
“Thunder…” Her lips sought mine.
Pouring everything I had into that kiss, I picked her up and carried her to the front door. I wanted to wait for Priest to show up, but the pull toward Lightning was too strong. He was in trouble, and I had to go.
I broke away and stared down into Ashley’s eyes. “Don’t let anyone in besides Priest. He’s on his way to take you back to his place right now.”
She nodded and tried to wipe the tears welling in her lower lids away.
“Don’t worry about me. It would take the devil himself to keep me away from you.” That was the best I could do. I reached down and patted the dog, hoping like hell he’d keep watch for the few minutes it would take for Priest to arrive.
“What’s that?” Ashley’s grip on my shirt tightened. “Is that Hades?”
I turned to see the giant wolf walk halfway across the drive. Then he sat down in the middle and stared at us like he was waiting for me to leave.
“He’ll help keep an eye on things until Priest gets here.” The wolf had proven himself over and over again in our fight against the Savage Bones. No doubt he was there to help. “Promise me something?”
Even with her eyes welling with tears, Ashley nodded.
“Stay safe.” I pressed one more kiss to her temple, then I ran back to the car and tried to push thoughts of Ashley out of my head. I needed to be able to focus if I wanted to get to my brother.