Chapter 34
“LIGHTS OUT” KXLLSWXTCH
“ I don’t fucking get it,” Hawk mutters as we exit the hospital. It’s late in the evening. Lamps light the lot, and there are fewer cars parked here than when I first arrived.
His cousin Declan got out of surgery hours ago.
Unfortunately, it was wishful thinking to assume they could reattach his hand like nothing happened.
Too much time passed between losing the limb and being wheeled into the operating room once I arrived with the severed hand on ice.
The doctor explained to Hawk that the injuries weren’t clean.
It looked as if he’d been ripped apart with a dull blade.
When Declan woke up, he confirmed the doc’s suspicion.
“I just wanna know who the fuck is coming after us. Them hiding their identity is a pussy move.” Aiden pulls on his helmet and works the straps beneath his chin.
Jaxon strides ahead of us, his gloved hand on Dahlia’s lower back as he guides her toward our motorcycles parked in the very back.
Declan didn’t get the information we needed from the images Jaxon caught. He’d been busy with other tasks, and by the time he started working on finding out who the hell had been lurking around our neighborhood, men dressed in masks kidnapped and tortured him.
Whoever they are, they’re watching us. They knew we went to Declan, so they prevented him from finding out more about them. I don’t know how the fuck that was possible.
We approach our motorcycles. I put on my helmet and glance at Jaxon and Dahlia.
I’m happy to see my best friend being open about his relationship.
He doesn’t hide his affection for his sister in front of us anymore.
I’ll admit, I’m in the same boat as Aiden when he said he’s jealous.
I want this with Madison. Being able to hold her hand, kiss her in front of everyone.
I want to whisper in her ear until she blushes from my private confessions in such a public setting.
We stand around our bikes, getting ready for a ride through the town. A nervous energy passes through all of us. We don’t know who’s after us, and with such minimal information about the people targeting us, we’re sitting ducks.
Aiden turns to Jaxon and flips his visor. “So you gonna teach her how to ride a motorcycle?”
“Yes.” Jaxon eases a helmet over Dahlia’s green hair and cocks his head as he ensures the helmet won’t fly off. He tucks his fingers beneath the helmet, where Dahlia’s chin is. “You already know how to ride. Don’t you, flower?”
“Taught by the best,” Dahlia says loud enough to be heard. She touches Jaxon’s arms, the corners of her eyes crinkling with a hidden smile.
I don’t miss the effect it has on my best friend. He relaxes and steps closer to her, like he wants her to continue touching him. Jaxon has always hated being touched—even as a kid.
“That’s my girl,” he murmurs. “Are you going to show them how it’s done?”
I smile at the teasing note in his voice. I don’t know how long he’s been teaching Dahlia how to ride, but she’s still a new rider. She’ll make rookie mistakes and will need to take it easy—especially on a powerful bike like Jaxon’s.
“Hey!” Aiden says, acting offended. “I know how to ride better than all of you combined.”
“Sure you do,” Hawk says, and straddles his bike. “That’s why you always end up wobbling when you redline it.”
I won’t lie. Every time I see Aiden’s motorcycle close to losing control from the speed, my stomach drops and I stop breathing.
We all ride one-thousand cc bikes—the highest-powered motorcycles you can get on the market.
They’re called Death Bikes for a reason.
I don’t care if it happens to me. It’s not like I’ll be around to feel the pain or miss anything. But I can’t lose my friends.
Or Madison.
I care about her so fucking much that it’s hard to breathe. If something happened to her while she was my backpack, I would lose it. No one would be safe. Not even myself.
I mount my motorcycle and stick the key into the ignition. Everyone follows suit, revving engines and glancing at each other to see if we’re ready to ride. Adrenaline rushes through my veins as I prepare to ride like a bat out of hell before I go back to Jerry’s to see Madison.
I’m the first out of the parking lot, but the others aren’t far behind. My mind clears and focuses on the powerful machine beneath me. Hawk and I fuck around by doing wheelies at a more reasonable speed. Aiden eventually joins in, while Jaxon takes it easy since he has Dahlia.
We ride closer to the abandoned neighborhood, and for once, I don’t long to go home. All I want to do is go to Madison, even if it’s only to sneak into her bedroom and curl against her while she sleeps.
The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand, prickling with awareness.
I glance over my shoulder, spotting Jaxon behind, while Aiden and Hawk ride ahead, still popping wheelies and having fun.
I face front and check the road once more before I peek over my shoulder again, this time catching different pairs of headlights rushing toward us.
Jaxon looks back, then lowers himself over the bike as he speeds up. I catch Aiden’s and Hawk’s attention, signing with one hand to look behind us.
Whoever’s behind us, they’re coming up quick.
As a group, we speed up and zip through the streets, racing closer to the abandoned neighborhood. If the newcomers are following us, then they’ll be in our territory and we’ll have the advantage.
Woods line both sides of the road, bathing us in darkness.
Our headlights provide the only light. My heart pounds against my chest, a flood of adrenaline rushing through my veins as my body prepares for a fight.
It’s been a minute since I’ve let off some steam and beaten the fuck out of someone.
Justin doesn’t count. The pussy buckled beneath me while screaming for help.
I peer over my shoulder, checking for the unfamiliar headlights. They’re closer, so I can see that the headlights are spread apart.
They’re riders too.
I turn around and suck in a sharp breath as someone steps out of the shadows, directly into my path.
“Shit!”
I swerve out of the way and hit the brakes.
My front tire jerks, and I lose balance, tumbling to the ground while the bike drags me several feet.
I jerk my hand off the handlebars, and the bike slides across the pavement, leaving behind a trail of red sparks as it grates against the asphalt.
I grunt as I roll and slide against the pavement, knocking my helmet several times against the ground.
One second, I’m sliding on the road, and the next, I’m sitting up and swaying from the force of the crash. Shouts filter through the ringing in my ears, and my vision is spotty. Everything is numb, and I blame it on the adrenaline and shock.
“Grab Ryder!” Hawk yells.
Two pairs of legs appear, and I tip back my head.
Aiden grabs me by the forearms and drags me to my feet while Dahlia takes my other side to help him.
“You okay?” he asks.
I manage a nod.
Aiden wraps an arm around my shoulders, holding me steady as I regain my balance. I suck in a breath, then another, working through my body’s reaction to the accident.
“Who the fuck are you?” Hawk stalks toward the group of bikers parked ten feet away from us.
Jaxon follows him, both of my friends acting as shields while I gather myself.
The three newcomers dismount their bikes and take two steps toward Hawk and Jaxon, who stop, leaving some space between them. Their visors remain lowered, meaning we can’t see any of their faces.
The person who caused my crash strides past my friends and hides behind his friends, all while holding a bat against his shoulder. He wears black from head to toe, and like his friends, his visor shields his identity.
“You took something of ours,” one rider says. I don’t recognize his voice, but that’s probably because it’s muffled by his helmet.
Hawk slips his gloved hand into his pocket, reaching for the pocketknife he keeps on him at all times. “Yeah? You almost killed my friend, asshole.”
“We were aiming for that.” Amusement laces the second rider’s deep voice.
I clench my jaw and curl my fingers into tight fists by my sides.
Hawk’s face twists into a snarl. “Is that right? I’ll ask again: who the fuck are you?”
The rider at the front cocks his head. “You don’t recognize us?”
“How the hell do you expect us to know who you are when you’re hiding behind helmets?” Hawk pulls out the pocketknife and releases the blade.
The riders chuckle, and the leader takes another step toward Jaxon and Hawk.
“Maybe it’s best if you don’t know who we are yet.
In fact, I like this better because it’ll keep you guessing.
It’s been fun watching you try to figure it out.
But I’ll throw you a scrap. You killed our friend, and that doesn’t go unpunished. ”
“An eye for an eye,” the other man says.
Aiden and I rush to Hawk and Jaxon, though I wave Dahlia off when she tries to follow.
She stops in her tracks, her eyes narrowing at me, but she doesn’t say anything.
Jaxon will have my balls if I let her get into any danger.
I don’t see this ending with a few angry words followed by beers around a bonfire.
“We’ve killed a lot of people. Narrow it down, motherfucker,” Aiden says.
The man holding a baseball bat stiffens and turns his head toward Aiden and me. Good. I’m glad what Aiden said got under his skin. I hope it hurts like hell.
“I want you to think long and hard about it,” the man says, annoyance tinging his voice.
Aiden scoffs. “I’ll give you something long and hard.”
I move nearer to Jaxon as he stalks closer to the group. Holding out my arm, I stop him from closing the last of the space between them. He might be a badass, but he needs to focus on staying near Dahlia.
“You realize Hellfire Night has no laws, right?” I ask. This has to be about Hellfire Night. The rules are strict, and the repercussions are too great for us to take a kill at any other time.
That’s a lie. I’ll kill anyone at any time if it means I can have Madison.
“Don’t care. That doesn’t mean you’re free from the consequences of what you do during those hours,” the leader says. He sounds bored and not at all pissed about us killing his friend.
I slip my hand into my pocket, where my large pocketknife is ready to use in case this goes south. “So you want revenge.”
Not a question. Just a statement.
“Of course I want revenge.”
“You really don’t want this bad blood between us, man,” Hawk says.
The leader pulls a switchblade from his pocket and snaps it out. “There already is.”
“Just so you know”—the light dims in Jaxon’s eyes—“your friend screamed like a bitch when I cut out his tongue.”
It’s a bluff. We all know it, but it hits its mark and all hell breaks loose.
The four riders sprint toward us, and we meet them in the middle. Fists fly. Boots meet groins and stomachs. Elbows jab into chests. Jaxon pulls off his helmet and uses it to beat the ever-loving fuck out of the guy pinned beneath him.
One rider rushes toward Dahlia. I tackle him to the ground and jerk off his helmet so I can get a good look at his face before I bloody it.
“Ryder!” Dahlia screams.
Right as I swing my head to the side, a bat flies toward my helmet and connects, throwing me backward.
Everything goes dark.