Chapter 14 #2
“Get your game face on, sweetness. It’s time to meet the crew.
” His fingers lingered against her throat.
“Remember, you’re mine.” Possessive. Hard.
“You love me more than anything. And in a heartbeat, you’d kill to keep me safe.
” A half-smile twisted his lips. “Just like I’d kill for you. In. A. Heartbeat.”
Game face. Game face. Game. Face. Agnes thought she had it on.
She certainly hoped she was wearing the appropriate expression.
She’d choked down some of the vilest coffee in existence before heading out because a woman facing a motorcycle gang needed some caffeine churning in her blood, even if the coffee tasted like hell itself. And, for the record, it had.
She’d also paused long enough to slip on the tennis shoes that had been waiting for her. She still didn’t know exactly who to thank for the clothes and shoes, and Agnes was basically just grateful to have the new goods.
Cass marched out of the house—what she now realized was a ranch-style house in the middle of pretty much…nowhere. She saw no other homes. No barns. Just some big fields that eventually gave way to thick woods.
And lots and lots of motorcycles. A quick tally had her realizing that twelve very large motorcycles—all equipped with very large riders—waited in front of the ranch house.
The engines were still snarling and growling.
The men still gripped the handlebars and stared straight at Cass.
Cass, not her, even as she peered around him to try and take in the full scene.
Showtime.
It was probably a good thing that there were no neighbors close by. These guys and their motorcycles were loud. The air practically vibrated as she stood on the porch.
Cass lifted his hand. He closed his fingers into a fist.
Silence. All of the engines stopped at once. Kickstands went down. Boots touched the ground.
The riders didn’t climb off their bikes. They waited. Um, was she supposed to do something? Keep that game face on, woman. Act like you belong.
Cass reached back and caught her hand in his. He pulled her forward, positioning Agnes to stand right beside him. “We’ve got a new member.”
Some of the men wore helmets with face shields. Because of the shields—visors—she couldn’t see their faces clearly. Some had flipped up the shields and their faces—the ones she could see—were stone cold. She didn’t detect any hint of joy. They were definitely not pleased to have her there.
“She’s a Fed,” one called out.
“She’s mine,” Cass snarled back.
That shut the guy up.
She lifted a brow at the man who’d pointed out the fact that she was a Fed. Big, beefy, with thick, dark hair. A jagged scar slid down his right cheek.
“Not a new member,” another called out. A man with a lot of silver chains around his neck. Curly, black hair. Dark eyes. Gloves on his fingers. “She might be your lady, but she doesn’t ride with us. No initiation. No proving loyalty. You can fuck her—”
“Absolutely, I can, Hugo.” Cass squeezed her hand.
“And I will. Thanks. But you will not ever disrespect her again.” He stepped off the porch and headed toward the motorcycles.
“Now, if you don’t accept her, then you don’t accept me.
Let’s cut the shit. I don’t have time to waste.
Got business to handle. Enemies to eliminate.
So if it’s coming, bring on the challenge, now. ”
Wait, wait, what…what was happening? What challenge? She darted forward—
“Hi, there.”
Her forward dart was instantly stopped by Javion. He was just there. He’d hopped off his bike and lunged straight into her path. He caught her arms. “His fight,” Javion told her. “Not yours.”
She could feel her jaw dropping. “Why would he be fighting?”
“To keep you, of course.”
To keep me?
“Not like he just snaps his fingers, and everyone accepts a Fed. He’ll have to fight to keep you. If he wins, good news…you can both stay alive.”
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. “Back up,” she muttered. “If he wins…?”
“Um.” Javion glanced over his shoulder. The men had climbed off their bikes. At least four of them advanced on Cass. “Look at that. Only four challengers so far. Pretty sure he can take down four guys.”
At one time? She was pretty sure he could not. The four men included the guy with the scar on his face, and the one Cass had called Hugo.
“Oh, change that. Five. Six,” Javion corrected. “Six to one. Looks like those are the final odds.”
Six men faced off against Cass. They were ditching their helmets. They were putting down…uh, knives. Guns.
Okay, so at least they weren’t using weapons.
“Hand to hand,” Javion shouted. “Those are the rules. If you’re fighting to take down the leader, you have to do it with your bare hands.”
That was something at least. “So they’ll come at him, one at a time?” Cass could probably handle that. He’d get tired, but he had told her that he’d been fighting since he was a teen. That had to mean he knew how to take care of himself.
Javion laughed. In her face. “Fuck, no. They’ll come at him all at once—”
They jumped Cass. Slammed into him all at once as the others cheered. First thing in the freaking morning, in the middle of nowhere, Texas, they attacked Cass, and she screamed.