Chapter 4 Aurora
AURORA
Aurora hadn’t meant for anyone to get hurt because of her.
Yet there was Nitro, sitting in the driver’s seat under a streetlight two blocks from her apartment, blood darkening the sleeve of his jacket like a brand he had earned.
The sirens were closer now, slicing through the night, and every instinct she had screamed at her to run—to disappear the way she always did.
Instead, she sat next to Nitro, waiting for the cops to pass so that they could make their getaway.
Her hands shook as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay warm. “Hold on,” Nitro said, looking over his shoulder to watch the cop cars pass by them in a sea of lights and sirens.
He sped down the highway as the city blurred around them.
She had cracked her window, letting the cold air burn her lungs.
It helped to keep the memories from closing in too fast. She pressed her fingers to her forehead and took a deep breath.
Aurora needed to get her emotions under control because she knew from experience that being emotional could get her or whoever she was with killed.
She hadn’t planned on this, and she definitely hadn’t planned on him.
Aurora had learned a long time ago that if she needed to be saved, she’d have to do the saving, but Nitro disproved her theory tonight.
He had come to her rescue, and for that she’d be forever grateful, because she had a feeling that if he wasn’t there tonight, she wouldn’t have been able to save herself.
No, this time, the bad guys would have won, and that wasn’t something that she could have accepted.
They drove back to the Iron Vipers’ clubhouse, and even though it took only minutes, it felt as though it took hours.
Nitro pulled around to the back of the bar and parked her car in the shadows, near the corner of the property.
The tree line looked darker than usual, and she couldn’t help the shiver that went up her spine.
“You okay?” he asked.
“No,” she whispered. It was the truth, so it was easy to admit. He tugged off his jacket and pulled it over her shoulders.
“You must be freezing,” he said. She was half undressed and hadn’t taken the time to pull on any clothing before they left her apartment. Nitro insisted that they get out of there before the cops showed up. He didn’t want to answer any questions, and she had to admit, she felt the same way.
“I’m not sure that your jacket is going to fix this for me, Nitro, but I appreciate the effort,” she grumbled. “What now?” She wanted to tell him to get out of her car so she could take off and disappear like she usually did, but Aurora had a feeling that Nitro wouldn’t agree to her plan.
“Now, you let me take you back into my club, and we talk to Torque. He’ll have a place where we can lay low until we figure out who the hell broke into your apartment,” he said. She wasn’t sure if telling Nitro that she already knew who both of those men were would be in her best interest.
“I’m assuming that Torque is one of your friends,” she said.
“You could say that,” Nitro said. “He’s our club’s Prez and one of the best guys that I know.
If we need help, he’ll give it with no questions asked.
” Aurora had a feeling that he’d have a few questions for her, but right now, she’d have no choice but to answer them.
She needed to find a way to lie low for a bit since she wasn’t able to get out of town before the guys found her.
This time, they had gotten too close, and she’d take all the help that came her way.
“Fine, I’m willing to meet your Prez, but if things go sideways, I’m out of here,” she insisted.
He nodded his agreement, although his eyes told a different story.
The one thing she knew for sure was that there was no way that she’d ever let another man hold her against her will—no matter how many pretty promises he made her.
Nitro walked her into the bar as though she were fragile, and she almost wanted to laugh.
Nothing about her was breakable—not even her damn heart.
“We need to see Torque,” he said to a guy behind the bar.
She looked around the bar, noting that the party from earlier had seemed to die down a bit.
There were a few men still sitting at the bar, and a few barflies lingering in the back of the room as though waiting to be chosen to go home with one of the bikers.
She almost wanted to laugh at just how pathetic it all seemed.
They followed a big, bald biker to the back of the bar, and he disappeared into a smaller room.
When he came back out, he held open the door for them, announcing that Torque would see them.
It was all very formal and a complete waste of time.
If the guys tracked her to the bar, she’d be out of luck, and every second that passed made that more of a reality.
“Nitro,” Torque said, standing from behind his big desk. “What can I do for you?” he looked her over, and Aurora pasted on her best smile.
“This is Aurora,” Nitro said. They didn’t have time for niceties such as introductions, but she still held her hand out to him, just to be polite.
“Good to meet you,” the biker growled, shaking her hand.
“We have run into a bit of trouble,” Nitro said.
“I can see that,” Torque said, nodding to Aurora’s arm. She had cut it on part of the broken lamp on their way out of her shithole apartment. She knew that it was bad enough to need stitches, but she figured that was the least of her problems.
“Shit, why didn’t you tell me about that?
” Nitro asked. He stood and disappeared into the bathroom just outside the office, and Aurora let herself breathe.
Just for a second, because she could still feel Torque’s eyes on her.
She knew that he was going to want some answers, but the question was, how much of the truth was she willing to share with her new friends?
She had learned at a young age that trusting the wrong people usually ended with more trouble than she was willing to take on.
Aurora worried that her girl parts had gotten her into some hot water with Nitro, that she wasn’t going to be able to get out of very easily.
But she was sure of one thing—this was where the truth was going to come out.
Asking for help always led to certain truths, and tonight was going to play out no differently—she was sure of it.
She’d known it the moment Nitro mentioned that he’d help her find a safe place to land. He was going to want to know who those men were at her apartment, and she’d have to tell him—for better or worse.
When Nitro came back into the office with the first aid kit, he quickly bandaged her arm, using a few butterfly bandages to help close the gash a bit. “That will have to do until we can get it looked at.”
She barked out her laugh, “I’m not sure that’s how this is going to work.
Going to a hospital or even a clinic is out of the question.
They’ll look for me there.” Aurora knew that nowhere was safe for her right now.
Her only option was to get out of town, and if Nitro could help her do that, she’d let him.
He stood next to her, watching her every move as though waiting her out. She swallowed hard, knowing that it was now or never for the truth to come out. “That name the guy used,” she said quietly. “Renee.”
Nitro didn’t flinch. “Yeah, I figured it wasn’t nothing. You knew the guy, right?”
She nodded. “It’s not my name anymore,” she said, lifting her gaze to meet his.
“But it used to be. Before I learned that names can be cages.” She stood and paced, the words burning their way up after years of being buried.
She had never told anyone her story, and saying it out loud made it feel all too real.
“I grew up owned,” she said. “Not officially. Not on paper. But I belonged to men who liked to collect pretty things and break them down until they stopped trying to leave.” Her voice shook once and then steadied.
“They taught me how to smile. How to obey, and how to disappear when it suited them.” Nitro’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t interrupt.
“I got out,” she continued. “I changed my name and learned how to stay one step ahead of them. I didn’t steal from them.
I don’t deal drugs or use. And I didn’t touch their money.
” She laughed bitterly. “But none of that matters. To them, I’m still theirs.
I’m their property, and they want me back. ”
She stopped pacing and faced both of the bikers, noting the pity staring back at her in their eyes. “Those men tonight,” Nitro said, “they weren’t the worst of it, were they?”
Silence fell heavy and absolute as she nodded her answer. “There will be more of them,” she admitted. “They’ll keep coming until I agree to go back with them, but I will never do that. I’ll die before I let them put me back into that cage.”
Nitro pushed off the corner of the desk slowly. “Are you telling me that you’re in danger?” he asked carefully.
Aurora met his eyes, fear and defiance warring in her chest. “Yes.” For a long moment, she thought this would be where he would walk away. It would be where he decided she was too much. Too broken, and too dangerous to keep close.
Instead, he said, “Then you stay with me, and we’ll find a safe place to lay low for a bit.”
Her breath caught. “Nitro—”
“Can you find us a place, Torque?” Nitro asked.
“Absolutely,” Torque agreed. “It’s going to take you a while to get to the place, but it’s off-grid, and you’ll be safe there,” he said, more to Aurora than to Nitro.
She wanted to protest and to tell them both that this was too dangerous, but the relief that she felt wouldn’t allow her to say those words aloud.
“The house will be well protected,” Torque continued.
“It belongs to the club, and if those assholes think about coming after you there, we’ll know about it.
” His voice dropped. “They’re gonna learn real fast that the Iron Vipers don’t back down from a threat.
And if they step foot on our property, we’ll consider it a threat.
” Aurora’s knees nearly gave out. She hadn’t realized how badly she’d needed someone to be on her side.
“I don’t want to drag you or your club into this,” she whispered.
Nitro stepped closer, close enough that she could feel his heat. “Too late,” he whispered. “I’m already a part of it. Those fuckers attacked me tonight, too.”
“I’ll get you guys' keys and directions. You both should head out to the kitchen and grab some provisions for the road. You’ll take my truck since they’ve probably made your vehicle.
” He tossed Nitro his truck keys and turned to leave the office.
They followed him into the hallway and back to the bar.
“Thank you,” Aurora breathed. “Don’t thank me yet,” Torque said.
“You have a lot of distance to put between you and the assholes who are coming for you, but you’re in good hands with Nitro.
” For the first time in a very long time, Aurora Ryder let herself believe that maybe, just maybe, her luck was finally changing.
The safe house wasn’t what she expected.
It was just a nondescript house tucked behind a row of trees, lights low, its presence quiet—like it knew how to keep secrets.
Nitro cut the engine and scanned the street before getting out of the pickup truck.
His movements seemed efficient and almost practiced.
This wasn’t his first time taking someone off grid, and that thought twisted something sharp in her chest. He was capable, and she wondered just how capable he was.
Inside, the house was sparse but seemed lived-in.
There was a couch that sat in front of a stone fireplace, and a small kitchen sat off to the back of the house.
Weapons were locked away, but not far out of reach.
It was the kind of place that was meant for waiting out storms, not starting new lives.
Aurora wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling exhausted down to the bone.
“You’re safe here,” Nitro said, shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it to the sofa.
His arms had been cut up in the fight, and she started to fuss over him.
He just waved her off, telling her that his cuts were nothing, but she could tell that they weren’t.
“You shouldn’t have told me about them when we were back at the bar,” she started. “I could have patched you up.”
“Yes,” he interrupted gently but firmly.
“I should have, but we were running out of time. We needed to get out of town, and your cut was much deeper than mine. How about we get settled, and then I’ll take a shower and assess if I need you to nurse me back to health,” he teased, bobbing his eyebrows at her.
She giggled despite herself and the feelings of despair that were crowding her mind.
She sank onto the edge of the couch, fingers knotting in her lap as she stared at the floor. The quiet pressed in, louder than the chaos had been. Safe places always did that to her. They gave her too much room to remember how wrong things could turn out.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. It was a lie, but he seemed okay with letting that one slide.
That worked for her because there was no way that she wanted to get into the doom and gloom that was playing through her head right now.
That could all wait until tomorrow, when she’d have to figure out her next move.
right now, she planned on taking a hot shower and crawling into bed, because Aurora felt as though she might just be able to sleep for days.
And for the first time, in a long time, she felt safe enough to actually close her eyes.