2
ROWAN
I roll my bike from the gravel road back onto the highway and open up the throttle. There’s nothing quite like the cool fall air blowing on your overheated skin.
There are no streetlights out this far into the country and there are no cars around, so darkness stretches ahead of me. I’m late to my brother and his fiancée’s engagement party at the clubhouse. I should have been there a couple of hours ago, but I got distracted.
Our club is always looking for new ways to earn legitimate income, and that’s what I was doing tonight.
There’s a small town outside of Silver Springs that has a bar for sale.
Even though the town is small, the dive bar has always done well for itself.
The owner doesn’t want to close, but his health isn’t allowing him an option.
Neither is his wife. She told him it was the bar or her.
I didn’t know if the rumor I heard was bullshit or not, so I decided to check it out myself before taking it to the club to decide. I think this could be a really good opportunity for us, though. As long as all the guys are interested.
One thing about club life is that you don’t decide things for your club without a vote. I don’t think this particular vote will be an issue, though. The bar practically runs itself at this point and the owner told me that the staff would like to keep their positions.
The hum of the engine soothes my soul as I fly down the empty highway.
Everything is clear until a few miles from town when I see taillights up ahead.
I slow down a little as I see a few bikes on a side road.
They pull out behind me and quickly pass me.
Their cuts aren’t a skull a crown, no, they have the devil in knight’s armor. The Devil’s Knights.
These assholes have been causing petty drama for us for a while now, which isn’t uncommon for smaller motorcycle clubs. They’re in our sights, now, so their leash is short. If they fuck with anyone from our town or one of us, they’ll be dealt with.
Their bikes speed up until they’re right behind the vehicle and then they surround them.
Everything seems to happen in slow motion as they run the vehicle off the road.
It flies through the air and lands on its roof.
The Devil’s Knights rush away from the scene, leaving whoever is inside to fend for themselves.
I steer my bike in the direction of the crash, not even bothering with the kickstand as I hop off and run to the SUV, pulling my cell from my pocket and dialing 911.
“911, what is your emergency?”
“I just witnessed three Devil’s Knights members run a SUV off the highway. I’m two miles outside of Silver Springs. The SUV is flipped on its roof,” I rush out.
“Okay sir, EMS and police are on their way.”
I hang up and tuck my phone back into my pocket.
The driver’s side is closest to me, so I get there first. The man inside is covered in blood and my stomach sinks at the sight.
I check his pulse and find one, although it’s faint.
I try to release his seatbelt, but it won’t budge, so I pull my knife from my pocket and cut the belt, catching his body as it falls.
I drag him to safety and then go back to the passenger’s side.
The woman there has a small cut on her head but looks otherwise okay.
I check her pulse, it’s normal. Her seatbelt it also stuck, so I cut her down and carry her to safety before moving back to the driver.
I check his pulse again and find none. I immediately start CPR, thankful that I did a refresher class a couple of weeks ago when I found out I had a nephew.
I hear the sirens in the background, but I don’t stop until the paramedics are pulling me from the man. Everything is a blur except for them saying that he’s gone.
Asher tugs on my hand, bringing me back to the here and now.
I give him a reassuring smile and then take in the beautiful woman in front of me.
And she is beautiful. She is curvy and has long black hair.
Her hazel eyes almost glow in the light of the grocery store and her dark pink lips look puffy, like she’s been chewing on them as she shopped.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen her since the accident, but it is the first time we’ve come face to face. I’ll admit that I’ve been watching her closely. I felt drawn to her after the accident, like I needed to watch over her. Especially after she lost her fiancé.
It was the talk of the town after the accident. She lost her fiancé the same day she found out she was pregnant.
My eyes slowly trail over her body, taking in the swell of her abdomen. I’ve never looked at a pregnant woman and been turned on before, but for some reason, I am now. She has the glow that everyone talks about pregnant woman having.
I clear my throat. “Do you need any help getting your groceries to your vehicle?”
“Oh, I’ve got it,” she says with a wave of her hand.
“Are you sure? It’s really not a problem,” I tell her.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She ruffles Asher’s hair. “You have a good rest of your summer, okay?”
He smiles up at her and nods. “Bye Ms. Kincaid!”
Asher pulls my arm as he goes further down the aisle searching for the cookies we came for. I can’t help but look over my shoulder as Everly walks away. My eyes lock on her round ass. That’s great, Ro, stare at the pregnant woman’s ass.
She exits the aisle and heads toward the checkout, and I help Asher find the cookies his mom sent us here for.
Sophie is pregnant and my brother is going overboard.
He’s decided that she’ll want for nothing during this pregnancy.
I know he’s making up for what he missed while Sophie was pregnant with Asher, so I can’t even blame him.
He wasn’t at the house when Sophie was craving Oreos, so I told Asher we would get them for her.
Little did I know that we would run into Everly.
The trip to the store takes longer than I planned since Asher has to look at every little thing in the cookie and candy aisle. I can’t even complain, though, because I’ll take any time I can get with my nephew.
When I finally drag Asher to the checkout, we pay for the cookies, and he grabs the bag. I sigh and shake my head when we see Everly still loading her groceries into her SUV. She’s a stubborn woman. She could have just accepted my help, and she would have been home already.
My skin prickles as we get closer to my bike. I scan the parking lot and find a Devil’s Knights member watching Everly from around the corner of the store. He must feel me watching, because his head turns toward me and then he bolts from the lot.
I hear a door close behind me and turn around to find Everly in her vehicle and pulling away. I frown as I look back to where the Devil’s Knights member was standing and then hop on my bike in front of Asher.
“Let’s get these cookies to your mama,” I tell him. “I need to head back to the clubhouse for a bit.”
****
After dropping off Asher, I drive to the clubhouse and go in search of my brother and Axel. I find them in Grayson’s office, looking over camera footage.
“We’ve got a problem,” I say as I enter the room, making them both look up.
“What’s going on?” Grayson asks. “Are Sophie and Asher okay?”
“They’re fine. Sorry, I should have led with that,” I mutter as I swipe my hand over my face.
“I was just at the grocery store with Asher, and we ran into Everly Kincaid. She didn’t want any help with her groceries, but when we came out of the store, she was still loading them into her vehicle.
I felt like something was off, so I looked around and found one of the Devil’s Knights members watching her from around the corner of the store. ”
“Fuck,” Axel mutters.
“We need to dig deeper into why they ran them off the road,” Grayson sighs. “There is a deeper reason there, and we can’t protect her properly until we find out what it is.”
“Agreed,” I murmur. “I’ll get Noah on it, now.”
Noah is one of our prospects, but he’s also amazing with technology. If there is something to figure out, Noah will, and I won’t rest until I know why the Devil’s Knights are going after Everly.