After the Ride (Night Riders Motorcycle Club Book 2) (4 page)

CHAPTER SIX

Daring to look, Lauren’s heart lightened when she saw Blake bare-chested, the leather covering his arms as his limbs rested in tight jeans. His gun was drawn, and Paul and the Night Riders were at his back as the club spread out and pointed their guns at every enemy they could find. Lauren’s eyes briefly met Blake’s, and she thought she saw the fury in his eyes mingling with desperate concern. She tried to smile, tried to tell him that she was really alright.

But Blake shifted his gaze to Nate and the belt still in his hands.

“Drop it,” Blake said, his voice hard and thick.

“Why?” Nate challenged as he left Lauren’s side. “You gonna do me like you did my brother?”

Blake cocked his gun.

“I might.” Blake said.

Nate showed no sign of fear as he crushed the buckle of his belt to the ground again, and Lauren bit down on her lip in fear of the impending blows. She pictured the skin peeling from her flesh in sharp slices, and Nate’s breath was on her back again when he stopped.

“I’ll even bury you in the same grave,” Blake promised. “You can rot with him.”

As he dropped the belt, Lauren started to relax despite her chains, but Nate suddenly plowed forward, his shoulders curled as his head slammed into Blake’s chest.

“Blake!” she screamed.

He kept his hands on his gun as Nate started to rain blows on his broad chest. Every punch caused her to wince, but soon Blake got the better of him. Pressing his body between his hard thighs, Blake trapped Nate’s fuming body on the ground, and he pressed the barrel of the gun to his temple when Wayne released a shrill whistle.

“Enough!” Wayne said. “Game’s up!”

Blake was slow to leave Nate’s fallen form, but when Paul snapped his fingers, Blake was off the ground. Nate groaned as Ike helped him to his feet.

“What the fuck are you—?”

“Let him unlatch her,” Wayne said.

“But I was—”

“You questioning me?”

Blake tightened his grip on his gun, and he aimed it at the others as he moved to Lauren’s side. Casting a quick glance at the hook and the chains holding her in place, he freed her from her bonds. At the first taste of freedom, her body went limp, and Blake surrounded her body with his free arm and dragged his lips to her ear.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he whispered. “I got you now.”

Lauren looked up from his chest, and when she saw the sad smile crossing his lips, Lauren returned his grin and nodded her head.

“I knew you’d come,” she murmured. “I just knew—”

Wayne charged forward, and Lauren cried as she reached for him his falling form. He pulled a knife from his boot and pressed it to the vein throbbing in Blake’s neck.

“What about it?” Wayne challenged the other Night Riders.

“Let him—”

“Stop cutting for him, Paul,” Wayne cautioned. “I’ll slice him up soon enough.”

Paul silently ordered his men to stand down. Lauren’s breath intensified in her chest as Wayne forced Blake to his knees.

“You really think we’d just let you take her and run?” Nate challenged.

“No. We’re gonna do a lot better than that,” Eric said with a smirk.

Wayne seemed to ignore the action swirling around him as he danced the blade across Blake’s sweating face.

“You know,” he started, “hothead like you should’ve met his maker long ago.”

Blake glared over his captured shoulder, his stare abandoning the sharp edge of the knife as he met Wayne’s stare.

“You had your chance,” Blake hissed. “You couldn’t do it then.”

“No,” Wayne confessed. “More fun to let you stew in your own shit.”

“Yeah,” Eric said. “Total pussy move.”

Blake’s eyes went wild as he lunged for Eric, but Wayne kept him in his grasp drew the blade nearer to his skin.

“Cut this shit out!” Paul said. “We’re not—”

“No you’re not,” Wayne said. “And you never were. Big brother? Born leader? No doubt little Joe is rolling over in his grave.”

Paul’s face hardened, and as he raised his gun, Lauren couldn’t help but notice the small tremble as his finger curled around the trigger.

Wayne tightened his grip.

“I’ll bleed him out right here,” Wayne promised as he brought the blade closer to Blake’s throat. “You gonna risk your right hand man on a cunt?”

“You damn right he is,” Blake hissed.

“I don’t know about that,” Wayne challenged. “Word on the sands is that this one’s gone weak in the nuts for his own piece of tail. How about that, Paulie boy?”

“You leave her—”

“Tell you what,” Wayne said. “How about I gut your boy here, fuck the cunt senseless, and…”

Wayne’s mustache lifted as his lips formed a cruel smile.

“Then we waste the rest of your crew and go get what’s left of your girls,” Wayne said. “Callie’s still a house, but I hear she can cook. And your little bitch can join this one.”

Lauren’s heart caught in her throat as Wayne gestured toward her, and Blake sneered against the threat of the blade.

“Never going to happen,” Blake said. Out of the corner of her eye, Lauren saw Nate seething around every syllable that passed though Blake’s lips.

“And why is that?” Wayne asked as he raked the edge of the blade across Blake’s skin.

“Because Paul’s gonna do you in right now,” Blake threatened.

Eric laughed, and Wayne pulled Blake closer to his chest as he stared hard at the head Night Rider.

“That a fact?” Wayne asked. “You gonna do some King Kong shit and live to fight another day?”

When Paul stayed still, silent, Blake writhed in Wayne’s grasp, and his ragged scream filled the room.

“Just fucking shoot him, Paul!” Blake called. “Take this prick out.”

Do it.
Lauren urged silently.
Get us home.

Home.

It was the first time that her mind, her soul, any part of her deigned to define camp that way. But now that she could see and smell the alternative, it was the only place where she wanted to be.

But Paul lowered his gun.

“What the hell are you doing, man?” Blake said. “Just—”

“At least he’s smarter than you,” Wayne said. “But how hard is that?”

Wayne shifted his dark eyes to Lauren and signaled to his boys.

“Maybe it’s fate,” he said. “Let’s teach ‘em all a lesson right here and now.”

Lauren cried out as Ike and Eric shoved her body to the ground. She thrashed wildly as he arms were pinned, and Wayne pushed Blake’s face to her side.

“We’re gonna let you watch,” Wayne said.

“No fucking—!”

“Familiar, prick?”

Blake blanched as Wayne lifted his blazing eyes to the Night Riders.

“Every last one of your sorry asses is gonna watch us whip her raw.”

Blake groaned as Wayne pressed the blade closer to his throat, but Lauren stayed in his gaze. As their eyes mingled, Lauren remembered the fear of having her own neck sliced open. She told herself that she would take the beating.

But if something happened to Blake?

“Let them up.”

Paul’s voice crashed through the air. Lauren’s body remained pressed to the ground as Wayne brought Blake back to his knees, the blade still at his throat.

“What’d you say?” Wayne challenged. “Gonna try to be a big man now. Think you can deal for them?”

“I—”

“What the hell can you even offer?” Wayne said.

Lauren held her breath as Paul pushed lowered his gun. She watched with wide eyes as he held his free hand out in surrender and spoke softly.

“We’ll pull up stakes,” Paul said. “Business running in and out of every town in these parts is yours.”

Eric burst into laughter as he nudged Ike’s ribs.

“That’s all you got?” Eric said with a smirk. “An empty promise? Like we’re just gonna let you and your boys and this slut walk out of here on your say so?”

Ike and the other Demon Dogs joined in the chorus, and Lauren shuddered at the sound. Blake’s lip curled over his clenched teeth and she saw him forming a hard fist.

“Blake!” she cried. “Don’t—”

“Who the fuck said that you could move?” Eric bellowed as he slammed his boot into Blake’s side and sent him back to the ground, groaning in agony.

“No!” Lauren screamed as she fought her captors hold and tried to take his face in her hands.

“Not so fast, slut!”

Eric and Ike dragged her up from the floor. She screamed as the Demon Dogs started to pull her across the room, and she winced when her body was slammed into the wall close to the hook. Her eyes fluttered as her gaze settled on the chains, and she scanned the room, biting down on her lip before she spoke.

“Go ahead,” she said in a soft whisper.

“No,” Blake moaned. “Lauren, no! Don’t—”

“We won’t tell you again!” Nate said as he kicked Blake again. Lauren’s breath accelerated in her chest, and she fixed her eyes on his.

“You want blood?” she said. “Then do what you want with me.”

“Don’t you touch her!” Blake screamed as Wayne kicked him again. Lauren closed her eyes as Nate’s breath ran down her face.

“It’s not near enough vengeance,” Nate said. “But it’d be nice to see you bleed.”

Lauren felt her body turned back to the dark corner, and she heard Blake screaming for them to stop. Her mind cried for Paul to
do something
. Her wrists were nearly back in the shackles when a gunshot fired into air. The room was awash in cries of confusion and fury. Several Demon Dogs drew their side pieces, but Paul dropped his weapon. She saw Blake’s hungry eyes as the metal settled close to his side.

He had killed for her. She had no doubt that he would do it again.

“No more lies,” Paul said as he strode forward with his hands in the air, his eyes focusing on Eric.

“And the only empty promise was bringing you into the fold,” Paul spat. “Good thing I corrected that.”

“Fuck you, old man.” Eric started to charge forward when Wayne pulled the knife from Blake’s face and pointed it in Paul’s direction.

“I’ll give this fucker one chance to speak sense,” Wayne said. “Talk.”

Paul swallowed, and Lauren watched his lips part slowly.

“We know when we’re beat,” Paul said. “And what Blake did… it was wrong.”

Blake groaned, and Lauren slightly shook her head. Maybe it was a killing. But a crime?

No. Not when she saw these men for what they were.

“So… so we’ll head out,” Paul promised. “Whole territory’s yours.”