Tank's Redemption: Red Devils M.C. (Red Devils MC Book 4) (14 page)

Annie took the next curve, feeling the sliding of the tires. Damn, she gripped the steering wheel. Thankfully
, she made it around without a problem. Only half a mile to go. Checking the mirror she saw that Katie was still moving in close behind her. She watched as the younger woman moved into the path of the car behind her, Danica’s partner. Damn, Katie was damned good. No way would she have been able to pull off that move on that corner. Looking ahead knowing that another curve was coming, she gripped the wheel, again.

Tank roared up behind Trick and Duck. Molly was standing beside the starting line with a smile on her face. Bone, Tiny, and Dog pulled up behind him. Getting off the bike his heart was pounding like he was having a heart attack. They’d realized when Trick had called about thirty minutes after they’d started the accounting screaming that Racheal had been distracting him. He’d been asked to help her move some boxes at her place since Tiny wasn’t home. Only Tiny had shown up and asked her why she hadn’t just waited for him to get home. She known he was on his way home before she’d called Trick. Tiny had gone out to talk to a contact about Louie, who they were still searching for.

Tank had been upset that he wouldn’t be able to go spend time with Annie. He’d called to let her know only to find she wasn’t there. By the time they gotten it out of Racheal
, after discovering that Molly and Terry where gone as well as Katie and Annie, they’d already been an hour behind the women. Bone stormed towards Molly and Terry, followed by the rest of them. Tank and Bone were a few feet away when Molly spoke.

“You know, I really expected you to arrive sooner. They’ve
been on the track for like thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, you guys must be getting slower in your old age.” Terry called out to them.

Tank stared at the women, a roaring in his ears. What the hell? Annie was driving the Devil’s Run.  More than one person had died at Devil’s Run. Dear God, what if Annie died. He’d lose his shit in a big way.

“Molly, this is a dangerous race. They could be killed!” Bone roared.

“Yep, they could. But I have to ask you Bone. If it was one of your boys would you demand that they not run it?” Molly demanded, glaring at him.

“It’s different.” Bone roared.

“It’s not, Bone. Having a pussy doesn’t make you too stupid to make your own decisions. They are good, Bone. Neither one of them is stupid. They’ll be fine.” Bone grabbed her and jerked her into his arms, kissing her. Dog held Terry as Tank turned to see Sal and Aunt Mae pulling up in Sal’s truck. His ears were still ringing, and he felt like he was going to be sick. If anything happened to Annie, he wasn’t going to be okay.

Mae walked over to
the small group. Laying a hand just below his shoulder, his heart slowed a bit when he met her eyes. She had always been able to calm him with just a look.

“I know my girl, boys. She can handle this, and if she asked your girl to do it son, then she knows your girl can handle it
, too. Let’s move to the finish and watch our girls win this thing.” Mae began ushering him towards the truck. Pointedly ignoring Trick’s reply that his wife would not be running this race at all if she hadn’t taught the girl to be a hellion. Everyone piled into the back and Sal drove them all over to the finish about half a mile away. There were a couple hundred people who’d come out to watch gathered around a screen that showed the progress of the drivers. There were drones that followed the drivers in the lead positions. If the technology wasn’t so damned expensive they’d most likely be watching these races from their homes. 

Instead, they huddled around the video screen
, watching. Tank stood beside Trick watching the red corvette that Annie drove, having learned that information from Molly, on the ride to the finish line. He watched as it careened around the corners. Fuck, fuck her tires were sliding on that turn. He held his breath and prayed. When she made it safely around, he almost sighed in relief. He watched as the track twisted again, and Katie pulled some maneuver that took his stomach into his throat. Trick had probably just about had a heart attack, he thought, looking at him. The man was green, and his fists were clenched at his sides. If that had been Annie Tank didn’t know that he would have remained standing. They were nearing the finish line, only four more turns and they were on the straight away.

“Why the hell they call this the Devil’s Run I’ll never know, other than you have to have a deal with the Devil in order to survive it.” Bone grumbled
, watching the screen.

“
Hell, don’t you know your own clubs history, boy!” Duck demanded.

“What the hell are you talking about now, Duck?” Bone asked

“It’s called the Devil’s Run because that’s how it started. Every man in the club would run it every year. Well, until Colter died running it. That’s where it got its name from. Torque used to have prospects run it before they were allowed in. If they were too chicken shit to run it, or they didn’t handle their bike well, then they didn’t need to be a Red Devil.” Duck told them, but Tank didn’t’ care. He was too busy praying, praying that Annie made it around that last curve she was about to take. It was the worst.

“
Fuck, that’s crazy.” Dog growled, and watching Annie take that curve Tank couldn’t agree more. At least in a cage you’d have a chance, but on a bike. You’d be dead for sure.

Annie knew that there was only one more turn, but it was the most dangerous.
Looking behind her to check on Katie she was surprised to see that somehow Danica’s partner had bypassed the other woman. How had that happened? She wondered, but the turn was coming too fast for her to worry about it. She turned back. She’d just have to trust Katie to get around her on the straight away. She took the curve, which twisted first left, then right, then left again. Her heart pounded and she knew that if she was off by even an inch she was toast. This curve was the worst, and it was why nobody ever did this race lightly. You had to be the best, or you could end up dead.

Annie took the first left, again
feeling the car trying to fishtail, shit. Only as she took the right, did she realize that it was a good thing that the tires had slid, otherwise she’d have clipped the cliff face. Damn, that had been lucky, she thought, coming out of the last turn. She was on the straight away, and she glanced ahead seeing that Danica had already crossed the finish line. She looked behind her again, and what she saw made her heart almost stop.

Danica’s partner was coming out of the curve only she was going to clip the cliff. Fuck, Annie thought watching, but there was nothing she could do. She watched in horror as the car slammed into the wall. She hoped that Katie wasn’t too close behind her, or she wasn’t going to
make it either. Roaring to a stop at the finish line. Annie jumped out of the car, her heart pounding as she watched the car bounce off the wall, fishtailing. It spun three times, but thank god, it didn’t flip.

Annie knew that the other woman would be okay, thankfully she hadn’t clipped it bad enough to get herself killed. But she didn’t know how close Katie had been the smoke that had been created by the tires prevented her from seeing. Then suddenly Katie’s black mustang burst through th
e smoke. Annie began jumping up and down. Yes, yes, yes they’d won the Devil’s Run, she thought gleefully.

Annie grinned from ear to ear
, and Katie roared over the finish line. She jumped out and ran over to Annie, hugging, they jumped up and down, screaming. They’d won! Danica growled, two more cars made it around the curve and came to a stop taking second place. Danica threw her helmet. Damn she was pissed. Danica’s friend finally got out of the car, and people ran over to check her out.

“How did she get ahead of you?” Annie asked Katie.

“I let her. She was doing some crazy shit, trying to get around me, so when I knew you had enough room, I let her by. I was afraid she’d get us both killed on that last one.” Katie looked over to where Danica was screaming at her friend who was being treated by the doctor.

“Damn, she’s still a bitch
, I see.” Annie said, laughing.

“Yeah…oh shit.” That was all the warning Annie had before she was tackled by a mountain.

Tank couldn’t breathe. He was seriously not breathing anymore. Annie had scared ten years off his life, and he would imagine that Katie had taken at least twice that off Trick’s. He jumped over the railing running towards the women. He grabbed Annie, jerking her around. He kissed her, long and deep. When he finally managed to pull away he still felt like a mad man.

“What the hell were you thinking, Annie?” Tank yelled.
  “You could have been killed.” He didn’t want to admit it, but he was trembling slightly from the stress of watching that race and knowing that if something happened that there wasn’t a damned thing he could do to save her.

Annie was shocked by Tank
’s distress, she was pretty sure he was shaking. She’d known that he wasn’t going to like it, but she’d never thought he’d be this upset. That was when she realized. Although, she was still feeling the high of the race, what she realized in that moment was ever more exhilarating.

“You care about me. Like really, really care about me.” Annie’s face hurt
, the grin she wore was so big.

“
Have you lost your mind
? Of course, I care about you, woman!” Tank roared, shaking her.

“I care about you too. I want to tell you about the drop, and why I have to do it
.” Annie whispered into his ear, almost strangled him with her hug.

“Then tell me about the drop, but don’t think I’ve forgotten that you just allowed Katie to convince
you to drive that crazy race. Risking both your lives.” Tank grumbled.

“We won though.” Annie said, smiling. “And Katie didn’
t convince me. I’ve been wanting to race it for years, but it’s a partner race and I never had anyone good enough to ask. It’s like you with the guns. I need to race, it’s in my blood.”

“No, no, you will not be racing again. EVER.” Tank roared, his heart beating a hundred miles an hour causing that roaring in his ears again.

“I will if I want to, Tank” Annie said, patting his chest, and grinning again. Tank moaned, and buried his face in her hair.

“Please, you can’t. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you, Annie. I wouldn’t survive it.” He clutched her to him and Annie wanted to kiss him from head to toe. He loved her. She knew it, and
suddenly she knew that she loved him, too.

“I love you too,
Cupcake.” She whispered, feeling his arms tighten around her as he kissed her neck.

“Sweetheart.” He groaned.

“We need to talk about the drop, soon. I have to tell mother that the van’s fixed, so she can set the meet.” Annie sighed, hoping that when she told him who her mother was he wouldn’t hate her.

“Later,” He growled
, scooping her into his arms. “Right now I need to get you home and assure myself that you’re okay.”

“Wait, what about the car
and your truck?” Annie asked.

“The others will handle it.” Tank told her without pausing.

From her position, she looked over his shoulder seeing Katie getting what looked like a stern lecture from her husband. Seeing Annie looking at her, she waved, grinning. Which made her husband roar, and lift her up, throwing her over his shoulder. Annie laughed, yep their men were not happy with them for racing today, but she knew that they’d have to live with it because she and Katie were going to race again, and they both knew it.

Tank carried Annie into the house and up the stairs. Annie laughed, the man wouldn’t let her down. She’d told him four times that she could walk
, to which his only reply had been a grunt. She’d clung to his neck enjoying the feeling of safety his arms provided. She was glad that she’d decided to trust him, she just hoped he didn’t hate her once she was done telling him that the arms dealer his club was searching for was her mother.

She’d accidently overheard that tidbit the other morning when Tank had thought she was asleep. He’d been talking with Bone and Tiny in the kitchen that morning. S
ince he’d lifted her at the raceway he’d set her down only long enough to bundle her onto the back of his bike. Once they’d arrived at the house she’d been scooped off the bike, and was now being carried up the stairs. Tank kicked open the door to the bedroom, setting her on her feet next to it. His arms wrapped around her and he kissed her.

She moaned, feeling his tongue invade her mouth. Then he pulled back making her want to cry at being denied that chance to kiss him back.

“You’re never racing again, Annie. Say it.” Tank demanded.

Annie sighed, so that was the way this was going to go
, she thought. She wasn’t going to feel good when he forced a promise she knew she’d never be able to keep from her. A slight t ache took up residence in her chest, at that realization. She couldn’t promise that she’d never race again because she knew she would. She also know that Tank could force her to make that promise. Hell, this man could probably make her swear she was a virgin if he withheld her orgasm long enough. It wasn’t her fault he was too sexy for words, and that he turned her brain to mush.