“Fuck.”
“That’s a start.” She nuzzled his neck, frowning when he pulled away. “What’s wrong?”
Cade drew in a ragged breath, his gaze focused on something behind her. “We got trouble. Brethren. Two of ’em. They’re watching us from the other end of the alley. Goddammit. They aren’t supposed to be in town. Jagger and Wolf are negotiating a patch-over but the rules haven’t changed.”
The Brethren patching over to the Sinners? She couldn’t imagine the two clubs had anything in common, and from what she’d seen they didn’t share the same ethos. The Brethren bought, sold, and traded women; they prostituted their sweet butts and turned a blind eye to abuse. The Sinners might be misogynistic, but that kind of behavior didn’t go on in their MC. Jagger and Arianne would never have allowed it.
Dawn followed Cade’s gaze and her heart skipped a beat. “It’s Jimmy. He’s with Trey. They’re always together.”
“Trey is one of the guys who grabbed me,” Cade growled. “Jesus Christ. This is too fucking much. Wanna shoot them dead right here, right now. Trey is fair game, but Mad Dog … I had to agree to let him go. Looks like he’s decided to rub his ‘untouchable’ status in my damn face.” He grabbed her hand and yanked her toward his bike. “Hop on, sweetheart. We’re gonna run them out of town.”
She hesitated, her gaze flicking from Jimmy to Cade and back to Jimmy. If she got on the bike, she would be as good as telling Jimmy he was right about her and Cade: She’d hooked up with a biker, and she was totally and irrevocably finished with Jimmy and the Brethren. But more than that, she would be doing the one thing she’d promised herself she would never do. Was she really ready to get involved in the biker life again?
The bus pulled up at the stop outside the alley, wheels squeaking as it ground to a halt. The door slammed open and Dawn watched the people mounting the stairs into the warm interior. Ten steps and she could be on that bus, warm and safe, and on her way home.
“Come.” Cade straddled his bike and held out his hand. “I can’t protect you if you’re not with me.”
How could she resist an opportunity to finally stick it to Jimmy and run him out of town? She’d never been on the offensive before. Even when she left him, she was running away. And how could she refuse the protection of the man who made her heart pound and her knees weak?
With one last look at the bus stop, she threw a leg over the bike and wrapped her hands around his waist. “Let’s ride.”
Cade cranked the throttle and the engine of his modded Harley Fat Boy roared to life, the sound echoing down the alley. Jimmy and Trey turned their bikes and sped away. Cade raced after them, veering out into the traffic and accelerating after the fleeing bikers as if there were no other vehicles on the road.
Dawn had ridden pillion on Jimmy’s bike, but she’d never experienced anything as breathtakingly exciting as riding with Cade. They flew through stop signs and traffic lights, wove in and out of traffic, and sent pedestrians scurrying off the sidewalk. Dawn clung to Cade as if she were a first-time rider, barely able to keep her balance when the bike tipped on hairpin turns that sent her stomach plummeting. The wind whipped through her hair, the motorcycle vibrated between her thighs, and the world became a blur once they hit the open road. She had never been as exhilarated in her life.
“Babe. Grab my gun from the holster,” Cade shouted over his shoulder.
Tightening her free arm, Dawn reached beneath his cut and removed the weapon, sliding it across his chest. She held it in front of him, but Cade shook his head.
“Going too fast to ride and shoot. You gotta do it. Shoot ’em.”
Dawn sucked in a sharp breath and pressed herself tighter against Cade’s back. Her legs clamped around his thighs when he suddenly changed lanes to accelerate past a truck. “I can’t shoot,” she yelled. “What if I hit someone?”
“That’s the idea. If you don’t, he’ll just keep coming back like a fucking roach.”
“I hate Jimmy, but I can’t kill him.” She slammed the gun into his stomach, her arm tightening around him to keep her balance when he hit a bump.
Cade grunted. “Well, then shoot out their fucking tires.”
Tires. I can do tires. How much harder could it be than trying to hit the tiny targets at the shooting range where Arianne had taken her for her birthday? She hugged Cade with one arm and peered around his side, aiming her weapon at Trey’s tires. Then she pulled the trigger.
Crack. The recoil almost threw her off the bike. The bullet pinged off the rocks and ricocheted overhead. Cade’s weapon was nothing like her .22. And clearly, she’d missed her target because Trey and Jimmy were still speeding ahead.