RAGE: President & First Lady Of The Death Dealers MC (15 page)

It’s funny the things that go through your mind in dangerous
situations. Some people say their lives flash before their eyes. Some think
about their regrets, things they haven’t done. Some get scared shitless and
don’t know what to do. Others say they think about their loved ones. Me? I
thrive on danger and feel that much more powerful when I come out on top. I’m
always ten steps ahead, weaving my way out before my opponent even realizes
what’s going on. Tonight is different. Tonight, all I can think about is the
scared girl next to me, no regard whatsoever for myself. Tonight, she’s the
only thing on my mind. I need to keep her safe, by any means necessary.

“Get down!” I shout.

I swerve right, bumping the rider on Raven’s side of the
car. She unbuckles her seat belt and drops down to the floor, covering her head
with her hands. Before I can get the guy on my side, he fires a shot. It hits
my window, the sound echoing through the car.
Thank God for bullet-proof
windows.
I floor the gas pedal, trying to put some distance between us.
Raven peeks up at me, fear in her exquisite eyes.

“You’re gonna be fine,” I assure her. “Do you trust me?”

She nods just as a bullet hits the passenger-side window.
The horn blares from a truck coming in the opposite direction, and the rider on
the right falls back and pulls in behind us. The one on the left fires another
shot, hitting my rear view mirror.
Think, Gage, think. What would you do if
she wasn’t with you?
I’d take the fuckers down.

I need to get off the main road.
I move over onto the
shoulder and pass a few cars, but the bikers follow right behind. If I don’t do
something quickly, a lot of people will get hurt. An access road comes into
view, so I head in that direction. A couple more shots hit the rear windshield.
I glance down at Raven, cowering on the floor. I need to end this now.

I hit a hard right, take a few side streets, and get a good
lead on them. I know they won’t give up, though. I press the button I have
hidden under my seat and the secret compartment on the dash opens.

“Whoa,” Raven says, eyes wide in wonder.

“Cool, huh?” I grab one of the unregistered Glocks I keep in
there and drop it in my lap, along with an extra magazine. “Look, we can’t
outrun them, so I need to get rid of them. Just stay down, and I’ll get us out
of here.”

“Fuck that. You got an extra one?”

She climbs back into her seat and grabs the other Glock out
of the dash. Shock turns into pride as she looks over at me, a fire burning in
her eyes.

“Okay. Let’s do this,” I say, more to myself than her.

There’s an open field up ahead, so I race toward it, turn
in, and face the road. I turn the high beams on so the fuckers can see us, then
put my window down. She does the same.

“On my cue, start firing. There are extra mags in there.”

The bikers stop at the edge of the field, and I rev the
engine.
Come on, motherfuckers
. They sit there, just waiting and
watching. I rev the engine again and they take off toward us. I shift into gear
and press the gas.

“Now, babe!”

They fire a shit-storm of bullets which hit the windshield
and the grill. Raven fires at the guy on her side, taking him down after four
shots. I wait until the other is close enough and fire one into his chest. He
flies backwards, flopping to the ground. I need to make sure they’re dead. I
stop the car and turn to her, taking her hand. She’s breathing heavily, but she
doesn’t seem scared anymore. She stares into my eyes, waiting. Waiting for me
to tell her our next move. She trusts me to get us out of this shit, and I
will. “Get into the driver’s seat and lock the doors. Anything happens to me,
you drive away. Got it?”

“What? I’m not leaving you!”

Fuck me.
Each day that passes, she looks more and
more like the perfect woman. I crush my lips to hers then pull back
reluctantly. “Just do as I say,” I command while grabbing my flashlight from
the glove compartment.

I hop out and listen for the click of the locks. The moment
I hear it, I move slowly toward the biker I shot, listening to the two
shitheads groaning. Make that one; one of them goes quiet. I find the one I
shot, but he’s done for. I put another bullet in him anyway before I head to
the opposite side and find the other fucker. Damn. All Raven’s shots connected—one
in the stomach and three in the chest. The girl is good. I crouch down and
remove his helmet. He coughs, blood dripping out of his mouth. “Who sent you?”

“F… fuck… you.”

“Fuck me? Nah. Fuck you, motherfucker.” I put a bullet in
his neck and watch as the life drains from his eyes. “Fucker.”

I head back to the car and Raven jumps out and into my arms.
Fuck, she feels good.
I hold her to me tightly, thanking God she’s safe.
I don’t know what I would have done if she’d been hurt. Or worse.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You good?” I ask as I toss the flashlight onto
the back seat.

She nods, her head bouncing up and down emphatically.
I
need to get her out of here.
I pull out my phone and dial Razor.

“Prez,” he answers.

“I need clean-up… and a ride. Bring the trailer, too.”

“Got it. Where?”

“I don’t have a fucking clue. Have Tek track the Mustang.”

“Got it.”

“And clear out the clubhouse. Members only.” I hang up and
look down at the girl still clutching me tightly. “You never stop surprising
me.”

She gazes up at me, and I brush a kiss on her lips. How many
women would have done what she did? Not a lot of
men
would have stepped
up like that. I lean against the car and just hold her, stroking her hair as I
stare up at the night sky. Her words play on a loop in my mind.
I’m not
leaving you.
And I don’t believe she would have, either. I think she would
have gone down with me if it had come to that. Shit. This is exactly why I
don’t keep women around, why I keep a revolving door on my bedroom. Any woman
of mine would be an easy target. Is that what I’m doing to Raven? Am I turning
her into a target? I know I’m a selfish son of a bitch, but I want her too much
to let her go. I’ll keep her safe. If I have to become her personal bodyguard
then so be it. If anyone wants to get to her, they have to go through me.

The guys arrive half an hour later. They roll my bike out of
the trailer and load up the bodies and their bikes. Razor walks over to me,
jerking his head toward the Mustang.

“What happened?”

“Later, Razor. Church when we get back.”

He nods and heads back to help the others. I lightly squeeze
Raven’s shoulders, and she peeks up at me. “Come on, doll.”

She releases me, and I grab my hoodie from the back seat.
Standing before her, I place it around her shoulders and she sticks her arms
in. I zip it up and lift the hood over her head. While Motor loads the Mustang
into the trailer, I help Raven onto my bike. She instinctively slides forward
and wraps her arms around me when I climb on. She clings to me for the entire
ride, her tight grip never faltering. Fuck if I don’t like the feeling.

We roll into the compound, and I park in the garage. While
helping her off, I notice she’s shaking. “Babe? You okay?”

She doesn’t answer. She’s staring at my chest, but I get the
feeling she’s not
seeing
me.
Fuck. She must be in shock or something.
I pick her up and hurry inside, praying she’ll be okay. E rushes toward me.

“What happened?” he asks in a panic.

“I think she’s in shock.”

His eyes widen, and he exclaims, “She was with you?”

“Could you just take a look at her?” I really don’t need his
shit right now.

“I’ll get my bag.”

I take her to my room and lay her on the bed gently. She
stares up at the ceiling, hardly blinking. I enclose her trembling fingers in
mine.

“You’re okay, doll.”

“I… I killed him.”

“What? No. No, babe. You shot him, but he didn’t die.
I
killed him.”

E enters the room and kneels next to me, trying to brush me
aside. “Wait outside.”

“Why?” I ask.

“I need to do this without you hovering over me. Just give
me a few minutes.”

“E—”

“Please, Gage.”

Fine. But he better know I’m not going far.
I give
Raven’s fingers a gentle squeeze. “I’m right outside the door.”

I pace the corridor for what seems like an eternity, but was
probably just ten minutes, before E opens the door.
“She’s fine. Just a little shaken up. I gave her something to help her sleep.”

He pats my back and leaves. I hurry into the room, eager to
get back to her side. She’s sitting up now. I close the door behind me and
kneel in front of her. “That was one of the bravest things I’ve seen in my
life. You were awesome, babe.”

She trails her fingers over the stubble on my jaw and gives
me a small smile.
Good. She’s snapping out of it.
I fucking hate to
leave her right now. “I’ve got to talk to the guys. Lie down and I’ll be back
as soon as I can.”

“I… I should go. I have work in the morning.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Millie.”

She nods and lies back down. I kiss her forehead and make my
way to the chapel. Everyone’s there, waiting, all eyes turning to me when I
walk through the big double doors. Except for Tek. He’s tapping away on his
laptop’s keyboard. He’s our resident techie, hence the name. Fucker could have
gone to MIT but stuck around here. I have no idea why.

I take my place at the head of the table. “Tek?”

“Jonas Wilde and Jerry Cane, both from Atlanta addresses. No
ink, no known affiliations… just a couple of traffic tickets between ’em.”

“No ink… so it’s not another MC or a gang. Why would they
come after me?”

“Think it has anything to do with last night?” Razor asks.

I raise a brow at him. “Cassidy? I don’t think so. But I
guess I should pay her a visit. Motor, the Mustang?”

“Boys are working on it as we speak.”

“Good.”

“What exactly happened?” E asks.

“They were tailing me. I tried to lose ’em and they started
firing. Couldn’t shake ’em, so I decided to take ’em out.”

“Where was Raven in all of this?”

“Dude,” I say proudly. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told
you.”

“Try me.”

“She helped.”

Everyone’s eyes widen in surprise. I lean back in the chair,
my chest swelling with admiration for her. I notice Chopper watching me keenly.
He doesn’t say a word, though.

“What?” E furrows his brows in confusion.

“Yeah. Grabbed the extra gun and basically said she wasn’t
having that shit. Took out one of the fuckers almost on her own. The only
bullet I put in him was the one in his neck.”

“Damn, Prez! Impressive bitch you got there.”

“Watch your fucking mouth, Crow,” I growl. She’s not some
regular bitch, and they all better get that through their thick skulls.

He raises his hands in surrender and shakes his head.
“Sorry, boss.”

I turn back to Tek. “Find out everything you can about the
fuckers. I don’t know if it’s just me they’re after, so no one rides alone.
Razor, you and me got a date with Miss Martin tomorrow.”

“Got it, Prez.”

“I don’t want anyone hanging around here for the next few
days, either. That includes Hounds.” That doesn’t go over too well. They all
start grumbling, and I raise my hand to stop any forthcoming arguments. “I’m
serious. You want some pussy, you go out and get it like every other
motherfucker on the planet. I’m not trusting anyone at this point.” There are
still a few grumbles, but no one opposes me.

“And the girl?” Motor asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is she gonna keep quiet?”

“Of course she will.”

“You sure?”

I lean forward with clenched teeth and a murderous glare. E
kicks me under the table because he knows I’m about to go the fuck off, so I
take a deep breath and bring it down a few notches. I can’t get into it with
any of my brothers right now.

“I said she
will
. Anything else?”

After a chorus of “no,” I dismiss them all and push my chair
back. I have something important to tend to in my room. E grabs my hand before
I can leave, and I drop back in my chair with a groan. “Let me guess… you wanna
talk?”

“I do.”

“When did we become bitches? You wanna have a sleepover and
braid each other’s hair?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

He waits until everyone else is out of the room then looks
me right in the eyes.

“What are you doing?” he asks, concern in his voice.

“What do you mean?”

“With Raven.”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“It looks like we might be getting a First Lady.”

First Lady? He must be out of his fucking mind. The whole
world knows I don’t do old ladies. “What? Fuck off, E.”

“No? Then what? I don’t want to see her get hurt.”

“I’m not going to hurt her, and she’s not your concern.”

He leans back with a cocky grin and a glint in his eye. If
he wasn’t my best friend, he’d be on the receiving end of a throat punch right
now.

“Like I said… First. Lady.”

“And like
I
said… fuck. Off.”

I walk away to the sound of his laughter.
Dickhead. First
Lady, my ass.
I’m seriously in to her, but I’m still not looking for an old
lady. On the way to my room, Ron stops me and hands me Raven’s phone and
jacket. “You took care of her friend?”

“Yeah, boss.”

“Good.”

I bump into Chopper coming out of my room and raise a brow
at him. What the fuck was he doing in there? “Pop?”

He closes the door quietly and narrows his eyes at me. Yeah,
he’s about to drop some “fatherly advice” on me.