Sentinel - Devil Riders MC Book 1 (MC Romance Novel with FREE Bonus Novel!) (3 page)

He caught her looking and flashed her a smile that did funny things down low in her belly.

Chrissy grabbed a handful of menus and began to make her way over to where the bikers were sitting. On her way, she had to pass by the table where the two truckers sat. As she moved by them, she cried out in surprise as a heavy hand suddenly gripped her wrist. Chrissy looked down to see the larger and more belligerent of the two truckers looking up at her with angry eyes.

“So you won’t give me the time of day, but you’re all sweetness and light as soon as those dirtbag bikers come in? The fuck is your problem, girl?”

Chrissy struggled in his grip, but he was too strong.

“Get your hand off me,” she hissed. “Now!”

She sensed a presence at her side, and looked over to discover the big green-eyed biker standing there, arms crossed over his chest and scowl on his face as he looked down at the trucker.

Damn, but up close he seemed even bigger. Those tattoos rippled as he flexed his arms, and his muscles bulged underneath the black t-shirt he wore.

“We got a problem here?” he rumbled, the menace dripping from his voice.

The trucker looked up and blanched at the man-mountain looming over him. His hand released Chrissy’s arm, and she winced and massaged her bruised skin.

“N-no, no problem,” the man squeaked. “Me and the girl here was just havin’ a friendly chat.”

The biker looked at Chrissy and shook his head.

“It don’t look like the lady wants to talk to you, friend. It looks to me like you’re being a pest. You grabbed her when she was coming over to take our order. We’re hungry and don’t appreciate that. So I suggest you eat your food and get the fuck out of here. Understood?”

The trucker swallowed, then just nodded and looked away.

The biker grinned at Chrissy and winked, then walked back to his table. Chrissy watched him go, noting the sexy way his broad shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist, and his butt moved pleasingly under his jeans as he walked away. She shook her head and tried not to stare, tried not to think too much about him. Just being near to this guy did funny things to her. Things she hadn’t felt about a guy in a long time.

She approached the biker’s table, a fresh smile on her face. She passed around the menus, and the bikers took them, each with a nod or a murmur of thanks. Even though these guys looked like they were no strangers to trouble, she somehow felt at ease with them.

“Can I get you guys something to drink?”

“We’ll take some coffee, thanks.”

This was from her savior, the long-haired guy with the green eyes. His voice was deep but soft, every word measured and deliberate.

“Sure thing,” Chrissy said.

A few moments later and each of the bikers was nursing a fresh steaming cup of coffee. Chrissy was about to step away to give them some time to choose what they wanted to order, before the leader spoke again.

“If that worm over there gives you any more hassle, let me know.”

His simple and honest concern sent a tremble of something running through her. She tried to hide her response, tried to play it cool.

“I’m fine. Thanks though. Some guys just need to be reminded to have good manners more…forcefully than others. I think he got the message.”

The long-haired biker threw a meaningful glance in the direction of the trucker, but just nodded at Chrissy’s response.

“Yeah, I think he did. He better have.”

He looked up at Chrissy once more and met her eyes with that stunning green gaze of his, before turning his attention back to his crew. Chrissy stepped away to give them some privacy, keeping an eye on them to be ready for when they wanted to order. They sat around talking in low voices, and their body language seemed to show that they had important things to discuss.

They ordered a few minutes later, and then Chrissy left them to it.

When she brought the food to the two truckers, she was half expecting more trouble from them, but they wordlessly took the plates and began to eat. Chrissy breathed an internal sigh of relief. After they had eaten the truckers quickly paid the bill and shuffled out, the taller one stopping at the door and throwing a dirty look towards the bikers. His glare was met by the long-haired leader of the bikers, and the trucker was the first to avert his eyes, muttering darkly under his breath as he gave Chrissy a rather menacing stare before he pushed open the door and stepped out into the night.

The biker leader glanced at Chrissy and grinned at her again. Chrissy couldn’t help but blush, and there was that feeling low in her body again, something like butterflies in her stomach. She stood there stupidly, not wanting to move.

“Hey, instead of making eyes at the customers, why don’t you do some work and take this trash outside to the dumpster?”

She turned to glare at Dick. Chrissy resented the way Dick’s annoying voice intruded upon her fantasy, but he was the boss and part of her job was dragging out the garbage. She’d been idle. She sighed as she approached the garbage bag full of food waste and scraps, grunting as she hefted the stinking thing; it was heavy enough that she had to half-drag it to the back entrance.

She let go of it to open the heavy metal door, then held it open with her foot as she dragged the bag out into the darkness of the night. It was cloudy and overcast, so there was no moonlight to guide her, just the flickering fluorescence of the lightbulb above the door that did little more than make the shadows dance. That made it almost harder to see, rather than easier.

As Chrissy approached the dumpster the ground was slippery, wet from being hosed down recently, and the whole area around the dumpster stank. She held her breath as she lifted the door and managed to stuff the garbage bag inside. She let the door slam shut and turned back, heading for the bathroom just inside the door, where she wanted to wash the stink off her hands.

Before she reached the door, she was grabbed by the arm and a meaty hand clamped around her mouth from behind. She was pulled back then the hand holding her arm let go, immediately wrapping around her, pinning her arms to her sides. She tried to cry out, but the hand covering her mouth muffled it. Chrissy felt a surge of panic and struggled against whoever it was, but they were too strong.

“You bitch. I’ll show you what happens to girls who embarrass me in public,” the voice growled. Chrissy’s heart sank as she recognized the voice of the belligerent trucker.

She struggled as he dragged her backwards toward the parking lot. She twisted her arm and dug her nails into the arm that held her tight, and she heard a grunt of pain, but instead of releasing her, he tightened his grip on her, squeezing her until she could barely breathe. She thrashed, kicking out, trying to hit his legs, but she only flailed wildly and any blows that struck him did nothing. He moved relentlessly, dragging her around the side of the building toward one of the areas where the truckers parked their vehicles, heading to a truck that sat in shadows.

Chrissy gasped, noting that it was parked where most of the lights didn’t work—either they’d been smashed, or the bulbs had burnt out and nobody had ever gotten around to fixing them. As the man forced her away from Riggs, her panic grew into full-blown terror. She was helpless to keep the burly man from practically carrying her away. She had no doubt of what he had in mind for her when he had her in what he thought was a safe place.

With her arms pinned to her side, and unable to free one no matter how hard she struggled, she suddenly thought back to that night in Ashcroft Manor—the night Benny had hit her for the last time. How helpless she had felt, with no choice but to run away. How helpless she had
been
, locking herself away. She had promised herself that it would never happen again.

Chrissy saw red, and an anger that she normally tried to keep buried deep welled up inside her. With it came the strength of rage. Working her head from side to side just enough, Chrissy managed to bite down, hard, on the man’s hand. He jerked it back, yelping in pain and surprise. “Fucking bitch,” he yelled.

Her mouth was free. Chrissy seized the moment and let out an ear-splitting shriek.

“Help me! Rape!”

With a growl of in anger and frustration, her kidnapper grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her backwards. Chrissy overbalanced and tumbled down, landing on the ground with a hard bump that knocked the breath from her lungs. Unable to move, she squeezed her eyes closed and prepared for the worst.

She heard the sounds of scuffling. Like a sudden storm she seemed to be enveloped by a cloud of harsh male voices. It surrounded her, swirled around her like the noise of angry bees. As she opened her eyes and sat up to look around, she began to realize what had happened. The bikers were there, and the bee swarm was them encircling a squat figure they had pulled to one side and were pummeling to the ground. She could only assume it was the trucker who had tried to kidnap her.

The green eyed man came toward her. He took her arm with an amazing gentleness and helped her to her feet effortlessly, as if she weighed nothing. Then he floated her away from the fracas that was developing behind him.

“Did he hurt you? We came as fast as we could. That cowardly motherfucker, I knew he was trouble as soon as I laid eyes on him.”

“I’m fine. Now.”

“The boys are going to teach him a lesson.”

“They won’t kill him?”

He laughed. “They’ll just make sure he has second thoughts about trying this stunt again, although I’m not sure what sort of recovery time he’ll be looking at. The guys are pretty fucking pissed.” He turned her away, to face Riggs. “I’d rather you didn’t see that.”

He led her to the sidewalk in front of the diner, and gently sat her down. Still dazed from hitting her head when she’d fallen, Chrissy gladly accepted his help.

“I’ll be fine, thank you so much,” she said. Her voice was thin and high, and her body began to shake as the effects of the adrenaline coursing through her veins began to kick in. The bikers had pulled the trucker out of sight, but Chrissy could still hear the intermittent sounds of struggle coming from behind his truck. She turned to face her unlikely rescuer.

“Are you sure they won’t…”

He chuckled grimly.

“Don’t worry, they ain’t gonna kill him or anything. He ain’t worth doing time over.”

Chrissy swallowed, then nodded. The biker leader inclined his head toward the diner entrance.

“That manager of yours in there… he had to have heard the scuffle. I guess he ain’t the type to stick his neck out for you.”

Chrissy laughed bitterly.

“Or anyone. Let’s just say that I’m lucky you guys were here tonight and leave it at that.”

She held out her hand.

“I’m Chrissy.”

He took her hand in his, and shook. His hands were big and strong, but he was surprisingly gentle.

“Rafe.”

“And you are the head guy?”

“I suppose. I herd this bunch of miscreants around, trying to keep them out of trouble.”

“And does this herd, gang, club whatever it is, have a name?”

He indicated a patch sewn onto the breast of his leather jacket. It depicted a little red devil riding on a motorbike, surrounded by flames.

“We’re the Devil Riders. We have a clubhouse, a bar really, in Mount Fairway, just down the I-95.”

Chrissy had been taught to be wary of people like Rafe. It had always seemed like a sensible precaution. The lifestyle they led and the company they kept were a recipe for trouble. They were at the fringe of society, and getting involved with that kind of crowd seemed dangerous. Sitting there, right next to this huge biker, and looking into his striking green eyes, that mindset seemed alien. He didn’t seem dangerous—not to her. Not only had the bikers saved her ass, the word that came to mind when she looked at Rafe was…
alluring
.

Watch yourself girl.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you and your Devil Riders, Rafe.”

They were interrupted by the arrival of the rest of Rafe’s crew.

One guy came up and smile. “That asshole won’t be bothering you again, Miss.” This guy was shorter than Rafe—thin and wiry, with a scar running down one cheek. “We asked him to give us his word that he won’t come back here again. Ever. He agreed, so if you do see him, you be sure to let us know. I hate men who don’t keep their promises almost as much as I hate scumbag rapists.”

Rafe laughed.

“Thanks for dealing with that, Trigger.”

The man called Trigger smiled again. “We needed the exercise, Rafe.”

Then Rafe turned to face Chrissy and she looked at him, trying to think of some she could say something to show her appreciation, but words failed her. He seemed to be having a little trouble himself. He opened his mouth as if to speak again, but then seemed to change his mind.

Chrissy stood slowly, starting to feeling better. She was steadier on her feet than she’d expected to be, largely due to the support from these guys—these bikers. She took a deep breath and came to a sudden decision. Rafe was right about Dick and she was right about this job. She knew what she had to do. She had no idea how she’d find something else to make ends meet, but she wasn’t going to put up with this place or the crowd, the harassment from them and Dick. She didn’t need the money badly enough to put up with dealing with guys like that trucker.