It doesn’t make sense.
Another cook flies by. There’s tons of shouting and grunts of pain. Unmistakable struggle and fighting. Someone screams. Two men walk past the window.
At the unexpected sight of them I mutter, “What the hell?” edging closer for a better look, with the girl still clinging to me.
Another Cipher jacket almost passes, but stops and blocks my view as the tall, young one shouts to his buddies. “THE COPS!”
Suddenly I hear them, too – blaring sirens in the distance, approaching fast.
I don’t know what The Ciphers are doing here, but I can’t let these guys see me.
Now that I know where the sadist motherfucker is, I won’t let anything take me off course.
I whisper to the girl. “Run!”
“Where will I go?!”
In a different world I’d tell her, to the police – they’re coming. Run to them!
But I know what he’s said to her. I know because of his lies, she doesn’t trust cops.
I know all too well the false stories he embeds in the women’s brains to hold them hostage and impotent.
It’s how he keeps his anonymity, and how he gets away with everything – by his victims’ willing silence.
Pushing her off me, I insist, “Anywhere is better than where you’ve been. Go!”
She scurries out the back door into the dark alley.
I step back as the young Cipher lunges forward and punches a hired thug who came to fight. Stunned and wondering, what the hell…I step up for a better look.
There’s Grey Eyes in the distance, hammering a man in all black, with steady, experienced fists. He looks trained. There is nothing sloppy about those punches – every one hits the target swiftly and to knockout.
There is food everywhere – on the floor, on hanging pots, on shelves. A female chef in all white is huddled in the corner. From her expression, she has no idea what’s going on.
She’s not alone there.
What the fuck is this gang doing here?
Grey Eyes turns to pull someone off the older Cipher.
He yanks the guy back then looks right into my eyes.
“Fuck!” I gasp, making a break for the door. As the warm night air hits my face I start running.
“Hey!” I hear him call from behind me.
The gun is swinging in my hand.
Fucking RUN, Luna!!
Sirens grow louder in the distance.
RUN!
I turn left and race into the residential street just behind Ventura Boulevard.
RUN!
Shoving my weapon into my backpack while I sprint is one of the most awkward things I’ve ever done.
Panting I steal a freaked-out glance over my shoulder.
He’s not there.
The perfectly groomed landscape is lit only by dim street-lamps. It’s supposed to be charming, but there’s never been a more terrifying sight when you’re this out of place, and in the mindset I’m in.
I have no idea where he went – he could be anywhere – and the sirens are coming closer.
I’m trying to be as quiet as I can by running on grass when it’s available. I don’t want someone to see me from their suburban window and make that 911 call.
My chest nearly catches fire as a cacophony of motorcycles explodes behind me.
“Shit!” I hiss.
The Ciphers catch up to me in 1.3 seconds flat.
Grey Eyes hits the brakes hard. “GET ON!”
Panting, I look at the upheaval behind us.
“Get the fuck on the bike!” he commands me.
His friends stopped with him, but now they’re taking off, leaving ominous words floating in their wakes…
“They’re coming.” “Leave her.”
Grey Eyes revs the engine.
I see a tan curtain open in the house behind him.
That’s all I need to decide. Rushing forward, I grab his bicep and leap onto the back of his Harley.
My backpack feels like it’s going to rip my shoulders off as he guns the engine so hard the front wheel comes off the pavement before it lands with a slam and drives into the night.
I wrap my arms around his rock hard torso, clutching abs in one hand and chest in the other.
A master of his machine, the blonde Cipher growls, “Hold on!”
Fucking hell. This street is littered with long, low speed bumps put in by rich people to discourage cruising of their precious neighborhood. Each one is painful until I realize that Grey Eyes rises up off the seat to weather each blow. Learning quickly, I follow suit.
As we chase after the ghostlike taillights of the bikes ahead, we rise up with each bump as though we’re one person. With me wrapped around him like this, my thighs around his, I can’t help but become aroused.
Mortified, I swallow hard against the sensations charging powerfully through my body as the bastard gains speed.
At this rate, with my adrenaline rocketing to dangerous heights, this is one hell of a fucking rush.