Bounty:Fury Riders MC(20)

I reached the building with the flag out front and waited for the cab.  If only the driver would hurry! I was shaking with fear and nervous  energy, ready to scream. The worst part was feeling so helpless. There  was nothing I could do.



I heard a motor approaching, and I stepped out from the shadows so the driver could see me.



Only it wasn't a cab. It was a black van. And it was slowing.



So many things went through my head at once. I didn't know the people  inside the van, but they looked as though they knew me. They weren't  just driving through. They were looking at me, slowing for me. They were  both wearing leather kuttes.



Oh, no.



I turned to flee, realizing too late that they had me trapped. I heard  the van door sliding open behind me and a male voice shouting for  someone to catch me. My life flashed before my eyes as I ran, for the  second time in less than twenty-four hours.



Then, the most beautiful sight I'd ever see came squealing around the  corner, heading toward me. A man on a motorcycle. Vince. My heart  leaped.



"Get down!" he screamed, and his hand went to the waistband of his  jeans. He was going for his gun, I realized. I dove to the side out of  sheer instinct, landing in a thick patch of weeds.



The van backed away, its tires squealing, as Vince fired on it. I heard  metal hitting metal, but wherever he hit the van wasn't enough to stop  it from escaping.



Vince stopped beside me, a string of obscenities streaming from his  mouth. I had the feeling my would-be captors were the least of my  problems.         

     



 





Chapter Fourteen





Vince





When I was a kid, my mom would use the word "conniption." Like, "You  kids are gonna make me have a conniption if you don't calm down." I used  to wonder what that meant, like what a conniption actually was. What  did a person have to be going through to have that happen?



When I saw Erica running from the black van, I knew what Mom had meant. I  was about to have a fucking conniption all over the place.



I wanted to disable the van. Actually, what I really wanted was to kill  the sons of bitches who thought they could take Erica from me. Killing  them wouldn't help, though. Dead men couldn't tell me who'd sent them or  why. Even though I knew who sent them and I had a pretty good idea as  to why. I wanted to hear it from their mouths.



And I wanted them to tell me who in my crew had been a traitor, besides Lance.



I should have just killed them since they got away without a scratch.  When I pulled up next to Erica, I saw red. I couldn't think straight,  couldn't speak except to scream every bit of profanity I knew. I had to  do something to let off some of the blinding rage I felt.



And then I looked down at her, and I didn't feel the same spark I'd felt  when I found her on the street the night before. This time, I didn't  feel sorry for her. She brought this on herself.



"Get on the bike," I growled. I couldn't look at her, didn't help her  off the ground. I waited until I felt her weight settle in behind me and  her arms wrapped around my waist before pulling away and turning back  toward the clubhouse.



It was a short ride, and the entire time all I could do was ask myself  what I had done to make her run off like that. The first chance she got,  she left. They had to be waiting for her, knowing she would sneak off.  Of course, why wouldn't she? I was lower than dirt, wasn't I? No woman  like her would want to be with me out of their own free will. I had to  trap them, lock them up. They knew her better than I did. I actually  thought for a minute, after the way we kissed that morning, that she  wanted to be with me. How stupid could I be?



When we pulled up in front of the building, I called the other guys. "I  got her," I said, panting into the phone to Axel. "Have everybody come  back."



I felt Erica trembling behind me, but I didn't feel a bit sorry. I  wondered if I should even be in the same room as her. I wasn't sure I  could trust myself-not that I would hurt her deliberately, but I might  end up saying things I shouldn't say.



She got off the bike without my asking this time and followed me into  the clubhouse. The first pair of eyes I looked for belonged to Onyx. He  was standing there, watching a game of Monopoly.



"What the fuck goes on around here when I'm gone?" Every other sound in  the building ceased. All eyes were on me, then on Erica. I assumed she  cowered behind me.



"What's happening?" Onyx looked at me, then at Erica. "What are you flipping out about?"



I looked at Erica just long enough to give her a command. "My room."  Then I motioned for Onyx to follow me into the office. The door was  hardly closed before I flipped out.



"She sneaked out! How did you let her? Was she fucking invisible or something?"



He shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know, she said she was going to the bathroom. What was I supposed to do? Follow her?"



"Yes!" I knew how ridiculous I was acting, but it didn't matter. I was  furious with her, and I had to get rid of some of it before I talked to  her.



"Come on. How was I supposed to know? I didn't even know she left.  Really." He looked upset, and I knew it wasn't his fault. She was smart,  she could have tricked him.



"Damn it. They almost got her."



"What?" His tan skin went pale. He wasn't easily so shaken up, and  something about it warmed my heart a little. He really cared, if only  because I cared. It meant a lot. "Where were they?"



"A couple blocks away. In a van. They were gonna pull her in."



"What was she doing? Where did she think she was gonna go?"



"I have no idea," I snapped. "Anywhere but here, I guess." I faced the  window. I didn't want him to see me like this. She would rather have put  herself in danger than stay in the clubhouse for my sake. It spoke  volumes.



"Don't take it personally," Onyx said. His voice softened a little. He  was the only person I would let see what I was going through. We'd been  through enough together than I knew I could trust him not to hold it  over my head. "I guess she thought she was doing the right thing."



"Yeah. Glad I got there just in time." I punched my thigh once, twice, beyond frustration.



"What are you gonna do?"



"I have to go talk to her," I said, walking out. "She needs to know how  fucking serious this is. I can't let her sneak out again."



I was still mad beyond words, but I could think straight. I needed to be  able to when I spoke to Erica, or else I might make her cry. I knew I  wouldn't be able to handle it if she cried. When I walked past the game  room, I felt the eyes on me. They all wondered what I would do to her.  Like I could do anything. I didn't look at them, but went straight  upstairs.         

     



 



She was waiting for me, sitting on the bed with her hands clasped.  Everything I felt went out the window when I saw the look on her face.



I went to the window and looked out. From my bedroom, I could see the  river. A barge was going by, and I told myself I would say something  when it passed a certain point. Part of me wished I was on that barge.  Away from here. I had already fought people away from Erica twice in  less than a day. I was exhausted.



"What were you thinking?" I asked. I was still facing out the window,  and my voice came out in a whisper. I wasn't angry anymore. I was too  tired to be angry.



"They tricked me," she said.



"How? How the hell could they do that?" I looked back at her, and she  was shaking her head. Her eyes were on the floor. She looked even  smaller than she actually was, like a little girl who knew she was in  deep trouble.



"I went on Facebook. Just to see what was happening in the world, you  know? I was going crazy, just hanging out listening to the guys playing  Monopoly. Anyway … I don't know how it happened, but my mom logged on and  told me my dad was hurt. In the hospital. She told me I had to come  right away."



I frowned, which she must have taken as me not believing her. "I swear,"  she whispered. "I'll show you the messages. I was so scared."



"How did you sneak out?"



"There was a fight over the game, so I waited until Onyx was distracted. You guys take board games very seriously around here."



"We take everything seriously," I said. I knew she wanted me to smile, but there was no way.



"Anyway, I was in such a hurry to get to the hospital. She … whoever it  was … made it sound so serious, like I had to get there right away." She  started to cry. Shit, I couldn't handle that.



"Don't cry." It was pointless. She was gonna cry if she wanted to cry. I  looked out the window again and wished she would stop. I wanted to  comfort her, but I still needed her to listen and take things seriously.