Rain Shadow(17)

“Reno!” Angel’s voice call to me somewhere from the spinning room and Dreygon shouted her name right after. I worked hard to gain my bearings, but my ears rang and nothing was in focus . . . with the exception of the same pool cue cutting through the air again. Stunned from the blow to my head, my reflexes jammed, and I couldn’t think which way to move. Two hands pushed me. Angel screamed as I fell sideways. The cue had struck her as she pushed me out of the way.

“I’m fine,” she said weakly. She held her arm against her. This time Cash swept in and picked up Angel. He carried her away.



Turned out all I need was a little prodding, and my head cleared instantly.

I charged at the guy ready for blood. I grabbed the end of the pool stick, wrenched it out of his fat fist and threw it to the floor. My foot shot out and I struck his knee. A sickening cracking sound followed. He grabbed his knee and tottered backward. My fist flew into his face before he could recover. He dropped onto his ass with a thud.

Angel being struck by the cue had raised the tension in the room, and the cohesive group of spectators had torn into two distinct clubs. Random fists started flying. Gunner picked up a guy and threw him across one of the pool tables. Jericho ducked out of the way of a flying chair and then he used that same chair to crown a guy in the head. The chair cracked in half along with the guy’s skull. My sparring partner attempted to stand, but I was done. I needed to get Angel out of the bar. He made a wild grab for me. I kicked out and nailed him in the face, slamming him into the wall. He was out cold.

Blood sprayed through the room like red confetti. I searched frantically through the minefield of flying fists. Angel was standing in a corner with a chair in front of her like a lion tamer trying to keep the beasts away. I pushed through the melee. Not realizing it was me, she shoved the chair up toward my face.

“Angel.”

She dropped her four-legged shield and jumped into my arms. I carried her through the scrimmage to the front door. Mickey passed us with a pistol in his hand. It seemed he was done with tonight’s clientele.

We slammed out the door and raced to the bike. I handed her the helmet, and we climbed on. A shot rang out, startling both of us. Angel’s eyes went wide with fear.

“I think he was just firing it into the air to stop them from destroying his place,” I assured her.

I started up the bike. Angel wrapped her arms tightly around my waist. I looked back at her. “How far do you think a half gallon of gas will get us?”

“Not far enough. But I know a fun place off the road.” Her lip tilted up seductively.

“Definitely up for fun.” I pulled out onto the road. We were both fucking pumped with energy. Just being in their world had made me that much angrier, that much more willing to take a life. I was on the other side of justice at the moment, and I hated to admit it, but it didn’t feel all that wrong. There was something satisfying about making pudding out of an asshole’s face. Or it could have all just been because of my insane obsession with the girl holding onto me.

She pressed her body against mine and tightened her hold on me. It felt as if jolts of electricity were being shot between our bodies. Angel was like an explosion of everything I desired, a hurricane of love, sex, turmoil and emotion that knocked me fucking senseless.

The road was dead quiet. With no streetlamps and only a sliver of a moon, the wavering headlight on the old bike had to work hard to light the way.

Angel shivered as the cold night air brushed over her bare thighs. She hugged me tighter and slid her hands beneath my shirt for warmth. “Turn off the road where you see that yellow sign up ahead,” she said loudly over my shoulder.

It was not a road but a clear path between a sea of thorny shrubs and spindly trees. We disappeared into a cloud of dust.

Angel brought her mouth close to my ear. “About a half mile ahead is an outcropping of rocks.”

The gray granite slabs were easy to spot. They were worn smooth from sand and wind, and they nearly glowed white beneath the dim moonlight. Before I’d even stopped the bike, Angel had slid her hands from beneath my shirt and down into my pants. Her fingers teased my hard cock. I turned the engine off and leaned back against her as she continued to smooth her hand over my erection. She lightly kissed the bump on the side of my head. “Does it hurt?” she asked.

“Huh?” My eyes drifted shut at the intoxicating feel of her touch. “I can’t feel anything except those long, sweet fingers of yours wrapped around my cock.”

Reluctantly, I pulled her hand from me. “There won’t be anything left for you,” I said.



She threw her long leg over the seat and took off her helmet. She was as breathtaking in waning moonlight as she was in full daylight. I untied the bandana from my neck and swung it around. “Now that I’ve got you out here in the middle of nowhere, what do you think I should do with you?”