Shade(84)

He straightened from her then removed the condom and tossed it in the trash can. Taking the slips of paper off Bliss’s stomach, he placed them on top of his already-large winnings and then Shade helped a thoroughly satisfied Bliss off the table, smoothing down her skirt.

“I need a drink.”

Shade handed her the almost-empty whiskey bottle he had been drinking out of, sitting back down in his chair and sliding it back to the table.

“Whose turn is it to deal?”





Chapter 37



“Fuck! “ Shade braked hard, barely managing to hold the bike upright.

The car in front of him had stopped suddenly while coming out of a curve. Neither of them had seen the long line of traffic going in the direction of Jamestown five miles away. There must be some serious shit going on ahead for the traffic to be so long. No cars were coming from the direction of Jamestown, showing traffic wasn’t getting in or out. The tension Shade had felt all day increased; that was why he was on the damn road in the first place.

Penni wasn’t at college anymore; she was on a job out of town, leaving Lily alone at a nearly deserted campus during spring break. He had been planning on keeping an eye on her until she left to go on her internship in the morning. He had spent the previous night watching her then left after she walked to her car to head to her job. He was on his way back to make sure she was okay after working and to watch her through another night. He would have to get a new bike soon if he kept putting so many miles on that one.

He was beginning to get aggravated with the dead-stop traffic when his cell phone rang. Reaching into his leather jacket, he took it out.

“What do you want?” he snapped, still angry at Razer for refusing to acknowledge that Lily was ready at least to talk to him.

Razer laughed. “I thought I would do you a favor, but never mind.” He hung up on him.

“Fuckwad,” Shade snorted, pressing a button.

Razer answered on the first ring.

“Why did you call other than to bother me?”

“I thought I would give you a heads-up. Lily called Beth and told her, since she was so close to Treepoint, she would drive in and spend the night. If you are where I think you are, it’s a waste of time.”

Shade started cussing, beginning to turn the wheel of his bike to head back to Treepoint. At least he would be out of the traffic.

“Hang on a minute, Shade. Lily’s calling.”#p#分页标题#e#

Shade stopped turning his bike, worried Lily might have been hurt. Could the traffic have been caused by an accident she had been involved in? Had she had a flat tire? Different scenarios ran through his mind as he waited impatiently for Razer to return to the call.

“Shade.” He could tell from Razer’s voice that what he was about to tell him wasn’t good. “Lily’s … in trouble. Her phone is on, and from what I can figure out, she’s at Sex Piston’s shop. She and the bitches have been taken hostage. From the voices, I think there are two men. I’m going to get the brothers and leave immediately. How far away are you?”

Shade had to clear the wrenching agony from his throat before he could answer, staring at the massive traffic at a standstill. “Five minutes.”

“I’ll call Stud and have him meet you there then call the police. Brother”—Shade heard something in Razer’s voice he had never heard before—“please save her.”

“I plan to.” Shade put his phone back in his pocket.

Giving his bike gas, he used the oncoming lane, going seventy miles an hour. If a car came, he would have been a dead man, but he didn’t care. He went faster until he came to where he had to take a left to Jamestown, where fire trucks and police cars blocked the road.

Shade decreased his speed, finding a space to ride his bike through. The smoke-filled sky was coming from a house near the railway tracks. He could barely see as a cop tried to stop him by waving a sign.

Ignoring him, Shade leaned to the side, forcing his bike through two fire trucks. Firemen leapt out of the way as he passed without slowing down. When he finally managed to get through the smoke and saw the road ahead, he gunned his motor to pick up speed again. He was almost there.

It wasn’t long until he slowed and flicked off his headlight when he turned into the small strip mall where Sex Piston’s shop was. Parking his bike at the end where it couldn’t be seen from inside the store, he was getting off when Stud and the Destructors came running from behind the building.

“Who’s inside?” Shade asked.

“All the women, Lily, and Dale and Joker,” Stud informed him grimly.

“Weapons?”