Ashley gripped the door as we rounded the curve in my drive. “What happened?”
“Lightning’s gone dark. I’m going to call Priest to come take you back to his place while I head down there.” I didn’t want to leave her, not even with a man I trusted with my own life. But my brother needed me. At least she’d be far away from whatever was going down with the Savage Bones.
“Take me with you.” Her fingers wrapped around my wrist. “Maybe I can help.”
There was no way I’d put her in danger. “The best thing you can do is stay here. I won’t be able to do what I need to do if I’m worried about you.”
She opened her mouth like she wanted to fight me on that, but I’d hold strong. My girl was tough—she’d proven that already—but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her.
The car skidded to a stop, and I jumped out to race around and open her door. “This isn’t how I pictured bringing you home for the first time.”
“Just promise you’ll come back to me.” Her palms skimmed up my chest.
I hated making promises I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep. “I’ll do my best.”
“Thunder…” Her lips sought mine.
Pouring everything I had into that kiss, I picked her up and carried her to the front door. I wanted to wait for Priest to show up, but the pull toward Lightning was too strong. He was in trouble, and I had to go.
I broke away and stared down into Ashley’s eyes. “Don’t let anyone in besides Priest. He’s on his way to take you back to his place right now.”
She nodded and tried to wipe the tears welling in her lower lids away.
“Don’t worry about me. It would take the devil himself to keep me away from you.” That was the best I could do. I reached down and patted the dog, hoping like hell he’d keep watch for the few minutes it would take for Priest to arrive.
“What’s that?” Ashley’s grip on my shirt tightened. “Is that Hades?”
I turned to see the giant wolf walk halfway across the drive. Then he sat down in the middle and stared at us like he was waiting for me to leave.
“He’ll help keep an eye on things until Priest gets here.” The wolf had proven himself over and over again in our fight against the Savage Bones. No doubt he was there to help. “Promise me something?”
Even with her eyes welling with tears, Ashley nodded.
“Stay safe.” I pressed one more kiss to her temple, then I ran back to the car and tried to push thoughts of Ashley out of my head. I needed to be able to focus if I wanted to get to my brother.
CHAPTER10
ASHLEY
Priest didhis best to keep me informed of what was happening with Thunder and the others, but I could tell he was holding something back. Rae and I huddled together on the couch with Scamp between us while he paced the narrow width of the family room.
“You’re going to wear a groove into the floor.” Rae got up to make more coffee. The three of us had downed a pot already while we waited for news.
I hadn’t heard directly from Thunder since he left me at his place, though he’d sent a few texts to Priest. Evidently, the Savage Bones were holed up in an abandoned commercial building outside of town. No one had heard from Lightning in hours. My stomach twisted and turned as I thought about how Thunder might feel. Not knowing if his brother was injured or being held captive inside must be driving him mad.
I just hoped he’d stay calm. He was used to performing well under pressure, but being at the mercy of a rival MC was a whole new level of hell.
Rae came back with a full carafe. “Need a refill, hon?”
I popped the top off my insulated tumbler and held it out to her. The sun would start to rise soon. I wasn’t sure if that would make things better or worse for Thunder and the other guys.
“Still no word?” I asked Priest.
His jaw clenched as he shook his head. “I’ve half a mind to head down to the clubhouse.”
“We should.” I’d had enough of sitting around in the dark and waiting for someone to decide to update us. At least at the clubhouse, we’d be in the epicenter of the Riders’ headquarters. Surely Atlas was in the loop.
Rae set the carafe down on the counter. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Thunder wanted us to stay put.”
