The pickup gained on them, engine growling like a predator. Ahead, the road curved sharply around a cliff face. It was both their salvation and potential doom.
Waiting until the last possible second, Ash cut left into the opposite lane and twisted the throttle. Instead of slowing, Ash accelerated and leaned into the turn. The bike tilted at an angle that left his leg hovering mere inches from the asphalt, the ground rushing beneath them in a gray blur.
One patch of gravel, one miscalculation…
“Don’t. Let. Go,” he gritted out, feeling Danny’s body tense against him.
“I’m holding on as tight as I can!” The shout stabbed Ash’s sensitive ears.
They cleared the bend, and Ash yanked the bike upright, the sudden shift nearly unseating them both. He gunned toward town, not home. Town meant witnesses.
The pickup’s engine roared behind them, closing the gap inch by inch. Ash’s mind raced faster than the bike. Crimson Hollow’s police force, all shifters, could handle this threat, whatever it was, human or otherwise.
If they could make it there.
Ash’s only priority: Keep his mate alive. Danny came first.
Always first.
The pickup was gaining ground.
“Honey bear, I need to disconnect our link so I can call for backup. It’ll only take a second then I’ll reconnect us. I promise.”
The silence stretched. Each heartbeat without Danny’s response felt like an eternity.
“Okay,” Danny finally whispered.
The Bluetooth link was their only tether during this nightmare. Breaking it felt like cutting a lifeline.
“Siri, disconnect helmet.” The command felt like cutting off a limb. “Siri, call Zeppelin.”
He gave Danny’s hands a quick squeeze before gripping the handlebars again.
His mate curled his fingers against Ash’s stomach.
First ring. The pickup swerved closer, its shadow engulfing them.
Second ring. Ash’s knuckles whitened on the handlebars.
Third ring. “Hey, Ash.”
“Route 23. Mile marker 45.” His words came in sharp bursts. “Pickup trying to run us off the road. My mate’s with me. Heading east.”
“We’re in town. On our way.”
“Siri, end call.” Ash wouldn’t breathe a sigh of relief until Danny was safe. Panic for Danny’s safety mixed with rage at whoever was behind them. His bear clawed at his insides, demanding to get out, to turn and tear apart whoever dared threaten his mate’s life. “Siri, activate helmet link.”
“Unable to link.”
Ash’s heart stuttered. “Siri, activate helmet link!”
“Unable to link.”
Danny was alone now. Trapped in silence. No way to know what was happening.
“Siri, activate the fucking helmet link!”
“Unable to link.”
