Range sighed. “So, this is your one shot. This is your one chance to leave.”
“Hell, no,” Dutch said curtly.
Ranger shot him a look of death before taking Naomi by the shoulders. “This is your one chance to leave and get back to your life. We can leave you here, in this booth, and you’ll never see us again. You can go back home, back to your life, and get back on track.”
“Are you insane?” I whispered.
“What if she talks?” Dutch asked lowly.
Naomi scoffed. “I’d never do that to you guys. Not in a million years.”
I shoved Ranger out of the way and cupped her cheeks, unable to contain my musings a second longer. “Does that mean you’ll stay, then?”
“It’s her choice, Troop,” Range murmured.
“Does that mean you’ll stay with us instead?” I asked breathlessly.
Time seemed to suspend itself in space. Everything stopped. No one breathed. At least, I sure as fuck wasn’t breathing. I couldn’t stand the thought of letting her go. Of allowing her to go back to the beast she had finally escaped from. She’d never be happy. Not like she was when she was with us. And for the smallest of seconds, her gaze darted over my shoulder.
I thought that was it.
Until…
“Let’s go,” she said as she took mine and Dutch’s hands, “for all we know, Gordon has already been alerted that we’ve been spotted. Range?”
“Out the back is best. He can intercept us now that we’ve been standing here for too long,” he said.
Naomi nodded as she pivoted. “Out the back, around to the bikes. I’ll get on with Dutch this time in case we were spotted coming in. Let’s go.”
23
NAOMI
“Hang on,” Dutch said as he struck up his bike, “peel outs can be a bitch.”
I wrapped my arms clear around his waist and gripped tightly to his leather jacket. The squealing of tires had nothing on the revving of their engines that rattled my ribcage. Riding with Troop to the bar had been a fantastical moment. Feeling his body heat so close to mine while the wind whipped through my hair was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The dark clouds above hung low, threatening to open up the heavens on us as we raced toward the clubhouse.
“I’ll take the long way with Naomi. You two split up and take our other two routes,” Dutch said.
“Who are you talking to!?” I called out.
He simply tapped his earpiece before leaning forward. It dragged my body with him, and I felt myself sort of suspended. How I was able to float while catapulting myself through the air at seventy miles an hour, I’d never know. But, being on the back of that bike with Dutch was an unmistakable high. Riding with Troop had been relaxing. He leaned back, filling the spread of my legs as we leisurely gazed out over the ocean. Watching the storm roll in with clouds as high as the Eiffel Tower. With Dutch, though, it was different. There was a concentration that sucked me in. The way his back because almost a board for my support made me feel cared for, even when I was behind him.
I’d never felt that way with anyone before. being safe with them, even when their arms weren’t wrapped around me.
It made me wonder what riding with Ranger would feel like.
I closed my eyes and listened to the cracking thunder as the sky pierced with lightening. The storm raged the ocean beneath us, battering waves against the cliffside. With every crash, the smell of the ocean grew fierce. With every gust of wind, Dutch counteracted its force by weaving with it instead of fighting against it. There was a finesse to the way he drove, just as there was a finesse to the way he moved.
I swear, the engine of his bike made noise simply because Dutch wasn’t capable of it.
Still, once I felt the smooth concrete give way to gravel, I knew we were back at the house. I opened my eyes and found a war waging in the sky above my head. Rain dumped into the ocean, miles away from where we were. And yet, it felt like, at any moment, we’d be drenched by the same water that filled the ocean to its core.
“Come on, we have to get you inside where you’re safe,” Dutch said as he took my hand.
“Everyone, listen up!” Ranger bellowed as we made our way inside. “We’ve got an impending attack! Hostiles in the area, and they spotted us at the bar!”
Trooper held up his hands. “We took emergency routes back to the clubhouse, but we need to be prepared. These are police officers coming after us, so we have to step cautiously.”
