ROUGH RIDER Read Free Page A

she grabbed a stool and began swinging at them, too.
    She pushed one away with the legs of the stool, then swung it high over her head and came down on his neck in one fell swoop. He landed at her feet with a heavy thud and she swung it again, taking down the next guy like this wasn’t her first rodeo.
    I pulled her away, knocking through two more guys as we fought our way towards the door.
    By the time my back finally hit the heavy metal door, we’d left a dozen patched members of the Iron Godz MC laying bloodied on the floor. They weren’t going to stay down long. When I saw one begin to crawl to his knees and pull a gun out of his boot, I grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled her outside.
    “Let’s go!” I said, dragging her out into the darkness of the parking lot. A gunshot rang out, the bullet ripping out the door and whizzing over our heads as we ran away.
    “Oh, shit! Guns!” she cried, running alongside me. “My car is this way!”
    “Fuck your car! Get on! Now!” I said, jumping on my bike and starting it up. The front door flew open and three bloody and extremely angry bikers stumbled out onto the sidewalk.
    “Shit!” She cried, jumping on my bike as I kicked it into gear. She wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her head in my shoulder.
    “Hold on tight,” I yelled, as we roared out of the parking lot, gunshots following in our wake.
    Her arms gripped me so hard I could barely breathe. I gunned the engine, the vibrations running through our bodies violently as we sped through the night.

3
    Gabby
    T he fat tires of Dante’s bike gripped the asphalt as he took a corner fast and low. I was shocked I hadn’t fallen off yet and the fear of having my brains splattered all over the road washed over me. He hadn’t given me a helmet and my hair flapped wildly behind me.
    This wasn’t how I wanted things to go… None of this is what I’d expected.
    I was terrified, and now that I was hurtling across the George Washington Bridge with my entire life in the hands of this stranger, I was wishing like hell I’d never gone into that filthy bar.
    What the fuck was I thinking? How did I think that could possibly turn out okay? Stupid fucking Bella! I completely blamed her.
    And why in the fuck had I gotten on this guy’s bike? I took off and just left my car there in the parking lot. It was my only security and my only method of escaping. Now, I was completely at Dante’s mercy, and other than his name, I knew absolutely nothing about him, except that he was incredibly fucking handsome and fought like a fuckin’ warrior.
    It had all happened so fast. Maybe if I hadn’t turned my back on that fucking prick, he wouldn’t have pinched my ass. Maybe if I hadn’t slapped him, he wouldn’t have slapped me back. Maybe if I had managed to keep my shit together, then Dante wouldn’t have had to fight the entire fucking bar to keep me safe.
    How in the hell was it possible that an hour ago I didn’t even know this guy existed and now my life was completely in his hands?
    Terrified to loosen my grip, I kept my arms firmly wrapped around him, the warmth of his body the only thing comforting me.
    Fuck! Maybe I could get him to take me back to my car. I’d even left my purse behind, which held every other bit of security I had. My phone, my wallet, the keys to my apartment. I’d never felt so helpless. I tried to console myself with the thought that Dante probably wasn’t going to hurt me, seeing as he just risked his life pulling me out of a bad situation…
    But still. There was no guarantee.
    So, maybe he wasn’t like the others. What had he called them? One percenters? As far as I knew, he was the only one wearing a different patch than the others, and from this view, I had a good look at the Outlaw Kings patch on this back. I hadn’t noticed any difference until the asshole that ruined my whole night had pointed it out. A huge skull stared back at me. I shivered and closed my eyes, laying my head on