I ran from a murderer… straight into the arms of three dangerous bikers.

Max, the billionaire runaway, pulled me from the brink. His touch burns hotter than the bullets chasing me.

Jake, the MC leader, was once my childhood hero. Now, he sees me as a woman, not the little girl he once knew.

Wade, the ex-Marine, sees through every lie. He makes me want to confess secrets I’ve never told.

But as my past closes in, I’m not sure if I’ll survive loving all three. Unless they break me first…

————————

Lauren

Faster.

I willed my short legs to run as fast as they could through the woods, fragments of moss and mud flying out from beneath the soles of my sneakers. Pearls of sweat formed on my skin beneath my Buckeyes sweatshirt despite the cool air. The thunderous echo of footsteps and the barking of a dog rattled my eardrums.

I had to get away from them no matter what.

The tip of a low-lying branch scraped across my cheek, drawing blood. I ignored the pain. If only I could ignore the throbbing of my strained calves as well, or the burning sensation in my knees or the tightness in my chest as my lungs threatened to explode. My eyes were already getting teary from lack of oxygen.

Oh, Lauren, you should have listened to your roommate when she told you to go jogging around campus at least once a week.

Or to the voice in my head that told me not to get a venti-sized caramel frappe with extra whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

Then again, I had bigger regrets, like taking a bus from Columbus to come all the way here to Kentucky to my boyfriend’s cabin in the middle of nowhere, just to break up with him in the first place. I should have just ended things over the phone and mailed back the fancy bracelet he had given me. If I had, then I wouldn’t have seen him slit someone’s throat as if he was just cutting through a piece of paper. I knew he was many things; a spoiled rich kid, a liar, a cheater, a man-child with an ego bigger than his manhood, but I never thought he was a cold-blooded murderer.

Even now, I could still see the blood on the edge of the knife as it fell from his hand and clattered on the floor, shattering the silence that could only come from a person drawing their final breath. There had been crimson drops splattered on the wood, only to be swallowed up by the puddle that spread across the boards.

I had stood frozen like a statue for a minute, too shocked by what I had seen, which was why right now, I could not afford to stop moving even for a second.

Clyde had already killed once, if that was even the first time. He would kill again.

A gunshot rang through the trees, making the branches shake and the birds in them fly off. My heart stopped.

Was he going to kill me?

How I wished I could fly like the birds that had just fled from this place, but all I could do was run even faster. I didn’t want to die. Not like this. Not without ever having been anywhere or achieving anything in my life. I had never even experienced amazing intercourse. Not with my previous boyfriend, and definitely not with Clyde. Intercourse had been about me giving blow jobs and faking orgasms. Oh,why was I thinking about that now?

I thought instead of my mom and my dad. I missed them so much. I missed my mom’s cooking and her singing, even though it was not always on key. I missed my dad’s laughter and his jokes that weren’t even funny. I missed everything about them. In fact, it was only because I felt so lonely and lost after they died that I ended up with that like Clyde. If they were still around, I would never have gone out with someone like him. I definitely wouldn’t be in this much trouble now, running for my life while trying not to pass out from exhaustion.

Please help me, Mom, Dad. Please help me make it out alive.

Rain started falling, trickling down from the canopy to bounce off my head and shoulders. Was this their way of answering my prayer, of protecting me?

At least the rain would wash away my tracks and my scent. If only it didn’t make my clothes feel heavier or my skin cold as it seeped through the fabric. If only it didn’t blur my vision, too.

I cut myself again. My hand this time. Then my leg on the jagged edge of a rock that ripped straight through my drenched jeans. Still, I kept going.

I could hear the cars now. One at least. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to hitch a ride, especially since I was dripping wet, but I would just have to hope. Then I’d have to get somewhere safe, somewhere Clyde wouldn’t find me. I’d go to the cops, but I wasn’t sure they’d believe me or help me. They’d more likely help Clyde, since he was the one with the money and the family name. I couldn’t count on anyone. All I could do was try to keep myself safe.

To do that, I had to reach the road.

Once I caught a glimpse of it, my body somehow started feeling lighter, my feet going faster as if treading on air.

I’m almost there. Almost there. Almost…

I jumped out of the bushes, feeling a sense of freedom and accomplishment as I felt the pavement beneath my feet, but whatever relief was welling up inside me vanished as I saw the glare of a motorcycle headlight fast approaching.

No!

I tried to cover my eyes and shield my body as much as I could, but before I knew it, the deafening sound of screeching rubber echoed in my ears. Something collided with my elbow, and I fell, my side hitting the pavement. I rolled onto my back, gripping my shoulder as I felt a flood of pain. I screamed, but the sound was muffled by the rain, the drops splattering on my face.

They were all I could think of—the rain and the pain—until a face appeared above me. At first, I thought it was my mom or my dad, but then, I saw the most gorgeous blue eyes I had ever seen looking out from the gap of a black and silver motorcycle helmet. They were like a piece of a calm summer sky piercing through the storm I had caught myself in.

It was the last thing I saw before everything faded into a sea of darkness.

-

Jake

By the time I reached Billie’s, what had started out as a drizzle had already turned into a downpour. Typical weather for the Louisville area, even in spring.

I parked my Royal Enfield Classic 350 next to the two other bikes in the shed and entered through the back door. The bar was empty as it usually was before three, with only the bald bartender and a bearded guy mopping the floor inside. They were both long-time members of my MC, their names carved into the wooden cloud that hung from the ceiling, the same cloud embroidered into the back of every Black Storm leather jacket as the backdrop for a pair of gloved hands gripping lightning bolts as if they were throttles.

“Hey, boss.” The bartender, George, looked up from the counter he was polishing. “Got my lemons?”

I grabbed one from the bunch in the paper bag I was holding and threw it at him. “Here.”

He caught it firmly. Just what I’d expect from someone who has a son in Little League.

I set the bag down on the counter. “And for the last time, you don’t have to call me ‘boss’. You don’t work for me. You work for Billie.”

A tall woman in a red flannel shirt came down the stairs, her gray hair tied back in her signature braid. She was in her seventies now, so she walked with a bit of a limp, but I could still remember when she was strong enough to throw a drunk out of the bar, sometimes a traveler, sometimes a regular. Sometimes, it was even her own husband, Sam, the former leader of Black Storm.

She frowned as she took a good look at me. “You’re wet. Here, dry yourself off.”

She grabbed a towel and threw it at me. As I dried my shoulders, I looked at Sam’s picture hanging on the wall behind the bar.

I sure hope you’re enjoying the bike race up there.

After all, he always did say that whenever there was a thunderstorm like the one happening now, it was because of people up there revving and racing their bikes. I could just imagine him going at full speed above the clouds, laughing while leaving everyone behind. Not that he ever did that when he was alive. He never left any member of the MC behind, which was what I had been striving to do as well ever since I was made its leader.

George patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Jake. You’re doing a great job. I’m sure Big Sam’s proud of you.”

I sure hoped so.

“You know what would make Sam even more proud?” Billie propped her elbows on the counter. “If you got yourself a woman. Right, Randy?”

The guy who was mopping gave a thumbs-up sign.

I shook my head and moved on to wiping my sleeves. “I’m fine, Billie.”

She frowned. “You’re forty. You need someone to take care of you.”

“I’ve got a bunch of guys.”

Guys who wouldn’t cling to me or make up stuff about me and try to ruin my life like a woman would. Like the last woman I dated did. The biggest mistake of my life.

Billie gave another snort. “Good luck asking them to give you a kid.”

Randy chuckled.

I shrugged. “I’ve got enough to look after.”

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and saw Max’s name on the screen. Speaking of someone to look after.

I answered the call. “Max? What’s up?”

“Um, Jake…” I could already hear the worry in his voice. “I’ve got a problem.”

“Where are you?”

“At the hospital.”

My stomach tensed. “St. Lucy’s?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m on my way.”

I found Max in the hospital lobby. Even without his black leather jacket, he was easy to spot because of his height, his shoulders towering over everyone else’s even though he was slouching. Besides, he had a certain presence. Even now, there were at least three women stealing glances in his direction, including one nearly as old as Billie.

To women, he was a magnet, which was both a gift and a curse. To the other members of Black Storm, he was an enigma who didn’t fit in, yet somehow belonged. To me, he was a reminder of the lost young man I once was, who I hoped would one day find his own way.

No, I knew he would.

As soon as he saw me, his eyes flickered with recognition and relief. He started walking toward me, a faint smile on his lips.

“Thanks for coming.”

On the outside, he looked fine, but I knew he was troubled. I pulled him aside and placed a hand on his shoulder. “So, tell me what happened.”

He drew a deep breath. “I hit someone.”

My eyebrows arched. “In a fight?”

It wouldn’t be the first time.

“On the road. It was raining. The road was slippery. It was a curve. This woman just jumped out and froze. I tried to stop in time, but I guess I still hit her.”