Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Brick turned his attention to the man next to me, his entire being focused on the enemy in front of him. Everyone on the bus was watching the scene play out. I had a bad feeling Brick could give two shits who was about to witness anything he was about to do. Brick might not want me in a romantic way, but he was still fiercely protective of me. Of any woman connected to Iron Tzars as long as they didn’t betray the club.
“Since there are women and children on this bus, I’m giving you a chance to back away. One chance is all you get.”
“Stupid motherfucker! I’ll fuckin’ kill you!” Just as I was afraid of, the guy pulled a gun with his other hand. I shoved him hard just as he fired the gun at Brick. He missed Brick, but hit the man in the seat next to where Brick stood, splattering blood and brains on the seat in front of him. Screams and shouts filled the bus as everyone ducked. Brick hadn’t backed off one bit. Instead, he pulled out his own knife and flicked his wrist. There was a soft thud and a gurgling sound. When I looked at the man holding me at knifepoint, Brick’s knife protruded from his throat. The only thing visible was the hilt.
Everyone on the bus in front of Brick hurried off. People around us in the back ducked under the seats or next to the wall as close as they could get. A couple jumped the seats and hurried off the bus as well. Brick ignored everyone, shifting his gaze back to me.
“You’re bleeding.” It wasn’t a question. I looked down and quickly turned my head away again. I hated the sight of blood. Any blood.
“It’s deep, but I don’t think he got anything vital.”
“Let me see.”
“Don’t you think we need to get off this bus before the police come? They’ll arrest you for sure! No matter what.”
“They won’t touch me. There is a bus full of witnesses to this. Someone probably got a fuckin’ video. He killed a man, and I killed him to protect everyone on this bus.”
That deflated me more than a little. Logically, I knew he was right, and that I didn’t need to read anything more into it, but I wanted him to have been defending me, Goddammit! Somehow, I managed to keep my expression neutral even as I clamped a hand to my side. Hopefully, if Brick saw more than I wanted him to see, he’d think any pain in my features was from my wound.
He moved forward to the guy he’d killed and yanked out his knife, cleaning it on the man’s shirt before sheathing it. Then Brick searched him until he found a wallet and cell phone. He put both in my backpack before reaching for me. He pulled me to my feet by my upper arm, firmly but gently, then guided me from the bus.
“The police will be here soon. Just be honest with them if they ask you questions. The fewer lies we have to remember the better, and neither of us did anything wrong.”
“True, but you know they’ll take one look at you and assume the worst.” Police didn’t tend to automatically assume bikers were innocent of any wrongdoing. Especially when they’d just killed a man on a bus.
“You let me worry about that.” He had his cell phone out, firing off a text. Likely to Sting or someone at Iron Tzars. When he looked up, there was still no sign of the police. With a curt nod, he took my hand and led me to his bike, shoving a helmet on my head. “Get on. Wylde says there’s no state or local police in our immediate area. We have about six minutes before they are, though.” He helped me on the bike before mounting in front of me.
“If someone gets a picture of your license plate, they’ll find us easily.”
“Taken care of before I started this chase. And we’ll be replacing the bike soon, anyway.” He started the bike and took off down the interstate, taking the second exit and the less-traveled state road.
Once he was on the route he wanted, Brick pushed the bike faster than I was comfortable with, but I said nothing. We were just north of East Ridge, Tennessee. About four-and-a-half hours from the Iron Tzars clubhouse. And, yeah, I wasn’t stupid enough to think Brick was taking me anywhere else.
Thirty minutes into our drive, he pulled off the main road onto a smaller back road. From there, he took us to a barn nestled next to a wooded area at the edge of a field. It was nearly dark now, the full moon a pale ball of light rising on the horizon. The night air had a chilly bite to it, and I wasn’t sure if I could make it all the way back to Indiana without complaining. I was already pretty cold, my cheeks and nose numb with it.