Chapter 2

Rachel struggled to focus as her revelation running on repeat through her mind. During her break, she retreated to the empty staff lounge for a moment of peace. But as soon as she sat down, panic welled up inside her and threatened to drag her under. Her chest tightened, breaths came fast and shallow.

Rachel gripped the edge of the table, willing the attack to pass. But she couldn’t stop the flood of worries crashing over her. What if she couldn’t handle the changes she longed for? What if she failed and ended up right back where she started—or worse?

She was still trapped in the spiral of doubt when a gentle hand rested on her shoulder. Rachel flinched, glancing up with wide eyes to find Tess gazing at her.

“Easy, it’s just me.” Tess slid into the seat beside her, keeping her voice low and calm. “Breathe with me, okay?”

Rachel nodded, following Tess’s exaggerated inhales and exhales until the vice around her chest loosened its grip. “I’m sorry,” she said, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t apologize.” Tess gave her shoulder a squeeze. “It seems you’ve reached your breaking point. The question is, what are you going to do now?”

Rachel took a shaky breath, steeling herself against the fears that lingered at the edges of her mind. “I’m going to start living again.”

Tess smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners. “That’s my girl. It won’t be easy, but I know you can do this.”

Rachel managed a wry grin. “You have more faith in me than I do.”

“Someone has to while you’re busy doubting yourself.” Tess bumped her shoulder playfully. “Seriously though, you’re stronger than you realize. You survived a trauma most people can’t even imagine. You can survive this too—no, you can thrive.”

A warmth blossomed in Rachel’s chest, chasing away the last dregs of panic. How had she gotten so lucky to have a friend like Tess?

She took a deep breath and stood, shoulders back and head high. “You’re right. It’s time I started living the life I want instead of hiding from the world.”

Tess jumped up and threw her arms around Rachel. “That’s the spirit!

She was ready to start taking risks again. Ready to live.

Rachel drove to the grocery store after her shift, lost in her thoughts. The road was busy, filled with people going about their day. She envied them their normalcy, their ability to live life unfettered by the shadows of the past.

A loud horn blared, and she slammed on the brakes, tires squealing as a pickup truck rammed into her from behind. Her head snapped and everything went dark.

When she opened her eyes, she was slumped over the steering wheel, her car accordioned by the force of the impact. Panic rose in her chest as she struggled with the door, but it was jammed shut.

She pounded on the window, screaming for help as she flashed back to the night her mother died. The twisted metal, the rushing paramedics, her mother’s lifeless body—

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut, hyperventilating. No one was coming. She was going to die here, alone and afraid, just like her mother had.

The familiar mantra cycled through her mind: order and control. But it was impossible to control this. No routine or predictable outcome could save her now.

As darkness crowded the edges of her vision, a single thought surfaced: If she died here, would anyone miss her? Would anyone remember the woman she might have become if tragedy hadn’t stolen her joy?

A sob caught in her throat. She didn’t want to die this way. Not when she’d never really lived. There was still so much of the world she hadn’t seen, so much life she hadn’t experienced. She wasn’t ready for it to end—not like this.

A loud rumble shattered the eerie silence. Rachel’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest as a motorcycle emerged from the inky blackness, rolling to a stop beside her crumpled sedan.

She squinted at the rider through the fractured windshield, panic and confusion warring within her. He was dressed all in black leather, a cut proclaiming his allegiance to the Green Devils MC. Tattoos snaked up his thick, muscular arms in a tangled web.

As he dismounted the bike and strode toward her, Rachel’s breath caught in her throat. He was enormous, nearly a foot taller than her own five and a half feet, with a rugged, bearded face and icy blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

He tapped on her window with a gloved hand, his gaze raking over her small form huddled in the driver’s seat. “You alright in there, sweetheart?” His voice was a low rumble, sending a shiver down Rachel’s spine.

She hesitated, torn between desperation and wariness. What was a member of the Green Devils doing here, and could she trust him? But she was trapped, and this might be her only way out of this nightmare.

A ragged breath escaped her lips as the stranger had concern etched on his rugged features. Maybe—just maybe—her life wasn’t over yet.

Rachel blinked at the man, stunned into silence.

“Can you move?” he asked. “We need to get you out of there.”

She shook her head, panic threatening to overtake her again. “The door won’t open.”

Rachel swallowed hard, realizing with dawning horror that she had landed herself in a situation with no easy way out. But she was stuck, and this stranger seemed to be her only hope of escaping this alley alive. She had no choice but to put her faith in the hands of the Green Devil’s MC.

“It’s okay. I’m going to help you out through the window.” He reached in and grasped her waist, lifting her up and out as if she weighed nothing at all. “Easy now.”

Her heart raced at the intimacy of his touch and the sheer strength in his arms. No one had held her like that in years. She felt small and safe, cocooned in the warmth of his embrace as he set her down on the pavement.

“Are you hurt?” His gaze searched her face.

“Just shaken up.” She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold without his touch. She didn’t even know this man, yet being near him filled her with a peace she’d rarely experienced. It was both thrilling and terrifying.

Who was he? All she knew was that he’d saved her life today—and that she wanted to know more. To see that look of care in his eyes again.

“The paramedics are on their way,” he said. “But it looks like you’ll live to see another day.” A half-smile tugged at his lips, and her heart skipped a beat. “I’m Jaxon, by the way.”

“Rachel.” She took a deep, steadying breath and met his gaze. “Thank you for saving me.”

She didn’t know this man or his motivations, and her work as a nurse had exposed her to the depths of human depravity. Rachel bit her lip, leaning into him as he guided her toward a massive black motorcycle.