Chapter Sixteen

Flame

After checking in at The Gym and finding everything as it should be, I hop on my Harley and decide to go for a quick drive. I need to clear my head. The last forty-eight hours have been crazy. I went from watching my childhood abuser die to waking up with Wrath and him finally changing our relationship, and then I ended up becoming a parent to an abused boy. Yeah, my life"s certainly changed a lot, but I"m not complaining; I"m rather excited to see what"s to come next with my new, ready-made family. It"s just a shock that all this happened in such a short space of time. I just need a minute to process it all.

Driving down the country road that takes me the long way back to The Compound, I notice a black SUV gaining on me fast. They"ve got to be going at least eighty and getting faster. Fuck, this isn"t good. I know they can see me, and instead of slowing down, they've sped up.

Not good—not good at all.

With no other option, I speed up too.

This looks like it could be an attempt on my life; it"s obvious from how they"re driving that they"re coming for me. I"m most certainly their target. They"re nearly on me now, but I have a plan. It"s the only thing I can think of doing right now that will hopefully stop me from crashing at such a high speed, which would no doubt leave me severely injured or dead.

As I take the next corner, I go off-road into the woods, but not before the SUV manages to clip my back tire. My bike wobbles, but I manage to correct it, staying on my girl. Coming off at the speed at which I"m going wouldn't have been good. I ride five minutes further into the woods just to make sure I"m not being followed before stopping and hopping off my Harley to check her over. Fuck, that was close.

Pulling my phone out, I dial Wrath. He"s going to lose his ever-loving mind when I tell him what just happened.

"Hey, babe." He says happily as he answers.

"Hey." My voice sounds shaken even though I"m trying to hide it, not wanting to worry him.

"What"s wrong? Why do you sound shaken?" He rapidly asks, his voice full of worry.

"Someone just tried to run me off the country road leading back to The Compound. I managed to get into the woods on the last turn, but they clipped my back tire. My bike didn"t feel all that stable after that. I took a quick look at her, but I don"t feel comfortable riding her until she"s been properly checked over."

"Fuck, it"s got to be that bitches people. Are you okay? I"ll send someone out with a truck now so you can put your bike on the back and take it over to Piston so that he can check her over. Where are they best meeting you?"

"I"m okay, I promise. Just shaken up. The last corner before the straight towards The Compound. I managed to get off the road there. I"ll push my bike back to the road now."

"Okay, babe. Stay safe. I"ll see you soon."

"Yeah, soon, babe."

Hanging up, I start pushing my bike back towards the road. I make it there in about five minutes. Leaning against my bike, I wait. Getting lost in thoughts about how close a call that really was until I hear a vehicle approaching. I look up and see one of our trucks coming towards me. They pull up behind where I have my bike parked, and a Prospect jumps out. If I remember correctly, his name"s Jake. He"s the Prospect that Blade was raving about the other day.

Without saying a word, he hops straight to it and starts loading up my bike. I can"t help but smirk. This Prospect knows his place. I nod once he"s done and jump in the passenger side. There"s no point in driving; I hate driving cages. We drive in silence. I"m too lost in my head to even attempt to have a conversation right now, and Jake"s being respectful of that.

We pull up at Devil"s Garage, the garage we own, and Piston runs. He's waiting by the bay doors; obviously, Wrath called him to let him know what had happened and that we were on our way.

"Fuck man, are you alright?!"He shouts as he makes his way over to me.

"Yeah, I"m good; my bike just needs checking if you don"t mind,"I ask, my voice a lot more controlled now.

"Of course, I don"t mind; come on, it won"t take long."He says as we make our way inside the garage.

The Prospect already has my bike unloaded and in the empty bay, waiting for Piston to check over. God, he"s efficient. Gotta remember all this when it"s time to vote him in. He"s definitely proving himself. Piston gets straight to work, so I wander off to the kitchen to grab a drink. I take a seat and wait. I can"t believe someone tried to run me off the goddamn road. Fuckers. When I find them, they"ll fucking regret coming after me. I"m not someone who won"t fucking retaliate if you come after me.

From inside the garage, I hear Piston shout, "Flame! All sorted!"

I can"t help but chuckle. It didn"t take long. Not that I expected it too, Piston"s been working on bikes and cars since he was younger than Cam. He"s fucking one of the best mechanics I"ve ever met.

Walking back into the garage, I slap his shoulder as I say, "Thanks."

"No problem; she should be all good now. Take it easy, though, just to be safe."He tells me as I hop on my bike and start her up before shooting out of the garage.

I smile when I see the Prospect following me in the truck. It looks like Wrath has told him to watch my back until we"re back. Not like I mind; that was too close before. I"d rather not take any chances after that. Whoever was behind my attempted crash was clearly desperate, trying something so close to The Compound; we"re all definitely going to need to watch our backs right now. Who knows what the hell they"ll try next?