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“No creeps, but Tex is still out here.”
“I’m going to sneak out the back.”
“Girl! He’s a good guy, and he’s hot.”
“And I have no time or inclination to get involved with anyone.”
Mandy tilts her head to the side. “Liar.” She opens the door wider and steps outside, then turns and says, “Lock the door. See you tomorrow.”
Hurrying to the doors, I lock them, then grab my purse, and leave through the back. My key is in the lock, I turn it then tug on the door to make sure it’s locked. My home isn’t far from the bar and as I walk past the end of the building, Ricky, Snake, and their buddies stumble out of the darkness.
“Stay back,” I command, voice quavering with fear.
“Come on, Jane, let’s go for a ride.” Snake’s words are slurred, his smile sinister. He reaches out, fingers grasping at nothing as I sidestep, propelled by the sudden urgency in the air.
“Stop dreaming, Snake. You’ll never catch me,” I throw back over my shoulder, as I attempt to walk through them. “Come any closer and you’ll regret it.”
Ricky laughs and grabs my arm. “Come on, Jane. Let’s have some fun.”
“Help!” The word rips from my throat, raw and desperate.
Ricky’s sneer freezes as the ground trembles beneath us, and the growl of an engine cuts through the air like a blade. From the corner of my eye, I see headlights flare, casting elongated shadows that snake their way to where we stand.
“Wha—” Ricky’s bravado withers in the face of the unchained fury that rounds the corner.
“Move!” The command is thunderous over the roar of the engine, and it’s Texas at the helm, his jaw set, eyes ablaze with an unspoken promise. His motorcycle, a black phantom, barrels toward us like judgement on wheels.
“Nobody touches her,” Tex’s deep voice rumbles, slicing through the tension thick as tar.
Each twist of the throttle is a symphony of raw energy, a battle cry that reverberates through the frame of the bike and into the marrow of my bones. The sound fills my senses, drowning out the cruel laughter and lewd jeers.
“Damn,” one of them mutters, and I can hear the uncertainty creep into their voices as they too sense the tide turning, the balance of power shifting.
“Shit!” Snake’s voice cracks, his usual cool demeanor shattering as he stumbles backward.
The rest scatter, their mockery turning to panic, leaving only empty space and the scent of fear in their wake.
Texas doesn’t slow, doesn’t falter. The heat from his bike mingling with the chill night. My heart careens against my ribs, so loud I’m convinced it drowns out the chaos.
“Jane.” His voice is a lifeline thrown into stormy seas.
He extends a hand to me, rough and ready, the anchor in this maelstrom. I hesitate, every muscle coiled tight, every scar on my soul throbbing with memories of hands that weren’t kind, weren’t safe.
“Come on, darlin’,” he urges, and something in his tone, a quiet strength laced with concern, cradles my fraying courage.
“Okay,” I whisper, and my fingers brush against his.
I clasp his hand, skin to skin, a silent pact between us. The world falls away, leaving nothing but the thud of my heartbeat and the certainty that this man, this moment, will forever alter the course of my life.
“Let’s ride,” Texas says, his other hand already reaching for the throttle, ready to tear us away from this place, I climb onto the bike and as the it lurches forward, I know whatever lies ahead can’t be worse than what I’m leaving behind.
* * *
The world blurs into streaks of neon and shadow as Texas throttles us into the night. Wind whips my hair, tangles it into a wild mane that snaps like a flag behind me. The rumble of the motorcycle vibrates through my bones, a primal drumbeat spurring us on.
“Hold tight!” Texas yells over the roar, his voice a lifeline in the chaos.
I cling to him, my body pressed against his broad back, feeling the solid reality of his presence. Every cell in my body thrums with the speed, the danger, the sheer exhilaration of flight.
