Page 43 of Obey

The cops were on Devil’s side. I knew that much already. What I didn’t know was what they might have brought with them to this particular fight. They had better equipment than we had access to—tanks, riot gear, bazookas, decommissioned military gear. They would blow us all to hell if they caught us out in the open.

And I was betting they wouldn’t have to answer for it, either. They’d say it was their civic duty or some such shit, and they’d get off scot-free, despite the fact that they’d just murdered fleeing men. Hell, if they caught us and didn’t kill us, they’d probably charge us with resisting arrest, illegal weaponry, and smuggling.

One way or the other, we’d end up dead or in jail.

I ducked over my handlebars and pushed my bike as fast as it could go, knowing that it was faster than anything the cops could be driving. Ahead of me, my men did the same, their brains evidently moving along the same paths. It was getting light now and we wouldn’t be able to hide from them in the darkness.

But we could outrun them. And right now, that seemed like it was going to have to do.

I SAW HER THE MOMENT I turned onto the street that housed our clubhouse. She was sitting on a bike I didn’t recognize, her hair a riot of curls and snarls and her face turned back toward the clubhouse.

She was also wearing my cut.

Mandy came out of the clubhouse, climbed onto her bike, and together they started their bikes and skidded out of the parking lot, heading directly for us.

My heart jumped in my chest at the sight of her, her tiny, perfect curves sitting on the bike like she’d been born to it, her body bent forward like she was willing the bike to go as fast as it could.

My girl, I thought. My perfect, beautiful girl, in my gear. Safe and sound and completely whole.

I increased my speed even more, wanting to be as close to her as I could get, the need for her skin under my hands so all-encompassing that not even the sirens behind me mattered. I wanted to hear her voice, hear her tell me that she was okay and that everything would be all right now that we were together again.

I wanted to hear that Devil hadn’t hurt her. I wanted to hear that she loved me.

She looked up when we were still half a mile away from each other and I saw it the moment she saw me. Her form stilled, her mouth opening in surprise and excitement.

“Saraya,” I breathed.

I ran for her like my life depended on it, like I needed her to be able to breathe, and I could see her running for me in the exact same way. This was what it felt like to let yourself need someone else, I realized. This was what it felt like when they needed you just as much as you needed them.

And it was terrifying and exciting and exhilarating all at the same time, because there was so much to gain... and so much to lose.

It was everything I’d never even imagined I might experience.

“Saraya!” I shouted, knowing that we were close enough now that she might actually be able to hear me. “Saraya!”

Sure, it was silly. It was emotional, vulnerable, and definitely not manly.

And I didn’t give a single fuck. I’d been dreaming of her for days, missing her since the moment she left, and I wanted her to know that I couldn’t breathe without her.

I wanted her to know that seeing her again was like the air coming back into the lungs of a man who’d been drowning since he lost her.

We both screeched to halts at the same moment, mere feet apart, and jumped from our bikes in the identical motions. And then there was a blip in time and she was in my arms, jumping at me like someone who knew she’d be caught when she arrives. I grabbed her out of the air and whirled here around, laughing, crying, and repeating her name again and again as I brought her to me. I kissed her so deeply, so passionately, that the world around us disappeared for a moment, nothing but our connection mattering.

She pulled back, laughing. “It’s about time you stopped and said hello,” she breathed. “Last time I saw you, you were flying right past me, barely even glancing my way.”

I chuckled. “Sorry. I was sort of busy getting ready to kill the guy who was trying to kill you.”

“I don’t care,” she breathed. “The next time you pass by without stopping to kiss me, I’ll kill you myself.”

“Deal,” I answered.

The sound of sirens increased, then, the cop who had been chasing me swerved around the corner in the distance and gunned it straight for us. Saraya’s eyes shot to the cop and then back to me, suddenly serious.

“I see you brought company.”

“They weren’t invited,” I answered. “But I’m guessing they don’t care.”

“So they’re already involved?” she asked, her voice considering, like she was already planning all the possible actions.