Page 44 of Diary of a Biker Queen

But I wasn’t going off on a leisurely hike. “Herb! Open the fucking gates!”

He blinked at my sudden, sharp tone, then practically fell over his own feet trying to get to the gate controls.

Even Luca did a double take. “Any reason you’re suddenly making bikers cry?”

I couldn’t worry about Herb’s possibly hurt feelings. The gate creaked open at the most sluggish pace imaginable, and all I could do was point at what I could see in the distance. The lump on the road. “What does that look like to you?”

Luca squinted in the direction I pointed.

His body tensed, and he spun. “Herb! Get the fucking gate open now!”

The moment the gap was wide enough, Luca and I both pushed through the opening. My heart pounded as I ran. It had to be the adrenaline pumping through my system that had me able to keep up with Luca’s longer strides.

Or maybe he ran with me because he was scared of what we were going to see and didn’t want me to see it alone.

We got closer and closer, and with every step, I slowed, just a little bit, because each one brought the realization that I wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t been seeing things.

There was a dead body on the road leading to the Slayers’ gates.

“Oh God,” I whispered, slowing as we drew nearer. “Is it him?”

All I could see was the blood. The tattered clothes. My vision swam, my head trying to protect me from processing the trauma. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see any more.

“No,” Luca said quietly. “It’s not Lynx. It’s a woman.”

My eyes flew open in relief. And then I instantly felt bad for my reaction. I didn’t want anyone to have died. I took another two steps forward, Luca at my side, until we both stood over the body.

My stomach sank. She was face down; dark hair strewn around the dirt. Her shirt ripped open.

And lynx marks carved into her back.

I covered my mouth with my hand. “Oh, Lynx. What the hell have you done?”

Luca squatted in the dirt beside the body, sympathy on his face. He found a spot on the woman’s shoulder that wasn’t bloodied and pushed her over, onto her back.

He recoiled so fast his ass hit the ground, and he scrambled back away from the dead, unseeing eyes of the woman.

It took me a second longer to recognize her.

But when I did, a long, slow scream ripped from my throat.

She was the woman I’d baked with in the Guerra’s kitchen. She’d been the only source of affection Luca had grown up with.

Dax’s mom, Virginia, lay dead at our feet, murdered by the man whose bed I’d just woken up in.

15

DAX

Dear Diary,

I’ve seen those marks before. I just never thought I’d see them on someone I loved.

Nyah and Luca arrived at my shop looking like they’d seen a ghost.

I glanced up as the bell rang over the door, and the easy smile I’d had for the customer I’d been tattooing fell away the instant I saw their expressions.

The gun still vibrated in my hand. “What happened?”