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“Love you, Angel. So fucking much.” A look of fear and sadness flashed in her eyes, but she quickly hid it under a too-bright smile.

“The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll get back. So go on. Get out of here.” My brave girl. She was so much stronger than she realized. Pulling her in for one last kiss, I tried to memorize everything about her.

As I rode off, a feeling in the pit of my stomach grew. Leaving had never been that hard. I never had so much to lose before.

Chapter 34

Scythe

Hours passed. The endless expanse of road in every direction felt like a taunt. Every mile we gained on Crow meant Lilah was further away. Alone with my thoughts, they pinged in every direction. Adrenaline pumped through me. The need to confront Crow had been a fire in my veins for far too long.

Darkness settled over us like a bad omen, forcing us to pull over for the night so we could set out before dawn, several full days of riding ahead of us.

“Angel.” I croaked out just as I crashed on the shit motel bed.

“Get some rest. I love you. Text me before you leave tomorrow.” Her soft voice drifted through my ear before the call disconnected.

Four hours of broken sleep later, and we were out again. A heavy silence among the group, grim determination on everyone’s features, but we pushed forward. We crossed the border without incident, the distance between us and the small village in Alberta closing, but we still had a ways to go.

Deep in Ontario woods, the roads became narrow and winding, all blind turns and sharp drops. Each switchback had me dipping closer to the gravel, the concrete inches from my helmet clouding me in dust. The March weather was tepid, moisture hovered in the air, creating a fog as we navigated increasingly winding roads. Something felt off, but it was the first time I really had something to lose before. Anxiety over leaving Lilah was hitting me, messing with my internal alarm system.

The weather was clear, and the sun was high in the sky when we started the ascent up Batchawana Mountain. There were no rest stops or motels over that long stretch of highway, but we pushed through, riding well into the night. The stars appeared bright and clear in the dark sky as we gained altitude. The road wrapped around the mountain, the night air feeling different, wrong. We are nowhere near where Crow is supposed to be, so where is the threat?

“Something on the road up ahead.” Atlas’s gruff voice came over the Bluetooth, breaking my thoughts. We followed him as he swerved around a dead deer blocking the right lane. As I passed by the carcass, a flash of silver caught my eye. Checking my mirror, I saw the handle of a knife sticking out of the dead animal. Who would stab a deer?

Before the thought could finish, there was a curse as Atlas took a hard left on his bike, shouting as bikes started flying out of the woods, flanking our group on both sides. Distracted by the new vehicles, we missed the man crouching up ahead, laying down a spike strip. Too late, Atlas’s wheel blew out, and with a yell, he steered into the biker who was holding one end of the chain. His bike flew into the guardrail in a mash of metal and smoke.

The road straightened out, and I was at the head of the group. A quick glance over my shoulder showed more bikers closing in, while a few riders from both sides lay scattered across the road behind them. A gun shot rang out, and I saw red. Crouching low over my handlebars, I twisted the throttle and surged forward, aiming straight for the leader of the pack. I came up alongside him, matching his speed for a heartbeat before slamming my shoulder into his. His bike wobbled before swerving violently. I watched with grim satisfaction as he lost control, the machine fishtailing across the pavement before throwing him clear and tumbling into the ditch.

“Get off the road. There’s no cover.” Reaper’s voice rang out over the speaker, and in silent coordination, we all pulled off at different spots, our bikes weaving into the trees riding parallel to the main highway. Shots rang out, trees splintering and muttered curses echoing.

It wasn’t much safer than being on the road, and navigating the unknown space without crashing into a tree or into a ditch was just as precarious. The sounds of motors buzzed all around me, crashes and thuds breaking up the thrum of the engines.

One biker was relentlessly on my ass, a huge bastard riding a Fat Boy that dwarfed my bike. I weaved around a cluster of rocks that appeared out of nowhere and saw him follow my line perfectly, sticking tight to my heels.

Looking ahead, I eyed my options, trying to look for anything that would cause me to crash. The trees were tighter there, as we had wandered farther from the main road and into a denser area. Thin trunks mixed with thick ones, rounded with age. Layers of bark, thick and thin, did little to hide the strength underneath. Two trees bent ahead, the trunks meeting halfway up. At first glance, the opening between them seemed big enough—at least, for my bike.

As expected, the idiot didn’t think to accommodate his girth, and he was thrown from his bike that had lodged between the trees. Smoke billowing as the sides caved in where they sat pressed between the trunks. I barely registered his flying in the air until he hit a tree with a thud. I drove over his body as I sped ahead, with two bikes still on my tail and who knew how many more.

“Clearing up ahead,” I announced before speeding up.

Once I had enough space, I swung the bike around, charging at the remaining enemies head-on. Pulling my gun out, I aimed and shot, hitting one of the bikers square in the chest. His bike went crashing into the other man, taking him down for me. Not slowing down, I headed into the group, forcing them to swerve out of the way as I invaded the pack. Taking two bikers out in the process, I managed to get through the group without losing control of my bike.

Just as I flipped around to head back, a bike appeared out of nowhere. We played tag until we caught up with the main group, the wreckage of bodies and bikes adding additional obstacles. At the last second, I took a turn too late, and our bikes collided. As I tried to brake, the ground met me hard and fast, my helmet taking the brunt of the impact, but only enough to keep me alive.

My bike was a broken mess up ahead, but there was no time to cry over that. A body plowed into me, a fist aiming for my ribs before I managed to get my arm up. Grappling on the ground, I managed to flip our positions until the man was pinned beneath me.

Taking his helmet in my hands, I yanked it off his head, then proceeded to bash his face in with it. Blood and teeth hit my knuckles, but I didn’t stop until the body beneath me stilled completely. Falling to the side, I reached into his jacket and grabbed his knife before pulling my own out. Pulling myself to my feet, I yanked my helmet off.

Warm and sticky, I could feel the blood that dripped out of my ears and down my neck, but there was no time to stop. It looked like a fucking warzone. Reaper was fighting two men at once with a knife sticking out of his calf. Tommy and Dare were in battles of their own. Dare seemed to be holding his own, but Tommy wasn’t doing so well. Bull and Atlas were nowhere to be found, and I couldn’t think about what that meant.

I made my way around the group before taking the knife and lodging it into the neck of the man on top of Tommy, using my grip on the handle to pull the man off him, gutting him fully in the process. Blood sprayed out in every direction, splashing on Tommy’s pale face. His expression of shock was clear as it washed over him. The sound of approaching bikes broke the moment, as both of us looked around for the incoming threats.

“Go for cover. Aim to kill,” I told him, pressing my gun into his hand as I grabbed another knife from my boot. Tommy scrambled away as I approached Reaper’s group. One of the bikes came shooting into the clearing, breaking everything apart as another bike closed in on its heel. It wasn’t one of our vehicles, but Bull was definitely the one riding. He dipped low, controlling the bike before letting it skid out, taking down the guy he was chasing. Before the bikes even hit the ground, Bull was on him, his fists plowing into the driver before stalking off to make sure the other man was officially down.

Shots rang out, followed by a yell that had us all freezing.

“ENOUGH!”