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The men got off their bikes but left the engines purring. I sucked in a relieved breath. We hadn’t been run over, thank God. Their black leather vests were dangerous looking, especially with a symbol on the front that sent dread to chill my bones. My parents always said they’d left New Gothenburg because it was full of evil, and the men had a purple demon head sewn onto the leather on the left—over their hearts. There were other patches on the vests, but I had no idea what they meant.
The huge man who had yelled shoved Ethan, and he knocked backward into me. His black beard was grimy, like he hadn’t showered in a couple of days, and his chapped lips were cracked. I couldn’t stop staring at a place in the corner of his mouth where he was bleeding.
“Your friend Dutch owes the Demons cold hard cash, you little maggot. I’ve seen you moving product in our territory. Pay up or stay the fuck out. He’s in over his head right now.” The big biker bared his teeth.
“I’m just part of a delivery service, man. That’s it. I don’t handle anything important. I sure as shit don’t make deals or know about ’em.” Ethan put a hand back and patted my side, as if trying to tell me to be calm.
My mind went on the fritz. I didn’t like Ethan’s overly friendly tone. I’d never heard him sound that way. It was fake.
“I don’t fucking care.” The man shoved Ethan against me again, and I put my hands on his back. “There’s a tax to sell around here, and you haven’t paid this month. There is no free pass in this city.”
“Like I said, I’m not selling.” Ethan’s tone cooled and his fists clenched at his sides.
The big man jabbed his finger against Ethan’s chest. “I know you’re delivering for the fucking Kings, but if they’re not paying to be on our turf, someone has to do it, and we see you around. King thinks he’s so goddamned smart by not having his own men make deliveries anymore. Well, I’m not stupid, and he’ll pay one way or the other or stay the fuck out of my way.”
“I don’t have to do shit just because you’re a Demon,” Ethan muttered.
“Oh, yeah?”
Nausea slammed my gut. That name—the Demons—was familiar. They were one of the motorcycle gangs in New Gothenburg. I’d heard of them before because sometimes people died and they were blamed for it, but it was rare that someone went to prison. Mom and Dad would watch the news, and the names of bike gangs would always make them look at me and say, “This is what sin does to people.”
The Demon snagged Ethan’s leather jacket and tugged on it, maybe trying to take it, and Ethan sank a fist into the big man’s stomach. The other Demon with the mustache pushed him, and I took Ethan’s weight as he slammed into me hard. I had trouble catching my breath because he knocked the wind out of me with an elbow by accident.
“Stop!” I slid out from behind Ethan and used all my strength to send the Demon with the mustache sailing onto his ass. The other huge man, who I’d lost track of, yanked on my elbow and punched me square in the side. I couldn’t breathe as I clutched my ribs and sank to my knees. Pain sizzled to my brain and lit up my nerve endings. I yelled but it didn’t help. Ethan landed a solid punch against the big man’s jaw, then stepped forward with his fists raised, but the biker drew a gun from under his vest and shoved the muzzle in Ethan’s face.
“Don’t fucking touch him, he has nothing to do with any of this!” Ethan pointed at me and his hand trembled.
The Demon shoved Ethan out of the way and kicked my stomach. It hurt but nowhere nearly as bad as my ribs. Ethan looked ready to lose his mind with his lip curled, but he stayed still, keeping an eye on the gun.
The Demon slapped Ethan upside the head, and Ethan huffed. “Next time we’ll shoot you both and leave you out as roadkill. Consider this your friendly warning. Pass it on to your boss. Someone pays to move drugs in our territory. You. The Kings. I don’t give a shit who, but no cash, no free pass.” The Demon used one hand to rummage in Ethan’s coat pockets while he held the business end of the gun against Ethan’s chin, and Ethan’s face flushed red. His limbs quivered, and the Demon smirked in his face as he stole the tin Ethan kept his marijuana cigarettes in, a wad of cash with a rubber band around it, his wallet, and his phone.
“Fuck. You,” Ethan snarled at him.
The skinny Demon was on his feet again, and he jammed an elbow into Ethan’s face. Ethan’s head turned hard, and I was horrified as he slammed back against the brick wall and slid down. The men laughed as they split up and went toward their bikes. For a second, Ethan seemed dazed and he shook his head before he yelled wordlessly in the direction of the man who’d stolen his belongings. He focused on me and got to his knees fast, crawling over to where I was still rubbing my side.
“Jesus fucking Christ on a goddamned unicycle. Are you okay, Jonas?” He shooed away my hand and lifted my shirt to look at the red mark that would no doubt be a bruise soon.
Adrenaline pounded through my veins. I clutched his shoulders and held on tight. “I think so.” I touched the horrible mark on the right side of his jaw that was already beginning to turn a furious red, and he closed his eyes tight and allowed me to explore it with my fingers. “You?”
“It’s going to hurt later, but nothing feels broken,” he murmured.
“Who were those men?” I winced as both motorcycles roared, far too loud in the alley. One man backed up and the other made a tight turn to go forward away from us. They were both gone in less than a minute, and my ears rang from the noise that echoed against the walls.
Ethan grimaced. “I’m sorry. I’ll get you home. I must’ve been fucking high to think this would work.”
“No, I’m fine.”
He stood and dragged me to my feet. The pain in my side thudded as I straightened, and I hissed. He gave me the worst look, eyes too wide and teeth clenched. I felt horrible for him.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered and caressed his injured jaw.
“You are?” He laughed, the sound too wild and slightly scary. “I know you won’t want to see me again, but I didn’t mean for this to happen.” His gaze dropped to the ground between us.
Everything had been so nice until those men showed up. For once in my life, I was outon a datewith a man I liked, and I would be darned if this was how it ended. My heart pounded and the hair on my arms stood on end. I didn’t think. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. They were soft and warm and wonderful. I had no idea what I was doing, simply wanted my skin to touch his.
Ethan steadied me with a hand on my waist and one on my chin, and I moaned as he took over, licking into my mouth. I almost disintegrated into a cloud of sparks when his tongue brushed mine. My cockhead pulsed—the same way it did when I’d been jerking off for a few minutes—and I was so hard in my pants.
He leaned back and rested his forehead against my temple, chuckling under his breath. “You don’t hate me for this?”
