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Garrett Hughes was the boss. I’d been working for him since he and my father had decided I was ready for this life. My face was one recognized by those in low places, like this fucking piece of scum. We’d dealt with the Vagos before.
“You crossed me. You’re in this house. Messing with someone I don’t want touched. So, tell me what the fuck you’re doing,” I said to him, taking one more step in his direction.
His eyes went wide. “Didn’t know you had a claim on the bitch. I was just here to collect something that stripper whore was hiding. Saw the pretty little redhead through the window before I came inside,” he stuttered as he moved slightly for the knife he had hidden in his boot.
I shot his leg, and he screamed. My aim swung back to his head.
“What does Kitty have hidden?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “I can’t say.”
His eyes shifted, and I knew he wouldn’t be alone soon. Others were coming. If it wasn’t for Aspen, I’d kill this motherfucker and then deal with the others as they arrived. But I had to get Aspen to safety. Standing here, trying to torture the answer out of him, was only putting her in danger.
“Bye, fucker,” I said as I took the shot that would send his filthy soul straight to hell.
Stepping over him, I opened the door, then went to the bed. Soft sobbing was muffled as I bent down.
“Listen, sweetheart, I need you to come with me.”
She let out another small cry. “Where is Irish—Kitty?”
Damn. I wasn’t ready to tell her that yet.
“We’ll talk about it, but we have to get out of here. More guys like this one are coming.”
I didn’t want to reach under there and take her, but I would if she didn’t come on. I wasn’t going to let any of these bastards touch her. I wanted to sigh in relief as she began to scoot out from under the narrow space she’d managed to get into. Her emerald eyes stared up at me with terror swimming in them, along with the tears. My chest hurt as I thought about the pain that she would suffer soon when I had to tell her about Kitty.
Fuck, that was gonna hurt.
I took her hands and stood up, taking her with me. She was dressed in a pair of silky pink sleep shorts with little red hearts all over them and a matching camisole. Her feet were bare. She’d been in bed and woken up to this nightmare. There was no time to get her in something else or to put a bra on her. But fuck if I was going to let anyone else see her like this. Jerking off my leather jacket, I slipped it on her. She quietly helped me by putting her arms inside the sleeves.
“Put on some shoes,” I told her.
She walked over and slid her feet into a pair of Converse, then quickly bent down to tie them. A better man would have looked away, but I wasn’t a good guy. My eyes ate up her round ass. Those bottoms weren’t covering much. I wished we had time to get her dressed properly, but we didn’t. She stood back up, and I grabbed her hand to lead her through the house, ready to get the fuck away from this place.
When we reached my bike, I grabbed my helmet and put it on her head. “Hold on tight to me,” I told her.
She nodded, and I got on, then held out my hand to steady her as she climbed on behind me. Her body was trembling as she wrapped her arms around my waist. There wasn’t any time to ease her fear or say things to soothe her.
“When I lean, you lean. Got it?” I called back to her.
“Yes.” I barely heard her soft voice.
I wished I’d had driven my car tonight. The last thing she needed was to be thrown on the back of a bike in her pajamas after the shit she had just gone through.
I was taking her to the house. It was the only place I knew she’d be safe. There was no time for a fucking background check, and the guys could all get the fuck over it. She was young, alone, and had been traumatized. I also didn’t know who else would be coming for her or if the bastard had been telling the truth. He had said he hadn’t expected her to be there, but I wasn’t sure I could believe that, and there was no way I was gambling with Aspen’s life.
Whatever Kitty had hidden from the Vagos, she’d lost her life over it. She’d always been smarter than that. Never got addicted to drugs, although I knew she had used them on occasion. But she had made good decisions, normally.
Aspen’s arms tightened around me. I hadn’t been able to save Kitty, but I was going to fucking save her.
Five
Aspen
The smell of leather, whiskey, and smoke gave me an odd sense of comfort. The man was a stranger. Sure, I’d met him and watched him get a blow job, and he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, but he was still a stranger. Those weren’t any of the reasons I had gotten on his bike. He had saved me—that was why I’d left with him. I had been alone, and he had been there like a superhero, stepping in to end the horror that my night had become.
I shivered as fear prickled my spine. Pressing my face to his back, I took several deep breaths. I was safe. Levi made me feel safe. Even though I’d heard him, everything he’d said to that man tonight. Even though he had pulled the trigger on his gun and taken the shot that killed the horrible man.
