Page 11 of Ash (Dragon Riders MC 3)
“It’s not a bad thing,” Ash said, “it’s just that it’s clear you don’t belong with the rest of the girls. Your reactions; how you respond to things.”
I nodded. “I’ll take that as a good thing, then. Because some of the rumors around town about my cousin are things I could never stomach.”
“Like what?”
I shrugged. “Like, I don't know. Just things.”
“Do you have any examples?”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m being interrogated?”
“My apologies. I’ll drop it.”
But I didn’t want to stop talking to the man.
“So, what do you do for fun?” I asked.
He chuckled again. “Small talk?”
“Got anything else to talk about Double M?”
He paused. “Double M?”
“Mhm.”
“What does that stand for?”
“Mountain Man, duh. That was your name in my head until you introduced myself.”
“Well, in that case, your nickname would’ve been Frozen Yogurt.”
I snickered. “And why’s that?”
“Because you’re thick in all the good ways.”
Electricity shot through my body and my mouth went dry. So, he had noticed me, too. Oh, that would definitely play in my favor. The man was a lot bolder than I gave him credit for. I guess the “silent man” routine wasn’t all he was capable of. I drew in a sobering breath as we rode along, blazing past the town city limit sign for Hillridge Springs.
“My apologies if that was too—”
I shook my head. “No, no. You're fine. I promise.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
And to my disappointment, that was the last thing he said to me before we arrived at the bar.
Where my cousin tried to drag me away into a back room without giving me a chance to say goodbye.5Ash“Wait a sec—can I at least get off—Slash!”
I leapt off my bike quicker than I’d ever moved in my entire life. The second we pulled up to the bar, Slash stumbled off the back of Sly’s bike and made a beeline right for Hannah. And I didn’t like the way she tugged her off the back of my bike.
“Slash, calm down,” I said.
She glared up at me. “I have to debrief my cousin. She has to come with me, now.”
Hannah scoffed. “Slash, you’re hurting—Slash! Cut it out!”
My voice lowered. “Let. Her. Go.”
Slash snickered. “Or what, big guy? She’s family, and I saw the way you looked at her. You’re not going to lay a damn finger on—”
Link walked up. “What seems to be the issue?”
Hannah stumbled off the bike before Slash pulled the beautiful angel to her side. And I immediately felt protective over Hannah. I didn’t want to give her back. I didn’t want to throw her to the dogs now that we had gotten her safe. Especially after the shit Slash tried to pull with us.
“Let me go!” Hannah exclaimed.
Slash slung her toward the bar. “Back room, now. Girls! Hey!”
She whistled and all of the girls faced her.
“Back room for debriefing. Now,” Slash said.
I stood strong. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”
The entire group of us fell silent as Slash slowly turned back around to face me.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
I stared down at her. “I said you’re not taking Hannah anywhere.”
“And why would you think you had a say in that, Ash?”
“Because I know what you did. We all know what you did. And you had no business putting someone that isn’t in your crew in that kind of danger. Your cousin is a civilian. An outsider. And you bribed her with money to participate in—”
Slash waved her hand in the air. “Tone down the big words a bit and give it to me straight, Bozo.”
Link growled behind me as I took a step toward her.
“You want me to dumb it down? Fine. You put your family in harm’s way to make a buck. And that doesn’t sit right with me.”
“She was going to make enough money off this entire operation to pay off her debts, including her student loans. Of course, I thought of her first. She’s family!”
“And she’s not part of your fucking crew!”
Link placed his hand on my back. “Ash, settle down.”
I pointed at Slash. “You could’ve gotten her killed. You could’ve gotten her enslaved or even worse. You did that.”
“No, Ash. You did that.”
I paused. “Excuse me, what?”
She puffed out her chest. “If you and your motley crew of misfits here would’ve done a better job at protecting us, none of this would’ve happened in the first place. We had you guys in place for a reason, and you abandoned us. You left without warning and without word. We were in that situation because of you pussies!”
I hovered over her. “You know damn good and well why we left. You know damn good and well why we started to save our own hide. But if you want me to blurt it out in front of your cousin? I’m more than happy to, Double-Crosser.”
Link interjected. “That’s enough.”
Slash nodded. “About time you put your puppy on a leash.”
