Free Final Ride (Lords of Mayhem) by Shyla Colt Page B

impact it’ll have,”
Hilary said.
    The four women exchanged glances and leaned in whispering to
one another. They pulled apart and studied Hilary and Hawk.
    “What if you don’t win? Then what?” Karla said.
    “We will win. But this time it’ll be different. Mayhem will
protect you. You won’t be alone and vulnerable. These guys are cowards who prey
on the weak. Mayhem is anything but.”
    “It sounds too good to be true,” Nic said.
    “You realize they may see you as loose ends and seek you out
anyway,” Hilary whispered.
    “So either way we’re completely fucked.” Karla slapped the
table with her palm. “Damn it!”
    “Whatever we do for the rest of our lives, we’ll always have
this nagging fear in the back of our mind unless we know they’ve been put away,”
Maddie whispered. “We have to do this.”
    “And hash out everything that happened.” Nic shook her head.
“I-I don’t want anyone to know.”
    “So we let them win?” Lorene said pursing her full lips. “No.”
She shook her head. “It’s time for us to end this.”
    “Suddenly you’re the brave one?” Nic snarled.
    “Stop this. Look at what you’re letting them do to you,” Hilary
hissed.
    The girls went silent.
    Karla sighed. “You sure you can deliver the protection you
promise?” she asked, meeting Hawk’s gaze.
    “I don’t make offers if I can’t hold up my end of the
bargain,” Hawk said. The steely tone of his voice told her the women were
skating on thin ice. You start questioning a man’s integrity, it’s
understandable when he gets pissed. Right now this was nice Hawk. They didn’t
want to see the other side.
    “Look, we’re offering this up, but we don’t need you.
Regardless of whether you join us, we’re forging ahead with this, and Ariel here
will remain under my protection,” Hawk said.
    “You girls can do what you want, but I’m ready for the
nightmare to end. I’m in,” Lorene said.
    Nic gaped.
    “I’m with her,” Maddie whispered. “I’m tired of waking up
from nightmares wondering if the life I’ve created for myself is going to come
crashing down around me when Quinn gets the urge to revisit the past.”
    “Karla?” Nic whimpered.
    “They’re right. It’s time. We’re not those scared girls
anymore. It’s time we stop acting as if we are,” Karla said. Nic opened her
mouth to protest, and Karla held up her hand. “Mr. Hawk?”
    “Just Hawk,” he said with a gentle smile.
    “Tell me exactly what you need from us and how we’d remain
protected,” Karla said.
    “We need you to write up statements and be ready to face these
bastards in court. I can post men to watch your house or stay with you if you’d
like. I leave that up to you.”
    “We’d be safer if they were with us, wouldn’t we?” Karla
whispered.
    “Yeah. I got gentlemen on my crew. So if you’re worried
about that, don’t be. As rough around the edges as we all are, raping isn’t on
our list of fucked-up things we do.”
    “You can understand our caution,” Karla said.
    “Hey, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I’ve seen
enough to get the picture. Are we going to do this or not? ’Cause things will
be happening fast once this hits in a few days.”
    “What do we do?” Maddie asked.
    “If this is a yes, I’ll talk things over with the club’s
president, pick some men out and get them over to you.”
    “We’ll need a few minutes to talk it over,” Karla said.
    “Done. Ariel and I are going to grab a drink at the bar.” He
squeezed her waist and Hilary jumped. “Come on, girl.”
    She slid from the stool, forcing her mind to shift gears. You’re
a house mouse; look pretty, giggle, and follow directions. They walked to
the bar, and he pulled out a stool. All eyes turned to them and she tensed.
Hawk gripped the back of her neck with his massive hand and massaged. The tow-haired
bartender walked up and the smile on his face faded as he approached Hawk with
caution. Clearly he gets