Free Temperance: Biker Romance (The Davis Chapter Book 2) by Davida Lynn

lie quite well.

    Despite my protests against wearing a radio, I had one in. Bandit had insisted and I understood his reasons. If I was inside the house and the other team needed info, I had to be able to talk to them.  

    There was a quick blink of static before Trask’s voice whispered into mine and everyone else’s ear, “One minute.”

    Counting the seconds would’ve been pointless. In the near darkness, there was no frame of reference. I counted my heartbeats instead. Losing count around thirty, I knew it was too fast to compare to a minute. It felt like an eternity and an instant collided head-on.

    I expected to hear Harleys fire up around us at any moment. Bandit didn’t move to my left. Closing my eyes, I told myself we’d ride in his muscle car or with our legs around his Harley many more times after that night.

    “Love you.” His words snapped my eyes open. “Always have. Always will.”

    Before I could reply, he turned the keys, bringing the ferocious engine to life. I thought about shouting over to him, but Bandit dropped the car into gear and was on the throttle with everything he had. My hand was back at the door handle, holding on with all of my strength.

    The tires screamed on the pavement as we pulled from the dirt. We picked up speed like a rocket was strapped to the roof. I thought I heard the deep rumble of a motorcycle behind us, but it was hard to tell. I didn’t think my voice would come to me when we needed it the most, but it did, “On the right. Just past that fallen tree trunk.”

    Bandit was in total control of his car. It was just like all the rides we used to take on his Harley. I knew he sped through the winding backroads, but we never felt out of control. Bandit could drive like the devil was on his tail while making it feel as smooth as a Sunday cruise.  

    There was nothing smooth about the bump where the driveway met the road. It had been bad the night before in my Lexus, but the classic car was heavier. The front came down with a painful metallic thud. It lurched up, pinning me to the seatbelt. While the nose of the car was still in the air, Bandit threw on the headlights.

    The gate stood before us, daring us to try. With brick pillars on either side, I wondered if we even could get through. My man had all the confidence in the world. As soon as the car was stable on four wheels, he was back on the throttle. I clenched every muscle in my body as we drew closer to the gate.

    The second that the car impacted the metal, the gate folded forward. I had prepared myself for a hard hit, but there wasn’t one. As the metal bounced forward, the windshield spidered. One headlight dropped away, but Bandit didn’t let up. Maybe it was the speed, or maybe it was the gate. Whatever it was, we were through.

    Single headlights fired up behind us. I turned back to see the pickup truck pulling alongside us. Stache was in the driver seat with Trask crouched in the bed, holding onto a light bar. I could see the glow of the mansion through the trees, and as Bandit manhandled the car around the turns, Stache slammed on the brakes as the trees gave way.

    Bandit had the injured car pointing directly at the mansion. My focus was on the carriage house. Security was probably alerted the second we smashed through the gate. I could picture them scrambling for their guns and radios. The carriage house looked still, and that worried me. If they weren’t already coming out to fight us, where were they?

    My eyes shot back and forth from the mansion to the carriage house. Panic was rising inside of me. I would have felt more comfortable to see men in front of us, guns drawn. The absolute stillness was bad news. Was it an ambush?

    My grip grew tighter as the fear and questions swam over me. Then I saw the spark of headlights from one of the dark garages. The sharp blue headlights of the Land Rover seemed to be aiming straight for us. It lurched from its cage, confirming my fears.

    I raised my hand,