Devil's Ride (Royal Bastards MC Tonopah, NV #3) - Nikki Landis Page 0,7
if it was all a lie and I’d never awaken again.
Too late.
My soul was bargained and sold.
The devil owned Dexter Lanford, the Grim Reaper.
Bright light was beating down from above and I groaned as my head pounded with the worst ache that I could remember. I hadn’t had a hangover this bad in months. I lifted my hands to my temples and rubbed them to ease the pain. My eyes finally opened, and I struggled to sit up.
Hot Nevada wind blew over my skin and clothes while I stood and stumbled, trying to catch my balance. I teetered like an infant learning to walk for the first time and it would have been comical if not for the loud blaring of a horn and the screech of tires seconds before I was hit and knocked backward, flying through the air before I landed in an ungraceful heap about twenty yards away.
Screams and cries of horror and shock filled the air. I mumbled incoherent words as my head turned and I found the dark blue sedan parked on the side of the road. The front of the car faced in the opposite direction. Through the back window I glimpsed two blonde heads filled with curls and braids. Two girls who couldn’t have been more than ten or twelve years in age. They were watching me with eyes as round as saucers.
Outside, somewhere close a man and woman were arguing. One was saying they needed to locate an emergency phone to call for help.
“There’s a dead body on the side of the road!” the woman yelled, her hand shaking as she pointed to the opposite side of Highway 95.
“I know!” The man scrubbed a hand over his face. “Did you see the leather vests and the patch? Royal Bastards MC. We’re not getting mixed up in any illegal shit or murder.”
“We hit that other man. We can’t just leave him for dead too!”
The argument continued but I stopped listening as a shadow fell over my face and blocked out the sun. I blinked and looked up as one of the girls from the car knelt down. She seemed younger of the two and pressed a cloth to my face while she offered a timid smile. “You’re all bloody.”
Surprised she had the courage to walk up to a stranger on the ground and offer assistance I didn’t know what to say. Her stuffed bear was clutched close to her chest and she glanced down at it, placing a kiss on its head, and then pressed it to my chest.
“He always makes me feel better. Maybe Cuddles can make you feel better too.”
Her kindness rocked my world. I was a bloody biker hit by a car and probably looked like hell. Scary as fuck, I should have intimidated or frightened her. I didn’t.
“Thank you,” I managed to choke out.
Brilliant sunlight surrounded her body like a halo, and I wondered briefly how the rays beamed down from above exactly right to give her such an angelic appearance.
“My parents fight a lot,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder. “I don’t like it.”
Her voice wavered and I immediately wanted to offer her comfort like she had given me.
“Do you want Cuddles back?”
She shook her head. “No. You need him more.”
Smart kid.
“Why do you wear jeans and leather? It’s really hot.”
I nearly laughed but my side was aching from where I hit the ground and I held back a groan. “I’m a biker. I like to ride motorcycles.”
She pursed her lips. “I think you should stop doing that. You’re hurt and so is the other man over there.” She pointed to the body. “He’s not waking up.”
Fuck. My memory was starting to return, and I worried this girl and her family were in danger. The Scorpions were probably looking for me and Keys. It wasn’t safe.
The sound of multiple motorcycles approaching caught everyone’s attention.
“Honey, what are you doing!?” The girl’s father snatched her up and headed for their car.
“What are we going to do?” The mother asked, standing outside one of the doors.
“We’ll stop and call at the next exit. We’ve got to go. Hear those motorcycles? Trouble is coming!”
The girl and her parents were inside and the car peeling away fast as I sighed. Their reaction wasn’t a surprise. Maybe it was the Scorpions. Maybe my brothers had finally found me and Keys.
I wasn’t able to move so I lay there, staring up at the sky.
It was overcast. The sun wasn’t bright. Hidden behind multiple clouds, looked