Rainbow (Ruthless Kings MC Baton Rouge #1) - K.L. Savage Page 0,39

made no sense to me, and for years I thought Dad was full of shit.

He wasn’t.

I’ve just been waiting to meet Ryan. I don’t know if I’m gay, considering I haven’t ever found a man attractive before, but I’m fucking gay for him, and that’s all that matters.

I groan as I slide off the trunk and fall to the ground, gasping for breath as I stare up to the sky. The wind is swirling violently, whistling and snapping branches. I don’t have long before the worst of the hurricane arrives.

And if I’m not home by then, there’s going to be no hope for me.

My muscles tremble as I roll to my stomach. Pine needles and mud squish under my palms as I push myself to my feet, staggering from how weak I feel. I lean against a nearby tree and take another second to compose myself. The pounding of the water splashing and waving against the bank has me taking a step back, so I don’t fall and find myself dragged away.

The water is rising and soaking the ground. My boots squish with every step, my socks are water-laden. My clothes are heavy and sticking to my skin, which makes it really difficult to walk. I try to figure out my surroundings.

Woods.

Trees.

Branches.

Awesome. They all look the fucking same. I don’t know where I am. I hope I’m not too far away.

Oh, my phone!

I tug it out of my pocket and see that the screen is black. I try to turn it on, but it doesn’t. “Fuck,” I curse. “Waterproof my ass. If it can’t survive a man floating down the river, is it really waterproof?” I ask it as if the phone can answer me. “Damn it.” I shove it into my cut pocket and shiver in disgust when I feel mud slip between my fingers.

I’m coated in it. Head to toe.

I head straight, away from the river and through the woods, hoping I come to a road. Then I hear a loud crack above me, and I look up in time to see a branch dropping down. I dive to the right and dodge it, the leaves kissing the tip of my boots.

“I fucking hate hurricane season.” I pick myself up again and wipe my muddy hands on my wet jeans. How could a good day in bed, messing around with a guy I’m crazy about, turn downstream like this? Literally, downstream.

The canopy of the trees protects me from the hardship of the wind and rain. If I find the road, I’ll have to brace myself because that weather won’t be as forgiving as it is right now. I step over another fallen branch, and that gets me thinking about the one I risked my life for and how it got sawed in the first place.

Someone had to have done it intentionally, but that’s crazy. They would know out of everyone that I would go up there because I’m the crazy son of a bitch who jumps out of planes to fight fires. Adrenaline is a drug to me, and I’m addicted to it. Everyone who knows me knows that. So maybe somebody cut that branch to hurt me.

I shake the thoughts away. That’s just my anxiety talking. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation without a conspiracy behind it.

But even as I try to reassure myself, it doesn’t sit right with me. I’ve never been the kind of person to think about things like that, but that feeling in my gut, the one that’s never been wrong, tells me that’s exactly what happened.

If that’s the case, I need to hurry up and find my way home. Whoever wanted me out of the way is clearly pissed off about Ryan.

I won’t stand for anyone hurting him. I don’t care if I’ve been around the MC brothers for most of my life. Nothing will get in the way of my fucking happiness with Ryan. From the moment my parents died, I’ve waited to feel like this again. To feel like life is actually worth a damn, and I won’t give that up because someone has decided to be small-minded.

“Oh, thank fuck,” I moan in pure ecstasy when I come to the edge of the tree line and see a road.

I step out and look up toward the sky to see the gray clouds moving. The wind is dying down, and the rain has lightened up. There must be a break in the outer bands of the storm before the main