LOGINRAINEThe burner phone felt heavy in my pocket as I walked back inside. The cartel’s message still burned in my mind. I pushed it down. One problem at a time.The main room was packed. Senior patches, road captains, and a handful of loyal prospects filled every chair and corner. The air was thick with cigarette smoke and tension. They had all come after hearing what happened at the summit. My father was alive but badly wounded. Dahlia was in chains. The club was bleeding from the inside.They needed a leader.And they were looking at me.Old Man Harris, the longest-serving member, cleared his throat. “We’ve got a situation. Vex is laid up and may not make it. Dahlia’s betrayal has split the club. We need to vote. Right now. Do we follow the bloodline… or do we find someone new?”All eyes turned to me.I stepped forward, heart hammering. Grief over Cole still sat like a stone in my chest, but I couldn’t let it show. Not here. Not now.“I’m not asking for your pity,” I said, voice stead
RAINEThe desert night swallowed us whole.I rode like a woman possessed, throttle pinned, my eyes burning from tears and dust. Isla stayed glued to my left side, her headlight cutting through the darkness. Every few seconds I glanced in my mirrors. The pursuing headlights were still back there. Although they were smaller now, they were not totally gone. They wanted blood. They wanted me.Cole was dead.The thought hit me again like a fresh bullet. I had left him bleeding out in the sand while I ran. The man who had taken bullets for me. The man who had finally confessed everything and told me he loved me. Gone. Just like that.My chest felt hollow, and every breath hurt.“Raine!” Isla shouted over the engines. “We need to lose them!”I nodded and took a sharp right onto a narrow game trail I remembered from years ago. The bikes bounced hard over rocks and ruts. My injured leg screamed with every jolt, but I didn’t slow down. Pain was good. Pain meant I was still alive. Pain meant I w
RAINECole’s hand went limp in mine.I stared at him, hot blood roaring in my ears louder than the gunfire. He had just shoved me down and taken another bullet meant for me. His body was heavy against the sand, eyes closed, chest barely moving. Too much blood. Way too much.“No,” I whispered. Then louder, “No!”Isla’s voice cut through the chaos. “Raine! We have to move now!”I couldn’t leave him. I grabbed his cut and tried to drag him, but he was dead weight and I was already exhausted. A bullet slammed into the rock inches from my head. I spun, knife in one hand, pistol in the other, and fired blindly into the dust.“Isla!” I screamed.She appeared through the haze, her face streaked with dirt and blood. She took one look at Cole and her expression shattered. “Oh God…”“Help me!” I begged.We each grabbed an arm and pulled. He was too heavy. Another wave of Serpents was closing in from below, and I heard Dahlia’s voice rising above the noise, shrill and furious.“Kill them! Kill al
COLEThe desert had turned into pure hell and chaos.Dust choked everything. Gunfire cracked from every direction. My side burned like someone had poured gasoline on it and lit a match, but I kept moving, my arms locked around Raine and Isla as we ran through the chaos. She was covered in blood, some hers, but mostly not. I did a good job by protecting her from it all. Isla stayed close on our left, firing back whenever anyone got too near.“Keep going!” I shouted, my voice raw.We dove behind a cluster of rocks near the base of the ridge. Bullets pinged off stone above our heads. I pressed my hand to my side and felt warm blood pouring between my fingers. It was really bad, but I couldn’t stop now.Raine’s eyes were wild as she reloaded. “Cole, you’re losing too much blood. We have to get you out of here.”“Not yet.” I grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer. The world was spinning a little, but I forced the words out. This might be the last chance I had. “Listen to me right now, Rai
RAINEHands grabbed for me the second Vex gave the order.I moved on pure instinct. I drove my elbow into the first Serpent’s face, feeling his nose crunch under the blow, then ripped my knife free and slashed it across another man’s arm. The desert flat exploded into noise and chaos. Different guns went off everywhere. The sound was deafening, like thunder cracking right beside my ears.“Raine!” Cole’s voice cut through the madness. He was right beside me, his huge body shielding mine as bullets whipped past. I didn’t have time to thank him. I raised my pistol and fired two quick shots at the men closing in, dropping one and forcing the other to dive behind a bike.The full firefight was on.Serpents and Revenants tore into each other across the sand. I saw Isla drop a man with a clean shot before she disappeared into the dust cloud, fighting hard. I’d trained her hard for moments like this, but there was no time to feel proud.A big Serpent came at me with a tire iron. I ducked unde
COLEI couldn’t let her walk down there alone.The second Vex raised his hand and every gun on that flat seemed to come up, I broke cover and moved fast down the ridge behind her. Raine didn’t turn around, but I saw her shoulders tighten. She knew it was me. I couldn’t even hide anymore.I caught up to her just as she reached the open ground. My hand brushed the small of her back for half a second. She grimaced, but didn’t pull away. Vex stood twenty yards ahead, flanked by his top guys. Dahlia leaned against her bike off to the side, her arms crossed, watching us like we were her favorite show. The only thing missing was popcorn.“Raine,” Vex called out, his voice carrying across the flat. “At least you still know how to follow an order. Your shadow, though…” He looked straight at me. “I didn’t expect him to have the balls to show.”Raine stopped in the middle of the no-man’s-land between the two clubs. I stayed right beside her, close enough that our arms touched. Both sides had the
Raine POV No matter how hard I scrub my skin, oil still lingers. Even if I scrub my knuckles until it burns or until the water turns black it never leaves. So I don't bother anymore.This is what I love and I guess certain things come with certain consequences. And this is what I get for playing w
Cole's POVThe second Raine's sister finished that sentence, I stood up and shook my head. "I don't need your help. You two need to leave before you get yourselves killed."But Raine's sister wasn't backing down. She stepped forward, hands on her hips, and launched into what sounded like a prepared
Raine's POVThe morning after the Conclave, I tried to get some work done in the garage. Tried being the key word. I had a transmission sitting on the bench that needed rebuilding, but every time I picked up a tool, my brain wandered off somewhere else. I couldn't even sleep last night. The sound
Cole's POVI kept driving and driving and driving, my hands holding onto the wheel for dear life. The road blurred in front of me, headlights streaking past like bullets, and all I could think about was the gunfire and the screaming and the way everything had gone to hell in a matter of seconds."S







