Hellhounds MC

Alina

Gabriel looked down at my bleeding fingers gripping his leather jacket.

For a terrifying second, I thought he was going to peel my hands off and leave me there for Liam to find. His hazel eyes were unreadable, calculating something in the dark.

“Don’t you dare, Alina!” Liam’s voice barked from the top of the driveway.

I could hear the crunch of his shoes hitting the gravel. He was running.

Gabriel shifted his weight on the bike. “Get on…” He ordered, leaving no room for argument.

I didn’t hesitate.

I scrambled onto the back of the motorcycle.

The leather seat was hard and the engine vibrated violently beneath me.

I didn’t know where to put my hands, so I hovered them awkwardly near his sides.

Gabriel reached back without looking. He grabbed my wrists in a crushing grip and yanked my arms forward, wrapping them tightly around his thick waist.

“Hold on.” He warned.

Before I could even take a breath, he twisted the throttle.

The bike roared like a wild beast. The back tire spun, kicking up dirt and gravel and then we shot forward into the street just as Liam reached the iron gates.

I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face into Gabriel’s broad back as we sped into the freezing night.

The icy wind whipped through my hair, stinging my tear-stained cheeks.

But pressed against Gabriel, all I felt was heat.

He was like a furnace radiating through the leather of his jacket.

For the first time all night, the violent shaking in my bones began to slow down.

We rode through the empty city streets for what felt like hours.

I didn’t know where we were going, and I didn’t care. Any place was better than the cage I had just escaped.

Eventually, the scenery began to change.

The bright city lights faded into darker, empty industrial roads.

Gabriel slowed the bike down just enough so that the rushing wind wasn’t deafening.

“Why is he chasing you?” Gabriel’s rough, deep voice suddenly cut through the air.

I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat. I pressed my cheek against his jacket so he could hear me.

“I left him!” I yelled over the rumble of the engine.

The moment the words left my mouth, Gabriel’s boot slammed down.

He hit the brakes hard.

The motorcycle jerked to a violent, sudden stop in the middle of the empty street.

The force threw my entire body forward.

My chest crashed hard against his solid back. My thighs slid forward, pressing flush against his hips and my arms locked desperately around his waist to keep from falling.

For a second, all the air left my lungs.

A sudden heat flared between us. The heat of our bodies pressing together in the freezing air sent a strange, electric shock straight to my core.

Gabriel didn’t pull away. He didn’t tell me to back up.

He sat perfectly still.

I could feel every hard muscle in his back tensing beneath the leather.

His breathing was slow. But my heart pounded furiously against his spine, and for a terrifying, breathless moment, the world felt incredibly small.

He turned his head slightly. I couldn’t see his full face, only the sharp line of his jaw and the dark intensity of his eye in the dim street light.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

I swallowed hard. “Sure of what? Leaving him?”

“Yes. About that…” His voice was lower now. Darker.

I thought about the baby growing inside me. I thought about Liam being with that woman, his cruel laughter, his psychotic eyes and the glass paperweight I used to fight for my life.

I tightened my grip around Gabriel’s waist and pressed myself firmer against him.

“Yes…” I whispered, though I knew he could feel the nod against his back. “I am sure.”

Gabriel didn’t say another word.

He turned his head back around, revved the powerful engine and tore off down the dark road.

Shortly, we entered a part of the city I had never been to.

The roads were cracked, the streetlights flickered and the buildings were covered in graffiti.

Gabriel turned down a long alleyway and pulled up to a massive compound surrounded by high chain-link fences topped with barbed wire.

Dozens of black motorcycles were parked in neat rows outside a sprawling, warehouse-like building.

A glowing neon sign above the metal doors buzzed loudly: Hellhounds MC.

Gabriel killed the engine.

The sudden silence from the bike was instantly replaced by the thumping bass of rock music pounding from inside the building. The smell of exhaust, cheap beer, and stale cigarette smoke hung thick in the air.

“Get off.” he said.

I unwrapped my stiff arms from his waist and clumsily climbed off the bike.

My legs felt like jelly.

My knees and hands were still throbbing with fresh pain but the unfamiliar surroundings kept me moving.

Gabriel kicked the stand down and swung his long leg over the seat. He stood up to his full six feet two inches, towering over me.

In this environment, he looked even more dangerous.

He didn’t wait for me. He started walking toward the metal doors.

I hurried to follow him, my bloody hands tucked against my chest. As we got closer, the metal doors swung open, spilling harsh yellow light and chaotic noise out.

I hesitated at the threshold, my breath catching in my throat.