Page 10 of Riding Hard

As hot as he looks saying those words, I’m angry. I wasn’t ready to go after Nico yet.

He stares down at the message on his phone, then glances up at me. His voice is strained as he says, “I want to stay here and make this better, but there’s an emergency with the guys. I have to go. I’ll send Kane and Amber over to sit with you until I get back. Promise me, you won’t leave this house.”

I climb off of him and he stands, buckling his jeans before he grabs a pistol from the gun cabinet by the door. “Promise me, Bella.”

“No! What’s happening?”

He steps toward me, his gaze lowered to mine, his jaw tight. “What’s happening is… I’m feeling things I shouldn’t feel, and it’s making me act like a fucking idiot. You’re beautiful, smart, strong, and snarky as hell. If it were up to me, I’d lay you out in front of the fire and prove my feelings to you all night long, but my guys are in trouble, and I have to go.” He kisses the top of my head. “Now promise me you’ll stay here. Kane is only around the corner. He has a key. He’ll let himself in.”

Having been raised by a drug dealer, I know how dirty these fights can get. I don’t want Diesel being a part of it, but I’m not sure I have a say in the matter. He sent his men out and they’re in trouble. Diesel is the kind of man who couldn’t live with himself if anything happened to them on his watch. And though I don’t take orders well, I know what he’s doing is for the best.

I nod and cross my arms in front of my chest. “I hear you. Please be safe.”

Diesel kisses my forehead, lingering in the moment. He draws in a deep breath, his big hands on my face. “You’re going to be safe, I’m going to be fine, and we’ll finish what we started when I get back, okay?”

I nod and tip up onto my toes, kissing his lips gently before he turns toward the door, arms the security system, and steps outside.

Chapter Six

Diesel

Fuck. Why the hell did I kiss her? Why the hell did I think for a fucking second that I had therightto kiss her, touch her, slide my fingers into her tight little pussy.What the actual fuck is wrong with me?

Wind whips at my face as I ride toward Gunner and the guys. They’re up at the quarry with Nico in ropes. It’s a go to place for us when we have an issue we need to hammer out. I should be focused on that. The guys had a hell of a night finding Nico, but they brough him in a little too easily, which doesn’t sit right with me.

That said, all my mind wants to do is replay the way my hands felt touching Bella. The cute little blonde with the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen. She had my dick hard the second I touched her.

It’s sick.I’m sick. I’m a sick fucking man because regardless of the consequences, I knowshe’sthe woman that I need in my life. The woman I want to protect, love, and cherish. The woman I want a family with.

Fuck! What the hell is happening to me? I’ve had a family. I need to get my head right. I have a grown daughter. I don’t need another one. What the hell is happening to me?

At the top of the hill is a vast space of cleared trees with a perimeter of low green shrubs that cast long shadows this time of night. In the center is a massive pit. In the light, the quarry is colorful with red, pink, white, and yellow rock. At night, it’s a giant hole in the ground.

Behind an excavator and a few wooden pallets, the guys stand with Nico. He’s a bigger guy. He’s maybe six foot two, but he’s thin. His hair is shaved tight to his head, and he’s wearing a leather vest.

I climb off my bike and step through the cloud of dust that plumes around my tires as a few rocks tumble into the quarry. I know that logo on his vest. I’ve seen it before, but I’m still too far away to place it.

“Figure you’ll want first dibs on what we do with him.” Gunner glances toward me, but his expression changes immediately, and his gun lifts to shoot something behind me.

I pull my pistol and turn toward the dark night, sucking in the scent of diesel fuel and dust as I stare toward two men with shotguns aimed. They’re wearing the same leather vests, and suddenly it dawns on me. Nico’s full name is Nicholas DeMarco. He’s the son of Tony DeMarco, president of the Death Rangers, an MC group out of the Springs. These men aren’t building lodges in their free time. They have a different mission, a much more violent one.

Chapter Seven

Bella

I don’t remember much about the time between midnight last night and eight o’clock this morning. I blame it on the sleeping pill Amber gave me. I panicked when she and Kane arrived. Not for myself, but for Diesel. She reassured me that this happens all the time, then gave me an Ambien. I guess I don’t do sleeping meds because this morning the world is foggy and I’m still exhausted.

“Knock, knock.” Amber’s tone is sing-songy and bright. I suppose this means everything is okay and Diesel is back home. “I brought breakfast. I hope you like french toast. Kane is obsessed with making it! He thinks he has some secret recipe.” She rolls her eyes and smiles. “I let him believe it, because I don’t like making breakfast.” Her smile is contagious.How am I ever going to tell her that I have a thing for her father?She sets the tray on the bedside table before sitting next to me. “How are you feeling?”

My heart tightens. “Okay. Is your dad home?”

She shakes her head. “No, but don’t worry. This is normal. He’s probably tying up loose ends. Sounds like that guy that was following you was crazy.”

“What do you mean?” I’m wondering what she knows.

She shrugs and grabs a piece of bacon from my plate. “It’s just pretty crazy he was following you and everything.”

“Yeah. I really didn’t want everyone to know. I’m worried he’s going to take it out on the people I love.”