Page 158 of Moon's Promise

Finding herself free, she started running toward The Last Riders when the one called T-bone caught her by the back of her shirt.

She had no more been forced to a stop than he was jolted backward by a bullet hole between his eyes.

She was pulled down on top of him, and started screaming at his sightless eyes so close to her face, unaware Moon’s bike had shot forward and was right in front of her.

Hysterical, she didn’t hear Moon’s loud yell of, “Get on, Larissa!”

She couldn’t make her body cooperate, frozen in fear that one of the bullets she could hear being shot would strike her.

“Dammit, Larissa!” Moon shouted.

A rough hand jerked her to her feet and practically carried her to Moon’s bike. Then Ginny’s husband roughly sat her down on the back of Moon’s motorcycle.

“Hold on.”

Gavin’s warning was the only one she was given before Moon’s bike took off, weaving through The Last Riders and the Destructors.

She belatedly realized The Last Riders had protectively surrounded them, providing them cover from the mayhem. She expected to be struck by a bullet at any second, until Moon went around a curve. As she held on to his waist with a death grip, they headed toward another curve. Instead of being frightened of the speed he was traveling, she felt safe and protected at the skillful way he handled his motorcycle.

When they turned another curve, Larissa saw the road had been blocked off by two cars with road flares spread across both lanes. Several cars were stopped, waiting for the cars to be moved. A third car had been parked off to the side, on the gravel. Sex Piston and Crazy Bitch were standing in front of it.

Decreasing his speed, Moon rode his motorcycle to where they were stopped.

“You know what to do,” he ordered the women.

Sex Piston and Crazy Bitch nodded.

“Come on, Larissa. You’re coming with us.” Sex Piston reached for her arm to help her off the motorcycle.

Grateful, she let her help her off then lead her to the car where Crazy Bitch had opened the back door.

As she started to get inside, Larissa watched Moon take off back in the direction they had come from.

“Moon!”

He was going back into that craziness.

Wanting to stop him, she tried to get back out of the car, but Crazy Bitch slammed the door shut before she could.

Sex Piston, who had gotten in the driver’s seat, turned around. “Keep your ass back there.”

“He’s going to get himself killed! They’re shooting at each other!” Larissa yelled as Crazy Bitch got into the passenger seat, slamming her own door.

“Your man isn’t the only one out there risking his life to get you safe,” Sex Piston told her as she maneuvered her car onto the road in the direction of Jamestown. “Girl, you might as well learn this lesson now: our men belong to a brotherhood. When one man puts their life on the line, they all do. That means until the danger is over, they’re all in. Then they ride away together or not at all.”

The harsh reality of being with a man belonging to motorcycle club hit her full force. Was she willing to live with the fact that Moon would be regularly putting his life in danger every time one of the club members needed him?

Did she really have a choice? When those bikers had tried to shove her into the back seat of her car, she knew if they succeeded, her life would be over. Despite overwhelming concern for her unborn child, it had been Moon whom she’d fought to keep herself alive for. Deep down, she knew he would recover from her death with little or no damage, but he would be burdened with the grief of losing his child for the rest of his life. That, she couldn’t bear for him. She loved him too much to ever let him experience that type of grief. She pressed her trembling lips together knowing the battle she had been fighting about loving Moon was over. She had lost. Somehow, she knew it wouldn’t be the last victory he would claim in the future.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Moon sped back to where The Last Riders had the out-of-town bikers surrounded and unarmed. Bodies littered the ground, forcing him to park in the middle of the road and walk to where Viper was questioning the men.

Seeing Moon approaching, Viper broke off talking with the brothers. “Larissa okay?”

“Sex Piston will take her to the hospital and stay with her until I can get there.” Moon stared down grimly at the men sitting on the ground. “You find out which one is the leader?”

Viper shook his head. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Who would want to admit to being in charge of this shitshow?” He turned his head at the sound of a police car coming to a stop behind where The Last Riders had parked their bikes. “Fuck, that’s all we need,” Viper muttered under his breath as the acting sheriff drew closer.

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