Page 126 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

“As long as you’re with me, I can’t lose,” he murmured.

A smile cracked through her wall of worry. “I know.”

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then trailed his lips down her nose and sealed his mouth over hers. “Tonight, we earn our freedom,” he whispered.

She nodded, entangling their fingers and squeezing his hand.

He helped her off the bike and then led her to where Raptor stood, one arm slung over Riley’s shoulders while the other rested inside the pocket of Riley’s hoodie, discreetly over her stomach. The pair looked like nothing in the world could touch them, not even the lick of scorching flames. But she could tell they were on edge, their eyes in constant surveillance over the gathering crowd.

“All set?” Adrian asked. Embers popped in the metal barrel, and smoke swirled thick in the air.

Riley nodded.

“Couldn’t be better.” Raptor flashed a grin that showed off his canines. “Feels like a great night to knock the sense into a couple of baby lizards.”

Adrian chuckled and cracked his knuckles, then wrapped an arm around Ivory’s waist to hold her close. “Hell yeah, it does.”

A menacing roar ripped through the sky, and a flash of headlights rounded the corner. Turning, she watched as a pack of bikes poured into the clearing. They rode two abreast, with one in the lead of both rows. Their knuckles flashed with silver and red jewels, revving their engines. Dark tattoos curled along their skulls like black ink on ancient scrolls.

“Red Dragon,” she whispered under her breath.

“Yeah,” Adrian replied, pulling her close.

Raptor stepped in front of them and Riley came up on her other side. Grateful for the barrier, Ivory lifted her chin and hardened her gaze. She wasn’t the same lost soul Jace took advantage of anymore. He could taunt her all he wanted, but they all knew who would lose in the end.

Jace wasn’t hard to find, riding at the head of the second line next to a biker who shared a keen, almost familial, resemblance. That could only be his brother, Jun. His expression looked much more frightening, a jagged red scar cut into the side of his forehead and his lips slanted in a permanent scowl. The leader at their head, the man she assumed to be Jace and Jun’s father, wore a wrinkled face with black eyes devoid of all emotion.

The group swung their bikes around, kicking up clouds of dust and parking in formation across from Royal Flush. As the air cleared, Cortez walked into the middle of the clearing. The rest of the men–-excluding Raptor, who only moved a few feet in front of Riley—formed a semi-circle behind the barrels.

“The Lingxiu,” Cortez called. “Yu.”

Yu, the Dragon’s leader, stepped off his bike and walked over to shake hands with Cortez. “My friend,” he spoke as the corner of his mouth twitched. “And dear rival. I see you’ve come prepared.” Yu tipped his chin over Cortez’s shoulder.

“As have you.” Cortez rubbed his beard and spit on the ground next to their feet. “Fair fight’s all we want. But if shit gets messy, we know how to clean it up.”

Yu chuckled. “If I wanted a mess, you’d have it by now.”

Their gazes leveled, sparking like two steel weapons. Even the wind ceased as a tense stalemate fell across the ruins.

“Let’s get this shit over with.” Cortez rolled his jaw and curled a finger towards Raptor and Adrian. “Send your boys over so we can check ‘em. And if anything happens to my men outside the ring, you’ll have more than a mess on your hands.”

Ivory sucked in a sharp breath. This was it.

In two steps, Raptor came to Riley’s side and pulled her in for a kiss that made Ivory blush. “For good luck,” he whispered to his wife.

Ivory turned to her own knight, who removed the knife from his boot and held it out to her, along with his gun. She took them delicately, slipping the knife into her pocket and keeping the gun in her dominant hand.

“Good luck,” she whispered and chewed the inside of her cheek.

A cocky grin spread over Adrian’s lips. The tension from earlier had vanished. A true black knight stood before her, all poise and muscle, shoulders set and chest as strong as a plate of armor.

“Save your kisses, sweetheart.” He put two fingers to his lips, then pressed them to hers as an unspoken vow. “I’ll take one for my victory instead.”

The warm, soft touch of his fingertips made her shiver, and she smiled as he turned away. But an ache still pounded through her chest as the two men walked off, their strides in sync as they stepped into no man’s land.

A handful of members from the Red Dragon came over to pat down Adrian and Raptor while Jace and Jun endured the same treatment from Royal Flush. Once both parties had been cleared, the others stepped back behind the barrels. Cortez and Yu stood off to the side, their aura a dark, menacing authority that commanded everyone’s attention.

“No weapons.” Cortez raised his voice and looked over both sides. “That goes for everyone.”

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