Page 13 of Warrior Witch

“They were more of a suggestion than a direction,” he cuts in, his dark eyes gleaming with humor in the rearview mirror.

“And he was shocked when—”

Harlow cut off as the car lurched hard and fishtailed before Lindsay brought it back under control.

“Shit!”

“What was—”

A vaguely familiar motorbike pulled up to the driver’s side window. The rider lifted his leg and kicked at the door. Harlow cursed, Addie screamed, and the seconds seemed to slow as a scene straight out of my nightmares played again. Lindsay tried to speed up and lose him, steering wide to avoid hurting the guy, but the wheels lost traction on the wet road, and the car went into a spin.

Gripping the seat with aching fingers, I saw it all play out. Broken glass. Blood. Silence. I couldn’t handle going through it again. My chest heaved as images of little Addie covered in blood assaulted me. I’d just met her. I couldn’t lose her already. I’d lost so much.

A face slowly registered in front of me. Resolving into two bright eyes, a delicate nose, and lips that looked tasty enough to kiss.

“You with us, big guy?” Harlow asked, squeezing my shoulder.

I blinked away the images in my mind’s eye and looked around. The car had come to a stop facing a grassy field, completely undamaged and up the right way. I glanced around the interior and found everyone in the same shape they had been moments ago.

“I guess I overreacted a bit, huh?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck with a self-conscious chuckle.

“Not at all. But now I know you’re okay; I have some business to attend to.” Harlow gave my shoulder one last reassuring squeeze and pushed out of the car to confront the asshole who had almost killed us.

“Isn’t that the guy from the gas station?” I asked as Addie wriggled into the backseat to get a better view of the road.

“Yup. He’s why we had to leave real quick. This is going to be so cool.”

“Cool isn’t the word I’d use,” Lindsay grumbled, climbing through after her. “Someone crack open the window so we can hear better.”

Outside, wind whipped at Harlow’s hair as she stalked toward the asshole in black leather who leaned casually against his bike like he wasn’t asking to be struck by lightning with all that metal under his butt.

“You can come after me; I don’t give a shit. But you never threaten my family,” she shouted over the howling gale.

The guy reached up and slowly drew off his helmet, turning to rest it on the seat of his bike. A now familiar buzzing streaked through my chest, and I cursed at the implication. Why was I always attracted to the dangerous ones? Dammit. Luckily, it seemed like I wasn’t alone this time.

“Damn. If I wasn’t so pissed about him threatening Harls, I’d take him for a ride. I swear I could change him.”

I snorted at the earnest look on Lindsay’s face.

“Unless you’re going for a whole star-crossed lovers vibe, I don’t think you and him are in the cards, my friend.”

His shoulders slumped for a moment before he straightened with a wicked grin on his face. “Oh well. It’ll be just as fun to see her hand him his ass.”

I grunted in agreement and turned my attention back to the confrontation outside.

“I’ll give you a choice. You can come with me, or I can kill you and leave you on the road.”

“Why does he have to sound sexy when he’s threatening the life of my bestie?” Lindsay moaned.

Addie elbowed him. “Ssh, I can’t hear.”

“I choose option C,” Harlow growled, lifting her fingers to show—Was that electricity dancing over the tips?

“I’ve already seen your party trick. You’re going to need a lot more than that.” He raised his arms, and the rain intensified, the winds whipping at the water until it began to swirl in a controlled funnel, like a mini tornado.

“Shit. The storm is his,” I breathed. Glancing at the two beside me, I found matching smug grins on their faces. “What? What don’t I know?”

“Just watch.” Lindsay nodded toward the rear window. The biker had created a dense funnel of water that looked ready to crash into Harlow any minute.

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