Page 10 of Fear

Everything inside Goliath locked up. His pulse spiked. His muscles coiled. His wolf slammed against his skin, howling in fury. They took Sofia out. Into the open. Into danger.

His nostrils flared, his hands clenching into fists. He snapped around, storming toward his bike. Stupid. Reckless. Fucking dangerous. He barely heard the footsteps behind him, but he knew the others had caught onto his tension.

"What’s wrong?" Fang asked, his tone shifting to something more alert.

"Sofia’s in town," Goliath ground out, his voice a barely contained growl. "With only Diesel and Rip."

Hunter cursed. "Shit. That’s not enough muscle, not with the Shadow Riders sniffing around."

Frost was already reaching for his keys. "We are heading out?"

Before Goliath could answer, his phone buzzed. The second he looked at his phone, his world stopped.

Diesel. Call incoming.

Goliath was already moving before he answered. “What?”

Diesel’s voice was tight. “We had company. Shadow Riders. They’re gone now.”

Goliath saw red.

He didn’t wait. He didn’t stop. He threw a leg over his Harley, his entire body locked with rage as the engine roared to life. King called after him, but Goliath didn’t care. She was out there. Without him. And she had been in danger. His wolf howled, his fury uncontainable.

Sofia was his. And if anyone thought they could get close to her without going through him first, they were about to learn the hard way.

"Where? Goliath barked into the phone, his voice a low growl.

"Boutique on Main Street," Diesel replied, the tension in his voice clear. "We handled it, but they know she’s here now."

Goliath didn’t waste another second. He peeled out of the clubhouse lot in a cloud of dust, his brothers hot on his tail. The ride into town was a blur, his vision tunnelled, his grip iron-tight around the handlebars. His wolf thrashed inside him, demanding speed, demanding he get to her now.

By the time they roared down Main Street, Goliath’s eyes scanned the sidewalks, the shop fronts, the people. Then he saw her.

Sofia stood near the boutique entrance, arms wrapped around herself, her posture tense. Dakota and Siena were beside her, talking to Diesel and Rip, their own bodies still taut from the encounter. She was safe. But that didn’t lessen the rage curling inside him.

The moment his boots hit the pavement, he was moving toward her, his long strides eating up the distance. The others had barely dismounted when arguments erupted between the men and the women.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Hunter snapped at Diesel.

"We had it under control," Diesel shot back, scowling.

"Yeah? And what if you didn’t? What if they had more men?" Fang growled, running a hand over his face.

Goliath barely heard them. His focus was singular. Sofia. She turned at the last second, startled by the force of his presence. Before she could react, he reached out and grabbed her wrist—firm, but not rough. His golden eyes burned into hers, a silent demand.

"Come," he ordered, his voice clipped.

Sofia should have hesitated. She should have argued, resisted. But she didn’t. Something in his voice, in his command, settled inside her, making her move before she could question herself. She stepped forward and climbed onto the back of his bike, her hands cautiously resting against his sides.

Goliath didn’t wait. Didn’t look back. The moment she was on, he was gone.

***

The engine roared beneath her as they tore down the road, leaving the others behind. Her pulse raced, but not from fear. From something else. She should have been afraid. She should have demanded answers, should have insisted that she stay behind with the others. But for some reason, she didn’t.

Something about Goliath made her trust him. And that made no damn sense at all.

The wind whipped against her face, but it did little to cool the heat crawling up her spine. She felt safe like this, pressed against his broad back, his strength solid beneath her hands. It was insane, but for the first time since she had been running, the weight of constant terror eased just a little.

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