Page 27 of Slash
Nicole's hands stilled on the dish towel. Every maternal instinct screamed no, but she was trying so hard not to let her fear infect her daughter. She hesitated, the word balanced on her tongue, but before she could answer, Slash strode over with purposeful steps that made the floorboards creak.
He crouched down to Kayleigh's level, his scarred face serious but gentle. "Stay close," he ordered, but his tone was softer than his usual growl. "Right by the door where I can see you. I'll be right behind."
Kayleigh beamed, her whole face lighting up as she bounced on her toes. "Thanks, Slash! Come on, Emilee!" She grabbed Em’s hand and skipped out, ponytail swinging, completely unaware of how her mother's heart clenched with each step toward the door.
Nicole turned to rinse the last glass, forcing herself to breathe normally. The cool water ran over her hands, and she focused on that sensation, trying to quiet the anxiety crawling up her spine. Slash was watching. Everything was fine. She needed to stop being so paranoid.
The sound of shouts ripped through the hallway like gunfire.
Then Emilee's scream—high, terrified, wrong.
The glass slipped from Nicole's numb fingers, shattering against the porcelain sink. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard she thought they might crack as she bolted for the door. Her hip crashed into the counter, but she didn't feel it. She nearly collided with Slash in the doorway. He was already in motion, already transformed from watchful protectorto predator unleashed. His face had gone cold, deadly, the expression of a man who'd killed before and would do it again without hesitation.
Outside, chaos turned the peaceful afternoon into a nightmare.
Emilee was on the ground, her palms scraped and bleeding as she scrambled up. She was screaming Kayleigh's name over and over, the sound raw and desperate. Gravel scattered everywhere. The acrid smell of burnt rubber filled the air.
A black SUV was peeling away, tires screaming against asphalt. Through the back window—God, no, please no—Kayleigh's terrified face pressed against the glass, her small hands slapping frantically, mouth open in a scream Nicole couldn't hear but felt in her bones.
Nicole's scream tore from her throat like it might rip her lungs apart, raw and primal. "KAYLEIGH!"
Her baby. He’d taken her baby.
Slash didn't hesitate. Not for a heartbeat. He was already sprinting to his bike, his movements fluid and lethal. The engine roared to life like an awakened beast, and he was moving before Nicole could draw another breath, tearing down the gravel drive like the devil himself. Gravel spit under his tires in a violent spray. His cut snapped behind him like wings of vengeance, his body bent low over the handlebars in deadly pursuit.
Within seconds, several other bikes joined, Mad Dog, Rampage, Arrow, Savage, their engines creating a symphony of rage that shook the ground. They moved like a pack of wolves, coordinated and ruthless. Irish ran towards his bike, then turned and hopped into his truck. His large dog following.
Nicole's knees buckled, her legs suddenly unable to hold her weight. Lucky caught her before she hit the ground, his arms keeping her upright. His voice was rough in her ear, urgent butsteady. "He's got this. If anyone can get her back, it's Slash. That man would walk through hell for that little girl."
He already had his phone out, his fingers flying over the screen as he called Dax, barking information in short, clipped sentences. "Child abduction. Black SUV. Multiple units in pursuit."
Nicole's entire body shook, violent tremors that started in her chest and radiated outward. Nausea gripped her stomach, acid filled her throat. Cold terror flooded every vein, ice water in her blood. The SUV was getting smaller in the distance. Her daughter was disappearing. Everything was disappearing. She clawed at Lucky's arm, her nails leaving marks, her voice breaking into pieces.
"That's him—it has to be him—it's Brock. He took her. He'll hurt her to hurt me. He'll?—"
She couldn't finish. Couldn't voice the horrors playing in her mind because speaking them might make them real.
Savannah dropped to her knees beside her, pulling Nicole into a crushing hug. Her hands gripped Nicole's face, forcing eye contact. "Listen to me. Look at me, honey. You know Slash. You know what kind of man he is. He'll burn the world down before he lets anyone touch her. That bastard just signed his own death warrant."
Nicole sobbed, her chest heaving with each breath, but the words drilled into her heart—the only thread of hope she had left to cling to. She pressed her face into Savannah's shoulder and prayed with every fiber of her being.
"Please Lord, bring my baby home. Please don't let him hurt her. Please."
SLASH
The SUV thought it could outrun him.
It couldn't.
Not with his daughter in it. Because that's what Kayleigh was now, what she had been from the moment she'd looked up at him with those trusting eyes and asked if he'd keep the monsters away. His daughter. His to protect.
He tracked every swerve like a hunter tracking wounded prey, every desperate maneuver telegraphed before the driver even thought it. The bike responded to his slightest shift, an extension of his body, his rage. He called positions in to Rampage and Mad Dog, his voice ice over comms, coordinating like they were back in combat:
"Target heading north on Cedar. They're going to try for the interstate."
"Negative. Mad Dog's already moving to cut them off," came Rampage's response.
"Box them in. No escape routes." Slash's voice dropped lower, deadly promise in every word. "They've got my girl. Nobody touches her. I want him breathing long enough to know exactly who's putting him in the dirt."
