Page 2 of Slash
Her pulse spiked, even though she was expecting it. He was here.
Slash.
"Nicole?" The voice was deep, gravelly, with just a hint of Southern accent. "I'm Slash. Savannah sent us."
Nicole's heart hammered against her ribs. Through the peephole, she could see him standing back from the door, hands visible, clearly trying to appear less threatening. It didn't work. Everything about him screamed danger. No, not scary. Darn right terrifying.
But Kayleigh was depending on her to be brave.
Nicole unlocked the door, keeping the security chain engaged. Through the gap, she met eyes the color of storm clouds; hard, assessing, but not cruel. Not the eyes of a man who would hurt a woman and child.
She hoped.
"You're really Savannah's friends?" she asked, hating how small her voice sounded.
"We are," he confirmed. His gaze shifted past her, probably cataloging the apartment, looking for threats. "She sent us here to get you. There’s been an issue with another club, and blackmail that needs handling. We’re going to take you with us until it’s all straightened out."
Nicole's breath caught. There was something in the way he said 'handling' that made her think problems didn't tend to survive Slash's attention.
"But, my ex," she said quietly. "My daughter’s father. He's... he won't leave us alone. He won’t be okay with me just leaving like this."
Something shifted in Slash's expression, confusion replaced with a cold fury that was there and gone so quickly she might have imagined it. "He’s hurt you."
It wasn't a question, but Nicole nodded anyway. "That's why..." She gestured helplessly. “I don’t know if I could… if I should…I don’t want to make him angry. He’s powerful…”
"You're coming with us," Slash commanded. "Where we can keep you both safe."
Safe.
The word sounded foreign, like something that belonged to other people. Nicole had almost forgotten what it felt like to not be afraid.
"Mommy, are these the motorcycle people?" Kayleigh's voice came from behind her, and Nicole spun around to find her daughter standing in the hallway, Mr. Peanuts tucked under one arm and her backpack slung over her shoulders.
When Nicole turned back to the door, Slash's entire demeanor had changed. The predator was still there, but muted, controlled. His voice gentled in a way that shouldn't have been possible from someone who looked like him.
"Hey there, little one," he said through the gap in the door. "You must be Kayleigh. Your Aunt Savannah told me all about you."
Kayleigh beamed, any fear Nicole might have expected completely absent. "Are you really as scary as you look?"
Nicole's face flamed. "Kayleigh!"
But Slash chuckled, the sound rusty as if he didn't do it often. "Probably scarier. But not to little girls who mind their mommies and pack their favorite elephants for adventures."
"His name is Mr. Peanuts," Kayleigh informed him seriously. "And I packed my coloring books too."
"Smart girl," Slash approved. "We've got a long ride ahead of us. If it’s okay with your mommy, we’ll even stop somewhere for snacks once we are on the road for a bit."
Something in Nicole's chest loosened at the easy way he spoke to her daughter. This wasn't a man who would hurt children. Whatever else he might be capable of, she could trust him with Kayleigh.
She closed the door long enough to remove the security chain, then opened it fully. Slash filled the doorway, even bigger than she'd realized. The scar was more prominent up close, a raised line of tissue that spoke of violence and pain. But his eyes, when they met hers, held a gentleness that surprised her.
"Ready?" he asked.
Nicole looked around her small apartment. The home she'd worked so hard to create, the sanctuary she'd thought would keep them safe. All of it, meaningless if her ex found them. So far, she’d been lucky. But, her luck always seemed to run out.
Nicole swallowed. “Mostly.”
“Finish quickly.” He stood there half in the doorway, arms crossed, not fully coming inside, scanning her porch like he expected trouble to come storming out of the bushes. “We roll in ten.”
