Page 87 of Taming Nikki

“Nikki, tell me where you are. I’ll meet you. Let me help.”

I was practically begging at this point. I knew she was stubborn, and she wanted to do everything herself, but even she was smart enough to know this was beyond her skill level.

“Too far,” she mumbled.

“What?”

She was muttering to herself, and I heard a few more pops go off. They were getting closer to her, and it was only a matter of time before one of them got lucky.

“Nikki!”

“Just wait a goddamn minute!” she snapped. “You’re too far. I’m on the other side of town. I’m a good driver, but I’m not that good. Not with three cars behind me.”

Son of a bitch. I hated this feeling. It’d been a long time since I felt helpless, and it pissed me off. But I was also terrified out of my mind. Nikki may be brazen and sometimes violent, but she meant more to me than I’d ever intended to allow. I couldn’t lose her.

“Leo, you’re friends with that biker club on the edge of town, right?”

My brow furrowed. “The Wraiths? Yes, we’ve got an understanding. Why?”

“Because the police weren’t the only people interested in getting their hands on Henderson. The cops just got to him first. They’re closer than you are. Call them and tell them I’m coming.”

If she was close to the Wraiths clubhouse, then she was right, she was too far. That didn’t stop me from speeding out of my driveway and heading her way.

“I’m on it. Don’t hang up. I’ll call them on my burner.”

It took way too fucking long to explain to the president of the Wraiths what was going down. It was probably only a few minutes, but the entire time, I heard Nikki’s curses, the screech of tires as she tried to outrun the men chasing her. There was a lead weight in my stomach, and my frustration was at an all-time high because I wasn’t there to handle this myself. When this was over, I was locking Nikki in her room. Fuck the deal. Fuck my promise. Her hating me was better than feeling like this.

* * *

“Incoming!” I heard Bulldozer, the president of the Wraiths, bellow through the phone. Nikki was right. The minute I mentioned who was chasing her, he jumped into action, no questions asked. Whatever this asshole did, he pissed off a lot of people today.

“What car is she in?”

“Nikki, what–”

“I’m in Mikey’s car. Fuck!” The tires squealed again, and I held my breath until she muttered a curse again. “There went the back tire. I’m running out of time, Leo.”

There was an edge to her voice, breaking through the calm fury she’d had before. She was scared, and that was unacceptable.

“Bulldozer. Black mustang with red stripes. Nikki, they’re ready for you. Can you make it?”

“Like they could fucking stop me,” was her muttered reply.

Then, I could only wait. I was burning rubber racing across town to get to her, but there wasn’t a chance in hell that I’d be there in time.

“Shit!”

Everything moved in slow motion as I heard the crash of metal on metal, the pops of gun blasts. Then both lines went quiet and my heart stuttered in my chest.

“Nikki?”

Nothing. Silence. Both lines went dead, and I had no fucking clue what was going on. I pressed harder on the gas, my hands gripping the wheel tightly as I flew through stoplights and around slow-moving cars.

I thought I’d arrive to chaos with the noises I heard. There were a couple cars smoking on the side of the road, where they’d crashed, but otherwise, it was quiet. No bodies, no proof. These guys moved fucking fast.

I slammed on my brakes, staring at the sight that greeted me. Nikki stood off to one side, scowling at the flat tire on Mikey’s car while standing next to Bulldozer. I barely put the car into park before I was out the door and rushing over, grabbing her arm and yanking her against me.

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

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