Chapter 21

ROSE

Ashton didn’t tell me what he was up to. I suppose my level of worry would be the same regardless. I knew there was no easy way out of this but I trusted him enough to know he’d make the right decision.

We stayed together for as long as we could before we left the Bone Pit. Grant was the only one with us.

I hugged my arms tight around Ashton as we made our way through the streets. You wouldn’t have known something was about to go down with how quiet it was. Ashton made it a point not to speed down the road. If anything, the ride through Ivory was as leisurely as it could get.

I enjoyed this moment just as much as I did being naked in bed with him. The cool night air blowing against my skin and running through my hair. The pavement right underneath my feet. The buildings rolling by us. The gentle rumble of the engine under my seat was comforting. His hard body underneath my grip made it even easier for me to hold onto him.

I was so caught up in the feeling of riding I was surprised when Ashton suddenly pulled up to a curb. Grant rolled up right next to him, the two of them eyeballing one each other.

“You see it?” Grant said.

Ashton gave him a nod.

“See what?” I said.

Grant gave me a look before ignoring me. “How do you wanna handle this?”

“Take ‘em to the outskirts. Looks like it’s just two. No pigs.”

Grant gave him a nod before moving forward.

“Ashton,” I sighed. “You can’t keep everything from me. You have to tell me what’s going on—”

“Change of plans. We’re being tailed.”

“What?” Just as I was about to turn my head around, he touched my face and made me look at him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this. Just hold on.”

I swallowed anxiously and nodded. My arms wrapped tighter around his stomach as he sped forward.

He moved faster than before with Grant on the road ahead of us. We were moving so fast I was waiting for any moment to hear the police sirens. But there were no cops. There was no traffic. The buildings started to disappear. The road was dusty. Whatever Ashton was planning, he was gonna do it where nobody would see.

We headed far away from Ivory, so far the lights from the all the buildings were distant. A few streetlights and the lone headlights from both rides were all we had to light the way. It was quiet except for the exhaust from our bikes.

But I listened closer and noticed it wasn’t just us on the road. The wind blowing against my face, I slowly turned my head around and saw two bikes in the distance. Their headlights were off but it was obvious they were there. And they looked like they had every intention of following us.

Ashton sped up and moved right next to Grant.

“I got one!” Grant shouted. “You gotta go off! Keep Rose safe!”

Ashton gave him a nod and turned his head back to me. “Hold on tight…”

“Shit…” I muttered to myself as I squeezed my arms around him. I braced myself as best as I could, not knowing what to expect.

Suddenly, Ashton veered off the road and into the barren land to the side. I turned back to see Grant still on the road, his back turned as he raised his gun up. A pair of gunshots rang through the air. Something about a bullet cracking the silence of the night made it more frightening.

I kept my head down as Ashton continued driving into the empty land that made up the outskirts of Ivory. I could hear the sound of another bike roaring toward us but I didn’t have the nerve to peak my head up and look.

Another gunshot filled the air, this one was a little louder than the others. It almost felt like they were right next to me.

“Hold on!” Ashton shouted. “We’re almost there!”

I looked up and saw some abandoned farmland in the distance. Most of the farms in Ivory were abandoned after the town became more modernized but the city didn’t have enough money to renovate it. That meant there were miles and miles of land that was simply empty. I knew I was alone with Ashton and whoever it was chasing after us.

Ashton rolled up behind an empty barn just before another bullet filled the air. His bike came to a grinding halt.

“Get off.”

I followed his instructions quickly.

“Stay here.”

“Ashton—”

“It’s all right. Everything will be all right. You just have to trust me, Rose.”

I swallowed anxiously and nodded.

“Here. Just in case.” He pulled a gun from his waist and held it out to me.

“Ashton, I don’t know how to—”

“Just point and squeeze.”

“Point and squeeze… Point and squeeze… Right…”

I held the gun tight in both hands, hoping I wouldn’t have to follow through with the simple instructions.

Ashton got off his bike and pulled his other piece from his waist. We both leaned up against the barn. I tried to stay quiet but my heart was beating so hard in my chest. Every breath I took wasn’t nearly enough.

“Steady… Steady…” Ashton raised a hand up to calm me down.

I kept my hands gripped tight on the gun as I listened to the bike in the distance approaching us. The exhaust grew louder and louder. So loud I knew it was right next to us.

“Should be right about here…” Ashton pointed his gun up, aiming at nothing at all. He stared down his sights and suddenly the bike appeared in front of us.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Three gunshots rang out from Ashton’s barrel in perfect harmony. Bullets moved so fast you could never tell if they’d hit their target. But from the way the bike suddenly veered out of control, I knew Ashton had hit his mark.

The man on the bike took a tumble as the bike went flying out of control.

“Ashton!” I called out as he rushed forward and got on top of the man.

The guy chasing after us was still in a daze. It was all the opportunity Ashton needed to level him with a couple of hard right hands.

I saw the man’s gun on the ground next to him. I quickly ran up and kicked it away, so there was no chance Ashton was in any danger.

“Who are you? What are you doing?” Ashton gripped the man’s collar tight.

The man wasn’t remarkable. Just a pair of jeans and a leather jacket. Some tattoos on his neck made him look like any thug you’d find at Finn’s. His eyes rolled in the back of his head and his mouth was bloody but he was till conscious as Ashton kept barking at him.

“Answer me,” Ashton shouted.

The man looked up at Ashton and smiled through his bloody teeth.

“You’ll never be able to get away from him,” the man said. “Just kill me now… I’ll be better off for it.”

“Who? Who are you talking about?”

Ashton slammed another fist into his mouth but just made sure he couldn’t get the answers he was looking for. Ashton sighed in frustration and got back up to his feet.

I was so focused I didn’t noticed how much I was trembling. Ashton walked toward me and took the gun from my hands.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

I heard another bike behind us but thankfully it was only Grant. He rode right next to us and got off his ride.

“He’s gone,” Grant said. “Bled out before I could get anything from him.”

“I could question this guy once he wakes up,” Ashton said. “But I’m pretty sure he’s gonna give us the answer we already know.”

The two of them nodded to one another.

“It’s your call, Ash. How do you wanna handle this?”

Ashton kept his eyes on me as he spoke to Grant. “Give Jordan a call. It’s finally time to put an end to all of this.”

Ashton was still keeping me in the dark. There was no point in asking him what he was up to. It didn’t matter. The look in his eyes told me business was going to be settled, one way or another.