Kara

 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

 

Kara’s voice was sharp and low. She glanced around as she spoke, seemingly afraid that someone might hear her. Ryder was tense. He knew that he needed to get her somewhere else right away, but also that he couldn’t say anything that might make her rush back into the house and lock the door.

 

“You’re in danger, and you need to come with me.”

 

“What?” she asked, her eyes going wide. “What do you mean I’m in danger?”

 

“Just come with me. We need to go somewhere so I can tell you what the hell is going on.”

 

“And why can’t you tell me right here?”

 

“Just … please,” said Ryder. “Just come with me for an hour. That’s all.”

 

Kara looked away for a moment. She seemed to be torn between taking Ryder seriously and telling him to get the hell out of there.

 

“Fine,” she said. “But only for an hour. And this better not be some kind of game.”

 

“It’s not,” said Ryder. “You can bet your ass it’s not.”

 

Kara let out a puff of frustrated breath through her nose. Then she opened the front door and stepped inside. Ryder waited, listening to her talk to who he assumed were her parents. After a few moments, she stepped back out onto the front lawn, now wearing her coat and scarf.

 

“There’s a diner nearby,” she said. “We can talk there.”

 

“Good,” said Ryder, stepping towards his bike. “Hop on.”

 

“Wait, you want me to ride with you?” she asked.

 

“Safest thing right now,” said Ryder.

 

“I’ve … never ridden on a motorcycle before. I don’t know what to do.”

 

“Just hop on the back and hold on,” said Ryder. “You don’t have to do anything; you’ll be riding pillion. I’ll be doing all the driving. Let’s go.”

 

He wasn’t in the mood to talk her into it, so he simply hopped on the back of his bike and waited for her to climb on board. Kara stepped up to the bike and looked it over for a long second, as though it was some kind of wild animal that she had to throw a saddle on and mount. After a little more hesitation, she climbed onto the back of the bike and took hold. Ryder handed her his helmet and she strapped it on.

 

Ryder knew he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t enjoy having Kara’s arms wrapped around him. Even through their coats, he could feel the softness of her full breasts as they pressed against his back.

 

“I’ll point to where to go,” she said. “Let’s just hurry and do this.”

 

Ryder nodded and gunned the engine. Moments later they were off. Kara directed him towards the diner, and Ryder kept an eye out as he drove for any sign of the biker who’d been following Kara. He’d been watching since Kara pulled up to her parents, keeping his distance. Whoever had been following her had made a slow pass by the house, evidently scoping out the scene and likely taking down the address. He cursed under his breath for letting Kara get into a situation like this.

 

They eventually reached a small diner lined with neon lights, a single car in the parking lot. Ryder pulled in and came to a stop.

 

“See?” he said, climbing off. “Not so bad, huh?”

 

But he could see that Kara was shaking like a leaf.

 

“Um, it was okay,” she said, her voice wavering.

 

He smirked, thinking about how this was the typical newbie reaction after being on a bike for the first time.

 

“I have no idea how you ride that thing in the winter, though. Isn’t that dangerous?”

 

“Probably one of the least dangerous things about my life,” he said.

 

Moments later they were in the diner, seated at a booth, a coffee cup in front of each of them.

 

“Tell me what’s going on,” said Kara. “And no bullshit, please.”

 

Ryder sat back against the hard rubber of the booth, trying to figure out where to begin. He started from the start, telling her about his motorcycle club, what kind of business they got up to, and the enemies they’d made along the way. Eventually, he told her about Franco and the Gremlins, and how they had it out for him.

 

“That’s who beat you up,” said Kara, her voice one of realization.

 

“Yup,” said Ryder. “Not exactly a fair fucking fight, though. Knocked me off my goddamn bike and literally kicked me while I was down. Then they left me to freeze in the fucking snow.”

 

“That’s awful,” she said, her voice heavy with sympathy.

 

But it wasn’t sympathy that Ryder wanted; he wanted Kara to know just how bad of a situation she was in.

 

“And that’s where you come in,” said Ryder. “Franco’s not gonna stop at anything to get his revenge, and I guess he figured that you meant something to me, meaning you were someone he could use to get to me.”

 

“But what do I have to do with any of your motorcycle gang shit? I’m just someone who helped you out when I saw you on the side of the road.”

 

“There’s a little more to what we did than that,” said Ryder, a smirk forming on his lips.

 

Kara blushed, then rolled her eyes in a clear effort to not look like she’d gotten flustered.

 

“But this Franco guy doesn’t know … any of that,” she said, wrapping her hands around her steaming mug. “Why is he bringing me into this?”

 

“He’s probably just testing out all the angles, seeing how he can best get to me. We fucked him up good, and he doesn’t have the manpower to take me and the rest of the Hunters on in a fair fight, so he’s pulling this shit of low-down shit.”

 

“Well, tell him that I don’t want to be a part of this. I’m just a normal girl and don’t care about taking sides in your stupid little fight.”

 

Ryder let out a dry chuckle.

 

“Not that easy,” he said. “Not that easy at all. You can’t reason with assholes like Franco—he’s a real fuckin’ psycho. You come up to him thinking you’re just gonna lay out the truth as you see it and talk some sense into him, well … let’s just say I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”

 

They sipped their coffee in silence for a moment.

 

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?” she asked. “Oh God—what about my parents?”

 

“That’s why I’m here,” said Ryder. “I didn’t just follow Franco here to see where he was going; I came here to make sure that you stay safe.”

 

“Yeah?” she asked; it was clearly what she wanted to hear.

 

“That’s right,” said Ryder. “I’m gonna stick around for the next few days and keep an eye on you. I’m not sure what Franco has in mind, but if he tries any shit I’ll come after him hard and send his sorry ass whimpering back to Chicago.”

 

“Th … thank you,” said Kara. “I’m still mad that I’m involved in this crap, but thanks for looking out for me.”

 

“Least I could do,” said Ryder.

 

Kara’s eyes then flicked to the menus stacked on the end of the table.

 

“You should really eat something,” she said. “You’re still recovering and you need all the calories you can get.”

 

Ryder opened his mouth to spit out an invective about her mothering him yet again, but for some reason this time hearing her make a pointed suggestion like that sat well with him.

 

I’ll look out for her, and I’ll let her think she’s looking out for me, he thought.

 

He sipped his coffee, his mind busy with plans.

 

***

 

They ate and returned to Kara’s house. During the drive Ryder kept his eyes peeled for any sign of Franco, but didn’t spot hide or hair of him. Ryder was a little relieved, but also kept in mind that this could just mean that Franco had decided on just what he was going to do with the information that Ryder had a girl alone and defenseless. For all Ryder knew, Franco could’ve called his Gremlins from Chicago to ride up and do things to Kara that made Ryder’s blood boil just to think about.

 

“So,” said Kara, “now what?”

 

“Now you go back and spend some time with your parents. Enjoy them—they won’t be around forever.”

 

Kara nodded, seemingly remembering what Ryder had told her about his own family.

 

“I’ll be nearby, and here –”

 

Ryder pulled a pen out of his inner coat pocket and took Kara’s hand, writing down his number on it.

 

“That’s me,” he said. “You see anything suspicious, call me right the fuck away.”

 

Then a thought occurred to him.

 

“And if you want anything else,” he said, his smile making it clear just what he was offering. “Call me even faster.”

 

Kara’s eyes rose, as though she was more than a little shocked at what he’d just said.

 

“See you around, kid,” he said, hopping on his bike and gunning the engine. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

 

“Same goes for you,” she said.

 

And with that, he rode off.