Her bed was warm and enveloping and she had never been more glad to be safe and cocooned in it. She dreamed strange dreams as the night wore on, dreams where she was being hunted by something she couldn’t name. On the edge watching always was her protector. A big beast of a man… Hammer.

She felt safe knowing he was there and when she woke, her heart was racing and she felt different in some way. She felt as if she had just connected with him even more, and it was both unsettling and nice in equal measure.

She lay looking up at the ceiling. It was still the dead of night and when she looked over to the clock on her nightstand it was only 4am. She yawned and stretched, wondering why she had woken, it wasn’t like her; normally, she would sleep all night and never wake.

She sat up and strained her ears. She was sure she could hear something and she instantly felt a flash of panic.

Hammer….

She wanted to call out for him, where was he? Was it him just outside her door, or someone else?

There was a small beam of light coming from the hallway underneath the door, but she had closed it tight and was trying as hard as she could to hear anything other sounds coming from inside the house.

Suddenly, from outside, a dog started barking.

Shelby sat up and pulled her knees right to her chest as her heart raced so hard all she could hear was the whooshing of blood flooding in her ears. The guard dogs were another new addition, and she had been glad of them, but this was the first time she had ever heard them bark and shriek, and it was terrifying. She didn’t know how she knew, but she could tell someone was on the estate that shouldn’t be.

Out in the corridor she heard a clatter coming from downstairs and then the sounds of footsteps pummeling their way up the staircase.

It sounded as if there was more than one person and Shelby dived out of bed and ran toward her closet, shaking the entire time and trying not to make a sound.

Someone was coming for her. She had to hide.

She opened the closet doors and climbed inside before she closed them behind her and went right to the back and climbed underneath all of her shoe boxes and old clothes. The wrack above her was swaying with the movement of her trying to get in there and she just prayed with all of her might that they would still soon enough.

She could hear men’s voices and she realized she didn’t recognize them. Outside, engines blared and she heard shots being fired. Her head was spinning and she clamped her palm over her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

The house was under attack.

Whatever her father had been afraid of, it was happening.

Shelby closed her eyes tightly and listened intently. She could make out the sounds of the footsteps running around the same floor furiously, but no one had yet to burst into her room. She kept low and hidden beneath the boxes and old clothes, and just hoped that if they came in there they wouldn’t start digging around in the closet.

Where is Hammer? she thought. Please God, bring him here to me now.

Out on the driveway, she heard the dogs snarling and the sounds of a man screaming. They barked and bit and he howled in pain and Shelby was shaking so much her body was just a constant tremor. She didn’t know what to do, all she could do was bury her head and lie there in the darkness, praying that whoever was in the house was going to be chased away.

“Shelby!” Hammer’s voice suddenly broke through the snarls and the rage downstairs and all around. “Shelby!”

She didn’t dare move, she still kept still underneath the clothes and she shook and prayed it was definitely him and that she wasn’t just hoping it was.

Moments later, her bedroom door burst open and she heard him inside the room, he started to upturn everything and look for her and she peered out of her hiding place and through the slats in her closet door.

It was him.

Hammer had come to rescue her.

“I’m in here!” she said as she started to kick all the boxes and clothes away from her and Hammer threw open the closet doors and looked down at her with panic in his eyes.

“Come on,” he said as he reached down for her and picked her up before he swung her over his shoulder and started to race with her out of her room and into the hallway.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing as they made their way quickly out of the house. All of the lights were low or broken, but she could see that a lot of her father’s artwork and furniture had been smashed and everything was a mess. Windows were broken and she could hear the sounds of men still fighting and screaming and of the dogs raging war.

“What’s happening?” she asked breathlessly as she dangled over his shoulder. But Hammer didn’t answer her, he just kept moving forward, he ran with her toward the main door and out into the night.

Out at the front of the house she was sure she saw the bloodied body of a man lying face down and Hammer shielded her and said, “Don’t look.”

Shelby clamped her eyes tightly shut and clung to him for dear life. She was terrified and disorientated, and she had no idea what had happened or how they had ended up in this terrible situation.

Elsewhere on the estate, she was aware of her father’s goons fighting an unknown threat and she sobbed into Hammer’s back as she held onto him and just wished to be far, far away from there.

When she realized they were inside one of the garages and he was pulling her down onto the back of a bike, she was shaken and terrified and didn’t want him to let go of her for one second. He slammed a helmet down over her head and climbed on in front of her before he brought the glistening machine roaring to life and they thundered out of there without looking back.

Shelby was in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and now she was on the back of a huge motorbike, clinging to her bodyguard for dear life.

Hammer didn’t say a word, he rode fast and expertly down the winding driveway and was out through the already open gates before Shelby even had a chance to process what was happening.

He reached down and squeezed her forearm and she wrapped her arms even tighter around his waist and buried her face into his back as she sobbed and shook.

Her home had been infiltrated and she had been targeted. And now, they were on the run. She had no clue where they were going, but she knew she was safe as long as she was by Hammer’s side.

He rode until the sun was coming up and only then, as they approached Slate Springs, did he slow down and pull off the highway and start to bump across the open and uneven terrain.

Shelby was freezing and terrified. Her legs shook on either side of the powerful machine and she clung to Hammer to get warm.

When they came over the top of a rise and she saw the garages and buildings open out in front of her, she was more than a little confused.

“Where the hell are we?” she shouted into his ear, but Hammer carried on riding and didn’t answer her.

He pulled the bike to a stop in front of an old, wooden, dilapidated house, surrounded by garages and locked up storage spaces.

She knew they were in Slate Springs, and now, she had the feeling that maybe she was in the midst of The Forsaken Riders’ world. She clung to him and he turned and looked over his shoulder at her as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

“Are you all right?” he asked her sternly.

Shelby was still shaking but she looked up into his eyes and he wiped a tear away as it slid slowly down her cheek.

“Come on,” he said as he climbed off the bike and picked her up into his arms.

She was weak and trembling, and he carried her as she hugged into his chest. She didn’t want to see anything, she kept her eyes tightly closed and she nestled her face into his shoulder. The house was quiet and she didn’t dare look around. From the lack of noise, she could only assume that if anyone else was there, they were still fast asleep.

Hammer carried her up the staircase and onto the second floor. She listened to his heavy boots crunch their way over the exposed wood of the floorboards and when he kicked a door open and took her into a dark room, she finally let out the cries she had been stifling since he had taken her into the house.

He lay her down on a bed and closed the door and locked it behind them and then he rushed to her side.

“Shelby?” he breathed as he cupped her face in his hands. “Look at me, are you all right?”

She was shaking and her lips were cold and chapped. She nodded her head but still didn’t think she could speak.

“You look in shock,” he said as he pulled a blanket out of a closet in the corner of the room and wrapped it around her shoulders before he pulled out his cell phone and held it to his ear.

She pulled the blanket tightly around her and watched him pacing back and forth. He was so tall and mean looking, but seeing his gentle and caring side was awakening things in her that she hadn’t even known were there.

She wiped away a tear and sniffed.

Hammer looked down at her and smiled affectionately.

“It’s me,” he barked into the phone. “What’s the state of play?”

He went silent and she could hear the squeak of another voice on the other end of the line and Hammer continued to pace the room as he listened and nodded his head and said, “Umm hmm.”

“Okay,” he concluded. “We’re out of town now and we won’t be coming back until I’ve spoken with Petrov. I want you to lock the estate down.”

He hung up the phone and turned back to face Shelby who was staring up at him with wide eyes that demanded answers.

“You look terrified,” he said sadly.

“That’s because I am…” she managed to croak. “Where are we?”

“We’re at my club house,” he said, and Shelby felt a small sigh of relief escape because she had been right for once.

“What happened back at the house?” she asked in almost a whisper. “Were people hurt?”

Hammer came and sat down next to her, the bed dipping with his weight. He ran a big hand through his hair and sighed and then he rested back on his hands.

“None of us were, don’t worry,” he said as if it were some kind of comfort.

“Who were they?” Shelby asked. “Who broke in?”

Hammer looked into her eyes and then tore himself away. He had sworn an oath and he had obviously promised her father he wouldn’t tell her much, but they had been attacked and she could tell he knew she needed to be told the truth.              

“You know me now, Hammer,” she said quietly. “If you told me, it wouldn’t go any further.”

“It’s only to protect you,” he said. “But I know if I did tell you now, your father would forgive me. After what happened tonight, I think you deserve to know.”

Shelby sat forward and reached for his hand. He was red hot and his palm was slick with sweat, but instead of pulling away, she wrapped her hand up in his tight and he smiled before he gently peeled her hand away.

“That isn’t a good idea,” he said reluctantly as he looked deep into her eyes.

Shelby felt her face burn, but she still had to have some answers.

“The men who came to the house tonight,” he began. “They are seriously bad people. They’ve been picking off small towns in the desert for months now and they’ve got their sights set on Slate Springs and Iron Hill.”

He swallowed and Shelby felt a chill run up her spine.

“They’re Russians, Shelby…” he said sternly. “They wanted to join forces with your father, with them having some connections that go way back to the old country, but when they explained their plan, your father refused.”

Shelby’s heart was racing even harder.

“Your dad and the Iron Riders have been in business for decades. There was no way he was going to screw them over like that. But they didn’t like his refusal… and it’s set off a bit of a gang war.”

Hammer rubbed his head with his hands and sighed.

“He’s been worried since before you came back from college that something bad would happen. At first, he got you the apartment to keep you away from the estate, but when you got attacked, it made him realize you would be better off at home. With me there to make sure you were safe.”

“So he hired you before I was mugged?” she asked.

Hammer shrugged.

“We had discussed the job, yes…” he gave up reluctantly.

“So, I was in danger before anything even happened to Molly and me that night…” she said. “And no one thought to tell me. Well, isn’t that just great.”

Hammer rolled his shoulders.

“Tonight, back at the house,” he said. “I didn’t leave you, I was always right outside the door but I was making sure I got the intruders back down the stairs. You know that, right?”

He seemed genuinely concerned that she thought he had left her side and she could tell it was bothering him.

“I knew you were coming for me,” she smiled. “I know you wouldn’t leave. You’ve done nothing but look after and protect me now for over a week.”

She had to look away as she felt herself blush.

The energy in the room was charged and she wanted, more than anything, to reach out for his hand, to pull him to her and kiss him firmly on the lips. But she couldn’t! He was her bodyguard. Her father had employed him to protect her… There was no way they could fall into bed with each other, even if the chemistry between them was reaching breaking point.

Shelby moved away from him and leaned against the headboard. She wrapped herself up tightly in the blanket and tried to stop herself from shivering.

“Where’s my father?” she asked.

Hammer looked up at her and then got to his feet.

“He’s on his way, he’ll be here this morning,” he said as he walked over to the window and looked out across the desert landscape.

He pulled the curtains closed and the room fell into half darkness.

“Why don’t you get some sleep?” he suggested. “I’ll wait outside the door and, I promise, I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe here. This place is just as much of a fortress as your father’s home.”

“Yeah and they still managed to get in there, didn’t they?” Shelby said with disbelief.

Hammer crossed his arms over his chest and she felt a little twinge between her legs. His muscles were so rippled and defined and his tattoos were so sexy. She bit her lip and she knew he was watching her too. The way he was looking at her spoke volumes, it looked as if he was desperate to tell her something but was holding himself back.

“Don’t leave,” she said quickly as he reached for the door. “I won’t be able to sleep if you’re not here.”

And she meant it. She was still shaking and scared, she didn’t want him to leave her side.

“Okay,” he nodded as he leaned his back against the door and slid down it slowly until he was sitting on the floor facing the bed.

“You should sleep too,” she told him. “You look exhausted.”

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” he winked and Shelby couldn’t help but smile.

She lay on her back and then rolled to her side and kept herself cocooned tightly as she closed her eyes.

She knew there was no chance she would be able to sleep, but she would pretend just so she could keep him close to her. She knew she had to be in his room. Everything in there smelled of him and the walls were dark and moody, just like him.

She knew he was watching her, and if she were braver, she would have opened her eyes and looked at him too. But she kept them tightly sealed and they sat in silence until noise from the rest of the house started to fill the hallways and cars began to arrive outside.