The car raced after Thad and Lena, forcing them off the street. A curb appeared to jump out in front of Thad. Lena latched her fingers, pressing her hands against his stomach, and closed her eyes. On impact, her body went up, and her ass came off the seat of the motorcycle. Thrown against Thad's back, she came down hard, biting her tongue, and lost the pegs under her feet.

Thad!

Her body slid sideways on the Harley, and her foot scraped the ground, ripping her shoe off. The abrasion slid her farther off the seat and burning heat seared the inside of her thigh. Blind panic constricted all her muscles, and her fingers slipped apart, and she frantically grasped Thad's jacket. Afraid of falling off the motorcycle, she screamed, knowing she couldn't hold on.

Thad reached back, grabbed a fistful of her jeans at her hip, and hauled her back on the seat. Without pegs under her feet, she plastered herself to his body and repositioned her hands.

"Hang on tight," he shouted. "I'm going to get us as close to Wayne's house as I can."

She nodded against his back that she heard him. Unsure if she was even breathing because she couldn't open her mouth. The roar of the bike made hearing anything almost impossible. Her muscles were numb.

Thad turned the bike again. She caught a glimpse of a car blocking their way.

She sailed over another bump, slid, and pulled herself up using Thad as her anchor. The moment her ass hit the leather, she was shoved into Thad.

Before she could control her body, the motorcycle stopped. The engine stopped. And, her heart stopped.

Four men stood in front of them blocking their way.

"Babe?" Thad patted her thigh. "Get off the bike and stay behind me."

The huskiness of his voice in the quiet scared her even more. She looked in the other direction. A car parked at the end of the block, in the middle of the road, made it impossible to run and not get caught. She swallowed and slid off the seat. She yelped at the sharp pain on her shoeless foot. Her leg burned and her skin pulled on her thigh. Panting, she grabbed on to Thad the second he stood in front of her.

A man gripping a knife in his hand stepped forward. "Toss the pistol you're wearing."

Spots danced in Lena's vision. This couldn't be happening.

Where were they? Where was Wayne's house? She'd lost track of the streets and how many times they'd turned trying to get away.

"You want it, you'll have to take it from me," said Thad.

"No," she whispered to Thad. The moment he gave away the only weapon he had, they'd kill him.

"Any fucking agreement we had with Notus Motorcycle Club is over." The man twirled the knife in his hand.

"I think Billy would have something to say about that." Thad widened his stance. "I deal with him, not you."

The man's lip snarled. "I want the woman."

Thad's body hardened under her hand. "You're not going to get her. She's mine."

"A life for a life." Spit sputtered out of the man's mouth, and he motioned for the three other men to come closer. "That's how it's always been, and I aim to slice her fucking throat, gringo."

Lena's stomach rolled, and she lowered her head, dropping her gaze. She didn't want to die.

"Whose life do you believe she took?" Thad reached behind him and held her in place, his body shielding her.

"My grandma, man," shouted her attacker. "The bitch has got to die for letting my grandma die. She be taking too long, yo. The ambulance took its sweet time, because of her. Nobody hurts my family. Not you. Not her. Nobody."

"I didn't kill anyone," she said, her voice cracking.

"Bitch, don't tell me you didn't. I was there. I know what you did, all because I'm Tigres." The man charged forward.

Lena froze, stumbling backward and losing contact with Thad.

In a fraction of a second, Thad tackled the man, both of them hit the ground hard. The knife flew from the Tigre member's hand, clinking a jagged path several feet away on the asphalt. Lena opened her mouth to scream for help, and she noticed the three other men walking toward her.

She retreated, keeping an eye on Thad, an eye on the men, an eye on the curb, planning to run around them if she got the chance. Her feet barely moved though she exerted herself. She couldn't decide where to go. Toward Thad to help him or away from the men.

Thad struggled to grab the man's arm while kneeling on the guy's stomach and failed. The man got a free hit in, and Thad threw his fist forward at the same time his head whipped to the side under the impact of being hit. He recovered and elbowed the man's chest, eliciting a huge groan from him.

Lena looked back to the others. The three men had circled her. She moved forward, dodging their outstretched hands. She wasn't going to let them kill her.

But, she couldn't leave Thad.

"Get the fuck away from her." Thad pushed himself to his feet, staggered, and pulled his pistol from his holster. "Any one of you touch her, and I'll blow a hole in your fucking forehead."

The man on the ground got to his feet and punched Thad in the back. He turned and decked the man, taking him to the ground. Thad's fury-fueled punches never slowed. He pistol whipped the man's face again and again. Blood sprayed in the air.

Panicked, she remembered her mace she carried in her jacket. She continued to move and dodge away from the others getting closer, while she slipped her hand into her pocket. There was a safety.

She fingered the cylinder, unable to find the piece of plastic to know which way to turn the top. Afraid to bring the spray out in the open unless they take it from her before she could use it, she dropped to the ground on her ass.

Hunched over, hiding her hands, she said, "Please, don't hurt me. Leave me alone. Please. Please."

Her fingers found the indention on the spray, she turned the top, and making sure she held the nozzle away from her, she jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain throughout her body, and sprayed a wide circle of mace around her. The men hollered and brought up their arms, backing away from her.

Her pro-active stance to fight back energized her, and she worked her way closer to Thad while holding the top down on the mace, planning to use the whole thing to get them out of the situation.

The men's outrage and suffering filled her ears along with the sound of motorcycles. She chanced a glance and spotted Notus members riding up the street. Even then, she continued spraying. She walked blindly into the mist, to get to Thad who struggled on the ground with the man wanting to kill her. She grabbed her face until the pain in her eyes and nostrils overwhelmed her, and she dropped the can, cowering in blindness.

"Thad," she screamed.

Afraid the men would recover before her, she held her hands out in front of her, unable to open her burning eyes and hesitantly walked forward.

"Help him," she screamed, hoping the Notus members were near. "Help Thad."

Her mouth watered. Drool spilled out. She gagged and fell to her hands and knees, retching dry heaves. Every time she opened her mouth to yell for help, her body constricted.

A siren filled the air. She rubbed at her eyes. The pain only worsened as if her face had started on fire.

Hands grabbed her around the waist. "I got you."

She swung out, missing making contact and unable to see who she fought.

"Lena, it's Glen. I got you."

She felt herself being pulled up. Waving her arm in front of her, trying to grab on to him and force him to help Thad but she couldn't talk. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. God, her lungs hurt and her eyelids—she reached up, and someone blocked her from touching her face.

"I know it hurts like hell, but touching your face is only going to make it worse," said Glen. "Sit down. I put you behind the bikes where you'll be safe. I've got a couple water bottles in my duffle. It's not going to take much of the burn out of your eyes, but it'll help you breathe."

The sirens disappeared. Someone yelled at Thad to stop and put the weapon down. She scooted, trying to get up and go to him, and a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Stay down. Tip your head back," said Glen.

Water ran down her face, into her nose, her mouth. She spit and gagged. Just when she inhaled for the first time in too long, more water rained down on her. The sweet relief was only temporary. As soon as she thought she could open her eyes, the burning started again.

Over and over, Glen drenched her with water. Yelling could be heard away from her, but she couldn't decipher what anyone was saying.

"Th-Thad?" she said, spitting out water.

"He's doing okay." Glen's voice moved away from her.

"Don't let him die." Every pore in her body stung. Tears ran from her eyes. Drool from her mouth. Snot from her nose. "H-he's going to love me."

"The police are here trying to get control of the situation," said Glen. His voice closer now.

"I want...Thad," she whispered.

Hands clasped her head. "We won't let anything happen to him."

She held Glen's promise in her heart. Blinded and unaware of what was happening all around her, she could only trust that Thad wouldn't leave her. Not now, when she'd only figured out that she loved him.