A minute later, she finally moved on. At a green light, she rolled through an intersection. I kept my head on a swivel, always searching for a threat. But I still didn’t see the large red truck that came flying seemingly out of nowhere.
Tires screeched. An engine roared.
A split second before it hit, I saw the truck’s silver-plated grill bearing down on me. There was no time to swerve.
The truck hit me, sending my bike skidding across the pavement with the tinkle of broken glass and the shriek of twisted metal.
Pain bloomed in my body. My helmet bounced off the ground and I felt the asphalt shredding my leather jacket as I bumped, bounced, and slid before finally coming to a stop.
The tang of blood filled my mouth. Lightning bolts of agony shot down my right arm, from shoulder to fingertips.
Gingerly, I rolled onto my back, every little move excruciating.
Someone was yelling.
“Crow! Help!”
My eyes fluttered open, my thoughts sluggish.
Dani.
Struggling to my feet, I saw her car on the other side of the intersection. Another truck had blocked the road, driving her into a telephone pole. Two masked figures dressed in camouflage were hauling her away into the second truck.
I needed to get to her. I needed to protect her.
Taking a step forward, the world tilted and spun. My knee buckled and gave out. I crumpled to the ground, as useless as a rag doll.
Dani.
I didn’t realize I’d yelled her name, my voice raw with the force of it. I tried to get to my feet again but my legs were shaky, my head was swimming.
I watched as the truck pulled onto the road, taking Dani away.
Fumbling, I pulled my phone from my pocket. Somehow it had survived the crash with only a scratch on the screen but it still worked. Through my blurry vision, I dialed Brewer’s number.
“They took her.”
I didn’t know who they were. There was no license plate on either truck. I hadn’t seen any faces. I had nothing to go on to find Dani. I shook my head. Yanking my helmet off, a surge of pain pulsed through my head. Frustrated and scared out of my mind, I flung the helmet away from me.
“Someone took Dani. Fuck, Brewer - I was supposed to keep her safe and they…they took her right in front of me.”
“All right, hold on, brother,” Brewer said, his deep voice steady. “I’m coming to get you. Just stay put and tell me where you are.”
***
Half an hour later, I was in the clubhouse, an ice pack strapped to my throbbing knee. Bear had cleaned me up a little, wiping the blood off my forehead and stitching up the gash above my left eye. My shoulder was dislocated and Brewer had to wrench it back into the socket which hurt like a son of a bitch but it wouldn’t slow me down too much.
“You look like hell warmed over,” Bear said.
“I could have been roadkill. Would have looked worse.”
The door opened, admitting Rooster and Tank as they hauled a squirming, raging teenage boy between them.
“Caught ourselves a vandal,” Rooster said in his thick Southern drawl. “He’s got a mouth on him that his mama wouldn’t be too proud of though.”
“Where do you want him, Brewer?” Tank asked.
“In the back room,” Brewer replied. “We’ll deal with him later.”