Page 1 of Axel (Riders of Retribution #1)

Axel

Wind whips around me, and the open road stretches in front of me.

I have eyes on all the members of Riders of Retribution, my motorcycle club.

My position as tail gunner on these rides is something that I take very seriously.

I make sure that no one gets left behind – not that we usually have stragglers, but we do ride fast. Sometimes our prospects have trouble keeping up.

We’re on the outskirts of Rio Lunas, heading back to our clubhouse.

It’s been hours since we left, and a few of these guys have families to get back to.

Most of us would happily ride all through the night, and it wouldn’t surprise me if at least half of us don’t go out on solo rides later, families or not. It’s a fuckin’ beautiful evening.

The New Mexico desert surrounds us, and houses are far and few between.

So, when we approach one with a few people on the front lawn, I pay attention the best I can.

It’s not like I can get a good look considering how fast we’re going, but there’s a part of me that’s always alert, and quick glance is often all I need to size up a situation.

I catch sight of two bikes parked in the driveway behind a sedan.

The owners of those bikes are standing in front of a woman half their size.

On the backs of their leather jackets are green patches, branding them as members of the Apex Runners, our rival MC.

Something about their presence, the way they’re lording over this woman, and the way she seems to be backing away from them doesn’t sit right with me.

For the rest of the ride, my mind is on the scene that unfolded. What do those members of the Apex Runners want from that girl? I know that I didn’t get a good look at what was going on, but my gut tells me that there’s something funny going on there.

And my gut is rarely wrong.

The feeling only gets heavier, so when we get back to the clubhouse a few minutes later, and we’re dismissed with a reminder of our meeting on Wednesday, I head straight back.

I go faster than I should, considering that I don’t have any evidence that there’s anything wrong.

I should know better than anyone that belonging to a motorcycle club doesn’t mean a man is automatically bad news.

Still, my bike roars as I push her to go faster, a sense of impending danger settling in my chest with each mile that I eat up.

I was right to be concerned, because when the house comes into view, I can see the men are closer to her. I push my Harley harder, a flash of anger striking me. One of them has his hands on the woman, and as I get closer, I realize that she’s struggling.

I don’t hesitate to jump off my bike and pull my gun from its holster the second I come screeching into the driveway. The man holding onto the woman shifts to face me, but the other keeps his back to me. Big fuckin’ mistake.

A bullet flies from the barrel of my gun, lodging itself in the man’s shoulder.

He screams, crumpling to the ground as he grabs at the wound.

The surprise on both of their faces is evident, and I use that to my advantage.

I put my boot on the bastard’s good shoulder before shoving him down, giving him a face full of dirt.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re doing, but you need to let her go,” I say, turning my gun on other man.

“This doesn’t fucking concern you,” he spits before grabbing the girl hard enough to make her squeak in pain.

I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to just fire at him. I’m here to protect the woman that he’s holding onto. Despite the way my brain is screaming at me to shoot this motherfucker, he’s essentially using her as a shield.

“It doesn’t matter if it concerns me,” I reply with a growl, taking a step toward the pair.

My eyes flick to the woman’s face, and I notice that despite how fear-stricken she looks, she’s gorgeous.

Her big brown eyes are focused on me, as though she’s begging me to make the right decision when it comes to her safety.

“You shouldn’t be touching a woman like that. ”

“And you shouldn’t be sticking your fucking nose into other peoples’ business,” he retorts. When the woman starts to struggle, he digs his elbow into her side harshly. “Stay still. Let me get rid of this bastard, and then we’ll continue our chat, okay?”

“Let go of her,” I growl, grinding my teeth and taking another step toward him. “Right fuckin’ now.”

The man scoffs before pushing her to the ground and reaching for something on his hip. I don’t give him the chance to pull his gun on me, though. With the woman out of the way, I aim for his chest, hitting him dead on.

He falls to the ground, making a gurgling noise that tells me he’s not getting up ever again.

I rush forward, intent on checking on the woman.

I assume she’s mixed up with these guys somehow—bikers still have enough of a bad reputation that most women don’t hang around their front lawns when they hear us approaching—but that’s secondary.

I’ll ask about that once I make sure she isn’t hurt.

Regardless of if she started working with them voluntarily, from the look on her pretty face and the way she was being manhandled, I doubt she still wants to deal with them.

I’m halfway to her when something jolts me forward.

I smell gunpowder, and there’s a burning, stinging sensation in my thigh.

I can barely stay on my feet, but I manage to turn toward the other man, the one I had stupidly assumed wouldn’t be a problem.

He’s standing, his gun aimed at me, his face hard.

When I try to move toward him, my leg gives out.

Fuck. This bastard shot me.

“You’re going to regret this,” the man says, sneering at me. “You should have just minded your fucking business.”

“Fuck you,” I spit, reaching for my gun that clattered to the ground at the same time that I did.

The man doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he decides against finishing me off and runs to his bike, blood soaking through his jacket and shining in the sunlight.

The fact that he didn’t call for help works well in my favor, but it’s only a matter of time before the Apex Runners are alerted of my meddling.

They’re not going to take kindly to the fact that I killed one of their men and interrupted whatever business they had with this girl.

I’m vaguely aware of the fact that she’s moving. I hear the gravel crunching beneath her feet as she surveys the area. I’ll check on her in just a minute. Right now, I need to give my brothers a heads up. Who knows what the hell the man that got away is up to.

Grunting as I dig into my pocket, I fish out my phone. There’s a red sheen over the screen, and I realize that I’m losing a lot of blood. One look at the ground below me confirms that. I curse as I unlock my device.

The display on the screen is a little blurry, but I chalk it up to the blood I’m too lazy to wipe from the screen.

I click on Saber’s contact information. He’s the club’s Sergeant at Arms, the first person we’re supposed to get in touch with in moments like these.

My hand tightens on the phone as the dial tone plays.

I pray to a god I don’t quite believe in that he didn’t head out with the guys who wanted more time on the road.

Finally, as the woman starts approaching me, there’s a click on the other end and Saber’s voice, annoyed, filters through, “What the fuck do you need that you couldn’t stick around for a few minutes to ask? You left the clubhouse like a bat out of hell.”

“Had a run-in with the Apex Runners,” I say, my vision getting dim around the edges as the ground beneath me soaks up my blood.

“You’re hurt,” the woman says, her fingers grazing the top of my thigh. She sounds as dazed as I feel, the difference is I need to focus in order to convey the information to Saber so he can keep the other guys safe.

“Not right now, angel,” I say, gritting my teeth as she prods at the same area.

“Who are you talking to?” Saber demands. “Axel, what the hell is going on?”

“I need a cleanup crew,” I say, the pain in my thigh starting to radiate down my whole leg. “I– Angel, what’s the address?”

The woman snatches my phone, giving me a strange look. It’s almost like I’m speaking gibberish, but then she says, “No, he’s lost a lot of blood… He needs a hospital… Are you serious? I mean, whatever. I’ll do my best with what I have.”

The rest of her words get garbled as an intense rush to my head fills my ears with the sound of the ocean.

All I can hear is my own labored breathing, and it’s becoming difficult to hold myself upright.

Maybe I just need to rest my head for a minute, then I can help get this whole situation sorted out.

I’m not sure how long I’m lying back with my eyes closed, but the woman’s face appears in front of me once more. Her long blonde hair hangs down in my face, and those brown eyes search my face, and it dawns on me that she’s trying to take care of me.

How cute. Doesn’t she know that that’s why I’m here – to take care of her?

She’s saying something, but I don’t hear her. I’m busy trying to memorize her face and fight off the inexplicable sleepy feeling that’s threatening to drag me under. Was I this fuckin’ tired when I got here? Maybe it’s the adrenaline crash.

Maybe I’m dying.

What a funny thought. Truthfully, I always thought I’d be killed during MC activities. It might just be my time.

Then, I lock eyes with this girl, with this absolute angel of a woman, and think that maybe I’m already dead. Maybe I was already dead when I got here and this whole thing has been a pre-death hallucination. That would explain why the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen is tending to me.

That’s the last thought I have before my whole world goes dark.