Page 156 of Burning Ember

We make the turn leading to the clubhouse when Mav’s growls, “You’ve got to be fuckin’ shittin’ me.” His eyes are on the rearview mirror.

Every hair on my body begins to rise as I recognize the flashing red and blue lights reflected off the rearview and windshield. A siren blares for a few seconds sending a tremor down my spine.

“Are we being pulled over?”

“Yes,” he practically hisses.

“Why. Were you speeding?”

“No.” Tension spikes through his jaw as it pops, he grips the steering wheel hard. “Leo’s—cops fuck with us whenever they can.”

He slows and pulls to the side of the road as my stomach bottoms out. Mav reaches past me and opens the glove box. The first thing I see is a black gun. But he doesn’t grab the gun. He removes his registration and shuts the box with the gun still inside. He takes his ID from his wallet and has it ready to hand over the minute a figure appears beside his window and taps on it with a flash light.

It’s dusk, but I can make out Davis’s features as Mav’s window descends. He’s wearing a hat and rain drips from the brim.

“Tail light? Or you got a better one this time?” Mav snarls as he passes his documents to Davis. Davis is getting drenched but it doesn’t seem to faze him one bit.

“You were swerving. Had too much to drink tonight?”

Under his breath, Mav growls, “Swervin’ . . .my ass.”

“I smell beer. You been drinking?” Davis asks.

Mav snaps, “I hadAbeer with my burger. Is that a crime?”

“Depends on how many you had.”

“You deaf. I said I hadAbeer.”

Suddenly, Davis’s focus leaves Mav and his eyes meet mine. “Who’s this?” A spear of panic shoots through me and I cling tight to Mav’s arm.

“No one you need to concern yourself with.” Muscles strain under my grip.

“Hey, we’ve met.” Davis says, brushing Mav off as if he hadn’t spoken. “Pumpkin, right? Lily’s cousin. You still visiting or does this mean you’ve taken up with one of their lot?” he gestures between Mav and me.

Mav turns a little so his body’s blocking me from Davis. “Who she is and who she’s with is none of your fuckin’ business. Now can I be on my way, I got shit to do?”

The turbulent thunder rolls through the sky, but both Davis and Mav are silent. I can only imagine the way Mav’s looking at Davis right now. I’ve been on the other end of that glare and it’s damn scary.

“It’s a dangerous night to be out. Watch yourself, son.”

“Yeah, not your fuckin’ son. And maybe you better make sure you watch yourself too.”

In the next instant Mav grabs his license and registration from Davis, throws both to the passenger floor as his window goes up. Then blatantly ignoring Davis, Mav shifts and peels out as the truck pulls back onto the road, leaving Davis behind.

“What are you—”

Before I can spin around a wall of muscle slams into me from behind and pushes me forward. It’s all I can do to stay on my feet. Abruptly, I find myself between a wall and a body made of steel. My cheek is flattened to the cool surface. One hand circles my throat, his thumb rubbing over my pulse. The other hand grips my ponytail and pulls my hair back.

A wave of scorching hot need lights inside me. “Luce . . .”

Mav’s been furious and deadly silent since we drove away from Davis. The tension he was radiating in the truck was palpable. When we pulled into the lot of the clubhouse, he came around to my side, dragged me out of my seat, pulled me all the way into the clubhouse, past the main room, and didn’t stop until he sealed us both inside his office. The moment my eyes landed on the wall of photos, his body slammed into mine.

“Doll, I need to either fight or fuck. And I think you know which I’d rather do.” His cock pushes hard against my ass. “Say the word and I’ll find Taz—let it out in the ring.”

“Mav.”

“With what’s ridin’ me, I’m gonna be rough and I don’t want to hurt you. Don’t want to scare you away, now that I have you. But I also don’t want to hide this part of me. I asked you not to hide, so I won’t either. I’ll leave the choice up to you.”