Page 51 of Ash (Dragon Riders MC 3)
Knuckles raised his hand. “You think a couple of us should go and scout out how many people are patrolling first? Just in case shit goes south or something?”
I looked over at him. “If shit goes south, we all need to be there. There’s no point in splitting up.”
Bowser shrugged. “I don’t know. Sly and Knuckles are a hell of a team when it comes to scouting things out.”
Sly nodded. “You bet your ass we are. If we get changed into our clothes now and stay low, they won’t even know we’re there.”
Link stared down at his phone. “I just figured out what the fuck they’re doing back there.”
I paused. “I don’t like your tone of voice.”
Bowser furrowed his brow. “Who are you talking to?”
Link slid his phone into his pocket. “The Chief of Police. Word has it that Skeleton’s holding his fucking auction back there, guys.”
I shook my head. “God damn it.”
Sly clenched his fists. “I’m ready to put a bullet in this man’s head.”
Bowser swallowed a growl. “How much time do we have before the police storm this shit and completely ruin our chances of getting to this guy?”
Link licked his lips. “An hour. Maybe two. You know how slow they are to congregate and get going. But I wouldn't say any more than two hours.”
Knuckles’ head fell back with a groan. “Fuuuuck.”
I sighed. “Okay, we can work with this. But we have to come to a conclusion as a group.”
Link stared at me. “I’m a step ahead of you, Ash.”
I nodded. “Then, let’s take a vote.”
Link drew in a deep breath. “All in favor of just surveying Skeleton and tracking him after they leave the auction, raise your hand.”
I looked around and saw no hands go into the air.
“All right,” Link said, “all in favor of taking this bastard out if we can get him in our sights, raise your hands.”
And that was when everyone’s hands shot into the air. Including my own.
“Do the police know we’re here?” Bowser asked.
Link shook his head. “No. The Chief of Police has agreed to update me on Skeleton’s movements as they are updated because I have them believing we’re just trying to protect our own and avoid where he is.”
Sly nodded. “Nice cover.”
Link sighed. “It won’t hold for long, though. If we’re going to do this, we have to be swift and we have to get out of here before the police can even hear our motorcycles being started.”
Knuckles shrugged. “Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get our asses changed.”20HannahA knock at the door gave me pause. Ash had left a few hours ago, and I’d been talking back and forth with my new boss about what to expect with my job. I ignored the sound, hoping it might go away. Hoping that whoever it was would leave me alone. But the knocking became insistent before a voice behind the door sounded.
“Hannah? It’s okay, you can open up.”
Who the hell knows my name back there?
I walked up to the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me. Scottie.”
I blinked. “I don’t know a Scottie. Sorry.”
He paused. “Oh. Well, I’m Ash’s brother.”
I snickered. “Yeah, I don’t know who you are or what you want, but you can get the hell out of here. I’ve got a gun behind this door.”
I searched around for some sort of weapon to brandish in case the man on the other side called my bluff. But the only thing within reaching distance was an umbrella.
I could make that work.
“He doesn’t talk much about the orphanage, so it doesn’t shock me that he hasn’t mentioned me or anything. But if you open the door, I can show you a text from him. He wants me to check up on you and make sure you’re doing all right.”
He sounded convincing. “Step over to the window and you can show me the text through the window.”
“Whatever will get me in there. I heard you were in an accident and I want to check you over.”
I paused. “Why?”
He chuckled. “I’m a doctor, Hannah.”
“Oh. Well, still. Step over to the window and we’ll try it that way.”
I peered through the window next to the door and watched as a slender arm moved around. Long, slender fingers danced around on a black phone before it was turned around and pressed against the glass. And right there, plain as day—with Ash’s number attached to it—was a simple text.
Ash: Thank you for checking in on her. And when you get there, make sure she’s taking her meds. She likes to power through pain, and I don’t like that.
I wasn’t sure how to feel in that moment. On the one hand, it was very obvious this guy was telling the truth. But on the other hand, Ash had never made any mention of his past at all. Wasn’t this something I should’ve known about him? The idea of him being raised in an orphanage made me sick to my stomach. I tried to imagine Little Ash, and how he might have felt. How alone he must’ve been and how he probably kept to himself.
