Page 38 of Ash (Dragon Riders MC 3)
I blinked. “How in the hell could you afford a penthouse suite anywhere, David? You’re a police officer.”
“Well, not anymore. Not since you left. You left me in financial ruin, and you didn't give a shit about it. You left, and the depression sank me. You left, and my anxiety blew through the roof. I had two tickets to wine country, a penthouse suite I couldn't take up on my own, and a ring I couldn’t return. Hell, I couldn't even pawn the damn thing for half of what it was worth!”
“That still isn’t my fault, David.”
He turned around, growling. “The fuck it isn’t. You left me, and that’s your fault. You left me, and it started a cascade of events that put me out on the fucking street. I never recovered after you left. I got evicted. My credit score tanked. I got fired from my job. You ruined me, Hannah. And now? I’m going to ruin you.”
“Is this really what you call love?”
He snickered. “Yeah. It is. Because when one suffers, the other does, too. That’s what happens when two people are in love.”
“I don’t love you, David.”
“Then, what I’m going to do to you won’t hurt you as much as it hurts me, then. So, at least you’ll have that.”
My eyes watered with tears of fear as he cranked up the engine to his car. I had half a mind to reach around and strangle him with my own arm. But I didn’t even have the energy to fight back verbally, much less physically. I stared through the windshield as he eased the car out of the parking space, feeling my life slowly slip through my fingers.
Then, the most amazing sound hit my ears.
Motorcycle engines.
They revved in the distance and my heart leapt into my throat. I jumped up from my seat and turned around as David floored the gas pedal. Bikes came up the on-ramp into the rest stop and a smile tore across my face. I recognized those jackets. I recognized those bikes.
“Fuck,” David hissed.
Engines sounded behind me and I turned to gaze out the front windshield. And when I saw those same leather jackets and those same bikes coming up the exit ramp as well, I knew we were cornered. David threw his car into park and rummaged around. I reached for the lock on the door and finally pried it up. They were here. Ash and the guys were here to rescue me, and my tears of fear quickly became tears of joy.
“Come here, you stupid bitch.”
One moment, I heard David’s growl. And the next, my door was thrust open. Something fisted my hair before I was dragged out of the car and pinned to the ground.
“Hold up!” Link hollered. A stabbing pain radiated in my lower back as my cheek was pressed into the asphalt. My tears fell to the ground as David’s lips lowered to my ear, whispering a promise that froze me to my core.
“You move, and he dies first.”
Then, the tip of something very sharp danced against the nape of my neck.
“David! It’s over,” Link called out.
David chuckled deviously. “It’ll never be over. Not for me. Hannah’s mine, and she’s coming with me.”
Then, I heard his voice. “Not a chance in hell.”
Ash.
I managed to turn my head to the side and saw him standing there. I watched him kick the kickstand down on his bike before he swung his strong, languid leg over the metallic body. My heart soared with delight. His eyes flickered down to me, and with just that second’s glance relief rushed through my veins. He was here. Ash was here for me.
My heart knew I’d be okay.
But my body didn’t.
“Now, let’s pick that knife up and—”
David pressed the tip harder against my neck. “Not a chance in hell. And if you don’t want to see your little sweetie decapitated in front of you, I suggest you get back on that bike of yours.”
I sniffled. “David, please.”
He growled. “Shut up, whore.”
Ash glowered. “What did you just call her?”
Link extended his arm and blocked Ash from charging David. An action that probably saved my life. But in that moment? I would’ve done anything to get my ex’s fucking knee out of the small of my back.
Even if it meant being paralyzed.
“David, you’re hurting me,” I choked out.
“Good. Because it’s only a fraction of how you hurt me.”
Ash scoffed. “Is this really how you want to treat the love of your life?”
I waited for David’s response, but none came. So, Ash kept talking.
“You’ve waited for this day for how long now? The day when you’re finally reunited with her? And this is how you want to spend it? By hurting her and threatening her life?”
David chuckled. “If I can’t have her, no one can. She either comes with me or we both die. Right here.”
