Page 64 of Where Angels Fall

Black hair blowing in the wind, Ash turns his head slightly and I see his boyish smile, that damn dimple popping out. He looks so alive in this moment, so young and free. Revving his bike with his inked hand, he chuckles. “It’s the Devil's, baby. Our men.”

I’m high by the time Ash pulls the bike down a quiet street, slowing to a stop. Confused, I take in the surroundings. It’s the Shade Casino, not that I’ve ever been. With a dark, sleek exterior, I’ve heard the interior is even darker. Everyday people like me don’t step foot in a place like Shade Casino.

Usually lights sparkle outside, luring in a crowd to spend their cash, but right now it stands dark and silent. Not a soul around. No security, no line of waiting patrons. Nothing.

Bikes surround us and the building, the Devil’s becoming rowdy. The air is electric, my hair standing on edge. Something is about to happen... I can feel it in the way that electricity zaps in the air, all of my senses alert.

“What…What are we doing here?” My voice wavers, catching in my throat. I’m not sure if I really want to know what’s going on. The feeling swirling around in my stomach tells me it can be nothing good.

Ash turns his head, a crooked grin tugging at his face as his eyes twinkle. They look almost black in the dark, endless pools of deadly water.

“Something I should have done a long time ago,” he drawls, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin.

My brow furrows, but I can’t help the thrill that skitters through me. There is something about a man being so unashamedly bad that makes my breath quicken and my core tighten.

Ash reaches into what I think is a saddlebag and pulls out a shiny object. A glass bottle with liquid and what looks like a rag shoved into it. When he brings it closer, a sharp chemical smell assaults my nose, causing it to wrinkle in disgust.

Dark lashes flutter upwards as Ash turns in his seat again, taking in my reaction, but my eyes are glued to the bottle. I thought these things only existed in movies. Where the rag is lit on fire and thrown like a bomb, causing mayhem.

When I finally drag my eyes to his, I tense, chewing on my bottom lip. Dark pools of intensity are laser-focused on me, and only me, watching for my reaction.

I’m not sure if he is waiting for me to beg him to stop or cry and plead. But he isn’t going to get that. Not tonight.

A dark brow raises, the small movement a dare. The click of the lighter seems to echo, which can’t be right as the entire street is rumbling with strong engines and feral, untamed men. But in this moment, it’s just me and Ash. The bike beneath us, the destructive bomb between us. Eyes locked.

The flame lights his perfect face in an orange glow, causing his manic look to seem outright feral, and God, does it do things to my insides.

I swallow; eyes locked on his. His crooked grin tugs at the corner of his mouth, teasing, almost daring, as if he knows the risk and wants me to taste it too. The Molotov burns lightly in his palm, a small promise of chaos, and I feel the heat of it almost through the glass. My fingers hover over it, and for a heartbeat, the world narrows to just the two of us, the bike, and that dangerous little flame.

This is crazy. Outright batshit crazy. This isn’t me, a small voice cries in my head. But isn’t it?

I think back to tonight’s events. The crimes hidden in perfectly tailored suits and pretty gowns. The men who I know are evil, yet their polished exteriors hide it from everyone else to see. The charade of it all. The version of me that has been perfectly carved out, no matter if it’s slowly killing me.

I don’t know who I am, and who I have been told I should be. All I know is that right now, in this very second, I feel more alive than I have my entire life. I can feel the organ in my chest beating a fast song; I can feel the air rushing in and out of my lungs. The engine between my legs makes me feel powerful, and the man in front of me makes me feel out of control in all the best ways.

For the first time since I can remember, I’m not pretending. I know this is wrong, but I don’t seem to mind that fact right now. What he did for me tonight... taking away one of my demons. It’s changed everything in my mind.

My manicured fingers brush his inked ones as my hand closes around the lit bottle of demolition, the smell of smoke and chemicals adding to my excitement.

My choice made. My choice.

A perfectly straight, white smile grins back at me. Heat and something…intimate, dances in his eyes as he leans forward on the bike, giving me room to do what I need to do.

I inhale deeply, watching the flames dance in the dark, a wicked smile curving on my face. Over my shoulder, dozens of flames light, everyone holding their breath in anticipation.

Cocking my arm back, I throw it with all my might at the dark building. Seconds feel like hours as I watch the flames pummel forward, glass shattering.

Flames erupt, snaking over the doors at the entrance, casting a brilliant glow in the dark street. A deafening cheer erupts behind me, my head whipping around to see the dozens of other flames flying towards the casino.

I don’t get to look for long, don’t get to see the carnage and flames. Because Ash is gripping my face and pulling me into the fiercest, hungriest kiss I’ve ever experienced. He devours me, his tongue slipping into my mouth as he growls a rumbling sound.

He pulls away slightly, his eyes flicking between mine. “Mine,” he hisses. His eyes dart to the pack of men behind me. “Ours.”

And for once I feel like I belong, a feeling that I’m not accustomed to. It causes an ache to build behind my eyes, and my lip trembles.

Ash leans in for one more quick kiss, tugging my bottom lip harshly between his teeth before pulling away, his breath ragged and uneven, before he straightens on the bike, giving it a deafening rev.

We pull off the street, racing down the road, leaving the fiery mess of the casino behind us, roaring and angry.