Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
If he were the President of the Afxisi, he could have this matter solved in seconds.
But he was not.
He was a normal guy, and he wanted to stay a normal guy, no matter what the fuck happened.
He raised his hands up. “Let’s take this outside.”
One of the men walked towards him. “Sure we will.” He took out his gun and fired a shot into the air. Everyone screamed. He hit Helios’ head with the butt of his pistol and everything went black.
Chapter Thirteen
ONE MOMENT, SHE WAS straining to get close to where Helios was and find out what was happening. The next moment, the sound of gunshot shattered the silence and chaos erupted. She and Katya would’ve been trampled to the ground had they not managed to help each other and find their way to the exit.
“Helios?” MJ screamed his name over and over, hoping to hear him answer back. Oh God, please God, please God, please let him answer me.
But this time, all she could hear was a terrifying kind of silence.
When they managed to get out of the cafeteria, there was still no sign of Helios. “Has anyone seen Helios? Please? Anyone?” She stopped one person after another, asking the same question over and over, heart in her throat.
Oh God, oh God, please—
This felt so much worse than lying on the ground, waiting for the motorcycle to rip her face apart.
No, this was more terrifying because now it was Helios on the ground and she couldn’t do anything about it.
“MJ!” Katya was waving frantically for her to come close. “He’s seen what happened.” Katya looked at the guy, who had a shell-shocked expression on his face. “Tell her. Please.”
“They were bikers. I recognized some of them because they go to the same club every week. H-Helios Andreadis went to them peacefully, but the guy who fired the shot – he used it as a distraction and then he h-hit the Afxisi President in the head with his gun and t-they dragged him out by his feet.”
MJ was cold all over by the time the guy finished speaking. She turned to Katya with eyes blinded with tears. “Why wouldn’t he ask for help? Why he would just go with them like that? Why?”
The boy shook his head. “Don’t you know anything about biker club rules? You’re supposed to be his girlfriend, aren’t you?”
She shook her head, her conscience stinging.
“It’s the most important unwritten rule for underground racing clubs. No inter-club fights over civs.”
“Civs?” MJ echoed blankly.
“Civilians. Like you and me. Non-bikers. Anything that has to do with a club and a civ has to be handled by the police.”
“But what if it’s too late?” Katya burst out.
“He’s ex-Afxisi,” MJ said desperately. “Doesn’t that count for something?”
The boy shrugged uneasily. “I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t want to get his club into trouble?”
No, MJ realized a second later. It wasn’t that. Helios didn’t want to get his club involved because he wanted to remain a civ. A non-biker. For her.
“D-did you happen to see where they were headed?”
The boy nodded and pointed. “I think they’re going to their old hunting ground—”
“At the old ghost town,” she finished numbly. Of course it would go back to that. Everything tended to come full circle.
Once, Helios had saved her life. Now, it was her turn to save his back. But first, she had to conquer her fear.
Closing her eyes, she told herself to breathe.
Breathe. Breathe, MJ. Breathe.
You can do this.
In the back of her mind, James’ voice came to her like a familiar, terrifying taunt. Are you ready, MJ? Reeeeeeaaaady?
VROOM, VROOM.
Her heart sped up, but she willed herself to face the sound head on.
She was ready.
Because now, she knew.
Someone loved her, truly loved her, enough to have his life dependent on her.
She would not let him down.
When she opened her eyes, she was as calm as she could be. She honed in on the things she needed to do with single-minded focus. “Katya, could you do me a favor? Can you find a way to contact any of the Afxisi and let them know where the others have...taken Helios?”
Other more horrifying words tried to make their way into her mind, but MJ doggedly pushed them away. They had taken Helios. That was all she was going to permit herself to think.
“All right, but what are you going to do? You’re not going to do anything foolish, right?”
“No. I’m going to do what I’ve always been meant to do.” She looked at the boy. “I need one last favor from you. Do you know of any bike I can borrow—” All her hopes crashed when he started to shake his head.
“I don’t know anyone who rides a bike. It’s dangerous, you know. But...” He pointed to somewhere behind MJ, and she whirled around to find a big, bad-ass Ducati parked at the curb. “Maybe you can borrow that?”