Page 69 of Wild Ride

She tilts her head to the side, then she shakes her head once. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that. I don’t know what I thought. Maybe that you would stay in your room and I would get an apartment or something.”

This woman has fucking jokes, she’s a goddamn comedic genius. “Baby, I’m not driving you back to Thunder Rock and then setting you up in an apartment alone. Fuck that shit. Also, I’m not sleeping anywhere but with you.”

And that is fucking that. Her hand falls from my arm. I shift the car intoDriveand watch as her lips curve up into a grin. Then we head toward the gas station, where I’m going to fuel this pickup and meet everyone else who is no doubt wondering where the fuck we are.

DAKOTA

The clubhouse comes into view, and as much as I don’t want to come here first, I know it’s a necessary evil. This is where the men meet, where they convene. As much as I want to go back to my dad’s place, I don’t want to go there. What I want is to go to that stupid motel and put some clothes on. I’m also hungry.

I’m a mess of different wants, needs, and desires—or maybe I’m just a mess in general.

The pickup truck moves down the driveway behind the bikes. There were more men at the gas station, but after a short chat with one another, while I sat in the truck and watched them, they took off in two separate directions, leaving just the ones I recognized.

Bishop parks the pickup and then lets out a sigh. It’s only been a little over a three-hour drive, but being as I was lost inside of my own head the entire time, it felt like a whole lifetime.Reaching for the door handle, I pop it and then pause when I hear Bishop hiss out the wordfuck.

Looking over to him, I see that his focus is straight ahead. I follow his eyes, and my breath hitches at the sight of Briana standing just a few feet away. She’s got her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes are pinpointed straight ahead on the truck, and she looks pissed.

Though I’m not sure why she would be, I don’t question her being here, at least not to myself. All I know is that Briana is here, and I missed her. I don’t wait even a second, not a moment of hesitation, before I throw the door all the way open, slide out of the seat, and run toward her. I should not be running toward her right now, not in the disheveled state I’m in.

Briana looks at me with horror, even though I don’t realize it immediately. I’m just so damn happy to see her that I ignore the abject expression that crosses her face as I wrap my arms around her. I also ignore the way she hesitantly hugs me back.

After our hug, I take a step backward, my smile consuming every part of my being, the happiness that I feel overwhelming. She reaches out, her fingers gripping my shoulders as she shakes me slightly.

Once her expression registers, my smile falters, then completely falls. Her eyes are wide, and she looks horrified. Completely and totally horrified. I open my mouth to tell her that I’m okay, but I don’t get the opportunity.

Before I can say a single word, her eyes flick from mine as she looks over my shoulder, and then they narrow. “Tell me what the fuck has happened to my friend,” she snaps.

But she’s not asking me. She’s asking the person behind me, which I assume is Bishop. I open my mouth to respond to her question, but before I can say a single word, I hear Bishop’s voice. It comes out deep and growly but not mean. Intimidating but not sharp.

“You need to calm the fuck down, babe. I got this.”

I think that Briana’s soul might actually separate from her body for a moment and float out of her and above us at Bishop’s words. Then it settles back inside before she clears her throat. If there is one thing that I learned after I moved in with Briana, it was not to tell her to ever calm down, not that I ever did, but I’ve seen plenty of people try.

“Calm down?” she asks, obviously seething.

If Bishop is bothered by her question or the way she asks it, he doesn’t act like it. In fact, he clears his throat and moves closer to her, placing his body halfway in front of mine as if to block me from her if need be. My lips part in awe at the strategic move, and then I close my mouth and press my lips together because I don’t and won’t ever need protection from Briana.

She is the one who saved me.

“Yes, calm the fuck down. I got this, and I got Dakota. You can sheath the claws.”

Briana jerks back as if she’s been physically assaulted, then she leans forward, her eyes focused nowhere but on Bishop. I want to stop whatever this is between them because I think they are both the best people I’ve ever met in my life. It’s like watching a bad wreck. I can’t look away, but I also feel as if I’m moving in slow motion, and I can’t do anything to stop it.

“You misogynist piece of shit,” she hisses. “You got this? You don’t got shit.”

Sucking in a breath, I hold it for a moment as I wait for Bishop’s response. I can tell that he’s half annoyed and half amused by this exchange. I just don’t want him to get fully annoyed. I place my hand on his forearm and squeeze it with my fingers, but he doesn’t even flinch.

He continues. “I got it, babe,” he murmurs.

“I couldn’t get hold of my friend for days. I come here, and she looks like complete and total hell, and you’re telling me thatyou got this? She’s standing in front of me, her hair a mess, wearing a man’s T-shirt and barefoot. Please tell me how yougot this.”

Shifting my attention to his profile, I watch as his lips curve up into a grin. Then, when I swing my gaze to Briana, I watch as the color of her face deepens from pink to deep red. Then she opens her mouth, no doubt to say something that will piss Bishop off, but I step forward and to the side, slightly moving between them.

“Do not protect him,” Briana growls.

I’ve never seen her this way before. I have no idea what is going on with her, but when I reach out to wrap my hand around hers, I squeeze it gently as I continue to look directly into her eyes.

“I’m okay. Bishop is right. He does have me. The men who kidnapped me, they did it because they thought they could get somewhere with this club because of who my father was.”

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