Guns & Burning Rubber: The Iron Brotherhood series by Samantha Westlake

danger, went charging across the porch, running hell-bent for his motorcycle.  But as he reached the steps, another handful of shots came ringing out from the darkness - and the short man’s run suddenly fell apart as one of his legs gave out under him and he went tumbling down the stairs.
    “Shit!” Cross shouted out as he saw his friend tumble. 
    But as he started forward, moving to help Gimli, Kara raised her own gun.  “Close your eyes!” she shouted, obeying her own command as the barrel of the assault rifle rose.
    She didn’t bother returning shots back out into the darkness - she knew that she stood no chance of connecting. 
    So instead, she fired up, directly into the flood light mounted on the porch above them.
    The porch light shattered, plunging them into darkness as little splinters of glass rained down.
    As soon as the light went out, Kara was moving, following Cross down to where Gimli lay at the bottom of the steps.  Fortunately, the assault rifle had a shoulder strap, so she could sling the thing back over her shoulder and have both of her hands free.
    In the darkness, she nearly slipped and fell down the stairs herself - but she could hear faint curses coming from the darkness as the shooters hiding further out lost sight of their targets.  Her ploy might have inconvenienced Cross and Gimli, but it also was, at least for the moment, keeping them alive.
    Reaching down, Kara felt her hands connect with Gimli’s warm shoulder.  “It’s just a flesh wound!” the man grunted, although it sounded like his teeth were gritted.  “Just get me up on my bike, and I’ll be fine!”
    There wasn’t time to argue.  Already, Kara could hear the sounds of men approaching, the Hellraisers moving in closer now that they’d lost their line of sight on their targets.  Soon, they’d come close enough to spot Kara, Cross, and Gimli, even with their night vision not yet fully adjusted.
    Kara grabbed onto Gimli, looping her arms beneath his armpit, and she felt Cross do the same on the other side.  Kara cringed internally as she felt the man go tense from the pain as they both hauled forward, but he managed to keep his teeth locked shut and not cry out from the pain.
    The bikes were just ahead, and Kara and Cross hoisted Gimli up onto his with an effort.  The man might be short, but he was still surprisingly heavy! 
    Gimli landed in the seat of his bike with another barely suppressed grunt of pain, but Kara felt his hands come up, reaching for the controls.  “I’ve got it from here!” he insisted.  “Get to the other one - I don’t think I can carry any more weight!”
    A hand grabbed at Kara’s side, and she almost shrieked in surprise.  But as she turned, she saw Cross’s face in the dim light, tugging her away.  “Over here!” he hissed at her, pulling her towards his own motorcycle.
    Kara clambered up onto the back of the chopper behind the man, not caring about where her hands went as she grabbed at him.  For once, even though she was pressed up tightly against Cross, she wasn’t thinking of how it felt, of how close to this man she was squeezed.
    Instead, all she could think about was getting out safely, of actually managing to escape with her life. 
    This was further than she had expected to come, even a half hour previously.
    She wasn’t about to trip and fall on her face right before the finish line.
    Even before she was settled in behind him, Cross mashed down on the starter button, leaning forward to keep low behind the handlebars as the engine beneath his legs roared into life.  He gave the throttle a single twist as the motorcycle sat in neutral to get the engine hot, and then slammed his foot down to put the machine into gear.
    As they pulled away, Kara heard the similar roar of Gimli’s machine jumping into petroleum-fueled life - and over that sound, as if underscoring the need to get away, more cracks of bullets rang out, the rounds zipping overhead through the foliage