Night After Night (Night Riders Motorcycle Club Book 1) by Kathryn Thomas

man. “Trimmed and ready for whatever you want.”
     
    The Demon Dog pulled a razor from his pocket, and as the memory of Callie’s tale of the opposing crew suddenly burned bright in her brain, Lauren charged forward and took hold of Eric’s shoulders. “Don’t you fucking touch her!” Lauren screamed. “Leave her-”
     
    She was silenced by the feel of his fist smacking into her middle, and Lauren doubled over in agony. Hardly able to lift her head, her soul cracked at the sight of Grace’s body being hauled away. Struggling to come up with some way to help her, to save her, Lauren’s thoughts turned to her own fate when the Demon Dog grabbed her arms and started to drag her through the sand.
     
    “Let me go,” Lauren moaned. “You can’t–”
     
    “Listen to the lady!”
     
    Lauren’s body fell to the sand, and she was slightly relieved when the hands of the Demon Dog left her body. Peering through her hair, she saw a bare-chested Blake with his own gun drawn. Paul was at his side, and Lauren watched him lock eyes with Grace.
     
    “Paul…” Grace murmured.
     
    “Let her go,” Paul said in a thick voice. “I paid for her fair and square, Eric.”
     
    Eric licked his lips and moaned into her trembling neck. He ran his rough hands up and down her naked sides, and he pressed his fingers between her legs. “I want these bitches,” Eric said. “So does my new crew. So you better–”
     
    Blake cut him off with a sharp shot. Lauren screamed and pressed her hands to her ears as the Demon Dog that had held of her fell to the ground, his face a mass of blood and brains.
     
    “Jesus Christ!” Crawling away from the scene, she paused when she felt Eric’s gun pushing into the back of her head.
     
    “You think you won’t pay for that?” Eric said. “You’re a dumber than you look, Blake.”
     
    Lauren went still, and she thought that this would be her end. She should have tried to run sooner, and she wanted to find Blake’s eyes one last time. But he failed to meet her gaze, and he narrowed his stare around Eric.
     
    “No dumber than you,” Blake hissed. “Now you got two choices. Go back empty-handed and see what that gets you, or I can just kill you right here and now. I’m down with the latter, but you let her go, and see me generous”
     
    The barrel of the gun started to shake against her hair and Lauren seized the opportunity to take Grace by the arm and fall into the cold sand.
     
    “Stupid sluts!” A shot rang out from Eric’s gun.
     
    Lauren covered Grace with her body, and she saw Blake and Paul duck in unison. He was ready to fire again when the Night Riders recovered quickly, and they aimed their guns right at Eric’s chest.
     
    “We’ll do you right here, right now,” Blake said.
     
    “No.” Paul stepped forward, casting a quick glance at Grace. Eric was still ready to shoot, but Paul showed no fear as he lunged forward.
     
    “Kill me right now,” Paul challenged.
     
    “No, please!” Grace cried as Lauren held her closer.
     
    “And then Blake will blow your fucking head off. What’s it gonna be, coward? Die right here, right now, or maybe you live to fight another day.”
     
    With Grace still in her arms, Lauren could barely suppress a satisfied smile as Eric looked at Blake and started to back off. He stepped over the fallen Demon Dog and mounted his bike. “This isn’t over,” Eric spat.
     
    “Never said that it was,” Paul said.
     
    Eric sped off into the night, and when his headlights disappeared, Paul shifted gears and fell to the girls’ side. “Are you okay?” he asked.
     
    Lauren expected Grace to burst into tears, but she calmed when Paul held her and covered her with his jacket. “I am now,” she assured him.
     
    Lifting her off the ground, he pressed her close to his chest and snorted at the sight of Blake’s most recent kill bleeding out on the sand. “I’ll get someone to clean that up,” Paul promised. “Take care of