Rush - Blue Devils MC Book 2 (Book 1 Included FREE for a short time only!) by Ashley Rhodes Page A

punishment. And anyway, he was never a very good tipper.” He winked at them.
    “Now! I’ll put you two over here, in the corner. That plant makes a nice shield from prying eyes.” He led them over to a table that was partially shielded from the rest of the restaurant, and left, promising to return with chips and salsa.
    Hannah glanced up at the TV hanging in the corner and her eyes widened when she saw herself on TV, eyes closed, unconscious in the hospital. A red banner was scrolling across the bottom, “Gang member found in hospital - attempt on Hannah Wright’s life,” over and over again.
    “That’s the picture I saw yesterday when I first heard about you being hurt,” Rush said softly, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to look at him, surprised. Seeing herself like that was…freaky. Scary.
    “It was terrifying to see that,” he said, echoing her thoughts. “I couldn’t think of anything except driving to Tucson to protect you. I was on my bike within minutes of that first news story.”
    Rush looked at her, eyes haunted with the pain and panic of that day. “I thought you were going to be dead by time I got there, Blue. I drove and all I could think about was how we’d met at your dad’s wedding. Do you remember us sneaking off back into the garden, and how I sat you down on that wall?”
    Javier placed chips and salsa in front of them but left again without saying a word, discreet as always. Hannah barely registered his presence.
    Her cheeks pinkened. “Oh yeah, I remember that. Even as drunk as I was, I’d never forget that. I’d never had a guy do that before, and you literally made my world explode that night.”
    Sparks arced between them and Hannah tried to catch her breath. Rush was so damn sexy, it was hard to think straight. His gorgeous dark blue eyes were searching hers, and…she didn’t know what they were hoping to find. What he was hoping to get out of this.
    Rush reached out to hold her hand and she deftly grabbed a tortilla chip with it instead. Dipping it into the salsa, she said a little too enthusiastically, “I’ve eaten a lot of Mexican food, but the chips and salsa here is the best!”
    Rush’s eyes became guarded, hooded, and he pulled back, relaxing casually in his seat as if he didn’t have a care in the world. As if he hadn’t just tried to make a move on her and had it rebuffed. Cool as ever.
    “Are you ready to order?” Javier reappeared, rescuing Hannah from having to figure out how to patch things over, without making promises she couldn’t keep.
    “Hi, yes!” Hannah said brightly. She really did sound like an idiot but she apparently couldn’t help it. “I’ll have the veggie fajita, please. Corn tortillas.”
    Rush ordered a double enchilada, and as Javier was walking away, he cocked an eyebrow at Hannah. “Still a vegetarian?” he asked.
    In high school, she’d gone through a virulent vegetarian stage, where she refused to eat anything even cooked in animal fats, and her dad had humored her, having the cook only prepare vegetarian meals when she was there.
    “Eh,” she said, shrugging. “There have been a lot of places around the world that I’ve gone that being a vegetarian simply wasn’t a lifestyle choice I could make. Especially Mexico - good luck being a vegetarian there!” She chuckled at the thought. “But I do like meals with lots of veggies and when I am in a place to eat that way, well, why not, right?”
    They chatted then, about stupid, inconsequential things, as Rush caught her up on what all of their classmates had been doing since high school graduation. They ate their way through too many platters of food, and laughed, and everything was light and superficial. Just as it should be.
    Finally, they left, Hannah giving Javier a hug on the way out. Rush thoughtfully suggested a stop at a local Walgreens for her to pick up some toiletries. She was too exhausted to go clothes shopping that evening - that was an ordeal that