Read Online Remember Me (Defiant MC) by Cora Brent - Free Book Online

keep that fella close,” he said, motioning toward the Bronze Boy. 
    “I will,” she whispered as he slowly opened the door.  “And Mercer?  I won’t tell anyone.  About this afternoon.” 
    His grin was so devastating she nearly ran into his arms, consequences be damned.  “Well,” he drawled.  “You’re mighty generous, darlin’.”  Then he was gone. 
    Sleep did not arrive as easily as Annika had earlier supposed.  The brief moment she’d spent in Mercer Dolan’s arms kept playing in her mind.  She blushed over the memory of his hard arousal, half wishing she had not stopped him.  And then cursing herself for such stupidity. 
    Mercer Dolan was part of that rogue band of outlaws whose name, The Danes, were on everyone’s lips in these parts.  He was loose and dangerous.  He bloodied men in the streets of town and kept with whores.  He was not a man who could be possessed by any woman.  Annika was sure of that.  And though the feeling brought her shame, she wanted every inch of him. 

CHAPTER FIVE
    Contention City, Arizona
    Present Day
     
    Maddox felt a certain heaviness in his gut as the miles passed.  He tried to ignore it, leaning forward and increasing his speed beyond the limits of the law.  He was daring it all; life, death, man’s trail of broken laws.  At one point he noticed movement on his right side and saw a small herd of wild brown horses galloping as if they were trying to keep pace with the superior power of his bike.  Or perhaps they just considered him a kindred spirit and wanted his company. 
    In a flash of the landscape his eyes caught the letters of the green and white sign.  Even without it he would have known exactly where he was.  Contention City was scarcely twenty miles away.  He could discern the shadows of the Scorpion Mountains as they guarded what was left of the old gold mine.  The ground which sloped above the Hassayampa was littered with perilous shafts from the boom years of the Scorpion. No matter how often Priest had forbidden him as a child, he had loved hiking up there. 
    Soon he would see Priest.  He wondered if his father expected him, or if the old man figured that even in this desperate hour Maddox wouldn’t be able to face them.  Jensen.  Gabriela.  Seeing them would be unavoidable.  He could bear it.  Give Maddox McLeod a bottle of whisky and a willing woman on his lap and he could damn well bear anything. 
    The remaining miles flew by too quickly.  He hoped to make it to Priest’s house without running into anyone he knew.  He just wasn’t up to that shit.  Except for the old man, he’d cut off all contact once he was out.  All those familiar faces were sandwiched with the pain.  When he’d first left the only home he’d ever known, it had been a rough couple of years.
    He’d spent his time wandering the southwest aimlessly, working sporadically, until he lost a gamble to a dangerous man.  He didn’t have the money to pay what was owed, but Orion Jackson could be pragmatic when he wanted to.  He allowed Maddox to remain in Quartzsite to work off the debt.  By the time Mad was all squared up, he recognized he’d found the new home he’d been searching for. Orion was pleased to allow him into the Defiant fold for good.  Maddox wasn’t shrewd like Casper or sharply intelligent like Grayson but he’d made his own way and earned his spot in the club.  He didn’t say so out loud but he loved those men.  All of them.
    Maddox rode through the center of town and breathed easier when he did not immediately see anyone familiar.  He sure wasn’t expecting a line of enthusiastic greeters on Contention Way, but he was relieved to see no one except a couple of white-haired snowbirds. 
    As Maddox idled at the stop light his heart thumped when he noticed a police car parked on the corner.  But the officer inside had a bagel between his teeth and appeared to be writing something.  He did not pay any attention to Maddox.