Violet: From The Colt Universe

VIOLET

Seconds passed.

The man’s piercing green eyes glared at me as if willing me to disobey him.

I felt my defiance flare inside of me…and then burn out.

After all, I was out here alone, and I knew there was an unmarked white van following my every move.

If this man was a biker with the Crows and I said no to his offer of a ride, he’d probably just force me to get on his bike. And if not…well, he might well be my only hope out here.

“Well, what’s it going to be, purple? I don’t have all night,” he finally said impatiently.

I blinked at him, confused. Purple?

“It’s because of your eyes,” he said, correctly guessing my confusion.

“Oh,” I said finally. For one more tumultuous second, I faltered. Then I nodded.

“Great,” he said, tossing me a helmet from the compartment under his seat.

“What do I need this for?” I challenged him.

“You’re putting it on,” he barked. “That’s all there is to it. I’m not risking your brains being splattered all over the cement.”

I gulped and decided not to point out that he was certainly not wearing a helmet.

Instead, I shoved the helmet on my head and climbed onto the seat behind him. I wasn’t sure where to put my hands and decided to place them on his shoulders.

When I did, he chuckled.

“Wrap your arms around my waist and hold on tight, purple,” he said.

I did as instructed and felt, even through his leather jacket, what seemed like a sheet of chiseled marble under my fingers.

With a roar of sound, he revved the bike’s engine, and we tore off into the night.

It was such a rush. The wind whipped through his hair, sending the most amazing scent wafting back to me.

Some combination of motor oil, cologne, and sweat that I found somehow intoxicating.

What? Violet?

“So,” he shouted over the roar of the wind, “what’s your story? What’s a sweet little girl like you doing out here on a night like this?”

I rolled my eyes at the stereotype. He didn’t know me. I could take a lot. Growing up with a father like mine, I didn’t have any other choice.

“Nice try,” I shouted back, “but I still don’t know if you’re trying to kill me or not. I’m not telling you anything else about myself until you tell me about you.”

He chuckled, and I felt a shiver run down my spine at the sound.

“Fair enough, purple. My name is Blade. I’m the VP of the Vipers Oklahoma charter. And don’t worry, I’m not here to kidnap you.”

At the sound of his name, I felt like a lead balloon had settled in my stomach.

This man was Blade? The same Blade Anna and all the Crows at No Man’s Land were whispering about all night?

I tried to keep my cool, even though my heart was thundering in my chest.

“Oh. I hear you’re in town to wipe out the Crows’ human trafficking. So, you’re kind of like my hero then?” I said sarcastically, trying to come off as unconcerned that I was riding on the back of the rival VP’s bike.

He chuckled again. “I can feel your nerves, purple. Your heart is pounding against my back like a bass drum. I know you’re freaking the fuck out at being on my bike.”

I squirmed away from him, feeling anger rising in my chest.

“Don’t move like that, purple. You’ll fall off and hurt yourself,” he said, and I could tell just from his tone of voice that he was smirking.

I suddenly realized that this man was a fucking prick. He was just like all those bikers I’d seen around No Man’s Land.

He thought he had all the power and I was just some helpless bitch on the back of his bike.

“Fine, just take me home,” I snapped.

For the third time in the last five minutes, he just chuckled in response.

“Oh, I’m not taking you home. We’ve got something to do first.”

All of the alarm bells started ringing out in my head all at once.

I didn’t care who this guy was or who else was waiting for me in the night.

Summoning all my courage, I took a deep breath.

“I hope you have a great quest for vengeance,” I snarled finally. And then I let go.

For a moment, I felt a rush of wind. And then I felt my legs connect with something solid.

And then I felt a sharp pain in my left leg and something warm was running down into my left sock.

I blinked my eyes open and looked around.

I had fallen to the ground in an abandoned alleyway between the husks of two looming warehouses.

Up ahead, I heard a screech of brakes as Blade’s motorcycle skidded to a halt up ahead. I saw him flip and turn around to speed back toward me.

It was now or never.

I jumped to my feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in my side, and sprinted as fast as I could.

I could hear him shouting from behind me, but I didn’t care what he had to say.

He was dangerous, and right now I just needed to get home.

I sprinted down another alleyway as fast as my legs could carry me. I knew that, at the end, there was a narrow path I could cut through that would put me in my backyard. If I could only reach it.

Just then, I heard a screech of tires. With a thrill of fear, I saw the unmarked white van skid to a halt in front of me.

The doors swung open, and the last thing I saw before a bag was pulled over my head was Skinner’s leering face.

***

I awoke to the feeling of stabbing pain in my leg and rigid bars underneath me.

I blinked my eyes open and looked around blearily. I could tell I was in a small space. Black metal bars seemed to surround me.

Beyond them, I could see a huge chamber.

What the hell was this place?

“Rise and shine, baby doll.”

I know that voice…

I turned my head sluggishly and caught a glimpse of a familiar sneering face before something hard slammed into the side of my skull, and stars popped across my vision.

I fell to the ground and groaned.

Blinking my eyes open again, I slowly realized where I was. I was locked in a tiny cage on the floor of a warehouse. The unmarked white van was idling nearby, and I could see several Crows standing around.

Skinner was standing over me, glaring down at me. I realized slowly that he must have just punched me.

“You know, baby doll, ever since you and your no-good ass of a dad came down here to my charter, I’ve been looking to add you to my collection.

“Your daddy thinks that because he rode for the mother charter, he can just come to my town and get the top spot? Nah, baby doll.

“Maybe once I tell him his little girl’s been sold to the highest bidder, he won’t be so fucking cocky.”

I could see the anger radiating off Skinner’s face, but I couldn’t really tell what was going on.

Why was he so mad? What had I done? How did I get here?

As if through a haze, I saw him slam the cage door shut and lock it. He clipped the pair of silver keys at his belt and looked down at me with some sort of savage pleasure.

Somehow, I didn’t think his plan would work very well. I didn’t think my dad would much care if I was sold into slavery. In fact, he might even thank Skinner.

I opened my mouth to try and tell Skinner this, but the sound of a door slamming from the other end of the room stopped me.

Skinner and the other bikers whirled around, drawing weapons. I peered through hazy eyes to see a figure standing just inside the warehouse door, hands on his hips. Whoever he was, he looked like an action hero.

“Let her go. That one’s off limits.” I knew that voice. Blinking through a foggy haze, I realized who it was. It was Blade.

Skinner puffed up his chest and cocked his gun, although I could see fear dancing in his eyes as he squared off against Blade.

“You’re playin’ with fire here, Blade. You know this ain’t No Man’s Land. This is Crows territory. I could shoot you dead for setting foot in this warehouse.”

Blade didn’t even bat an eye. “You really want to start a war, Skinner?” he asked coolly, raising an eyebrow.

“Only if you’re stupid enough to try and lay claim to this bitch. She’s ours. Her daddy’s one of us. This don’t concern the Vipers.”

It was impossible to miss the menace in Skinner’s voice.

Even in my foggy brain, I could sense the tension rising. I knew any second, the rubber band was going to snap.

“She’s off limits. She belongs to me,” said Blade calmly, and I saw him draw a Walther from his belt.

I saw Skinner tense while Blade looked as calm as if this was a day at the beach.

And then, in a flash of movement, Skinner raised his gun to point it at Blade. He hadn’t even managed to get it level with Blade’s head before Blade had already fired.

The crack seemed to echo around the walls of the warehouse, and I saw a red hole appear in the back of Skinner’s head.

He took a surprised step backward and crashed into my cage, and his knees buckled. Then he crashed to the floor, his lifeless eyes staring in at me, the ring of keys clattering to the floor and out of reach next to him.

For a moment, there was silence. And then all the noises happened at once. Skinner’s bikers emptied their barrels at the place Blade had been standing.

But he’d jumped behind a crate, and the bullets hit nothing but wood.

Blade’s first retaliatory shot hit one of the Crows in the knee. He collapsed to the ground, bellowing in pain.

The second shot was through his temple.

Then his brothers were shouting, ducking for cover as Blade rained down a hail of bullets on their heads.

In all this chaos, I dove for the keys.

I reached through the bars, my fingers barely brushing the keyring.

But Skinner’s body was in the way. I growled in frustration.

Then I tried again, pushing as hard as I could against the bars, willing them to bend just one inch.

I felt my fingers brush the key ring again. I twisted my finger into a hook…

And managed to snare the ring around the edge of my finger.

I scrambled across the cage and furiously tried the key in the lock. It was jammed.

“Shit,” I cried out, and slammed the key with all my might into the lock. It slid in and turned.

With a burst of excitement, I watched the padlock fall to the ground. I pushed open the cage.

But just then, I heard the shooting stop.

I froze, halfway out of the cage.

I couldn’t see what was happening in the battle behind me, but I could hear the rumble of motorcycles outside the warehouse—surrounding us.

“Give it up, Blade. My boys have got you surrounded,” shouted a voice from outside.

A moment later, the crack of Blade’s Walther, then a thud, told me that the last Crow inside the warehouse was now dead. But now there were more surrounding the building.

Shit, shit, shit, I thought.

I was free from the cage, but Blade had just started a war with my father’s club, a club that was now surrounding the warehouse he was hiding in.

All too soon, they’d come bursting through those doors, and all hell would break loose.

I looked around the warehouse frantically and managed to spot a trapdoor in the corner.

Maybe if I could make it to the trapdoor, I could hide downstairs until the fighting was over, then sneak off home and pretend I had just been working later.

“Purple!”

I looked around with a start. Blade was crouched behind an old Mustang in the corner of the warehouse, gesturing frantically for me to go to him.

I looked back at the trapdoor, then at Blade.

I could hear the sound of bikers cocking their guns outside. Any moment now, they’d come barreling through these doors, and we’d be done for.

Oh, shit. I had to make a decision. Now…

DECIDE YOUR DESTINY

Should Violet run to Blade or escape through the trapdoor?

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