The Biker King's Forbidden Bride

THE DEVIL RIDERS

POV: Rhydian Voss

I pull my motorcycle into the clubhouse driveway after spending the whole evening dealing with a rival crew down by the docks, and I turn off the engine before walking inside the main room where my men are sitting around tables.

"Did you finish the meeting with the crew by the river?" Knox asks, looking up from his seat, as he sets his cup down on the table.

"Yes, they will not bother our shipments again," I say, taking off my gloves, before I ask, "Has anything else happened while I was out?"

"The Bratva has been active all night, three of their black cars have been driving up and down the boundary roads near our territory," Knox says, standing up to walk over to the map on the wall.

"Are they looking for a fight, or are they just driving around?" I ask, leaning against the counter, narrowing my eyes at him.

"We do not know yet, but they look like they are searching for something or someone, because they are stopping cars at every intersection," another member named Carter says, stepping into the room from the back.

"Tell the men at the front gate to stay sharp and keep their guns ready, because I am not going to let the Russians slip into our territory without a fight," I order, and Knox nods his head before walking toward the front door.

"Boss, you should take a look at the security monitor right now," Carter says, pointing at the screen on the wall, and I walk over to stand beside him.

We watch the camera feed as a damaged car comes speeding down the road toward our main gate, the engine makes a loud noise before the driver loses control of the wheel. The car hits the ditch right outside our boundary fence, the front ends up smashed against the post, as smoke rises from under the hood.

"Get your weapons out and follow me, because this could be a Bratva setup," I tell Carter and the rest of the guys in the room, and we step out into the yard with our guns drawn.

We walk up to the gate, the driver door of the wrecked car opens slowly, and a woman in a torn white wedding dress climbs out onto the ground. She takes two steps, before she stumbles on her dress, she looks around the gate with wide eyes like she is completely terrified.

"Wait a second, boss, I know that face from the news papers," Carter says, lowering his gun an inch, and he adds, "That is Maeve Vesper, the girl who is supposed to marry Dmitri Volkov tonight."

"Why is the Bratva bride running around in a wrecked car in front of our clubhouse?" Knox asks, stepping up beside me with his weapon held high.

"Shoot her or call the Russians to come pick up their property right now, because she is nothing but trouble for us," Carter says, pointing his gun right at her chest.

"Lower your weapons right now, all of you," I say, stepping in front of my men, and I glare at Carter until he drops his hands.

Maeve looks at us, as she tries to take another step toward the gate, but her knees give out, and she falls forward onto the dirt. I move fast and catch her before her head hits the ground, and I pull her up against my chest, I can feel how hard her heart is beating against her ribs.

"Do not touch me, please," she gasps, opening her eyes, and she looks at my leather vest before she looks up at my face.

"You are outside the Devil Riders clubhouse, bride, so you need to tell me why you are driving like a lunatic on my road," I say, keeping my grip firm on her arms.

"Please do not give me back to them, I beg you," she whispers, grabbing the front of my shirt with her small hands.

"Why should I keep you here and risk a war with the Volkov family?" I ask her, and I stare into her eyes.

"They are going to kill me," she says, and her voice shakes so much that I can barely hear her words, but she holds on to my shirt like her life depends on it.

"Who is going to kill you, girl?" I ask, leaning down closer to her face so she does not have to yell.

"Dmitri and my parents, because they arranged the whole thing, and they said I will be dead somewhere by midnight," she says, tears falling down her cheeks as she speaks, and she adds, "I heard them talking after I caught him with Odessa, and they said nobody would look for me."

Knox steps closer, and he looks down at her torn dress, and he says, "Boss, if the Russians are trying to put her in the ground, they are going to tear this whole road apart looking for her tonight."

"She is under my protection for now, so nobody touches her," I say, lifting her up from the ground into my arms, and I look at Carter and say, "Go get the first aid box from inside."

"Boss, you cannot be serious about taking in the Bratva's girl," Carter says, shaking his head, but he turns around and runs back toward the main building anyway.

"I said she stays here, so shut your mouth and move," I order, carrying Maeve through the open gate into our yard.

Maeve rests her head against my shoulder, as she breathes in short gasps, and she whispers, "Thank you, please do not let Dmitri take me."

"Dmitri will have to go through every single man in this club before he reaches you," I say, walking up the front steps of the clubhouse.

Before we can step inside the door, the sound of engines echoes down the long road, and bright lights flash through the trees near our fence line.

"Boss, we have company coming down the main drive real fast," Knox yells, pulling out his binoculars and looking toward the road.

"How many cars are out there?" I ask, stopping on the porch and turning around with Maeve still in my arms.

A convoy of black SUVs appears at the end of the road, and their high beams light up our entire front fence line, and they stop right in front of our gate.

One of Rhydian's men looks through his binoculars, and he lowers them slowly before turning around to face me.

“Boss…” Knox says, and he lowers the binoculars to his side, and he adds, “It's the Bratva.”