OWNED BY THE BIKER KING

Chapter 4

Without realizing how far our legs had carried us, we finally arrived at a desolate stretch of road, far away from the flashing lights of the city.

Rain continued to drench us as Ryder pulled out his phone, his breathing still heavy from the sprint. He quickly dialed a number, ordering someone to pick us up immediately before Zack’s men or the cops managed to catch our trail again.

Not long after, the piercing beams of headlights cut through the darkness. A sleek, black luxury car glided to a halt in front of us. But strangely… the doors remained locked. No one stepped out to greet us. The windows were heavily tinted, reflecting nothing but the stormy night.

Left with no other choice, and clearly running out of patience, Ryder let out a frustrated, low hiss before pulling out his phone once more. This time, he didn’t call a lackey. He dialed his older brother.

A few minutes later, another vehicle arrived, cutting through the heavy downpour like a silent predator. It was a customized, bulletproof black SUV that screamed obscene wealth. The car stopped right in front of us, and the back door clicked open.

Ryder grabbed my hand, guiding me into the plush leather interior before sliding in beside me. Upfront, a driver sat in absolute silence, staring straight ahead. But it was the man sitting across from us in the back seat who made the air instantly vanish from my lungs.

The atmosphere inside the car became painfully, suffocatingly tense. No one spoke. Not a single word.

Cold fear began creeping through my veins, chilling me from the inside out. Shivering violently from the rain, I instinctively tightened my grip on Ryder’s hand, seeking any anchor I could find. Ryder didn’t pull away; his large, calloused fingers instantly shifted, locking perfectly with mine, offering a silent warmth that sent a strange jolt through my racing pulse. Even in this terrifying situation, his touch felt like the only safe place left on earth.

Meanwhile, his brother remained completely unfazed by our disheveled appearance. He was entirely focused on his work, his eyes scanning a glowing tablet as he calmly flipped through digital pages, acting as if a shoot-out hadn’t just occurred because of his family name. Everything about him screamed absolute, untouchable power.

I sat as quietly as possible, shivering in my soaked clothes. The heavy silence inside the car was deafening.

Suddenly—

“You’re staring.”

The man's deep, baritone voice cut through the silence like a blade.

My breath hitched violently. I immediately lowered my gaze to my lap, my heart pounding so hard against my ribs I was afraid they could hear it. “I-I’m sorry…” I whispered, hating how weak my voice sounded.

For the first time since we entered the car, the man finally looked up from his tablet. His cold, piercing eyes landed directly on me, stripping away every defense I thought I had.

Before the fear could completely paralyze me, Ryder suddenly moved. In one swift, possessive motion, he wrapped his heavy arm around my waist and pulled me flush against his side, effectively shielding half of my body from his brother's lethal gaze. The heat radiating from Ryder's broad chest instantly fought off my chills, making my skin tingle where our bodies met.

“She doesn’t belong in this mess, Luca,” Ryder said quietly beside me, his voice tight, his grip on my waist tightening as if declaring I was his to protect.

Luca leaned back against the expensive leather seat, his eyes studying me carefully, like a predator deciding if a stray animal was worth keeping or discarding.

Then, he spoke again. “That depends.”

I frowned slightly, burying myself deeper into Ryder's warm side. “Depends on what?”

A faint, chilling smirk appeared on Luca’s lips. “On whether she already knows too much.”

The air inside the car instantly turned so thick it felt difficult to breathe. Beside me, I could feel Ryder’s entire posture shift as his muscles hardened into absolute fury. He leaned forward slightly, placing his body even more protectively over mine.

“Don’t scare her,” Ryder warned, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low octave that vibrated right through my spine.

Luca let out a small, humorless chuckle before returning his cold attention to the tablet in his hand, dismissing us just as quickly as he had acknowledged us.

“I’m not the one she should be afraid of.”

I froze, the words echoing in my mind. What did he mean… I'm not the one she should be afraid of?

Slowly, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, I tilted my head up to look at Ryder. But Ryder completely avoided my gaze, his jaw tight as he stared blankly out the rain-splattered window.

For the first time since I stepped off that bus in Black Creek, a terrifying yet dizzying realization washed over me. I began to wonder… who exactly was Ryder Kane? And who was the brother that commanded him so easily?

And somehow, despite the danger surrounding his name, the way Ryder's hand still tightly held onto mine made my heart skip a beat in a way that scared me even more than the men chasing us.

To be continued.