To Betray A Brother (15 page)

Penny accelerated through the curve in the road. He sat just behind and to her right as they rode through the mountains toward the secret lake. The bikes were loaded for a camping trip. They both agreed they needed to get away for a couple of days with everything that had occurred, just the two of them. The yellow wild flowers lining the verge perfumed the air. Bryce breathed deeply, their scent adding depth to the scenery refreshing and revitalizing him as they rode.

A siren cut though the valley and shattered the peace. Bryce looked in his mirror. A police officer on a motorcycle filled the glass. He started to slow and move toward the side of the road, but the hair on the back of his neck stood up and screamed at him. He looked into the mirror again. Something was not right. What? He glanced at Penny who had slowed and not yet stopped. He looked into the mirror again. The officer pulled closer, enabling Bryce to see tell-tale details. The rider was unshaven, and the decals on the bike were wrong, from a different state.

He braked and swerved to the opposite side of the road. Taken by surprise, the officer's motorcycle pulled alongside. Both men braked hard. Bryce slid onto the grassed verge, laying the bike down. It slid, Bryce leapt clear and rolled coming up on one knee. His hand closed on the Glock, ripping it from his waistband.

The officer’s bike screeched to a stop behind Penny. He snatched his pistol from it holster. The muzzle flashed. Bryce squeezed the trigger. The Glock kicked in his hand. The roar of blood filled his ears. Their attacker lurched backward, a red stain appearing on his chest. Bryce fired again. The second round exploded the officer’s helmet with the shrapnel taking part off his head. The officer hit the ground, pinned by his motorcycle.

Crouching low as he ran, Bryce raced across the road. His pistol never moved from their attacker. He kicked the pistol from the body, knelt placing his fingers against the man’s throat. Nothing. He turned to Penny.

* * * *

Muscles screamed, refusing to move.
Dive to the ground.
In slow motion the officer pointed his pistol at her. She stared into the abyss of death. The gun flashed. The noise was deafening. Still she couldn’t move. A red stream spurted from his chest as he pitched backward.

She heard it this time. A deafening crack from Bryce's direction and the top of the man's helmet exploded in front of her. Bryce appeared, beside the officer. How did he get there? Where did he come from? He bent down and touched the officer's throat. He had a pistol in his hand. Where did that come from?

She tried to move. Her muscles still refused. Her body started to shake. The sight of a police officer pinned beneath a motorcycle with his skull blown apart was more than she could cope with.

Bryce's arms wrapped around her, securing her, making her safe. Nothing he said made any sense. His words were just noise in her ears. His hands were hot as they touched her, even though her riding leathers they burned. His heart beat against hers, hard and fast as they stood on the side the road wrapped in each other's arms.

"Are you okay?" Bryce's words began to make sense. "Are you all right? Did he hit you?" Bryce's hands gripped her shoulders as he held her at arm's length. He shook her, looking her up and down. "Penny! Penny!" The urgency in his voice, cut through the fog in her mind.

“I’m okay, Bryce.”

She shook her head. "Go? Go where? What just happened here? You shot a police officer!"

Bryce pulled her close. His lips sought hers, hot, salty from sweat. He broke the kiss and pushed her helmet back onto her head and tied the strap.

"We have to go. You need to ride."

She shook her head again. It started to pound. Bryce cupped her face in his calloused hands and forced her to look at him. "You
must
ride. Even if we go just ten miles up the road. We cannot leave your bike or anything else here. Do you understand?"

She nodded, slowly. What had just happened? She breathed, snatching the air in gasps as the reality of what lay in front of her sunk in.

Bryce took her by the shoulders and looked directly in to her eyes, forcing her to focus her attention on him.

"Penny. I love you. Do you trust me?"

She nodded, the words were out of her mouth before she knew it. "Bryce, how can I not? Yes-yes, I love you, I just wish you could explain more to me."

“In the future, when this whole business is finished, I’ll explain everything to you. I promise. For now, Penny, just trust me to do everything I need to do to protect you.”

The future could not come too soon, but for now, she loved him and trusted him. It had to be enough.