Read Protected (Divided Loyalties) for Free Online

her up onto the bike behind him, started the engine, and roared off down the dirt path, cursing the entire way. She could tell that he was as panicked as she was, and for the first time it struck her how much he really was risking just to protect her.
    Being a cop was one thing. Rescuing a cop was another.
     
    As the motorcycle roared down the road, other engines started gunning to life and she knew they wouldn't be far behind them. She held tightly to his waist and crushed her face against his back to shield her eyes from the flying rocks and sand that the tires were kicking up. He spun off to the side, down a path he knew well, and just in time for the other bikes to drive past them. He continued down what was more of a dirt path than an actual road, and each bump and dip made her think they would end up in a fiery crash.
    They rode for over an hour, getting as far from the Death Adder's main hideout as possible. Then finally, he had to stop for gas. He pulled into a gas station and she climbed off the back of the bike.
    “Thank you,” she mumbled as he started to fill the tank. He glanced over at her, and saw the tension in her muscles.
    “What, are you going to run?” he asked with a shake of his head. “That wasn't enough for you to trust me?”
    “Well , since you were the one who took me,” she pointed out.
    “I took you because I had to, Alexa. I could have let them kill you right there on the spot, I took you because I needed to buy you some time. If you were dead, there was no way I could protect you. But if you want to go, go, please,” he shrugged. “I'm not holding you captive.”
    She stared at him. “Why did you protect me?” she asked curiously.
    “Because, Alexa,” he smiled faintly. “You and I aren't so different.”
    She found that incredibly hard to believe, considering that he was a criminal and she was a cop, but she didn't point it out. Instead, she just gave him a slight nod and started to walk toward the nearest pay phone.
     

Chapter 7
     
    She put in a call to her partner, Matthew, who had been frantically searching for her since the night before. He had found her ID in the alley where Lou had flung it, after responding to reports of shots fired at the bar, and knew that something bad had happened to her.
    “I need you to pick me up,” she said into the phone.
    “From where?” he asked.
    “I'm not really sure,” she said as she started to turn around to ask Nick. But the spot where Nick and his bike had been were now empty. She squinted at the sign for the gas station and told him the name of it.
    “I'll be there in ten minutes,” he promised. “Stay safe.”
    Alexa walked into the gas station, keeping in plain view of the video cameras. She had nothing. No purse, no ID, and no weapon. Even though she knew she shouldn't, she felt disappointed that Nick had left. He had saved her life, he had protected her from what could have happened, and all she had managed was a feeble thank you.
    When Matthew arrived to pick her up, she told him the whole sordid story.
    “I have no idea who this guy was,” she admitted as she described Nick to him. “Dark hair, green eyes, muscular, I've never seen him in any of the files on the Death Adders, but he saved my life. And I'm pretty sure they're going to kill him for it.”
    “He's still a Death Adder,” Matthew reminded her tersely.
    “I know, I know,” she sighed, recalling the way he had gazed into her eyes. “I just wish there was a way we could protect Nick , he really risked everything to protect me.”
    “Did you say Nick?” he asked with surprise, something about the description of the man and his name triggering a memory in the back of his mind.
    “Yes, why?” she asked in return as he drove her home.
    “Nick, I've heard that name, he's on our list,” he frowned as he made a phone call. His reference to 'our list' she knew meant that he was one of the few gang members they were not permitted to arrest or use lethal