When Roses Collide

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The cab was filled with an uneasy silence as he pulled out onto the highway heading into town. Which, Travis sighed, he supposed was better than them beating the shit out of each other, but not by much. Though his jaw would probably disagree. The twinge of pain from gritting his teeth had him glancing at the guy sitting next him who was ultimately responsible for his current state of discomfort. Fuck, he was a good looking bastard even with the swollen lip he had managed to give him before Bo had broken them apart. Returning his gaze to the windshield, he had to fight the urge to throw him out of the truck while doing 60.

Gripping the steering wheel, Travis focused on the road in front of him. Normally, he wasn't a jealous kind of guy and if anyone he was with happened to be...then he was out of there. But fuck, there wasn't anything normal about this situation. For one thing, he loved her...deeply, so walking away wasn't even on the table. He should be one happy son of a bitch and he was...except the woman he found himself head over heels in love with lived with six possessive, good-looking assholes who seemed to know more about the situation around here than he did. But were being stubbornly tightlipped.

He glanced up at Harley's Ford following close behind and he could almost feel Bo's disapproving eyes boring into his back. It was enough to make even the most self-confident man stumble a little and lose his cool from time to time. Sighing, he refocused on the road. Thank fuck she had been a virgin or he'd be a real hot mess right now.

"How long have you known Harley?" Cade asked casually, breaking the silence.

"Long enough," Travis muttered, not really wanting to go there with him.

Cade laughed. "No need to be defensive, Princess. I was just trying to make conversation." Green eyes measured him up from across the cab.

"How long have you know her?" he found himself asking. What the hell, one good turn deserved another.

"Since the World Championship in Vegas." Cade looked out the window. "My brother and I were riding pickup duty."

"The night she fell."

Cade turned towards him. "She told you about that?"

Travis shrugged his shoulders. "I saw the video."

"It was a hell of scary night." Cade blew out a breath. "We all thought she was dead. When I reached her," he shook his head as if he could dispel the memory, "I just knew she was. But then...she reached out a hand and grabbed mine." He picked up his right hand and held it in front of him for a moment, flexing his fingers. "She's been holding it ever since."

"You love her," Travis stated, bristling at the words even though he was the one who spoke them.

"Yup." Cade smiled widely. "She's hard not to love."

Snorting, Travis pulled his hat lower. The urge to punch the shit out of the guy raging through his system as jealousy reached out and bitch slapped him.

"Calm down, Montgomery. I'm just jerking your chain." Cade chuckled. "I don't love her like that. She's like my little sister."

Relaxing a bit, Travis silently breathed out a sigh of relief.

Cade leaned over. "We all love her, but only one of us has actually dated her."

Well...shit!

Travis's hands tightened on the steering wheel and he was about to start interrogating the smug asshole when he spotted a black dot up ahead walking alongside the road. His attention swiftly switched gears as his heart fell to his back pockets when he realized it was Harley...without her bike.

"Dammit! She went down," Cade choked out in disbelief, turning his paled face to Travis. The smirk he had been wearing long gone.

"Fuck," Travis growled, pulling to the side of the road. Slamming on the brakes a few feet in front of her shocked face, he bailed out of the truck and ran towards her. The Ford behind him squealing to a tire smoking stop behind him.