Ride Wild (Raven Riders 3)

Cora unleashed a long, satisfied exhale. “I love this car.”

Slider chuckled so hard it turned into an outright laugh, and then she was laughing too—at the ridiculousness of what she’d said and in delight at his still too-rare laughter. They were still chuckling as they righted their clothes, got in her red baby, and drove up the mountain to the clubhouse.

The lot was already pretty full, but at least she wasn’t too late. Five after ten didn’t seem bad for having had such an earth-shattering orgasm.

Slider grasped her hand as she reached for her door, tugging her to him for one last contact before they had to try to keep their hands to themselves again. His kiss was a deep, lingering affair that made it clear he was in no hurry to part from her. But more bikes pulled in, and they resolved themselves to a few last hours of being good.

Cora didn’t know if it was easier or harder after they’d just been so bad.

Inside, music, voices, and laughter greeted them as they wound through the lounge and the mess hall to find Bunny, Haven, and Alexa in the kitchen. All three looked up when Cora walked in, and then all three did double takes as Slider came in immediately after her.

“Hey, how can I help?” Cora asked.

“Put me to work, too, if you want,” Slider said, his voice quiet and a little reserved.

Cora could feel her friends’ surprise—and almost hear the million questions pinging around in their heads—but of course they didn’t let on a thing with Slider, and happily asked for his help to carry the heavy Crock-Pots of meatballs and chili out to the mess hall tables. Race night parties were always buffet style, as usually there were too many people to try to seat them all.

Soon, beyond the immediate din of the music, the night went quieter, a sign that the races had ended. Within fifteen minutes, the clubhouse was rocking as race-goers filtered in, grabbed food, drank at the bar, and generally raised hell.

Cora loved the atmosphere of this place, even its rowdier, grittier side. Because it seemed so real. People who knew who they were and what they valued and weren’t afraid to live their lives by their own rules.

She got the appeal of the Raven Riders. She truly did. And that was to say nothing of how much she admired the protective mission they’d embraced on top of it all.

For the next hour, she and Slider parted as she hung with the girls and he sought out the boys and his brothers. Laughing and talking and teasing and joking, for the first time in her life, Cora felt normal. Accepted. A part of something so much bigger than her—friendships, a relationship, a community. She thought about pulling Haven aside to tell her about Slider and what her dad had done, but tonight she just wanted to be.

When Slider found her again, she was still with the girls drinking wine around the kitchen table. “Hey Cora, can I steal you away for a minute?”

She didn’t miss the way Haven’s eyes bugged in a something’s going on and you’ll be telling me ALL look that made Cora bite back a grin, and then she was following Slider through the clubhouse and all the way to Dare’s office in the back hallway. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he said. “But I wanted you to share what you witnessed earlier with some of the guys.”

“Wow, do you think the Ravens can help find out something about this dogfighting?” she asked, hope snaking through her belly.

Slider stopped just before opening Dare’s door. “Sweetheart, the Ravens have got ears, eyes, and friends just about everywhere. Never forget that.”

“Good to know,” she said.

He nodded and opened the door.

Chapter 18

Cora walked into a room full of the entire Ravens’ board. Well, everyone except Jagger.

Dare, Maverick, Phoenix, and Caine waited for them as she and Slider closed themselves inside Dare’s small office. The guys were laid back and totally friendly, but Cora didn’t think she was imagining the current of tension under the surface.

And then, of all people, Caine McKannon was the one to speak first. “Cora, we need to know exactly what you saw and heard. Don’t leave anything out.” This wasn’t Cora’s first interaction with the Ravens’ most intimidating member. He’d been her and Haven’s point of contact for creating their new identities when they’d at first thought they’d be relocated away from the club. But with each new interaction, Caine never seemed even a little more approachable or knowable. And it wasn’t just his pitch-black hair always covered in a black skullcap, or his fathomless ice-blue eyes, or the gauges in his ears, or the miles of ink that covered even his throat.

It was something untouchable inside him.

So she rushed to give him exactly what he asked for, starting with hearing the barking dog, and ending with watching the men’s blue truck drive away and calling the shelter.