Impulsive Saint (All Saints Security Series Book 2) Read online

  “Is that your motorcycle?” Her words came out breathy and low. She frowned and cleared her throat, then raised her chin and asked again with more confidence, “Does this motorcycle belong to you?”

  “Uh… yeah.” He glanced down at the sleek black and chrome motorcycle that was his pride and joy as if he was seeing it for the first time. He chewed his gum for a long second as he stared at the pretty, wrecked girl and then shook his head. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on but…”

  “What’s going on is that I needed to get out of there and then I come out that back door and bam, there it is, just like in all my dreams. Check one off the bucket list.”

  Tyler raised an eyebrow, completely lost when she pointed at his bike again, “What?”

  “The motorcycle. It’s just like I imagined. That’s got to mean something right? I mean, if I wasn’t doing the right thing then the motorcycle wouldn’t be here. It’s like a sign. This is the path I’m supposed to be on.”

  He was beginning to worry that the Senator’s daughter had snapped. She wasn’t making any sense. He’d heard that the stress of undertaking a large wedding could tip some brides over the edge and Ashtyn Echols, for as much as he knew of her from the gossip columns and tabloids, had always been very calm and controlled. If she’d lost it, he had to find someone to help her.

  “Look…” he said again but she spoke at the same time.

  “Well?”

  “Well what?” he shot back, still confused.

  “Well, are you going to get me out of here or not?” She put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips as if he was the one acting strangely.

  Tyler opened his mouth, shut it again and shrugged.

  Ashtyn blew out a rough breath and her face crumpled, all the false bravado of a moment ago, gone, “Please help me, I can’t get married today and I can’t face all of them right now. They’re going to come out here looking for me soon. They’re going to want explanations that I don’t have and my dad… oh God, I can’t deal with my dad right now. Please, just get me out of here. I’ll pay you…I’ll pay you whatever you want. We just need to go, now.”

  It was the way her full bottom lip trembled that had him nodding his head before he’d even really thought it through. She was desperate, that much was obvious from the wild look in her eyes and her disheveled appearance.

  He’d been late for the wedding but he hadn’t missed it, he realized. He hadn’t missed it because it hadn’t happened. And from the looks of it, it was canceled, whether the groom or the guests knew it yet or not.

  He couldn’t imagine what the mayor could have done to make Ashtyn Echols call it all off. Had she caught him cheating on her? No…that couldn’t be it. He’d heard enough about the young politician to know that he wasn’t the kind to court a scandal.

  From what Tyler remembered of the file, the mayor was a protégé of Ashtyn’s stuffy Senator father, the man he was grooming to follow in his political footsteps. This marriage was supposed to be the start of something much bigger, a run for office that might even reach the White House someday. A guy like that wouldn’t risk getting caught with his pants down on his wedding day, so something else must have sent the bride careening down a back alley like a hellhound was nipping at her heels.

  He didn’t know what it was and now wasn’t the time to ask, but he knew it must have been something big.

  Whatever it was, it had turned her into a runaway bride. And the runaway bride wanted him to put her on the back of his motorcycle and get her out of here.

  Maybe he was a fuckup, just like everyone thought he was, but he couldn’t just leave a woman that looked like she’d been crying alone in an alleyway when she was begging him to take her somewhere, anywhere, else.

  He ground his teeth together, smashing the last of the flavor out of his second piece of gum before turning and spitting it on the ground, “Yeah, okay. Get on, princess.”

  Ashtyn’s eyes widened and he thought she was going to remark about the silly nickname but she only stared at him in shock, “Really?”

  “Yes, really. You want to get out of here? Let’s go. Like you said, they’ll be looking for you, so time is of the essence here.”

  Without waiting for her response, Tyler slid one leg over the bike. He flipped a switch to turn the battery on. When he glanced back at Ashtyn, she still hadn’t moved.

  Shit. Maybe this was just another one of his bad ideas. He should probably go find someone to take her off his hands. Whatever had happened to send her running on her wedding day had clearly upset her and she was in no state of mind to go riding off on the back of a motorcycle with a man that was a complete stranger to her.

  “Okay, how about we go back inside?” Tyler started to flip the engine back off but Ashtyn shook her head.

  “No. No, I just… yeah. Okay, I can do this. Let’s go.”

  She took a deep breath as if she was mustering her courage and then she shimmied the dress up to her thighs. Tyler did the gentlemanly thing and looked away. It felt wrong looking at her thin, pale thighs once he got an eyeful of the lace garter that was supposed to be meant for only her future husband to see. He shook away that strange thought and a moment later a small hand was on his shoulder and then he felt Ashtyn behind him. She straddled the motorcycle and slid her body against his. She gripped his biceps once she’d gotten her dress settled around her. She seemed almost proud of herself when she tapped his arms, as if he could take off now.

  He frowned, “Hold on.”

  “I-I thought I was.” Her voice was soft and hesitant and he cursed himself yet again for being late, but more so for being a sucker for a pretty girl.

  Of course Ashtyn Echols had never been on a motorcycle before. That had to be what she was babbling about earlier. This would be her first time on the back of a bike and she was wearing a gigantic wedding dress that got in the way and flip-flops instead of boots. He almost rethought the entire thing in that moment and told her to get off his bike because he wasn’t taking her anywhere but the way her small hands squeezed his biceps stopped him.

  “Like this?” she asked tentatively.

  “No.” He sighed as he grabbed her by the wrists and pulled. Her body slammed against his back and he could feel the soft globes of her breasts through their clothes. He swallowed hard as he put her arms around his waist. Her hands were resting dangerously close to his crotch in this position and thinking about her breasts was going to cause a situation neither of them were prepared for. He shook off the insane rush of hormones that reacted to the simple presence of a pretty girl on his bike, wrapped around him, and forced out the words. “Hold on tight like this, okay?”

  “Okay.” Ashtyn whispered into his back. “Just don’t kill us. That’s not on my bucket list.”

  He had no idea what she was talking about but he snorted and revved the engine, “Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  He found an opening in traffic and released the brake as he pressed the accelerator. The bike jumped the curb and they swerved onto the road. The truck he’d cut off honked at them but he barely heard it over the sound of Ashtyn’s squeals of delight. At least he hoped they were delight. She wasn’t screaming at him to stop so he took that as a good sign and when she squeezed herself even closer to him, he let instinct take control.

  He found an opening and gunned it. They went flying through traffic, weaving in and out until they hit the highway. As soon as he had the open road in front of him, he opened up and let the bike roar. The only sound he could hear over the wind rushing past his ears was Ashtyn screaming something that sounded a hell of a lot like dive even though that made about as much sense as everything else she’d said so far.

  Or maybe, he felt her move with the motorcycle, a complete natural to this new feeling of flying, that wasn’t what she’d said at all.

  Maybe what she’d said was, I’m alive!

  That made him smile because it was exactly how being on his bike made him feel. Alive. Strong. Invincible.
It was a heady feeling driving seventy down an open road with nothing to protect you.

  But he wasn’t an idiot. He hadn’t grabbed a helmet because he hadn’t been going far today. If he’d known he was going to have a passenger, he’d have grabbed two. As it was, he didn’t plan on taking her that far and he was a good driver. That was the thing about being on a motorcycle with someone that knew what they were doing. She was as safe as could be, but she probably felt like she was playing with fire, flirting with danger and tempting fate.

  He could give that to her. If that was what she needed, to be free for just a few minutes, he could do that for her. And maybe that meant he hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time like he’d thought when he turned around and saw her in that alley. Maybe she was right and he, and his motorcycle, were supposed to be there waiting for her to make her great escape.

  He’d take her back to his apartment. He’d call Vaughn and let him know she was safe. The Senator would send someone to come pick her up. Ashtyn would go back to her normal life, whether she ended up getting married or not. And at least Tyler would have a good story to tell tonight when he hit the bars, drinking and swapping stories with his friends.

  A good story and a memory that made him smile because for once, he hadn’t been the bad guy. He’d gotten to play the savior. That was a first, and probably a last too.

  3

  It felt like flying.

  Ashtyn wanted to spread her arms out wide and feel the wind pull at her limbs but she didn’t dare let go of the man in front of her. He’d been very clear that she was to hang on tight for this ride and since one of her dreams was finally coming true, she didn’t want him to stop any more than she wanted to die because she hadn’t listened.

  She was enjoying herself more than she had in… well, in far too long. She felt lighter like this, as if the rush of air against her skin brushed away all of the doubts and fears and worries.

  The motorcycle slowed and Ashtyn frowned.

  She glanced around for the first time since they’d left downtown and she swallowed a gasp. They weren’t in the city anymore. She’d been aware when they merged onto the highway but she hadn’t realized just how far they’d driven since. They were outside of Nashville now, on the edges of the suburbs. She had a friend that lived somewhere near here but it wasn’t exactly the best area to be in, especially with the sun starting to set.

  For the first time since she hopped on the back of the motorcycle, she felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. She was alone, with a strange man that she didn’t know, and she wasn’t in control. He could drive her anywhere and she didn’t even have her cell phone to call for help.

  Seeing a strip mall just off the highway, she tapped on his stomach without releasing her grip and yelled so he could hopefully hear her over the wind, “Can you pull over?”

  Ashtyn bit her lip nervously as her getaway driver nodded and pulled to a stop in an empty part of the lot. She could breathe again once they stopped moving and she realized that he hadn’t been taking her somewhere private to kill her. They were in public, even if the parking lot was mostly empty. There were likely cameras. He wouldn’t hurt her here, even if that had been his intention.

  He dropped the kickstand as he twisted slightly and she realized she was supposed to let go of him now. She had to force her fists to release their grip on him and as he slid out from his spot in front of her, she felt the cool evening air seep in for the first time. He’d been her anchor while they sped down the highway, the wind whipping against them, and without him she slid down into the curve of the leather motorcycle seat.

  Instinctively, she reached out to grab the handlebars but a gruff voice stopped her cold, “Don’t touch that.”

  “I’m sorry.” She pulled her hand away as if she’d been burned. “I was just trying to steady myself.”

  “Yeah, me too.” He snorted and when she glanced up at him his hands were on his hips, “So spill, you wanted away. We’re away. Nobody’s chasing us, so let me in on your plan. What the hell happened back there, Ashtyn?”

  Her breath caught in her throat when he used her name. Her eyes widened and she tried to put distance between them. If she hadn’t been straddling the motorcycle, she would have been more graceful, she was sure of it. As it was though, she pushed backwards instinctively, backing away from the man, got her flip flop caught on the kickstand and went sprawling to the concrete with a wail as her ass hit the ground.

  “Jesus.” The man growled and to her dismay grabbed for the motorcycle to keep it upright, “You nearly knocked Baby over. Be careful.”

  From her sprawled position on the ground, surrounded by yards of taffeta, she looked up at him from suspicious eyes, “You call your motorcycle Baby?”

  He shrugged and she groaned. That hadn’t been what she meant to ask, not at all. Even if it was kind of adorable that this big, buff, badass motorcycle riding guy, called his bike, Baby. She needed to get it together.

  “You called me Ashtyn.” she accused.

  “Of course I called you Ashtyn. What the hell else am I supposed to call you, your highness?”

  “H-How do you know my name?” She wiped at her hands as she tried to pull herself up from the ground, “Oh my God. Did I help you kidnap me? Is that why you were waiting in that back alley?”

  He snorted with laughter when she tripped over the huge billowing skirt and fell backwards again, “No, I did not kidnap you. You asked me for a ride, remember?”

  “But…”

  “Oh come on, I know your name because your face has been plastered in newspapers since you were just a kid. You’re Senator Echols’ daughter.” He came around the bike, towards her.

  “Which is why you could be a stalker or a…”

  He made a low, annoyed noise, but offered her his hand to help her up from the ground, “I’m not a stalker, a kidnapper or an axe murderer before you get any other crazy ideas in your head. I was at the church for the wedding. Of course I know who you are, Ashtyn. I’m not an idiot.”

  Ashtyn tried not to frown as she stared at the strange man that she didn’t know at all. He’d been at the church for her wedding? He wasn’t one of her guests. He must have been one of Aaron’s then, right? But if that was true why would he have helped her run away from the wedding? He cleared his throat and with no other choice she took his hand, letting him pull her upright until she was back on her feet.

  “Thank you.” she huffed, struggling to straighten the massive monstrosity of a dress.

  “You’re welcome.” His lips curled into a small smile, “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

  “Question?” she repeated dumbly, suddenly star-struck by the dimples that appeared when he grinned at her like that.

  He was handsome, she realized. Only no, that wasn’t the right word. Men like Aaron were handsome. This man was just plain hot. Sexy even.

  He had dark brown hair, longer on top, and the ends were tinted a lighter color, as if he spent a lot of time outdoors. He had a straight nose, square jaw and a wide smile that was accented by those deep dimples on each side. But it was his eyes that put his good looks over the top. With his dark hair she’d have expected brown, hazel, or maybe even green. Instead they were the lightest blue, so sharp they were nearly silver, ringed in a deep midnight that made his dark lashes stand out.

  She’d been so caught up in her escape plan and the miracle of miracles that a man with a motorcycle was waiting at the end of the alley when she escaped, that she hadn’t really even looked at him. He could have been anyone. Old. Young. Bearded like Santa Claus or with teeth like a troll. She hadn’t been paying attention but now that she was, she couldn’t believe that she’d been holding on tight to this strong Adonis of a man for the last half hour and not even realized her good fortune.

  Muscles and dimples and blue eyes, oh my!

  “Yeah.” He raised a dark eyebrow, pulling her back to reality, “I think it’s about time you explain yourself. Just what
the hell happened back there that turned you into a runaway bride?”

  Explain herself? Her hackles rose at his demanding tone. She’d spent her entire life explaining herself to men. First her father and then Aaron. She didn’t owe this stranger any explanations.

  “I don’t have to explain myself to you. I don’t even know you.”

  That made his silver blue eyes narrow again and he pointed a finger at her, “You’re right, you don’t know me. I could have been anyone and I could’ve taken you for any reason. You were an idiot to go riding off on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle as if you didn’t have a care in the world.”

  “Excuse me?” She gaped at him.

  “What? Excuse you and your entitled little ass for thinking I’d just chauffer you wherever you wanted to go, no questions asked? Sorry, princess. I’m going to need a little more information than that.”

  She stared at him, mouth open, for a long moment. She had never, ever, been spoken to like this before in her life. Nobody who knew her would have dared to yell at her, to call her an idiot or point out just how entitled she was. The people in her world were too used to kissing her father’s ass and sucking up to her to call her out, let alone curse at her.

  She tilted her chin up and glared back at the gorgeous bastard, “First off, stop calling me princess.”

  “Stop acting like one.” he taunted back.

  “Second.” she continued, ignoring him, “I don’t appreciate being called an idiot. I’ll have you know I’m actually very smart. I was valedictorian of my class and I graduated UT with a degree in…”

  “If you’re so smart, you should know better than to take rides from strangers.”

  Her jaw clenched and she would have sworn that steam came out of her nose. He had a point but she wasn’t going to admit that. Not when he’d all but called her a spoiled rotten brat with more money than sense.

  “In case you didn’t notice, I had a lot going on back there.” She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly and lied, “Besides, you’re dressed for the wedding which means you must have been on the guest list, which means you’ve been vetted by my father and you’re not some sort of deranged stalker. If you’d looked dangerous, I wouldn’t have gotten on the bike with you.”