Edge of Ashes (Sons of Ash Motorcycle Club) by Brynn O'Connor Page A

below is in for
a real surprise. I tap Adam on the shoulder and when he twists around I present
my empty hand as evidence to my clumsiness.
    He doesn’t get and pantomimes shooting the
biker again. This time I reach around his shoulders so I can display both my
hands at once. His jerking head movements are my first indications of his
disapproval. I can almost hear the sting of profanity issuing from his
mouth.  I think he got the picture.
    Suddenly my own head jerks forward,
bouncing off Adam’s back. The snapping motion on my neck is almost enough to
make me see stars.
    “What the hell?”
    Now I can hear a whistling noise coming
from somewhere in my helmet and it feels like there’s a new stream of air
caressing the top of my head. Confused, I reach up with my right hand and feel
around my helmet. My hand freezes as my finger finds a hole big enough to stick
my thumb in.
    “Oh my god...”
    Suddenly I experience this unbelievably
powerful urge to just jump off the bike. Anything seems better than sitting
here with a bulls eye on my...my helmet. I can’t believe that guy just shot me
in my helmet. That projectile could have easily ricocheted around and then
brained me instead of just exiting and leaving me unharmed. As irrational as it
would be to just leap off a motorcycle at any speed it just seems like the next
logical step to avoiding the inevitable progression to death by being shot off
the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
    A sudden loud explosion next to my head
jars me back to our present predicament. I just about jump out of my skin as
four more explosions in rapid succession go off next to my left ear. I look
over and Adam is actually trying to shoot a giant handgun while driving the
bike. I twist my head around and it’s actually working. The other biker has
fallen way behind us and pretty soon is out of any realistic range of hitting
us. I experience a newfound respect for my kinda sort of biker boyfrie-. I
don’t know if I’m ready to call him that. He’s more like the biker I secretly
loathe but almost slept with in front of my sister and our paperboy kind of
guy; not boyfriend material…yet.
    A sudden swerve of the bike nearly tosses
me onto the roadway. Adam stops shooting and turns his attention back to the
driving thing. It’s a good thing too because we’re getting into those hairpin
curves again. This should keep the other guy from being able to get a clear
shot off and it we can just make it to the next town we may just get out of
this one unscathed; well except for my helmet that just got itself murdered.
    I have always had a strong stomach, and
it’s a good thing too because I’m beginning to feel a little nauseated from all
the leaning from side to side as we wind around the never ending coastal road
of Highway One. I hazard another look behind us but I can’t see our assailant
anywhere. Probably because there are still too many tight turns separating us.
We go around one more long bend and suddenly a gas station pops up just ahead,
followed by a sting of buildings; a town at last.
    Adam slows down as we enter the town of
Cedars, population 807. As we head through town Adam seems to be looking for
something specific. His head wags from side to side and he slows even more. I
look behind again and see our friend the helmet murderer has just entered the
edge of town too. He’s got both hands on the bike so at least he’s stopped his
violent outbursts. Finally I can relax. I take a deep breath and let it out as
my arms relax their iron grip around Adams waist. Too bad for me the instant I
choose as my relaxation time is just the moment Adam chooses to make a hard
right down an alley. Abruptly my world is spinning topsy- turvy, round and
round just before my shoulder strikes the roadway, followed by my helmet,
followed by my losing consciousness.
    “I think she’s coming around.” Declares a
female’s voice not far from me.
    “No…she’s still out.” Says a familiar