Laura Kaye: Hard As You Can

Out of nowhere, Shane, Marz, and Easy closed in. Without a word, Shane pushed her behind a stack of railroad ties, then joined the others approaching the truck. Shane and Easy at the ready with their guns, Marz put his hand on the doorknob, then counted to three on his fingers and wrenched it open.

Easy and Shane braced as Bruno slid—as if in slow motion—and fell sideways out of the seat but then hung by his foot as if it were caught. A sickening crunch of bone rent the air, and for a moment, the engine revved louder. The guys jumped back from the truck as it fishtailed in the wet dirt. And then Bruno’s body fell free of the Suburban’s cab entirely, and the engine calmed to an idle.

Shane reached for the back door, and Sara took off from her hiding place, needing to know, needing to see with her own eyes. Had Bruno been lying all along? Did he not have Jenna with him? Had he sold or killed her after all? A sob tore from her chest, and it felt like she was running through quicksand.

Leaning into the backseat, Shane paused, then turned as if bearing a weight in his arms. Easy appeared right beside him. “Give her to me,” he said. “Take care of your girl.”

“Jenna! Jenna!” Sara cried, almost tripping into Easy and her sister. She stroked Jenna’s face, tears blurring her vision. Unconscious. Bruised. Bloody. And those were just the things she could see. But she was alive, and they were together, and Shane had done exactly what he’d promised.

Jenna’s eyes fluttered, and she groaned.

“Let me take her to the truck, Sara, okay?” Easy asked, staring at Jenna’s face. “Let’s get her home.”

“She’s alive, Sara. Just passed out. But she’s alive,” came Shane’s raspy voice from behind her.

Sara whirled and threw herself into Shane’s arms. “Thank you. Thank you. Oh, my God, thank you. You saved both our lives tonight,” she cried.

“No, sweetness,” he said, in a strangled tone as he held her more tightly in his arms. “I saved all three of us tonight.” The thunder of the motorcycles closed in again. “Come on, let’s go,” Shane said against her ear. He had a quick conversation with one of the Ravens, who offered to deal with the scene there so the men could get Jenna and Sara to safety. Shane thanked them and guided her to his truck.

“Get in,” Marz called from the driver’s seat, the engine already started.

Shane opened the back door for her and she climbed into the middle. Easy held Jenna on his lap like a gentle giant. Sara ran her gaze over Jenna, so damn relieved to see her again, and smiled at Easy as Shane climbed in beside her. He pulled her in tight against his side.

The truck took off into the night. Away from Bruno, away from the crisis, away from the threat of pain and death.

Emotion lodged a knot in Sara’s throat, and she tilted her face to Shane’s. “I love you so much.” A thought came to mind as if someone else had put it there, but Sara knew the truth of it to her very soul. Looking into Shane’s eyes, she said, “Molly would’ve been so proud of you tonight. I know I am.”

Shane’s breathing hitched, and he blinked toward the roof. He shook his head and met her gaze again. “I can’t lose you, Sara. Not after all this. Bruno’s dead. Confessions is gone. Nick’s team intercepted a huge cache of guns and the money that was supposed to buy them from Bruno, which is probably why he lost it. He knew it was over for him. So we crippled Church tonight.” Taking her face in his hand, Shane leaned in. “So please don’t run. Say you’ll stay with me. Say you’ll give us a chance. I love you, and things are different now. You don’t have to be afraid.”

Sara could barely process everything Shane was saying, especially because it was all so mind-bogglingly good. Confessions was . . . gone? Just like Bruno— that she’d seen with her own eyes. She shook the thoughts and the questions away. There would be time to take apart everything that had happened tonight and look at it piece by piece.

She looked at Jenna, needing to see again that her sister was really there beside her. And she was. Of course she was.

Shane had proven he could keep her and Jenna safe. A calmness settled over Sara that she couldn’t remember feeling once in the past four years.

Looking back at the man she loved, the man who had saved her in every way she could be saved, she knew.

What couldn’t wait a single second more was making her intentions clear to Shane. “I don’t want to run. I don’t want to hide. I don’t want to act, not anymore. I just want to be with you. Wherever you are, Shane, that’s where I belong,” Sara said.

The truck came to a pause, but Sara barely noticed because Shane smiled and pulled her in for a searing kiss. And though Sara knew everything wasn’t settled—not in her life and certainly not in Shane’s—she was okay with that because they were in it together.

His eyes blazed in the light of a streetlamp as he looked deep into hers. “That’s the best news I’ve ever heard, darlin’.” The truck moved again, the sound of gravel crunching under the tires. “We’ll figure everything out. I promise. For now,” he said, glancing out the window at Hard Ink, “welcome home.”

S ometimes a book takes you by surprise, takes you places you didn’t expect to go, and forces you into uncomfortable emotional spaces that are rewarding to endure. Shane and Sara’s story was like that for me. But I never could’ve given these characters everything they deserved without the help of a whole lot of people.

First and foremost, I have to thank my good friend, fellow author, and crit partner extraordinaire, Christi Barth, who once again went way above and beyond for me and the whole Hard Ink team. Her enthusiastic comments, biting criticism, good-natured ribbing for my sleep-deprived typos, and constant support strengthened this book in more ways than I can count. You deserve more than a T-shirt, Christi! You deserve a medal! Or a spa day!

Best friend and fellow author Lea Nolan also deserves a huge word of thanks. At crucial moments, she helped me plot out the book on a series of Panera paper napkins, now preserved for eternity in the bottom of my laptop case, and talked me down from stress-induced ledges. It’s a privilege to get to write with your best friend every day, and I’m so glad that’s you, Lea.

So many others stepped in along the way to offer guidance and encouragement, including: Stephanie Dray, my writing partner of awesome; Jennifer L. Armentrout, with whom I can lose a whole morning on the phone and not realize time has passed; crit group friends Joya Fields, Marta Bliese, and Laura Welling, who always cheered me on and offered comments on the early chapters of the manuscript; good friend Carolyn Locke, whose help at a few crucial moments was exactly what I needed; and, finally, my Heroes, the awesomest readers evah !

Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of and excellent editorial partnership with Amanda Bergeron, whose belief in me and the Hard Ink team is the stuff of which authors dream! Nor would this have been possible without the incredible support and sacrifice of my husband Brian and daughters Cara and Julia, who let me disappear into the world of Hard Ink with nothing but love and faith that I could do it.

Finally, I offer thanks to the readers, who welcome characters into their hearts and minds and let them tell their stories over and over again! You guys rock!

LK