Shot to Hell (Four Horsemen MC #7) by Cynthia Rayne Read Free Book Online

band, and they’d performed every year in the town parade. Ash had learned Strawberry Fields Forever on the flute—no easy task.
    Ash loved the small town atmosphere, but working for the DEA required a lot of traveling, both domestic and abroad to Mexico. She hadn’t been back home to Poteet in years—being in the town was too painful.
    Around every corner were memories. Poteet was so small, the elementary, middle, and high schools had been combined into one mega building, and she and Abe had been in the same class since kindergarten.  
    They’d shared everything—friends, family, a vocation. Their parents were furious when she and Abe had announced they were enlisting into the Marines. Ash thought they’d probably pictured them following in their footsteps—going to college and then medical school or law school—but a recruiter had come to the high school. Knowing what she did now, she wished they had applied to college.
    Abe would still be alive, and she wouldn’t be so…damaged.
    Suddenly, the bikers stopped, and she snapped back to the present. Ash was grateful for the distraction. Memory lane was a real bitch. According to the flaming sign, featuring a devil holding a wrench, the garage was Seventh Circle Motors.
    It was a large warehouse-type structure with three separate garage doors. One of those slid open, and a tall, dark-haired man sauntered out. Looking beyond him, Ash noted a concrete floor and a vaulted ceiling. Along the walls were red metallic cabinets, presumably stuffed full of shiny steel tools.
    Steel and Justice hopped out of their truck, and she slid out of the SUV. Ash joined the men near the doors.
    The tall man held out a hand to her, which she shook. “I’m Axel. Good to meet you, Ms. Calhoun.”
    Evidently, Steele had filled him in on the ride over. “Thanks.” She’d never been one for small talk, so she didn’t even try.
    Axel stood roughly six and a half feet tall with penetrating dark eyes, wide shoulders, a narrow waist, and something between a beard and a five o’ clock shadow on his cheeks.
    None of the Horsemen were ugly. Weird . When she’d been assigned this case, she’d seen some surveillance photos of the Raptors. Calling them homely would be a nice way of putting it.
    “Why don’t we talk in my office?” Axel walked to a nearby door and held it open. Ash trailed Justice and Steele into the room. The smell of motor oil lingered in the air. There was a metal reception desk outfitted with a cash register, a coffee pot, and a water cooler, as well as a few steel chairs and an end table covered in old magazines.
    Both Steele and Justice sat down while she stood in the corner. No one was at her back, and she didn’t get too comfortable in case they had something nefarious in mind.
    Axel shot a glance at a young woman working on a red sedan twenty or so feet away. She was tall and thin with short black hair streaked with purple and shaved on one side. The woman appeared to be in her twenties and wore a pair of black coveralls and Doc Martens speckled with lavender and silver.
    “Dani, I’ll be a couple of minutes. Knock if you need me.”
    “Will do,” she called.
    Axel shut the door and got right down to business, which Ash appreciated. “Steele tells me you’re a merc working for the DEA through Cole Security.”
    A lot of ex-military worked for security firms after they’d completed their tours because those jobs tended to pay better. “Yeah, I worked in intelligence while I was in the Marines, and Cole recruited me after I finished my tours.”
    “How’d you get picked for intelligence work?” Justice watched her intently.
    “One of my instructors recommended me.” Ash wasn’t convinced the recommendation had been a compliment. She had a feeling she’d been singled out due to moral ambiguity and general sneakiness. “I joined a special squad, and I can’t say much more about it.”
    “What do you do for Cole?” Axel leaned against the front desk,