TANNER

  TANNER

  A FORSAKEN RIDERS PREQUEL

  Samantha Leal

  Copyright © 2017 by Samantha Leal All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  Introduction

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  The Forsaken Riders are:

  King (Book 1)

  Lynx (Book 2)

  Steel (Book 3)

  Gunner (Book 4)

  Hawk (Book 5)

  Bull (Book 6)

  Stag (Book 7)

  Stick (Book 8)

  Decker (Book 9)

  Ax (Book 10)

  More to come…

  1.

  The stars were bright and twinkled fiercely overhead as Jo lay back and watched the night sky. She had set her seat all the way to recline, and she stretched her arms up above her, singing along to the music that blared from the radio, and let the wind carry her along, just as it whipped her hair. She loved driving at night. Especially when it meant escaping, or new starts.

  She had had a few in her time. But this so far was her favorite, and they had only been on the road for a few hours. The convertible had been unnecessary, but it didn’t matter. Not now. As she watched the universe swimming above her and the way the moon illuminated the road ahead, she knew there was no other way now. No other way to travel. She needed the fresh air against her skin. She needed that sense of exhilaration.

  “What time is it?” she called to Kirsten who was sitting alongside her and driving them through the desert night.

  “Almost two a.m.,” Kirsten smiled as he ran her fingers through her hair.

  Jo didn’t even know what time they had left their hometown, but even though it felt like they had only been driving a short while, it had been daylight when they had set off. Jo looked up at the sky again. So many stars were shining down on them, she couldn’t help but feel hopeful that this was the way life was supposed to be heading. Surely, this time, she was going to find a place to belong.

  “Do you want me to take over?” she asked as she glanced across at Kirsten. She could see that her friend’s eyes were starting to look weary and it wouldn’t be long before she was way too tired to continue.

  “You sure?” Kirsten said as she stifled a yawn.

  “Of course!” Jo smiled.

  Kirsten slowed down and pulled onto the dusty embankment at the side of the highway. When she turned off the engine and the noise from the exhaust and the stereo shut down, there was nothing around them but pure silence. The two girls looked at each other and Jo found herself sucking in air and flinching.

  “This is unnerving,” she whispered.

  “I know,” Kirsten agreed.

  “I hope there are no serial killers out here,” Jo said with a half laugh.

  “Quit it,” Kirsten slapped her playfully on the arm.

  Jo let out a giggle and reached down for the handle on the door and pushed it open. It was a strange feeling as she looked around. There was nothing for miles; no lights, no other cars, no noise. And certainly no houses. It was almost as if they were the only two people on earth. Even though it was the dead of night, the air was still warm and Jo reached into her purse and pulled out a bottle of water. She unscrewed the cap and took a long sip before she passed it over to Kirsten who was walking around the side of the car to meet her.

  “Thanks,” Kirsten smiled.

  The girls swapped seats, Jo climbing behind the wheel. She waited for Kirsten to get back in alongside her and then she started the engine and put the car in drive.

  “How much longer do you want to keep going?” Kirsten asked her as Jo edged back out onto the highway.

  “I think we should drive until dawn,” Jo said. “I don’t know why, it just sounds poetic, don’t you think?”

  Kirsten laughed and shook her head.

  “You’re crazy, Josephine,” she said with a drawl. “But I like it. Sure, let’s drive until dawn. If you think you can handle it?”

  Jo curled her lip into a smile.

  “That sounds like a challenge to me,” she said. “And you know I can’t turn down a challenge.”

  “Ten bucks,” Kirsten said. “If you’re too tired to keep going until the sun rises, you lose.”

  “Deal,” Jo said without even thinking about the implications.

  She reached her right hand over her chest and shook with Kirsten awkwardly.

  “Let’s just hope my competitive edge doesn’t get the better of me if I start falling asleep behind the wheel…” Jo teased.

  “We both know it will…” Kirsten laughed. “I can see the headlines now… Death of two girls along desert highway not thought to be suspicious… however, police are investigating the possibility of an in-car bet that went terribly wrong…”

  “As if,” Jo yawned.

  “Well, that’s a great start,” Kirsten rubbed her temples.

  “I’m just playing with you, jeez, you’re so serious when we run away.”

  “I’m not running this time,” Kirsten said defensively. “I’m just looking to expand my horizons.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jo rolled her eyes. “Me too…”

  The girls went quiet and both seemed to be contemplating their own particular situations. After being best friends since they were kids, it had become a sort of tradition for them that once a year they would pack up their lives and run as far away from their hometown as they could. But this time, it certainly felt different. This time, neither of them had anything to go back for.

  Jo shivered.

  It wasn’t nice to think and admit that she had lost so much in her life. But not everyone managed to live a fairy tale. As she gripped the wheel, the events of the past six months began to unfold in her mind all over again. It was impossible not to refer to it all at least once a day, but she had been hoping maybe she would have been able to block it out while they were distracted and on the road.

  Alas, no such luck.

  She had been happy, even considering how uprooted her childhood had been. Passed from one parent to the next from week to week, a life without stability or proper grounding. Her parents had split when she was young and up until she turned eighteen, she let them pass her from pillar to post. She hadn’t known any different. So after growing up not knowing how a real family should be, Jo was always going to be flighty. She had always yearned for the open road. For the travel. For the chance to begin again somewhere else. And that was why, each year, her and Kirsten took off and had an adventure all of their own. For those few months or weeks, depending on how much cash they had saved, they had the time of their lives. They packed up a car, headed out with only a map and a dream, and just saw where they ended up. They had seen some amazing places and met some great people, but none of the cities or towns they wound up in had ever spoken to them in the way that Jo craved. The way that she wanted. She had always longed for somewhere she could call home. Somewhere she could begin again and never look back.

  This particular trip could have been like all of the others if it hadn’t been for the events of the past six months. If Jo’s life had still been ticking over like it had been. If only she had
still been going to work every day at the grocery store, having a few drinks on a weekend with Kirsten and the other girls they had grown up with, daydreaming about a better world and wishing her folks would have given her a solid foundation rather than not being able to wait to get rid of her each week. But that life had ended. Tom had happened. He had walked in out of nowhere and swept her up. He’d charmed her, become someone important. He’d made her believe in something, he’d made her believe in the possibility of a future with love in it. But then he had dumped her before she had even realized what was really happening.

  Tom had changed everything.

  Jo gripped the wheel even tighter and tried not to think too much about the finer details; the ice blue of his eyes, or the way he had a dimple in his chin that made him look even more innocent. If only she could have seen through it all and caught him out at who he really was before he had the chance to play games with her heart.

  Because of Tom, she had lost so much. It was almost unbelievable but it was true. He had blazed a trail into her life, knocking down barriers and testing her limits, but he had also changed her as a person. He’d changed her into someone she didn’t like very much. Her parents had distanced themselves even further once they saw that their daughter had a man in her life. She could just imagine them thanking their lucky stars – finally, she would be someone else’s problem instead of theirs! And because of the mind games he had played, her work had suffered. When they’d fired her, she almost hadn’t been able to comprehend what was actually happening, but it was true. She had lost her job, Tom had disappeared, her family was practically non-existent, and her home life sucked.

  Why the fuck would she bother going back after that?

  She looked down at Kirsten who was dozing next to her in the passenger seat. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was soft. She had been the only constant in Jo’s life since childhood, and she had been the only person Jo could count on. She was happy to have her by her side; they made a good team.

  But the problem Jo was experiencing now was one she had never had before. Now that she had tasted the sweet enticement of love, she craved it more than anything. Tom had ignited something inside of her that was impossible to extinguish. She was ready to share her life with another. She wanted a man.

  At first, she feared she would feel the opposite. As if having her trust broken by Tom would have made her want to avoid men for life. Instead, it had been a wakeup call. A flashlight shining in the dark illuminating the possibilities that lay ahead. She had never had a serious relationship, only hook-ups and bad dating. But being with someone, even if it was the wrong person, had made her realize the potential that was out there.

  And now I’m looking for the real thing…

  She had nothing to go home for. But she had everything to gain with travel and exploration.

  She had a destiny to find.

  A life to chase.

  The other half of her was waiting somewhere out there in the world, and even though it was a frightening thought to be putting herself out there and to be making a real go of it, it was also exhilarating. Jo didn’t know what was waiting for her out on her journey, but she did know one thing…

  She was determined to find it.

  She looked down at the clock on the dashboard. It was almost three a.m. and her mind and eyes were weary. She had been more than optimistic when she had said they would drive until dawn. Poetic or not, it wasn’t going to happen.

  She reached down and touched Kirsten lightly on the arm.

  “Kirst,” she said over the whipping of the wind. “I think I’m going to stop at the next town. I’m super tired.”

  Kirsten nodded her head and groaned Mmmm in agreement.

  The desert was such a dark, vast mass around them, Jo couldn’t even imagine they would come across civilization any time soon, but she had to keep the faith. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, rolling out her neck and opening her mouth wide, taking in a deep lungful of air.

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, from behind her and cutting through the silence, she heard the loud roar of engines gaining on them fast. The ground vibrated underneath them and lights pierced through the darkness, lighting up the highway ahead.

  “What the…?” Jo said aloud as she tried to turn and look over her shoulder. But as she did, she found herself swerving, the car veering to the side of the road.

  “Shit!” Kirsten said as she sat bolt upright, looking panicked and confused in her half asleep stupor.

  Jo instinctively slowed down, so that she could look into the night behind them, but nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

  Lights. So many lights. All gaining on her, zigzagging across the highway, the roar of the engines, the laughter and cheering of men.

  “Bikers…” she whispered as she turned back to concentrate on the road.

  The vibrations and loud engines grew closer with each passing second, and suddenly, it felt as if the earth were about to open and swallow them whole. The noise was unbearable. It was like a supernatural force. She could feel it deep in her heart and lungs. It was vibrating right through her, making her bones shake.

  One by one, the men on their big, glistening bikes all pulled up alongside and around them, and Jo found a smile flitting across her lips. She had seen this sort of thing in movies before, how suddenly, a convoy would be upon a lone car, but always during the day and never at night. Somehow, the fact the only light was from their headlights and the moon made it seem all the more surreal.

  The men were all big, muscular, clad in leathers and chains. They had tattoos on their knuckles, some of them had beards, others had sexy stubble, but all of them were hot as hell. Jo felt a pulse in her panties and she bit her lip, trying to subdue her grin.

  Kirsten was cradling her knees up to her chest and looking terrified.

  “Just stop and pull over,” she called to Jo. “They’re playing with us, they’re trying to make us crash!”

  “Of course, they’re not,” Jo laughed. “Stop being such a baby!”

  Instead, Jo pushed her foot even harder on the gas in a bid to keep up with them. She watched how they cut through the night and tried to count how many of the rugged men there were. She was sure she could make out at least ten, but more had already disappeared ahead of them, and were now leaving the highway and weaving out into the desert. They were cutting across the uneven ground, bouncing up high and then going down low, their bikes roaring and their cheers becoming louder.

  “The Forsaken!” one of them called, and the rest of the men cheered and revved their engines even louder.

  And it sent a shiver down Jo’s spine.

  “Where are they going?” Jo whined with disappointment.

  “Hopefully, far away from us!” Kirsten said. “It’s three o’clock in the goddam morning, we could be murdered out here!”

  Jo shook her head, laughed and slowed as she approached the turn they had disappeared down. There were no markings on the road, but she could see where their wheels had turned in and she could hear them zipping their way out into the desert.

  “Jeez,” Jo said as she ground the car to a halt and tried to see where they were heading. But the terrain was uneven, and the valleys of the desert were an easy place to hide. She knew she would never be able to find them, even if they took the dirt track too and tried to follow.

  “Are you fucking insane?” Kirsten wailed. “Why are you stopping?”

  Jo rolled her eyes and dismissed her comment.

  Behind her, she could hear another roar, a bike that had been left behind.

  “Shit,” Jo said as she started the ignition. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Whoever was still out there was heading toward them, and suddenly, she didn’t feel so safe.

  Jo pressed her foot on the gas and the car veered out onto the highway. She bit her lip and grinned. Her heart was pounding and she had never seen anything so exciting in all her life.

  Kirsten crossed her arms
over her chest and was pouting with fury.

  “This is what life is all about, isn’t it?” Jo laughed. “New experiences… Seeing the world… You know, living…”

  “Yeah, yeah, okay,” Kirsten said.

  Jo smirked and looked back to watch the road. As they turned a slow, drawn out bend, she could see a sign up ahead and the beginnings of what looked like lights, the beginning of a town.

  “Hey,” she said, “looks like we’re in luck anyway.”

  As they flew past the sign, she saw what it read and she knew even in that moment, it was going to be somewhere she was going to enjoy.

  Welcome to Slate Springs…

  “Hello, Slate Springs,” Jo giggled as she clocked the flashing red motel sign not far up ahead. “I think I’m going to like you… My friend here, on the other hand, may need some convincing.”

  “As long as it’s not full of scary bikers, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Kirsten rolled her eyes.

  But Jo couldn’t agree with her on that one.

  She didn’t know why, but seeing those men out there, riding across the desert in the dead of night, had turned her on more than anything ever had. And now she felt hooked.

  “I’m sure they were heading somewhere else,” Jo said as she pulled into the parking lot of the motel and turned off the ignition.

  But that was the first time in her life she had lied to her friend. Because she was sure they must still be close by… She could just feel it.

  2.

  It had been a wild night out in the desert. Tanner knew that much. As he and the rest of The Forsaken Riders flew along the highway celebrating their latest victory over their arch rivals, spirits couldn’t have been any higher.

  The moon shone brightly overhead and the only sounds around them were that of their growling bikes and the cheers that emanated around the crowd. For a bike gang from Slate Springs, The Forsaken had done themselves proud. They were gaining more respect with each passing year, and this was a great day to be alive.