Wilder

He’d burn me alive, then consume the ashes—the kiss had shown me that.

But it didn’t stop me from wanting him.

And that was the scariest part of being around him. Not what he did to me, or how he made me feel, but the way I abandoned all sense of the caution that had kept me functioning these last couple of years.

He made me think there was a possibility I could live again outside the carefully constructed walls I’d built.

I just wasn’t sure I could survive when he inevitably left.

Chapter Eleven

Leah

Rome

The cameras flashed in every direction, Paxton’s name called out like a rock star over the crowd. He tucked me under his arm and guided me through the crush with Landon and Penna in the lead. We had another twenty feet before we made it into the motocross park.

“Damn it,” he seethed, but when I glanced at his face, he wore his Wilder grin, complete with putting his fist into the air.

“Wilder!” one reporter called out.

“He’s not taking questions,” Little John answered behind us.

“What are you doing in Rome? Is it true you’re taking this year off? Is this in preparation for the live event you have scheduled in Abu Dhabi?” The questions fired from both aisles, conflicting with what they thought they knew.

Live event in Abu Dhabi? What?

If it wasn’t the questions assaulting us, it was screaming fans.

“I thought this was supposed to be secret?” I asked.

“Me, too,” he said, pressing a kiss into my hair.

“Who’s your new girl?” another reporter asked.

Not his girl, my head protested.

Ahead of us, one of the male fans reached out and grabbed Penna. “Pax.” I motioned toward them, but before I even finished saying his name, Penna had the guy’s arm twisted behind his back.

“Didn’t your mama ever teach you that it’s not nice to touch a woman without her permission?” she said.

Holy shit.

Paxton grabbed the guy and shoved him toward Little John. “Get this fucker out of here before I start an international incident.”

We made it to the steps, where the double doors had been thrown open. Little John and the security team kept the fans off the steps, and I sucked in my first full breath since getting out of the car.

“You okay?” Paxton asked, putting himself between me and the crowd and pressing his lips against my forehead.

“Yeah. I guess I didn’t realize you were quite this popular.”

“Depends on where we are,” he answered. “Wait here, okay?”

I nodded, and he turned around to stand between Penna and Landon.

“Nice to meet you, Rome!” Paxton called out. I knew without looking that he was wearing that devil-may-care grin.

The crowd exploded.

“I think we have time for a couple questions, but not much more than that. You guys have a beautiful city, and we’re anxious to get out and explore it.”

Bobby stepped forward and pointed to one reporter. “Go.”

“What are you doing here in Rome?”

“Broadening our horizons,” Paxton said. “Plus Rebel here was craving pizza.”

The reporters laughed when Penna nodded. “And we heard you guys had a crazy super ramp, so we figured we’d stop by and give it a go.”

Bobby pointed to another reporter.

“Any truth to this rumor of a live show in Abu Dhabi?”

“Maybe,” Paxton answered.

“Will you be competing at the Winter X Games?”

Paxton tensed. “That isn’t on our schedule at the moment.”

“Does this mean the Renegades won’t be contenders? Are you walking away? Have you given up on the quest for the triple front?” The questions fired rapidly.

“One more.” Bobby pointed to another reporter on the side.

“Does this have anything to do with the rumors circulating around Nitro? We can’t help but notice you’ve been one member short for a while now.”

“We’re fucking done here,” Paxton said, spinning on his heel and walking inside, pulling me in his wake, his fingers in gentle contrast to his voice.

“The Renegades are more than just the Originals. And you can be assured that Nitro is as much a Renegade now as he was when we started this journey. Thanks for coming out, folks!” Landon’s voice carried through into the hallway.

“Ah! Mr. Wilder! We’re so happy to have you visiting our little track! I’m Renzo, and I manage things here,” a middle-aged man said, his English thickly accented in beautiful Italian.

“Who the fuck let the itinerary slip?” Penna asked, crossing her arms over her bright pink tank top.

“I’ll find out,” Bobby promised. “For now can we get our team set up, please? Little John already has your bikes ready.”

“I can assure you that our staff kept this as quiet as possible, and of course we can lead you to your setup.” Renzo nodded, and three men stepped forward from behind him.

“Can you take me to the stands first? I need to get Miss Baxter comfortable,” Paxton said.

“I can find it,” I protested.

“I’m sure you could, Firecracker, but I’d like to know where you are.”

Bobby’s mouth opened, and Landon stepped in. “Our schedule’s not that tight. I’m sure we’re good, right, Bobby?”

“Right,” Bobby answered, his mouth tense.