Ava and I follow Jace outside with the boys hot on our trail. Once outside, it only takes a second to see where all the commotion was coming from.

A yellow motorcycle stands in Caleb's driveway while the two others: a neon green bike and a dark blue one, stay behind at the curb. The riders sit perfectly still, each one wearing all black helmets that hide any signs of their faces and matching black leather jackets with an attached sweatshirt hoodie.

Jace walks over but before he reaches them, the rider of the yellow bike climbs off. Slipping free from his helmet and hanging it on his handlebars, he turns to Jace with a wide smile that hits me like a sucker punch to the stomach.

Oh my god, Jace has a twin!

Okay, not a real twin, but the resemblance between the two of them is shocking.

Same cocksure smile, chiseled jaws, full lips, sunkissed tan and thick hair. Even with the leather jacket on I can tell he's built similar to Jace, muscular and toned, clearly from hours spent at the gym but not in an over done hulky, beefcake sort of way.

I follow close behind Jace, unable to keep myself from gawking at the newcomer.

Getting closer, I see there are plenty of differences between the two of them as well. Jace's guest has lighter brown hair that reaches to his shoulders whereas Jace keeps his shorter, trimmed neatly on the sides, with the length left on top. I wouldn't be surprised if his friend sometimes rocks a man bun or ponytail...and with that thought, I'm betting he'd look good with it too. But right now his hair is free-flowing as he runs his hands through it, working out the flatness left from his helmet. He's also a couple inches taller, with no visible tattoos as far as I can tell, and honey hazel eyes.

So maybe I'm staring.

It's not like I find him more attractive than Jace...not that I find Jace attractive but...well screw it, when someones good looking, they're good looking. And these two clearly wouldn't have trouble catching the eye of any girl they wanted.

Shaking my head and trying to tear my eyes away from the display of overly good looking guys, I catch Ava ogling the new guy like he's a grade-A piece of meat.

"'Sup, man," the guy says as he grabs hands and bumps shoulders with Jace. "How's it going?"

Jace's eyes narrow while an unsure smile takes hold of his face. "Fine...just wondering what y'all are doing here."

"What? I can't come hang out with my cousin?" The guy's lips twitch into a small smirk.

Cousins?

Well, that explains it. I remember when Jace and I dated he talked about how tight-knit his family was. He said he and his two cousins were so close they were like siblings. It sounded like a fairytale to me since it's only ever been me and my mom, and the fact he never introduced me to them made it seem even more fantasy-like.

But if this is one cousin, is the second on another bike?

"Sure..."Jace's voice trails off with suspicion. Whatever's going on, Jace obviously isn't in on it.

His cousin shrugs. "Plus, you're almost late for Friday family dinner. So, we figured we'd come get your ass."

Jace huffs while his cousin looks over at us, making me realize that Caleb and Marcel have finally caught up. They stand behind Ava and I like a couple of worried guard dogs.

"You gonna introduce us to your friends?" he asks, tipping his head in our direction.

The other two riders take this moment to finally ditch their helmets too. The rider on the blue bike is sporting some seriously styled hair that despite having just worn a helmet, seems to be perfectly in place. His dark locks are tipped in caramel blonde highlights that fan out and up, with neatly trimmed sides and a couple intentional straight lines buzzed in by both temples. It's a little over the top in my opinion but to each their own. His look is topped off with some black gages in both ears and ink stretching from the elbow of his left arm down to his knuckles.

I wonder if he and Jace go to the same place for their tattoos?

Shaking off that unwanted thought—cause seriously, I should not give a damn about Jace's tattoos—I give the blue rider one last look over.

He stays seated on his bike but from there he appears to be a couple inches shorter than Jace with a wide muscular build. With a wrinkled nose, his muddy green eyes scan us like he's mentally taking note of who's worth his time. At least, that's how it feels. The entire vibe coming off of him screams, "My shit don't stink!" Which is surprising considering the split brow and bruising on his face.

Maybe he gave someone else that asshole look and they didn't take it too kindly?

The rider on the green bike is the polar opposite. As soon as he slips his helmet off we're graced with the sight of messy light blonde hair that looks to reach just past his ears. The wacky strands stick out in different directions from lack of styling, a clear sign of someone who isn't worried about getting helmet hair.

He runs his hands over the golden mess but only manages to slightly tame it while he lazily leans back on his bike. The way he's stretched out shows off his tall and slim build. Much like Jace and his cousin, he clearly works out but despite his broad shoulders, he seems naturally slender compared to the others. It's hard to tell how tall he is but I'd guess he's right about Jace's height. Unlike the other guy, he turns his bright blue eyes on all of us and flashes a warm welcoming smile.

What is up with all these guys being crazy hot? Did Jace make friends with motorcycle riding models?

Well, maybe Mr. Big-and-surly on the blue bike is lower on the attractive scale thanks to his attitude. But still, there's gotta be something in the water on the west side, and based on the way Ava's panting like a dog in heat, I think it's safe to say that she agrees.

Jace sighs but smiles anyway as he points to his cousin. "Everyone, this is my cousin Kade." He points to Mr. Attitude. "That's Travis, and," he points to blondie, "that's Wilder."

Kade and Wilder both wave and smile while Travis gives a half-assed nod.

Jace looks at his friends. "Guys this is Marcel and Caleb."

I look over my shoulder to see Caleb and Marcel wave and smile but it's not nearly as friendly as the ones they received. Part of me wants to jab them and make them be nice but the other part of me feels just as wary as the looks reflected in their eyes.

"This is Ava," Jace points beside me to the bouncing bundle of boy crazy nerves.

Ava winks and gives them her best flirty smirk. "Hey, boys."

I roll my eyes just as Jace finally turns to me, his voice deepening as he says, "and this is Alexis."

"Oh!" Blondie, a.k.a. Wilder calls out from his bike. "So this is Alexis?"

Jace's eyes double in size as he looks at his friend. "Dude!"

Wilder belly laughs while Kade joins him with a few snickers of his own. Even snooty Travis cracks a smile.

Whatever inner joke they got going on, I'm not amused. If I find out Jace said something personal about me, he's gonna get an ear full and then some.

Chewing on my lip, my eyes flick to Jace and narrow for a brief second before I turn my attention to his friends. "It's Lexi, or Lex, and I don't know what Jace told you guys, but chances are it isn't true or only half true. He's great at leaving out information."

The laughter dies down but I can tell that Kade and Wilder are doing their best to hold it in.

"Anyway, we have a movie to finish." I grab Ava's arm with one hand and wave with the other. "It was nice meeting you guys. Enjoy your dinner."

Ava looks at me like a kid being dragged from a candy store. "But...but..."

"Say bye, Ava," I grind out trying to pull her away.

Her bottom lip pokes out in a childish pout before she waves. "Bye, boys. Hope we see you guys around."

"You will," Kade answers. "We got transferred to Northeast with Jace."

That news instantly picks up Ava's spirits as she waves with more enthusiasm.

Marcel and Caleb beat us inside, and just as I'm about to shut the front door behind me, I catch Jace staring at me. His dark blue eyes hold a longing in them that runs a chill through my body. It doesn't mean anything of course, so I ignore it as I shut the door behind me. 

"Family fucking dinner?" I whip around to my cousin. "Seriously?"

Wilder bursts into laughter again, nearly falling off his bike.

"What'd you want me to say?" Kade grins, trying to ignore the lunatic behind him. "We got called in for a meeting and since you're not answering your phone, we came to the last place you said you'd be."

"Which you wouldn't have needed a call or a visit if you were at practice like the rest of us," Travis adds with a disgusted look on his face.

I narrow my eyes at Travis. Fucker's got a big mouth on a good day but I'm in no mood for his shit right now. "Ay, T, why don't you pull the fucking stick outta your ass?"

He opens his mouth again, ready to say something stupid when Wilder cuts him off.

"Don't mind, T. He's just pissed he got his assed whooped at practice." The smile stretching across his face hints at him being the one to deliver that whooping. 

Taking a second look at Travis, I can see it now. He's got a cut on his eyebrow and a bruise on his jaw. It's not much, which means Wilder held back. For someone who acts like such a damn goofball, Wild can be a beast in a match. Kade and I are just as good but Travis hasn't been fighting long.

"You wanna go again?" Travis sneers, making Wiler laugh like it's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard.

"Alright, alright," Kade throws out his arms. "Save it for practice you two."

Travis shoots Wild one last look of annoyance. "Whatever, but everyone needs to be at practice tomorrow."

Wilder sits up straight, his laughter cut short. "Fuck you, man. I'm going to that party tomorrow night."

"What party?" I call over my shoulder as I walk around Caleb's truck where my bike is parked.

"The one that hot piece of ass, Sandy or Brandy something, invited us to." Wilder moves both his hands like he's outlining a woman's figure before pretending to slap his invisible girlfriend's ass. "Mmm!"

Kade snorts at the jackass and swings onto his own bike.

"Yeah," Travis huffs while I pull my bike around. "You woulda known that if you'd been paying attention instead of making goo-goo eyes at your ex."

I slip on my helmet and flip him the bird before starting my bike.

With all four of us ready to go, we pull out onto the street. We know where to go so there's no need to say shit before driving away.

There's no better feeling than cruising around. It's the one thing in the world that can help me clear my head when things get tense. Can't sleep, lost a fight, just in an overall fucked mood; all of it can be solved by jumping on my bike and taking off. But the wary look on Lexi's face before she shut the door is bugging the hell out of me, and riding isn't helping.

I'm gonna lose my fucking mind if I can't get her out of my head, or worse, wind up crashing my bike.

With that thought in mind, I drive extra carefully as we make our way through the center of town. Even the guys are doing their best to simply cruise and not draw attention to us. By the time we hit the intersection of Aquahart and Ridgeway, we know we're in the clear and back on home turf. The light's red but that doesn't stop Wilder from pulling up his bright ass green Yamaha R6 next to me and revving his engine. He turns his head to look at me and even though I can't see his face, I know he's giving me a goofy smile as he revs his bike again. 

Oh, so it's a race you want?

I rev my black Ducati 899 back at him. It's motorcycle speak for, "Bring it on, mother fucker!"

A horn honks from behind us, and I look over to see Travis's dumbass shaking his head no. Kade waves him off, taking him just as seriously as I do.

Turning my attention back on the road, I crouch down preparing for the light to turn green while also scoping out nearby cars that could get in the way. My path looks clear as the crossing traffic slows down.

Wait for it.

Wilder revs his bike again and the light turns green. The two of us shoot out from behind the white line, immediately turning left down Ridgeway Blvd. I lean into the turn and gain a small lead but as the road stretches out in front of us Wilder manages to pull ahead. We fly past a grocery store, reaching eighty miles an hour, until the road begins to border with large privacy fences.

Watch for neighborhood traffic.

I keep my eyes out for slower cars and dodge around one that lowers it's speed to make a turn. But in going around the vehicle, the looney toon weaves in front and crosses my path to sharply turn right, heading down a neighborhood road. I pass the turn, forced to make the next right and sharply lean my bike to the side, nearly scraping the road with my knee in the process. But this isn't my first race; getting close to the ground doesn't freak me out the way it used to when I first started riding.

Straightening my bike up again, I speed up on the residential road. Turning my head, I keep trying to spot Wilder on the next street as the wind whips around me, but I can't see him anywhere.

I pop out on the other side of the neighborhood and connect with a main road just as a horn catches my attention. Slowing down, I narrowly miss Wild as he darts in front of me. I turn right to follow behind and make out the West Garden's apartment building down the road. With more effort, I kick up my speed once again when I spot a car pulling out ahead. I dart to the other side of the road but the car pulls out in front of Wilder's path. He's left with no other choice than to slow down and go around them, allowing me to take the lead.

Reaching the apartments, I lean to turn into the parking lot and zip for the paved road in the back where a "Private Property" sign stands. I pass through the already open gate connected to the privacy fence bordering the grounds behind the apartments, and hear Wilder catching up behind me. Kicking it in gear one more time, I speed down the road. Trees fly by in a blur on both sides of me until a clearing and a large barn shakily come into view up ahead.

I reach the lot surrounding the old remodeled barn and break, placing my feet on the ground and looking over my shoulder just in time to see Wilder pull in behind me.

Taking off his helmet as he dismounts, Wilder instantly turns to look at me with a big ass smile on his face. "I almost had you!"

I shake my head and swing my leg from around my bike. Taking my helmet off, I place it on the handlebars. "Almost doesn't count. You either win or ya lose."

"Dude, you're lucky this is a dead-end road. If I coulda came in from the other end, I would've already been sitting here eating a sandwich by the time your ass pulled up."

"Bullshit, the only reason you have a fighting chance is thanks to all those upgrades you put on your bike," I scoff just as Kade and Travis come riding up.

Kade pulls his helmet off and points a gloved finger at me. "You gotta watch those damn leans. You're gonna scrape and spin out one of these days."

"I know how to ride."

Wilder walks over and throws his arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, my man knows how to fucking ride."

"Oh, yeah, and how long you two been dating?" Travis asks with a smartass grin.

Wild sticks his nose in the air like he's too good to speak directly to Travis. "Screw you, T. You're just jealous 'cause I'm a good catch."

Neither Wilder or I swing that way, but we've been best friends since we both started out with the Guardians two years ago. Other than Kade, Wilder's the closest thing I have to a brother.

Kade joins us, wrapping an arm around Wild. "Aww, come on, T. Let's make this shit a foursome!"

"What's this about a foursome?" a feminine voice asks from behind us.

We all turn around to find the only chick I actually consider a friend and not a potential fuck buddy, walking around the side of the barn.

"Hey, Jo." Kade smiles. He thinks of Josie as a friend too, but the kind with some damn good benefits.

I'm not blind. At five foot five with a slim figure and all the right curves, Jo's a fucking knockout. Add the waist long fire red hair, bright green eyes, and tiny smile that looks so innocent even when she's talking like a total guy, and I see why so many chase after her.

But to me, she's just Josie. The first chick to ever punch me in the face, and the only one to ever cry on my damn shoulder after having too many drinks and seeing Kade with another girl. As far as I'm concerned, she's family.

"Hey to you too, hot stuff." She winks at Kade and gives him a hug before looking over at Wilder and me. "So, I get all three of you in a foursome?"

Travis cringes. "Y'all are fucking sick."

"No, we're fucking comfortable with our sexuality and masculinity. If you can't pretend with your own damn friends, then that makes me wonder what you're tryna cover up." Wilder raises his eyebrows at Travis like he can see right through him.

"I'm not hiding a damn thing, you jackass." Travis states.

Josie looks at him and narrows her eyes. "I don't know. You do use more hair products than most girls I know."

"Don't we have a meeting to get to?" Travis shouts, throwing his hands in the air.

"Yeah, you do," a gruff voice agrees just before my Uncle Rob comes walking out of the barn entrance.

Uncle Rob is Kade's dad, an ex-cop, the owner of the West Garden's apartments, and the leader of the Guardians motorcycle club.

He scratches at his thick cedar brown beard and tips his head towards the door. "Now get your asses inside. Your holdin' up my meeting."

💋____________________________________💋

Finally! So happy the Guardians are now on the scene! I hope you all enjoyed getting to know the guys a little and getting a peak inside Jace's head.

I'm dying to hear what you thought. How was it reading in Jace's POV? What do you think of Kade, Wilder, and Travis? Any ideas on what this last minute meeting could be about?

Let me know what you think in the comments and if you liked the read, please hit that star button!

Also, I know I normally put a song at the top of the chapter, but it can be hard to find the perfect song for each one. I didn't have much luck for this one. If you happen to know a song that could work with this chapter then let me know what it is in the comments.

A teaser for chapter 6 will be posted on my Instagram in a day or two. Make sure to keep an eye out for it!