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I sent a vicious glance to Theo and Kane who got the message and tore out of the lot, heading in the direction the white SUV had gone.
“You recognize anyone?” he asked, turmoil in his gaze.
The shake of my head was grim. “No.”
It could be a million people. Our enemies long and deep though none of them should actually know our names. But it was a risk we ran with every job we did.
The truth that one day it was all likely to catch up to us.
“Let me check your leg,” I demanded. I could see blood soaking through his pant leg.
I started to kneel, only he shook his head, his teeth gritted. “It’s a fucking scratch. I’ll be fine. You know I’vehad much worse. Get your girl out of here. I’ll go back inside and clean it up while I wait for Theo and Kane to get back.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s what I fuckin’ get for coming into town,” he grumbled.
I would’ve laughed if I wasn’t a second from going on a rampage. A second from hunting down the motherfuckers who dared to come at my family this way. I wanted to hop on my bike, track, and destroy.
But the twisted thing was there was a bigger part of me that wouldn’t allow me to leave Charleigh. Charleigh who was still on the dingy ground, her fear and confusion coming off her in a crash of violent waves.
I started to stand before Cash fisted his hand in my shirt. “Be fuckin’ careful, man,” he raked through the pain.
My nod was tight. “I will.”
I returned to where Charleigh was sitting on the ground on the other side of my bike. Tears streamed down her gorgeous face.
“Fuck, Charleigh.”
Her eyes squeezed closed, and she buried her hands in her face as a guttural sob erupted from her chest. Carefully, I gathered her up, murmuring, “You’re okay. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”
Without letting her go, I swung onto my bike, though this time I put her in front of me, her chest to mine, caging her in like I could act as a shield.
Knowing that’s what I would be.
Her shield.
Whatever it took.
FORTY-NINE
CHARLEIGH
I cleavedmyself to River as he flew down the road, my face buried in his shirt and my hands fisted in the back of it. It was disorienting, traveling backward, unable to see where we were going or even understand what was happening.
Trying to come to grips with what had transpired outside the club. Trying to process the horror that pummeled through my insides and spun me into confusion.
Dizziness washed through my brain and nausea roiled in my stomach.
River’s heart thundered at a manic pace, a thunder at my ear, a snarl of turmoil and a clutter of wrath.
He took the right turn fast, barely slowing as the bike angled before he was gunning it again. In an instant, the air was cooler, and I knew we were on Vista View, though I could tell he’d passed by the turn-off to his house and instead was barreling farther toward the mountain in the distance.
Finally, he slowed and made a couple quick turns, and I peeled myself back enough to see that we’d hit a dirt path that wound beneath the trees. When he came to a stop, we were in a clearing up close to the lake.
Trees all around.
Soaring and shrouding.
