Page 136 of Tempting Fate

“We’re waitin’ for Bebe. She’s gonna check you over.”

“I don’t… need—” Lily breaks off with a whimper when she tries to sit up but can’t. In a halting whisper, she confesses, “I just want to go home.”

“Soon, Lil. Soon.”

We sit in silence for a minute, then horror floods her face, and she struggles to pull herself upright in my lap. I help her into a sitting position when it becomes clear she’s going to hurt herself if I don’t. “Oh, my God, Zeke. Bear is one of the rats you’re looking for?—”

I press a finger to her lips to stop her from straining her throat any further. “We know. So far, we’ve got Joker, Bear, Honey… they have somethin’ cooked up and need our votes when Brutus brings whatever it is to the table.”

The second I say Honey’s name, Lily’s body stiffens. I’m about to explain all that led up to me and Slash faking a threesome when the front door opens. Quickly snagging the blanket, I pull it over Lily in time to hide her from Bebe’s searching gaze.

“Venom,” the tiny redhead greets me in a cold voice. “How did I know you’d be involved in this?”

“Considerin’ we’ve said ten words to each other since we met, I don’t have a fuckin’ clue why you’d make that assumption.”

The doctor’s cheeks redden, then she dismisses me with an impatient wave of her hand. As she approaches, Lily drags in a ragged breath. When I try to lace my fingers with hers in support, she shakes me off and struggles back to her feet. I place my hands on either side of her hips to steady her, and the look she gives me could peel paint.

Refusing to let her go since she’s swaying on the spot, I try to get through to her, “Lily, listen to me?—”

“Are you my ride?” Lily clutches the blanket around herself as she addresses Bebe. The rasp in her voice gets worse the longer she speaks. “Not sure where we’re going… all I ask is that there’s some strong pain relief and a sedative available wherever you take me.”

I use my body to block Lily from sight when Bebe doesn’t answer straight away. My woman scowls at me, fighting to keep the blanket from dropping until she realises what I’m trying to do. Once she lets it fall, I slip my shirt over her head and pull it down past her hips. It’s not long, barely reaching mid-thigh, but it’ll do for now.

“I’ve got everything you need,” Bebe promises when I help Lily over to her. A cool, professional expression on her face, the small doctor tucks herself under Lily’s arm to support my woman. “Slash says I’m to take you to his place so I can check you over in peace.”

“Thank you,” Lily whispers as they make their way slowly toward the front door. “I’m sure this isn’t how you pictured spending your Sunday night.”

Helplessness coursing through me, I trail behind them. When they reach the front stoop, the narrow staircase between them and the driveway stops them in their tracks. Bebe shoots a pleading look over her shoulder as Lily tries to navigate the first step herself.

“Just go easy on her,” Slash murmurs when my woman tries to shove me away after I surge forward and sweep her into my arms. “There’s nothin’ to be gained by pushin’ the point tonight.”

As I carry Lily over to Bebe’s sporty Mercedes GLA-class, my sweet thing scorns Slash’s attempts to help as well. “Like you’re any better than he is.”

Feeling the heat of my best friend’s frustrated gaze on the back of my head as I lower Lily into the passenger seat, I take another shot at explaining, “It’s not what it looked like… for either of us.”

My woman snorts, pressing a hand to her swollen cheek. Knowing when I’m beaten and equally determined to stop her from stubbornly causing herself extra pain, I choose the path of least resistance and settle for pressing my lips to her forehead. “Let’s get you fixed up, then you can kick our arses for being so stupid.”

Staring straight ahead, even though it’s too dark to see anything out of the windscreen, Lily dismisses me with a half shrug. I close her door, then wait for Slash to finish talking to Bebe. He tries to kiss her, but ends up on the receiving end of the same cold shoulder I just endured.

As the women drive off, I turn to him to ask, “Did you get rid of Tank’s body from next to the gate?”

“Duh,” he tells me. We start walking down the winding driveway to our Harleys. “Stuffed him in the back of Kingsley’s SUV. Can’t wait to see Joseph try to explain that away when I call it in once we’re finished here.”

“When you’re not acting like a prick, you’re actually quite smart.”

“In that case, when you’re done apologisin’ to Cherub for being the biggest fuckup in the country, I’ll be waiting for mine.”

“What do I owe you an apology for?”

“Grabbin’ my arse. Leavin’ me to lug Joker down to the basement by myself. Sullyin’ my favourite pillowcase… the list goes on.”

I settle on the seat of my bike and pull my helmet on. Deciding to play along with him, even though it’s the last thing I can be bothered with, I reply, “I’m sorry about the pillowcase, but the rest is on you. What’s the point of being built like a brick shithouse if you can’t carry a body to the basement or deal with an arse squeeze or two every now and then?”

“Fair point,” Slash concedes with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

He hits his ignition, and we pull away from the house of horrors to follow the women back to Slash’s. Just before we reach them, the taillights of Bebe’s car illuminate, then she turns the corner and disappears out of view.

I can’t help but see it as an omen of what’s to come.

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