Page 11 of Utah

As we entered the back bedroom, my gaze landed on the injured man. The corners of his mouth curved upward as he held out his hand to me. He was dressed and sitting at the edge of the bed.

“You’ve come to save me,” he joked, entwining his fingers with mine the second I was close enough.

“You mean she’s come to save us from your miserable ass,” Knox corrected, his tone light with amusement. “Good luck ’cause he gets extra pissy whenever it’s time for his pain pill.”

“I’m sure you’d be irritated too if you’d been stabbed and wanted some relief,” I countered, defending Utah but also cringing at the thought Knox would ever be in the same boat.

“Speaking of, it’s that time.” Utah held out his hand.

“Not for another hour.” Knox pulled a bottle of pills from inside his cut and handed them to me. “These are opioids. They’re strong. Make sure he only gets one every six hours.”

I tucked the medication into my purse. “One every six hours. Got it.”

Utah furrowed his brow, and I chalked up his slight irritation to that of being in pain.

Instead of saying anything further about his meds, he centered his attention on his friend. “Is my truck here, or is it still at Cloud Nine?”

The mention of the club’s strip joint irritated me. I hated imagining how many of those women hit on Utah. When we’d first started fooling around, I asked if he’d ever slept with any of the strippers, and he honestly answered that he had. But it’d only been with two of them, both of whom didn’t work at theclub anymore.

“We brought it here yesterday. Why? You can’t drive.”

“I know, but Ria can.”

“We’re not taking my car?” I asked.

“I can’t get comfortable in your Mazda. It’s too small.”

“Maybe your ass is just too big,” Knox teased.

“That too,” Utah responded, not the slightest bit riled by the jab.

Add in Utah’s domineering presence to his physical stature and sometimes he seemed larger-than-life, a trait I found comforting at times.

“I can’t drive your truck. It’s huge.”

“Fine.” Utah made a noise as he rose from the bed, and I didn’t know if it was due to pain or frustration.

“You’re gonna need help getting situated, more than Ria can offer,” Knox said, running his hand through his hair. “Give me a sec.” He disappeared from the room, returning moments later with Brick.

“Knox says you need some help?” Brick walked toward us, glancing at me before turning his attention to Utah.

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” He took two steps before grunting, his hand gripping his stomach.

“Stop being stubborn,” I said, moving aside so Knox and Brick could assist Utah as they walked out of the room and toward the exit of the clubhouse. Once outside, I headed toward my car. “I’ll meet you guys there.”

Brick and my brother helped Utah into the passenger side of a black SUV. They exchanged words right before Brick hopped into the driver’s seat and Knox headed toward Utah’s truck.

My random thoughts kept me busy on the ride to my house, from how quickly Utah would recover to the types of conversations we needed to have. With a baby on the way, we couldn’t escape what we needed to discuss for much longer. He hadn’tsaid anything to make me think he wanted to talk about a future together, but there’d been something lurking behind his piercing gaze when he looked at me recently that indicated that particular conversation might be on the table.

7

I hated relying on someone to physically help me, but due to my condition, I had no other choice. One of my fears was that Ria would see this vulnerable side of me and view me as less of a man. However, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to change what had happened to me.

My rational side argued that I was being ridiculous, and that if anything, my attack might’ve brought out a protective instinct in Ria, which could potentially work to my advantage. Perhaps making up shit in my head was a coping mechanism to divert my attention from the agonizing pain surging through my stomach.

“Are you trying to hit every fucking pothole?” I asked, gripping the side of the door.

“Sorry.” Brick kept his focus on the road ahead. “Everything back to normal between you and Knox?”

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