Page 6 of Utah

“Obviously I couldn’t go to a hospital because the police would get involved, and that’s the last thing our club needs right now. So, I appreciate you putting everything aside and contacting Sanders to help.”

“Well, I asked Kyla to call him.”

“Same thing.”

“I wasn’t about to let my pride endanger your life, brother. Not to mention, I’d have to deal with Ria if anything happened to you and I could’ve prevented it.” His smile returned but fell quickly, his tentative expression confusing me. “Speaking of, she’s here and she wants to see you. Are you okay with that?”

“Areyouokay with it?” I asked, parroting his question.

“I’m getting there. Besides, we’re gonna be family soon, right? And to be honest, for as much as I wanted to hate you forever, I missed you.”

“Do you two wanna be alone?” Tag asked, taking a step toward the door.

“Fuck you,” Knox and I replied simultaneously.

“You know what I mean,” Ria’s brother added.

“I do. Me too.”

“Seriously, I think I should give you two some time to—”

My previous two-word response rested on my lips but evaporated the moment my gaze met Ria’s. She stood in the doorway, uncertain if she should enter.

“I’ll talk to you guys later,” I said without taking my eyes off her.

Tag and Knox didn’t utter a word as they walked past the woman I never thought I’d see again.

4

The moment Knox showed up at my house this morning, intuition told me something bad had happened. And I was right. As soon as he told me about the state he found Utah in, I didn’t hear anything else he said. I still didn’t know the specifics surrounding Utah almost being killed, and even though the obstinate man would skim over most of the details, I’d press him for the whole truth.

If we were going to raise a baby together—something I still hoped he wanted to do—then I needed to be kept in the loop about everything pertaining to his life, especially about any danger surrounding it. But looking at him now, dwarfing the bed beneath him with his massive size, bandaged and banged up, paler than I’d ever seen him, all I could think about was how grateful I was he’d survived.

Slowly approaching his bedside, his eyes following my every move, I stopped several inches away. Only when he patted the mattress did I move closer, each step I took heavier than the last.

The lump in my throat made it difficult to breathe, and my hands trembled uncontrollably. A tear slipped from the cornerof my eye when I saw his bruised face and split lip. A white bandage covered the left side of his temple.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” His words softly fell from his lips, but they did little to erase my fear.

“You’re not fine. You almost died.” Another tear trailed down my cheek, followed by another.

“But I didn’t. And once I heal up, I’ll be back to normal. Ornery and stubborn. Just how you like.”

My mouth twitched at the same time his did. “My favorite attributes of yours,” I responded sarcastically, all while tears continued to flow.

His smile disappeared as he extended his hand. I slid my palm into his and carefully situated myself on the bed beside him.

“What happened?” I held my breath in preparation for either silence or glossed-over details.

“I don’t want to scare you, but you deserve to know what’s going on—as much as I can tell you anyway.” His chest expanded on an inhale, and he grimaced. “A cartel has an issue with us for reasons that I’m not gonna get into right now because it doesn’t matter. But the short of it is that a couple of guys took me and Crash at gunpoint from Cloud Nine the other night and intended on killing us as payback for a decision the club made months ago.”

I jerked my hand from his. “What?” was the only syllable I could muster. Every word he’d spoken hit like a hammer, and I struggled to register the severity of what he’d revealed.

Instead of elaborating or telling me not to worry, which would be pointless because all I could think about was what would happen next, he mumbled three words that shocked me even more.

“They killed Crash.” He closed his eyes, the muscles in his jaw flexing in either anger or to assuage his sadness, possiblyboth. His breathing slowed, and I swore I saw his chin begin to quiver.

I’d briefly met Crash a couple times. He’d always been nice, and he had a certain innocence about him that I found endearing. I couldn’t imagine what kind of impact his death had on the club, but if Utah’s reaction was anything to gauge, his absence was felt deeply by the members.

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