Page 35 of Daughters of Chaos

Lace sees it right away, grasping for him, lifting the fabric to see where his wound is. Her hands shake as they traverse the planes of his torso. "Where are you hurt? There's so much blood," she cries.

Stitch grabs her wrists gently. "It's not mine. I'm okay."

A strangled breath escapes Lace's lungs before she launches her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry," she sobs against him.

He comforts her, telling her it's not her fault, holding her tightly for as long as he can spare. The moment passes before he rushes back to help his brother, but it's undeniable—there are strong feelings between the two of them. The look in each of their eyes when they saw one another, the fear they felt, proves there's definitely something there.

Nix pulls Lace further from the chaos, wrapping her back in her arms and comforting her as we continue watching Doc work. Suddenly, she grabs my hand, and panic mars her face. I'm sureshe's put two and two together about how this turn of events came to pass.

Her question takes me by surprise. "Where's Raptor?"

I look around the room and notice he's one of the few who are absent. I shake my head. "I don't know, Nix. He wasn't there."

Worry lines mar her face. "I hope he's okay," she whispers.

I squeeze her hand tightly. "He is, Nix. I'm sure he is. He's tough. Nothing's gonna hurt him." As I speak the words, I will myself to believe them. If something happened to him, I don't think Phoenix would ever recover.

Whatever is blossoming between them has dug deep already. I'm not even sure she realizes it yet. To have that ripped away so soon . . . I can't imagine what that would do to her. The only thing I know for sure is that Dom and his crew just started a war, and things are bound to get a whole lot worse before they get better.

20

Phoenix

It was the last thing I thought I'd see when I showed up at my dad's house earlier—the guys carrying in a horribly wounded Tweak as blood trailed behind them. I've seen blood before, and I've cleaned up wounds, but as they carried him to the table, everything seemed to freeze.

For a moment, I thought they were carrying a dead body. He was so pale and still. I couldn't move, not until I heard Lace gasp and crumple into my side.

I was visiting with Dad when she showed up in a panic and rapidly relayed what happened at the store to him and Bear. Dad looked conflicted as he stared at me. It was like he wanted to explain what was happening but couldn't bring himself to do it. He started barking orders to the guys, and several of them disappeared in a flash.

There was no time to let everything sink in, to wrap my mind around what was happening, as Lace clung to my side. She was sobbing and terrified, mumbling about what happened.

A while later, Raven showed up, the guys right behind her, toting Tweak's ravaged body inside. So much blood. So much chaos. From what Lace and Raven said, it was all because of some guy named Dom. He started mouthing off to them in the store parking lot, insinuating terrible things to provoke Stitch and his brother. One thing led to another, and an all-out brawl ensued.

Tweak wasn't the only one hurt. Almost every guy that was there had some degree of injury. Most were still oozing blood as they watched Doc work. Everything started to make sense. The tension everyone radiated lately, the whispers, the closed-door meetings that no one wanted to talk about . . .

Dad was cagey about the club; everyone was. Even Rae and Lace had been hiding things from me when it came to the MC. I'm not stupid—I've seen Sons of Anarchy—I know that there are dangerous motorcycle clubs out there. But when everyone kept insisting that nothing strange was going on with the club, that it was just aclub,I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I let them keep me in the dark so they'd have one less thing to worry about.

After this—after today—that ends. I won't let them shut me out any longer. I'm too invested in everyone involved to let that happen.

Someone mentions Raptor, and I snap to attention. He and a few others are out dealing with the fallout from the brawl. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to read between the lines—they're seeking retribution for what happened to Tweak. They're doing something dangerous, something violent.

Tears well in my eyes.He promised he'd be careful. What if what happened to Tweak happens to him? What if he's hurt even worse?

As if sensing my distress, Raven nudges my shoulder. "How about we get her upstairs and cleaned up?" She nods to Lace, who's still coated in blood from checking on Stitch earlier.

That's when I see the red splotches streaked over Raven's skin and clothes. I hadn't noticed them until now.It must have happened when she helped get Tweak out of her car. I give her a nod and pull Lace toward the stairs.

We help get Lace cleaned up and settled in our old room before Raven does the same for herself, nabbing a clean shirt from the laundry basket. Lace tucks her knees to her chest as I sit next to her on the bed. I have so many questions, but now is not the time to ask. I let Lace rest her head on my shoulder, rubbing her arms soothingly as we all sit in silence and wait.

It seems like hours have passed. Maybe they have since Lace is now asleep next to me. Her tears had been flowing since she got here earlier, and she relayed what went down at the store. The stress of everything seems to have finally taken its hold on her.

I look over to where Raven is watching out the window as she gnaws on her bottom lip. I'm angry with her for trying to hide everything from me, but I know why she did it. It's the same reason she does anything—to protect me.

Even so, she doesn't get a pass for treating me with kid gloves about what's been going on. She owes me an explanation. When she looks my way, I see my opening and take it. "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.

She sighs, shaking her head. "You didn't need this on your mind, Nix. Not with all you have going on. You needed to focus on school and building a normal life, not this shit."

"So, you were just never going to tell me?"

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