Page 101 of Thornhill Road

It hadn’t turned out the way she hoped, but she sure as fuck was tied to him—and she knew what that meant.

She also knew there were consequences should she fuck up.

And she’d fucked up in record breaking fashion.

Anyone who could boast a braincell knew you didn’t mess with a Stallion and his kin.

Meeting his piercing blue stare, Mustang simply replied, “She doesn’t see my girl again.”

Bull nodded. Then, without a word, he cut his eyes at Twister.

Twister clapped Mustang on the back. “Hang in there, brother,” he said before starting for the parking lot. “Let’s roll,” he called.

Wrangler gave Mustang’s shoulder another squeeze, following after their VP. Maverick, too, gave a silent show of affection before he was headed for his hog.

“That’s handled,” said Bull. “What else you need?”

Mustang thought back to when Tess asked him a similar question, and he found his answer hadn’t changed.

“Need my girl to open her eyes.”

He said nothing more before turning to head back inside.

Tess

I’d been calling Mustangto check in between every patient visit throughout the night.

Mary-Kate’s vitals were improving. She was stable, but she hadn’t opened her eyes.

The adrenaline which had coursed through my veins and spurred me into action the previous afternoon had long since left my body. I felt dead on my feet.

Still, when I finished my shift at six A.M., I hadn’t spared a single thought to going home and climbing into bed.

There was only one place I wanted to be.

One place Ineededto be.

Mustang wasn’t the only one I’d been communicating with through the night. When I arrived at the hospital, instead ofheading to the pediatrics clinic, I went looking for Jenna at the nurses’ station in the emergency room. I found her leaning against the outer lip of the desk, a paper cup of hospital coffee in her hand as she stared unseeingly into the distance.

She looked about how I felt.

“Tell me you get to go home soon,” I said instead of hello.

Jenna shook her head clear as she looked my way. “Uh, yeah. I’m actually already off the clock. I knew you’d be in soon, and I wanted to see you before I left.”

She set aside her coffee and came toward me with open arms. I accepted her embrace and returned it with more gratitude than I could ever put into words.

“Thanks,” I breathed.

“I stopped by as often as I could throughout the night,” she began as she pulled away. “I gotta say—when I told you I couldn’t wait to meet Mary-Kate, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“Yeah, no shit,” I muttered, pulling my fingers through my hair.

“Tess, I’ve seen a lot of things come in and out of this hospital, but I’ve never seen so many bikers show up, and all for a little girl.”

I gave her a tired smile. “That doesn’t surprise me. They’re badasses, but they're each other’s family. In Mustang’s case, his only family. I’m glad to know he wasn’t alone after I left.”

“So, the part about them being badasses?” She looked around then took me by the elbow, drawing me further away from the nurses’ station before she continued in a hushed voice. “Obviously, when a child comes in overdosing on edible weed laced with LSD, the cops show up, as does CPS. And I don’t know what kind of connections these guys have, but the officers were in and out of here in five minutes. It was almost like they showed up just so they could make a record of it. After what happenedwith Lance Jones, and how he didn’t press charges following the public beating that broke more than a couple bones, I’m beginning to think the Stallions and the cops are more friendly than makes sense.”

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