Page 99 of Pulse

“Let’s get you to the hospital,” he said as he guided her to the front passenger seat of the SUV.

“I want to sit with Spec. Let me sit in the back.” Her voice held an edge of panic no one could blame her for.

“Honey, he’s got Jinx and Ty back there with him. There isn’t even enough room for all of them, let alone you. Sit in the front next to Brooke. You can reach back and hold Spec’s hand, okay?”

Tears streamed down her face, and she shook her head. “No, I-I wan—”

“Shh, hey, come here. It’s okay, Livy.” Brooke drew Liv into her arms. “I got her,” she whispered to Pulse with a grateful nod.

Brooke loaded Liv into the car and then jogged around to the driver’s seat. They peeled out of the parking lot a few seconds later and sped off to the hospital.

Curly strode over with his mouth set in a grim line. “You injured?”

“No.” Pulse ran his hand through his hair. “I’m good.”

“And Talia?”

He glanced over to where she sat on the curb with her bloody knees hugged close to her body. She stared toward where Tracker had found their assailant’s hiding place as though she didn’t trust the danger had passed for the night.

“She’s scraped up, but nothing major. I’ll drive her to the ER to be checked out, though.”

Curly nodded, then slapped Pulse on the back. “Tomorrow we go hunting.”

The club would no longer sit back and wait for the chips to fall. Pulse was on board with that. Too bad their special forces enforcer would be out of commission for the coming battle.

“Go take care of your ol’ lady,” Curly said.

“She’s—”

Curly raised an eyebrow that asked,wasn’t she?

“Will do, Prez. Thank you.” He tried to convey how much Curly’s support meant in those two words, but words would never be enough to capture what the Handlers meant to him.

“Always,” Curly said, slapping him on the back. “Let’s roll, boys,” he said to the remaining men. Frost had loaded Jinx and Ty’s bikes in the back of a truck. No way would he risk leaving them unattended overnight.

As the guys mounted up, Pulse made his way to Talia. Before he reached her, she leaped from the curb straight at him. He wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hold. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he whispered as he rocked her back and forth. She’d given Liv her sweater and wore nothing but a tank top and a torn skirt.

“Is Spec going to survive?” she whispered.

“Yeah, Tal. He’ll be in pain and probably the world’s shittiest patient, but he’ll recover. I want to talk about you, though,” he said against her hair. “Let’s get you to the hospital so they can check you over and patch you up.”

She shook her head so hard she almost smashed his nose. “No. Please, no. I just want to go home. Or the apartment. Wherever is safest.” She drew back to look at him. The dried tears on her cheeks felt like a punch to the chest. “I’m only scraped. I promise. I just don’t want to be around anyone besides you right now. Can you just bandage them for me? Please.”

Fuck, he hated the thread of panic in her tone, as though she worried he might deny the request. Didn’t she know by now? He’d do anything she asked. This woman had him wrapped around every one of her fingers. “Yeah, baby, I can do that.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s get the hell outta here.” He guided her to the passenger side of her car. As much as he loved her clinging to his back onthe bike, riding with skinned knees and palms would suck, so the car it was. Curly would take care of his motorcycle along with the others.

Neither spoke much on the ride to the Handlers’ compound. Pulse kept his hand on Talia’s thigh while she rested back against her seat with her eyes closed. The silence helped give him time to process, but unfortunately, his mind kept returning to one stark fact—he’d come extremely close to losing Talia tonight.

Why had he ever let her get involved with him? He could have cut it off the night she’d been run off the road. Instead, as a selfish fuck, he’d let himself get deeper and deeper until they were so entwined even a crowbar couldn’t separate them. Still, he had to try. He had to take a stab at distancing himself.

The clubhouse was lit up like they were having a damn party when he pulled onto the property. Most likely, his brothers were updating their women and drinking as they waited for news on Spec.

As much as he loved them and owed them for tonight, Pulse had no desire to be around them. He wanted Talia and Talia alone.

So much for his plan to distance himself. It would never happen, and he shouldn’t bother lying to himself.

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