Page 96 of Single Mom's Bikers

Zane’s voice is raw and furious. “Chase!”

Rick yanks me up, gripping me so hard I think my arm might dislocate. “We’re getting you out. Hold on.”

Draven’s up, stumbling but mobile. Blood stains his shirt, but he’s moving. Kip and Clay lay down cover fire, but I can see it—the shift in the fight. We’re not winning this one.

Teller’s voice in my ear. “Get the fuck out. Now.”

Rick drags me toward the exit. My boots scrape against the floor, and my vision swims. I try to lift my gun, but my arm feels like dead weight. My breath rattles. Fuck. I can feel the blood soaking my vest, seeping into my jeans. Too much blood.

The last thing I see is Marcus watching us go, smirking like he’s already won.

Then darkness takes me, and I stop seeing anything at all.

Consciousness returns in fragments. Pain slams into me first, sharp and unrelenting. A dull, pounding throb in my ribs. My limbs feel like they’re made of concrete. Voices fade in and out. Muffled, like they’re speaking through water.

“Stay with me, brother.” Zane’s voice. Strained. Desperate. Not like him at all. “Almost there.”

Movement. Bouncing. A van? Yeah. The fucking van. The familiar rumble vibrates beneath me.

“Drive faster!” Rick. Sounding like he’s barely keeping it together.

“The bleeding’s slowing.” That’s Rose. She sounds…wrecked. I’ve never heard her like this.

More movement. Steps going down—metal stairs. The basement. Jensen’s clinic.

Doc Jensen’s voice joins the chaos.

“Get him on the table. Pressure here. Someone start an IV.”

I try to talk. My mouth won’t work.

Darkness takes me again.

I dream of Evie. Of her smile when she thinks no one’s watching. Of her daughters’ laughter. Of secrets in her eyes that I’m too afraid to understand.

“Chase?” Her voice pulls me back. Real this time. “Can you hear me?”

I try to answer, but my tongue feels thick. Someone holds a straw to my lips—water, blessed water.

“The bullet missed major organs.” Doc Jensen is somewhere nearby. “But he’s running a fever. Need to watch for infection.”

“I’m sorry.” Evie’s fingers stroke my hair. “This is my fault. All of it.”

“Not your fault.” My voice comes raspy but clear. “Is Zane okay?”

“I’m here.” My brother appears in view. “Thanks to you, you stupid hero.”

“Draven?”

“Safe.” That’s Rose hovering in the doorway. “Banged up but alive.”

The fever makes everything hazy, but certain things stand sharp. Marcus’s words about agents. About taking people one by one until she gives herself up.

“Need to tell you…” But darkness pulls me under before I can finish.

More dreams. Evie in the gallery that first day—how beautiful she looked.

“He’s burning up.” Rick’s voice penetrates the fog.

---