Page 92 of Through The Woods

Is he going to throw me out of the club?

Will he believe me as easily as you did?

He cleared his throat and looked back toward the door. “He’s taking care of some club business, so he sent me.”

I folded the corner of the hospital sheet over in my hand. “I see.”

He stopped me with his hand on mine. “Do you know what he—what we all risked by bringing you here? Do you know the doctors and nurses that have been paid off to keep the club off the radar? We all put our necks on the line, kid. And we’d do it again in a heartbeat to keep you safe.”

My throat tightened and I rubbed at it before replying, “I didn’t look at it that way—”

He laughed easily. “You think it’s common for a hospital to look the other way when a man tries to kill a patient? Charm and the guys hauled Blade’s ass out of here and not one person even batted a fucking eyelash. You showed up beat all to hell and the nurses are trying to get your doctor to release you back to us.”

I nodded along with him. “So, where am I going?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Where the hell do you think you’re going? Home, kid. Where you belong.”

“Back to Boulder?”

Twitch leaned closer to me, studying my eyes. “Do you have a fucking concussion? Did they check you for that? Course you’re not going back to Boulder—you’re going back to the clubhouse. We’re your family, Neve.”

Voices carried in from the hallway— “Just said he was going to the bank…”

“That make any fucking sense to you?”

“Not a damn bit, but I’m following orders.”

Bank? I assumed he was dealing with Blade.

I looked at Twitch. “Who’s out there?”

He whistled and the door opened immediately, revealing Rooster and Doc.

“Sup, Twitch? Our girl giving you problems already?” Rooster drawled as he sat down on the small couch near the window, placing a brown paper bag on the floor beside him.

I shook my head as Doc checked me over. “What are you guys doing here?”

It took Doc a second to respond as he studied the bruises on my face. “Guarding your room and somebody here thought you’d die if you had to eat the food from the cafeteria, so we snuck some in.”

Rooster held up the bag. “Pearl’s famous chicken noodle soup—she said you’d be up and shoppin’ in no time with some of this in ya.”

“Pearl? As in Pearl’s Treasures?”

Twitch nodded. “The very same. She brought a casserole over to the clubhouse as soon as she heard—she and a few others got the place put back together.”

I pressed my lips together in a thin line and Rooster, sensing I was uncomfortable, chimed in. “Wanda had us all come to the café for breakfast and lunch. I’m afraid we were all about to starve to death without you, Darlin’. Now, eat up, because word at the nurse’s station is that they’re kicking your pretty little ass out.”

Charm

“You’re sure?”

Twitch sighed and looked over my shoulder. “Yeah. She confirmed it. Thought you were gonna wait for me.”

I glanced down at my bloodstained hands and clothes. “Uh, yeah; I was. He got a little mouthy. How’s my girl?”

“She’s asking about you, Charm. She wakes up and you immediately leave. How do you think she’s doing?”

I knew what he thought—what they all probably thought—that my need for revenge was stronger than my need for her. Nothing was further from the truth. This was about so much more than putting Blade to ground; it was about finding out why he’d come after her in the first place.

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