Page 55 of T-Bone
We drove in silence for five minutes before Chloe finally spoke again. “Is Ashley really…” the last word broke off when her voice cracked.
I nodded. “I’m sorry but yeah. Her brother isn’t handling it well.” That was a goddamn understatement.
“He probably hates me too.”
I reached out to her. “Chloe, we all thought we were doing this just for her,” I nodded to the backseat where Gemma had drifted off to sleep. “None of us knew you were alive. Ash protected you with her life. Both of you. That makes you family.”
That was when she broke down completely, filling the car with her quiet sobs.
I rested a hand on her frail back while keeping my eyes on the road, long and dark and quiet, except for me and my brothers. I listened to her cry for all she had endured, all she had lost and the entirety of the life she would have to rebuild.
With my foot pressed hard on the gas, I let my thoughts drift to Faith. The woman who was my exact opposite on the surface, but who had the same determination, the same no-bullshit attitude I possessed.
And who also had stolen my heart when I wasn’t paying attention.
Chapter Thirty-One
Faith
Iwoke up with one hell of a headache, which should’ve been the first thing I noticed but it wasn’t. I was moving, the starry night and treetops providing the view as my throbbing head smacked against rocks, overturned tree stumps and other debris that littered the forest floor. I tried to look up to see where I was and who—or what—was dragging me.
“Stupid fucking bitch sliced clean through my skin.” That angry, muttered growl was familiar and just like that I remembered everything.
Leaving the clubhouse in the middle of the night.
My ridiculous plan to draw the Ghost Riders away from Gemma’s location. The shootout in the forest.
The two men I killed.
While Nate dragged me without regard for my pain, I took stock of my injuries. My side was sore and still bleeding, which explained the nausea that had taken up residence in the pit of my stomach. It was my head though that caused me the most pain. There were black dots on the periphery of my vision, and everything was a little blurry. When I remembered why, my anger bubbled to the surface. I opened my mouth to yell at him about hitting me with his gun butt just as I pushed air from my mouth, I paused.
I needed to be smart right now, smarter than Nate. With my side and head hurting he’d probably have a greaterphysical advantage over me, even with his own shoulder injury. I clenched my abs and looked at what I could see of Nate. His broad shoulders slumped forward, he limped slightly, and his breathing was labored. He was hurting as much as I was.
Good.
“You’re all alone now, Nate.” My tone was ominous despite the pain. “Completely alone.” I didn’t think he was scared, not really, but I knew he was used to traveling in a pack, so it had to be unsettling to be alone right now.
Nate just laughed, sparing me a quick glance without breaking stride. “I might be without backup right now but you’re the one being dragged on the ground.”
That much was true, but I wasn’t out of this fight yet. I laid back down and watched the sky, counting the stars in the sky and then the leaves that fluttered on the breeze until I was calm. Clear headed. “Yeah,” I sighed dramatically. “Thanks for giving me time to get my energy back.”
“You’re a smart-mouthed bitch, aren’t you?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “It’s not the first time an insecure man has called me that for not behaving the way he thinks I should. Sorry, not sorry for not shaking in my boots just because you have a dick.” I snorted in amusement, feeling mildly giddy all of a sudden. “Probably got a small dick.”
“You just don’t know when to shut the fuck up, do you?”
I really didn’t. I recognized the seriousness of this situation and the huge disadvantage I was in, but the likely concussion mixed with blood loss was getting to me. “That’s rich coming from you, a guy ready to kill a child because his abusive, piece of shit buddy died. Seems like you should justlet it goandshut the fuck up. Not me.”Stay calm,I told myself, even asNate yanked my leg and my head knocked against a rock hidden beneath the brush.
“If it makes you feel better to lie about my brother, maybe I won’t trade you for the brat. Maybe I’ll kill you at the edge of the forest and leave your body for the vultures.”
His steps slowed in his defense of Marcus, but I heard the distant sounds of traffic, of eighteen wheelers chugging along a stretch of highway, which meant the road was close. He was distracted. “Why would I lie? If he’d treated Chloe right, I wouldn’t have cared that he was a biker. But putting his hands on my sister was my problem with him.”
“Bullshit. You’re a stuck up, straight-laced cop and you looked down on him.”
“You mean like Maynard? Does he look down on you?” I asked, my words felt forced because it was getting harder to breathe. If I had a move to make, it had to be soon.
“What do you think you know about Maynard?” he laughed. His tone was condescending.
