Page 25 of Shock

“Alright,” I whisper and look away.

“You got this, Mayhem?” Wolf says from the doorway.

“Yeah, go be with your girls.” He calls over his shoulder as Nova comes in with my medical kit.

He drops the metal tactical box on the floor, causing a hiss from me and his brother. Then the fucker sits on it like a stool. My foot comes out and kicks in out from under him.

“Off fucker,” I growl at him.

“She’s fine!” Nova yells out with a chuckle.

The doorway finally empties, and I frown at my god-brothers.

“So I heard this secret admirer of yours has turned deadly. Here’s a thought. How about you come back to Nola with us for a few days? Let Sparky and Priest do their jobs while we gorge ourselves on crawfish and beignets?” Nova winks at me but puts his hands up like he’s praying.

I narrow my eyes at him and then turn them on Mayhem, who finally has the tact box open and is searching through it.

“When you said taking me home?” He stops his movements and then glances at me.

“I meant Nola.” I nod, biting the inside of my mouth and feeling another wave of anger.

“No,” I go to stand, but they grab one of my shoulders and push my ass back down.

“YES!” They scream at me.

“Dammit, Hannah, someone is killing women, and you seem to be the model for their targets. If you won’t worry about your own damn safety, how about giving a shit about others? Cut us a break, and let us keep you safe. FUCK!” Mayhem throws a bottle of alcohol at the wall in frustration.

My eyes fill with tears at his words.

I sit still and let him clean my wounds while Nova pulls out the splinters. They speak about me like I’m not in the room, and maybe I’m not. I feel like I’ve checked out mentally again.

“I don’t want to run away,” I whisper when they’re all done with my hands and arms.

I survey the damage I caused in here and Nova blows a raspberry when he catches me.

“Don’t worry about this. Wolf said it was time to remodel.” He waves his hands dismissively around the room.

“You aren’t running or hiding. You’re being smart and proactive. Now, are you fighting us or going willingly?” Mayhem crosses his massive arms in front of him.

“Wait, what about the gym?” They’ve been in Reno, opening the newest brand of HAVOC for months.

I’m sad that they’re going home.

“Fully staffed, trained, and running a profit on month four. We aren’t needed here anymore.” Nova smiles at the success they’re having since taking things over from their Dad.

Franchising was his brainchild, and so far, it’s going fabulously.

“Fine, when are we leaving?” I stand and dust myself off.

“Tonight. Taking you home to pack. Then we’re hitting the road.” Shit, I need to call Diego.

I guess our date is off now.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

DIEGO

I’ve been countingdown the hours until I can see her again. Since it’s my day off and I have nothing better to fucking do, I find myself at my cousin’s gym right after lunchtime.