Page 14 of Vengeance (Ruthless MC 4)
He probably would have been a better choice to watch over her after we got her home. But we all agreed it should be me she wakes up to since she called me.
She’s sitting up in bed. Even more beautiful because of her mussed hair and faded makeup, not despite it. Other than that, she’s the same woman we nicknamed Doc. Same intelligent eyes. Same slender frame. Same tough-girl expression layered over the fragile woman beneath. Back when we first spotted her working the roadhouse bar, Des-E had worried that she wouldn’t be able to handle everything he wanted to do to her.
But she’s stronger than she looks. We discovered that when we shot our way into that room and found her kneeling over that Lado Norte she stabbed through the neck.
My heart jerks at the sight of her. I gave up on religion when I took a bus out of the Mississippi Delta and never returned. But my God, she’s beautiful. Even in a pair of sweats.
I’ve only ever seen her clothed a handful of times. Mostly in the early days when we did reconnaissance on her—before Vampire made us stop.
Back when I thought there was a chance of us making her ours, I’d follow her from her house to the hospital every morning just to see that she got there safe. And sometimes, in the winters, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from going back twelve hours later to make sure nothing happened to her on the way to her car.
I’d imagine her coming out of the hospital and smiling when she saw me waiting for her there. But I never dared step out of the shadows.
Now she’s here. In our bed, where I’ve always wanted her.
I carefully put aside the magazine. After everything that happened, talking to her feels like handling a bomb that could go off at the slightest movement.
“Nebraska,” I answer her. “You’re in our safe house in Nebraska.”
“I’m safe,” she whispers.
“You’re safe,” I assure her.
She blinks. “But how? What did you use to put me out?”
“Just chloroform,” I answer. “Des-E always carries some with him. Just in case.”
“Wow, just in case.” Her lips twist into a wry smile, reminding me finally of the woman we knew before that call. “So, the real question is, what did you use to keep me under for however long it took you to drive here?”
“Fly,” I correct her with a wince. “Rockstar was still in town, and he let us use his jet to get you here.”
“Rockstar…” she repeats, her voice going faint.
“That’s—”
“I know who Rockstar is,” she says before I can remind her. “Griff’s only been asking me about Red for years.”
“Oh…yeah.” It’s been so long since her friend disappeared on Griff, the Reaper who the rest of the world used to know as G-Latham before he rehabbed his image. I forgot that Doc was the one who recruited Red to work at the roadhouse in the first place.
Doc looks around again. Her shrewd gaze takes in everything from the pine floors and walls to the pine log bed she’s lying in.
“So you brought me to your safe house.” She turns her gaze back to me. “I guess the next logical question is how bad was it?”
I think about holding back. Protecting her from the truth since we weren’t able to protect her from that Lado Norte. But she never would have been put in that position if we’d been honest with each other in the first place. She’s here now, and lying’s not how I want to begin this new start with her.
“It was bad,” I admit. “You killed the leader of that Lado Norte street gang. We pretty much had to shoot our way in to get to you. And getting out wasn’t exactly a bag of kittens. Plus, they’re a gang we don’t have any connections to, so—”
“I got the three of you in big trouble,” she concludes.
“Nah, baby, that’s not the case at all,” I assure her with an easy smile. I joke, “We don’t get in trouble. We make it.”
But she doesn’t laugh. Just regards me with a troubled expression.
“Hyena? If I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?”
I always have an easy answer at the ready. Smooth-talking is my specialty within the group. But in this case, I actually take the time to consider her words before answering. “Sure.”
“How much trouble did you have to make because of me?” she asks, her expression thick with sorrow. “I mean, we’re in a safe house. My career is done, and now you’re in trouble too. Having to hide out with me…”
Her voice cracks, and seeing her upset stabs me through with pain.
I was trying to hold back, keep some distance between us to make her feel more comfortable. But I have to rush over to the bed. “No, Doc, baby, listen to me. We’re not in trouble. You’re not either. It wasn’t a tiny job, but believe me, the Reaper cleanup crew has seen worse. Vengeance has done worse—way worse. Des-E had to call in a few favors, but it’s all taken care of…”
