“Why do you heroes always say that? Has it ever worked?” Vance asked rhetorically, chuckling to himself.
Carbon shrugged. “It’s perfunctory.”
What in the hell was wrong with him? He went from furious to stone cold to nonchalant. Carbon’s eyes scanned me from head to toe and back up. His green eyes locked with mine and for the briefest of seconds, I caught a glimpse of the man I loved before he morphed back into his role as the club’s Enforcer. It was all I needed to know that he had this. I kept my eyes trained on him and waited, trying my best to ignore the sharp knife digging into my throat.
“You have perfect timing,” Carbon said, grinning maniacally.
I felt Vance’s body tense and shift. I couldn’t see his face, but I imagined his countenance conveyed confusion. “Why is that?” he asked, his voice not near as confident as it had been moments before.
Carbon made a face of disappointment and dejectedly replied, “You don’t want me to ruin the surprise, do you?” I honestly couldn’t tell if Carbon was being serious or if this was part of some act. One thing I did know, Carbon the Enforcer was a scary motherfucker.
“Shut the fuck up. I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work,” Vance spat, taking a few steps back, dragging me with him.
Carbon feigned shock. “You do? Am I that transparent?” He focused his wide eyes on Vance and blinked several times, waiting for him to answer. When he didn’t, Carbon bared his teeth and growled, keeping the corners of his lips turned up in a wicked smile. “You don’t have a clue what I’m doing,” he said, taking one step forward causing Vance to take another step back. Titan’s eyes moved to the side and came right back to me. Vance must have seen it, too, and started to turn, but Carbon spoke again grabbing his attention, “...but you’re about to find out.”
There was a snarl and a flash of black fur before I felt a line of fire erupt down my leg. Then, I was on the ground being pulled across the floor. I could hear grunts and groans accompanied by the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Curses and swears sounded around the room. Before I could put the pieces together, worried green eyes appeared in front of me.
Chase gently cupped my cheek. “You’re okay, baby. We got him.”
“He’s her brother!” I shrieked. “That’s Vance Vine! Don’t let him get away!”
“Duke’s got him. He’s not going anywhere.”
“Duke?” I croaked.
Blue eyes, much like my own, appeared beside Chase. “I came in through the window and disarmed him from behind,” my brother said, not at all looking happy about capturing the madman trying to harm me. “Patch is already on his way to look at your leg. I’m sorry, Harper.”
I had forgotten about the pain in my leg until he mentioned it. “What happened to my leg?” I asked, trying to sit up.
Chase’s hands gently pushed back against my shoulders. “Stay down, baby.”
There was a commotion at the door, and I involuntarily flinched, despite being surrounded by Carbon, Duke, and Titan. “It’s Phoenix and Badger. They’re getting Vance out of here,” my brother informed me.
“Why won’t you guys let me sit up?” I whined.
Before either one of them could answer, Patch arrived. He knelt beside me and pointedly asked, “Are you hurt anywhere other than what I can see right now?”
I shook my head. “No, it didn’t get that far.”
He gently patted my shoulder. “Good. Good. I’m going to take a look at your leg first.” He moved toward my feet. I felt the leg of my pants being moved and then heard several intakes of breath. “I’m going to wrap this in some gauze. We need to keep some pressure on it. One of you get a car from Ember and have it out front and ready to go.” Redirecting his attention to me, he continued, “Your leg needs to be treated at the hospital. I’m going to wrap it, and then we’re moving.”
“What. Happened. To. My. Leg?” I demanded.
Patch looked at me then to Chase and back to me. “You have a significant gash on your upper leg that will require an extensive number of sutures and quite possibly a surgical repair. He missed your femoral artery, but it is bleeding significantly, and we need to get to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“What?” I shrieked.
Carbon cleared his throat. “Duke grabbed Vance’s arm from behind and pulled it away from your neck. As soon as Duke had his hands on Vance, Titan lunged and pulled you down to the ground by your pants’ leg. It just so happened that Vance’s arm was moving in a downward arc at the same time. The knife made contact with your leg as you were being pulled down and away. The momentum and the angle...” he trailed off and shook his head. “It’s a nasty cut, baby. I’m so sorry.”
“You, Duke, and Titan saved my life. There’s nothing to be sorry for,” I said. “Is Titan okay?”
“He’s fine. He was on the other side of the knife.”
“All finished. Let’s get her out to the car,” Patch announced.
Hours later I woke to the sounds of machines beeping and the smell of Band-Aids. I shifted my weight, and the crinkle of plastic beneath me confirmed my suspicions, I was in the hospital. But why? Oh, that’s right, because the fucking Vines struck again. Cracking one eye open, I saw two large forms sitting in chairs off to the side. I opened both eyes and managed to croak, “Water.”
If I could have laughed, I would have, at how fast the big badass bikers jumped to their feet and scrambled to fetch me a cup of water. Chase gently placed the straw to my lips, and I swallowed a few small gulps of precious hydration. “Hi,” I uttered stupidly, then rolled my eyes at myself.