“How are you feeling, baby?” he asked, his eyes full of worry.
“I’m okay. My leg is a little sore, but I think that’s to be expected. Did the surgery go okay?” I asked.
“It went fine. The surgeon got the bleeding under control and repaired a tendon and a muscle that were damaged by the knife. Then, a plastic surgeon came in and closed the wound. You’ll still have a scar, but it will be as pretty as it can be,” he explained.
Duke stepped forward and placed a kiss on my forehead. “Do you need anything?”
I grinned and lowered my voice, “Don’t kill that motherfucker yet. I have a few questions I want to ask him first.”
“I think they gave you too much pain medicine, little sister,” Duke said and winked.
“Are you up for some visitors?” Chase asked. “The waiting room is full of club members and Old Ladies waiting to check in on you, but there are three that are going to cause a problem if they don’t get to lay eyes on you soon.”
Right on cue, I heard my Aunt Leigh’s voice getting progressively louder as she told the nurses what they could do with their visitation policy. She burst through the door to my room with her hulking son blocking her from the security guards trailing after them. “Duke Jackson, I specifically told you to call me the second she woke up.”
I giggled. “I literally just woke up, Aunt Leigh. I promise.”
“Oh, my sweet Harper. How are you feeling?” she asked, tears welling in her eyes.
“I’m okay,” I said. “Hey, what’s happening out there?” I craned my neck to see around her. “Hey! Let them go. They’re family,” I yelled to the security guards who were trying, unsuccessfully, to escort Judge and Shaker away from my room.
Judge shook the guard’s hands off his arms while Shaker stuck his tongue out and sauntered into my room. “Hey there, sweetheart. I won’t stay long, but I had to see for myself that you were okay,” Shaker said, bending down to kiss the top of my head. A low growl came from Chase. “Easy, killer. I know she’s yours, but we were kidnapped together, so I’m allowed to kiss the top of her head. It’s in the rulebook.”
I laughed again, and Chase muttered a curse under his breath.
Judge stepped forward and squeezed my hand. “Clearly you’ve been trying to get my attention with your recent antics. You have it, so you can stop now.”
“I’ll do my best,” I sassed.
“Glad you’re okay, Sister Cousin,” he murmured.
“Me, too, Brother Judge.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Carbon
I would forever be grateful to Byte for hooking Harper up with the device that saved her life. Since we hadn’t found the man who had assisted Hilarie with the kidnappings, Byte suggested Harper keep a small device in her pocket that would alert designated parties when she needed help as well as her current location. All she had to do was press the button one time to send the signal. When I received seven alerts back to back, I couldn’t get to her fast enough. In a stroke of luck, I was over at the stables. Duke had called and asked if I could get Titan because one of the horse owners had shown up at the barn unexpectedly.
When I found Vance with a knife to Harper’s throat, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get him away from her without her getting hurt. I was still trying to formulate a plan when I saw Duke peering in her office window. Between Titan’s growling and my cryptic taunts to Vance, Duke was able to open the window and climb inside silently. Ultimately, she would be okay, but he hurt her, spilled her blood, and for that, he must pay.
It had been three days since he attacked Harper. She had been home from the hospital for two of those days, and she had not stopped asking me about going to see Vance. We argued about it the first day she was home until she finally agreed that it was too soon. She brought it up again the second day and refused to back down.
I threw my hands in the air and roared, “Fucking fine, Harper! I’ll take you to see him!”
“Thanks, pumpkin. I just need to freshen up first,” she sassed and hobbled away as haughtily as she could.
We drove to the clubhouse in silence. I was pissed, and she was strangely happy. Upon entering the clubhouse, I instructed her to wait in the common room while I spoke with Phoenix. She could bitch about it all she wanted, but if he said no, I couldn’t go against my president.
Phoenix agreed to allow her to speak with him as long as the officers were present and she was separated from Vance by bars.
I sighed, exasperated when I didn’t see Harper in the common room. “I told her to wait right here. Let me go see if she’s in my room.”
Returning to the common room after checking my room and Duke’s room, I pulled out my phone to call her. When I heard her ringtone and saw her purse on the floor beside one of the sofas, a feeling of deja-vu hit me. “Fuck,” I growled and stormed toward the door to the basement.
Sure as shit, it was wide open. Phoenix and I cursed again and rushed down the stairs. I pulled open the second door that should have been locked and stopped dead in my tracks, causing Phoenix to slam into my back.