There was a pause, and I knew. I knew why Judge had called instead of Bronze. “Several, including Bronze. He’s alive, but that’s all I know. He was one of the first ones taken to the hospital,” Judge said.
“I’m leaving now. Call Phoenix and ask him to go to the hospital until I can get there. You’re in charge until I arrive. Stay safe, brother.”
I whirled around and found Kayla staring at me with wide eyes. “I’ve got to go. There’s an emergency back home. I’m not trying to be a dick, but you’re coming with me. If you want any of your shit from around here, you have five minutes to get it into a backpack and get your ass on my bike.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. “I don’t have time to argue with you. You’re going with me. Now, get your shit and let’s go!” I barked.
She flinched at my tone and then sprinted for the stairs. Good. I didn’t have the patience to deal with her if she tried to argue. My mind was racing. My clubhouse was attacked. My brothers were hurt. Mybrotherwas hurt. Fuck! I should’ve asked how bad it was. No, I should have fucking been there instead of off in the mountains trying to clear my head and take care of a random woman with trouble written all over her.
Five minutes later, Kayla came down the stairs with a backpack strapped to her back and silently stood by the back door. I made quick work of locking up and led her to my bike.
As I was strapping my helmet on her head, I told her, “Hold on to me and don’t make any sudden movements. Keep your legs and feet away from the pipes. It’s usually about a thirty-minute ride, but it’s going to be a lot shorter today.”
I climbed on and barked, “Get on.” She did, and we were off.
8
Iwas terrified for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I was riding on a motorcycle for the first time in my life, and it was not a leisurely cruise through the mountainside. No, it was an all-out race at top speeds. All I could do was cling to Copper as tight as I could and keep my eyes squeezed shut. Oh, and pray I didn’t puke on his back.
On a positive note, my fear of becoming roadkill was keeping my mind off of venturing back into the world. He never mentioned where exactly we were going. I could only hope it was somewhere no one knew me. I wasn’t sure what I would do if it wasn’t.
Before long, the bike slowing, coupled with the scent of smoke in the air, had me cautiously opening my eyes. And immediately slamming them shut.
No.
No.
No.
He was pulling up to a partially burnt building surrounded by flashing lights. And bikers. A lot of bikers. I willed myself not to freak out. I needed to get out of there without drawing any attention to myself. If he thought I was freaking out, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight.
Okay, maybe I could play dumb, act like I didn’t know this was likely their clubhouse. I could promise to stay put while he did what he needed to do, and when he wasn’t paying attention to me, I could sneak away. With a plan in place, I felt better, not much, but a little was better than none at all.
He climbed off the bike and extended his hand to help me. Once I was on my feet, he didn’t let go of my hand. Instead, he started speed walking toward a group of bikers, dragging me along in his wake.
“Judge! Update,” he ordered.
A large, and might I add extremely good looking, man turned his head, “Prez.” He glanced at his watch and back to Copper. “That was quick.”
Did he say ‘Prez’? As in President? Oh, fuck me. This was far worse than I thought.
The sexy man called Judge lifted his chin in my direction. “You want me to speak in front of your...guest?”
Copper huffed and grunted, “No.” Then, he yanked on my hand and pulled me behind him as he walked up to a woman standing off to the side as if she was waiting for something to do.
“Leigh, this is Kayla, an acquaintance of mine. She’s never been here before and doesn’t know anyone. Can you watch out for her while I deal with this mess?” he asked, though it didn’t sound like much of a question.
She smiled. “Of course. You go do what you need to do. We’ll be fine.”
With that, he was gone, leaving me standing with a stranger in the middle of a biker compound with a recently destroyed clubhouse. Awkward didn’t even begin to cover it.
“What happened to your leg?” Leigh asked.
I jolted at her question, then blinked at her stupidly. “Huh?” I blurted.
She chuckled, “You’re a little jumpy. Guess that’s understandable considering. Anyway, I was asking what happened to your leg. You’ve got a noticeable limp.”
Oh, crap. What should I tell her? The truth wasn’t an option. “Uh, I hurt it while hiking. It’s healing well, but I’ve got an obscene amount of stitches in my calf,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t ask more questions.