Sal (The Ride Series) (17 page)

As we taxied the runway the next morning, I looked out the window thoughtfully, glad to be headed home.

“Thanks for coming,” he said quietly, eyeing me intently. “You made it a hell of a lot better.”

I turned to him and squeezed his thigh briefly. “You’re welcome, Sal, anytime,” I told him sincerely.

He nodded and didn’t say more on the subject.

“Excited to go home?” I asked him as our plane took flight.

“Fuck, yes,” he replied emphatically.

I laughed at his enthusiasm. “Me, too,” I agreed, realizing how true those words were.

I’d carved a life for myself under the Nevada sun, and I felt a deep kinship with my home. I’d built it from nothing and now I felt like I had everything.

Chapter 15

T
he next few weeks were relatively calm. I was still staying at Sal’s place, and although I didn’t have any issue with it, I didn’t like that it was only because he wanted to protect me. I wanted it to be because we both wanted it, not because there was a threat. But for the time being, I was rolling with it.

Scarlet had embraced wedding planning which thrilled Cole. They set a date in early spring for their wedding in the mountains. All the neighboring clubs would be present as well as the Sinners, her Dad’s former club and the one she’d grown up in. It was going to be a huge party and a hell of a lot of fun.

For now, the wedding on everyone’s mind was Connie and Wes’. It was in just a few days and both Sal and I were busy with groomsmen and bridesmaid duties. This basically meant we needed to be able to throw back a shot and, in my case, shake my ass on the dance floor.

I may not have grown up in a club or been around bikers except for the past year, but I fit in fine. These were my friends, my family and I loved how they let their hair down, partied hard, and loved deeply.

“One more, Kat, come on!” Connie hollered, squealing in delight as we stood at the packed bar in the dance club downtown. She’d decided to have her bachelorette party several days before the wedding so she’d have time to recover. And judging by the way we were going tonight, she had made a smart decision.

The guys were across town doing god knows what for Wes’ bachelor party. Ryker and Jeb, another prospect, were on the hook for watching us tonight and I didn’t envy their job. By the time we left, they’d have some very drunk females to wrangle.

I threw back the latest shot, wincing only slightly as the liquor burned sweet and smooth down my throat. Scarlet shook her head at me, smiling ruefully at my antics.

“Let’s dance!” Ettie cried over the music, and the four of us made our way to the dance floor. There had been a few other girls with us earlier in the night–Connie’s friends from work but they’d started dropping off, leaving just the four of us to close things down.

I was sweating from both dancing and the crush of bodies, and I was ready for a break when Connie hollered that she needed to use the bathroom. I agreed to go with her; we were operating on the buddy system as we always did when we went out. I noted how Jeb stepped away from the wall he’d been leaning against to follow us at a distance.

When we entered the empty bathroom, the subdued bass was a relief from the noise outside. We giggled drunkenly while talking through the stalls as we peed and then washed our hands side by side.

We were about to head back out when Jeb came stumbling into the bathroom clutching his side, his eyes wide and face ashen. My lip-gloss clattered into the sink as my hands flew to try to catch him. Two men followed immediately behind, shoving Jeb to the ground and securing the door behind them.

I was able to half catch him as his big body dropped to the ground. He groaned loudly in pain yet managed to sit up against the wall, his face a mask of agony.

My body stiffened when the second man turned to face me. It was the bastard who’d attacked me.

His evil face turned into a satisfied smirk. “I was hoping I’d see you again,” he said as he licked his lips, his tone sinister. His eyes trailed my bare legs and form-fitting dress.

My gaze snapped down to Jeb’s slumped form and back to the two imposing men.

Oh, shit. This was bad. Very, very bad. It looked like Jeb had been stabbed. He needed to get to a hospital immediately, and Connie and I were in a seriously vulnerable position. I looked over at my friend, finding her eyes shocked and face pale. She looked ready to faint and I grimaced, clearly no help to be had there.

Any trace of intoxication fled my body, and I was suddenly stone-cold sober with adrenaline coursing through my veins. I’d learned some badass self-defense in my kickboxing class, and I was stronger than I’d ever been. But, taking on two huge, armed men wasn’t in the cards for me. So, I figured my only option was to keep them talking.

“What do you want with us?” I asked as I stood defensively in front of Connie whose breathing was coming faster as the minutes passed. If she passed out shit was going to go downhill fast, or more downhill than it already was.

The other man grinned and I looked at him closely for the first time before gasping in surprise. “You’re Allen Parker! You were at one of Sal’s parties,” I recalled with confusion.

I remembered the night well. Parker, as everyone seemed to call him, had been hitting on Scarlet. She’d later told me Parker and Cole were old enemies. Parker had been a prospect once, before he’d betrayed the Knights.

Parker grinned at me with a satisfied gleam in his eye. “I am,” he admitted. “I’m also the one who loaned your ma’s old man forty Gs with interest,” he added, pulling a large knife out from his back pocket and tossing it back and forth between his palms. Jeb groaned in frustration at being useless on the ground.

“What do you want with me?” I demanded, the blood whirring in my ears as I eyed his blade.

“You got forty Gs, gorgeous?” he asked with a satisfied smirk. He knew I didn’t.

I shook my head, swallowing the giant lump in my throat. I’d never felt fear like this, and I’d been in some pretty fucked up situations.

“I figured. Really, it was never about the money,” he said. “That pathetic bastard, Stu, approached me. Somehow your name came up, and I saw an opportunity to fuck with Sal’s girl,” he said as he cocked his head to the side, drawing closer still. “Really, I should thank you. I’m having so much fuckin’ fun,” he added, nearly gleeful.

Somehow I didn’t think his version of thank you was the same as mine.

“I think I’ll mark you, what do you say to my initials on your forearm?” he asked as he grinned, pulling my arm in his steel grip to jerk my body toward his. “That’ll really piss him off.”

I screamed the loudest, earsplitting scream I could muster, desperately trying to pull away from his grasp.

“No? How about your belly? Then Armstrong can look at my name every time he wants to fuck you.” He pulled my arm to his lips, giving me a loud, wet kiss.

I shuddered and wanted to vomit.

“Parker, man, we’ve already been in here too long,” creep number two noted nervously, holding a now struggling Connie and eyeing the door with unease.

Parker nodded and turned back to me.

“What do you want?” I repeated, trying to distract him from harming me. His knife looked sharp and I was scared shitless.

“Respect and fear,” he replied as though it were obvious. “But, mostly fear.”

“You’re signing your death warrant if you hurt me,” I hissed, yanking hard in his grasp.

“Let them try,” he scoffed before turning me forcefully so my back was to his front.

I thrashed for all I was worth; putting everything I had into fighting him. Connie was screaming her head off as I bit and clawed at him, determined to fend him off. Then I felt the blade dig into the flesh of my forearm with a searing pain. Two more deep slashes followed as I continued to scream, the sound so pained it was foreign in my ears.

“No time for the initials unfortunately,” he noted regretfully, letting me go as I gripped my arm, blood seeping through my fingers. “You tell your men,” he directed, looking at both Connie and me, “they should have taken me seriously when they had the chance. Now they’ve got to contend with me, and I’m not fucking around. You’re next,” he said, pointing his blade at Connie. “I waited for a reason with this one,” he said while pointing at me, “but this is too much fucking fun. I don’t need one anymore.” He tilted his chin at his partner and they threw the door open, blazing through it, and shoving the women who waited on the other side.

I looked at Connie, feeling dazed as women started shrieking and hollering. She looked okay, still standing at least. I swung my gaze to Jeb next who was now sitting in a puddle of blood. He’d somehow managed to pull his phone out and was talking to someone in a shallow tone. I took this all in as though it were a dream. All the sounds happening around me seemed to come through a tunnel, and I distantly realized I was losing a good amount of blood.

“Kat,” Connie said urgently, coming out of her haze to grip my shoulders. “Here, sit down, you’re okay,” she said, her voice shaking.

Then I heard Scarlet and Ettie screaming my name.

“I’m okay,” I tried to reassure them even though I felt like anything but. I slid down the wall to sit on the ground and stared dazedly at the scene unfolding in front of me. Women in cocktail dresses ran around in chaos as a few men in suits filled the small space. Ryker came barreling in, hauling Jeb up and over his shoulder in seconds.

Scarlet took my face in her hands, eyeing me intently. “This is nothing. You’ve got this,” she said, her calm tone juxtaposing the fear in her eyes.

She was right. In the scheme of things, what I’d been through, this was nothing. A little blood, a little pain. I could handle this.

I nodded resolutely and squeezed my eyes shut against the pain, determined not to be a baby about it. I’d take a blade from a stranger rather than a backhand from my mother any day.

Ry was suddenly back, dipping low to lift me in his arms.

“Sal?” I murmured as he carried me out, with my friends trailing behind. I needed Sal.

“Already talked to him, he’s right behind us, babe,” he answered, carrying me out through the club to the SUV the guys had brought us in.

“Oh, god, Jeb,” I said hoarsely as Ry placed me beside the bleeding prospect in the backseat. The girls all piled in alongside and in front as quickly as they could, and we sped off.

“Jeb,” I said again when he’d closed his eyes and had stopped responding. I grabbed his cold hand in mine and squeezed.

I leaned back on the headrest and shut my eyes, still holding tight to Jeb’s hand.

I could hear Ryker talking harshly to someone on the phone and Connie quietly crying, but I was starting to nod off.

The SUV came to a screeching halt and I was vaguely aware of being placed on a stretcher, of being rushed through bright lights and smooth corridors of the hospital.

I must have passed out because the next thing I heard was Sal’s voice. “Baby,” his voice came, sounding tortured and hoarse in my ear.

I opened my eyes, squinting through the bright light up at Sal’s gorgeous face. His face peered down into mine, his expression pained.

I managed a weak smile. “I’m okay,” I assured him. Whether that were true or not I wasn’t entirely sure, but I’d say just about anything to get that expression off his face.

His hand moved to my forehead, smoothly moving my hair from my face. “Yeah, you are,” he agreed forcefully. “They’ve already stopped the bleeding. A couple of stitches and you’ll be good as new.”

“And Jeb?” I asked quietly.

Sal’s expression darkened. “In emergency surgery. It doesn’t look good,” he admitted.

“Oh, no,” I croaked, tears blurring my vision.

The nurse came in then, checking my vitals and changing the bloody bandage on my arm.

“When can she go home?” Sal demanded.

The nurse looked up at him, her eyes fearful. Sometimes I forgot how scary Sal could be. He had the ability to scare the crap out of people, especially in situations like this.

“Babe,” I said quietly, putting a hand on his forearm and squeezing gently in a silent bid for calm.

He nodded and blew out a harsh breath. I saw the war waging in his eyes, the need to go out and maim Parker and everyone involved. But, he seemed to get a handle on himself, if only a loose one, and sat in the chair by my bedside.

The nurse gave me a grateful look before regarding Sal. “The doctor will want to monitor for infection and make sure the blood loss stops entirely. I can’t say yet, but hopefully by mid-morning at the latest.”

I groaned at the prospect of having to stay. I wanted to get the hell out of there, take a shower, and crawl into bed with Sal. That is, if he didn’t take off to bestow his wrath on all those involved in hurting me. I’d say there was a fifty-fifty shot of that happening.

“You’re clotting really well and your vitals have already improved since you came in, so that’s good news,” she offered with a sympathetic smile.

“Thanks,” I murmured, suddenly feeling like I could sleep for a week.

“Try to get some rest,” she said in parting, pushing the curtain out of the way and leaving the room.

The hospital room felt so large and sterile, the incessant beeping grating my frazzled nerves. I glanced toward the curtain, which had an empty bed that I hoped stayed that way. The last thing I needed was to share this room tonight.

I turned my head toward Sal, surprised to see him taking off his cut and appearing to get comfortable in his chair. “You’re staying?” I asked, unable to hide the hope in my voice.

His eyes narrowed. “Of course I’m staying, Jesus,” he bit out, clearly irritated at my assumption.

Sal’s bedside manner had never been stellar.

I shrugged defensively. “I figured you’d be on a tear.”

He leaned closer, his forearms resting on the bed as he looked intently into my eyes. “Tonight’s actions will not go unpunished or unanswered, I can promise you that,” he said vehemently. “I admit it’s not easy to sit here and not want to draw blood as yours has been drawn,” he continued, his eyes sparkling with intensity. “But, if you think I’m letting you out of my sight for one fuckin’ second then you’re insane.”