Chapter Twenty-Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
AS USUAL, TALIA left work late, but to her surprise, she found Spec sitting astride his motorcycle in her office’s parking lot three days later. As the only vehicle besides hers in the parking lot, it was impossible to call his presence a coincidence.
She slowed as she exited the building. Was he there to finish the job and take her out of the equation? While he hadn’t spoken to Pulse or her in the days since the club’s vote, she’d been told he’d agreed to Curly’s demand of civility.
Was it a lie to get her to let down her guard?
Was this revenge for what he believed was Pulse’s betrayal?
“What are you doing here?” she called across the twenty or so feet that separated them.
His eyes flared with a hint of pride.
That’s right, asshole, I won’t cower to you or anyone.
He lifted his hands in surrender. “Relax. I mean you no harm.” Then he shifted to reveal Liv sitting behind him on the bike.
“Surprise!” she said with a sunny grin. “I’m here to take you to drinks with the ladies. You’ll take me since I rode with this lug, but you know what I mean.”
“Oh, that sounds nice.” She could use a few drinks after the day she had. Three hearings and one failed mediation with a defiant abuser who’s made it his life’s mission to make his divorce as contentious as possible. Maybe she could get the club to put a little discreet pressure on him.
Wow, after only a few weeks of dating a biker, she’d crossed to the dark side.
“Of course, it’s nice. We’re a fantastic time.” Liv climbed off the bike, then took her helmet off before laying a long, passionate kiss on Spec. Guess she was through icing him out.
“Where’s Lug?” she asked of the prospect who’d been on guard duty earlier. Talia didn’t step any closer to Spec. Liv could come to her. Maybe down the road, she’d be comfortable around the man, but the memory of his gun against her temple was too fresh to be relaxed with him in her personal space.
“Sent him home.” Spec grinned. “I’ll tail you ladies to the bar and hang while you get sloshed. I imagine Pulse is hearing about it right now and will be here to rip me a new one before we get the chance to ride out of the lot.”
Frowning, she glanced at the quiet road leading from the office.
No Pulse yet.
“I thought you wanted nothing to do with us.” She folded her arms across her chest as Liv sashayed her way. It was the only accurate word to describe the woman’s confident, sophisticated gait.
“I don’t.”
“ Spec .” Liv huffed.
He shrugged. “It’s true. But Livy wants to go out, and she wants you there, which means I go too.”
Rolling her eyes, Liv slipped her arm through Talia’s. “He’s a little cavemanish when it comes to my safety. Come on. Let’s go meet the others.”
“Am I dressed okay?” Talia asked as she looked down at her black pencil skirt and cream silk camisole. She could lose the cardigan for a bit of a more casual look, but the outfit screamed attorney.
“Yes, of course. You always look fantastic.” Liv waved her concern away as though the woman didn’t resemble a damn supermodel in her leather miniskirt and hot pink crop top. Talia wanted to hate her, but Liv made it damn impossible.
“All right. Let’s do it. That’s me down there,” she said, pointing to her car at the far end of the lot. She always parked under the streetlamp at the end so clients could take the spots closer to the building.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Spec called. “Don’t try to lose me.”
Talia rolled her eyes. “I’m not an idiot,” she mumbled.
“C’mon.” Liv, the peacemaker, glared what seemed like a warning look at her old man before tugging Talia down the sidewalk toward her car. “Brooke texted and said they got a table. We picked a place close to here. It’s only about a five-minute drive,” she said as they reached Talia’s vehicle.
“Perf—”
A sharp staccato cut through the night air.
“What the hell?” Liv started to turn just as a pain-filled grunt left her man. “Spec!” she screamed. “Oh my God,” she shrieked, instantly hysterical. “Talia, he’s been shot!”
Talia watched in horror as Spec crumbled to the ground next to his motorcycle. The bike provided the only protection from a continued barrage of bullets.
“Get down,” he screamed.
The command jolted her into action.
Liv lunged forward toward Spec, who continued to scream at them to get down. Bullets bounced off Talia’s car with an eerie metallic plink.
“No, Liv,” she shouted to the woman trying to dash across the parking lot toward her man. “They’re still shooting. We need to get behind the car.” Talia grabbed her friend and tried to pull her to safety.
Liv fought her. “I have to get to him.”
“Liv, we’re sitting ducks.”
A bullet whizzed by so close she felt the rush against her ear.
“Talia. I need to get to him.”
Fuck.
Her heart thundered in her ears. “Liv, I’m sorry,” she said as she slammed into her friend, tackling her to the pavement.
Liv screamed, and Talia grunted as they hit the ground. Gravel ground into her bare knees with a painful sting. No doubt Liv took the brunt of it, but they were alive.
For the moment.
She grabbed a struggling Liv around the waist and dragged her behind the car to safety.
“Talia, please let me go. I have to get to him. Please, please, please. We can’t leave him there.” Her eyes were wide with panic, and her clothes were a mess of dirt and gravel. A long scrape from the asphalt covered her upper arm.
“We won’t leave him, Liv, I promise,” she said as she held Liv against the wheel well. “Spec knows what to do. Your man is former special forces. He needs you safe so he can focus on getting himself to safety.”
“Okay, yeah.” Liv shook her head. “I hate it, but I get it.”
Talia sat back on her heels with a gasp. “Holy shit, Liv, I think you’ve been shot.”
“What?” Liv blinked. Blood poured down her face from a gash that traveled from her forehead to her temple. Based on where it was, it seemed like it would have hit dead center in her forehead had Talia not knocked her to the ground. She lifted her hand to her head as her eyes glazed over.
“Don’t touch it.” Talia wriggled out of her cardigan. “Here, press this to the wound.”
“Talia, I don’t care.” Liv tried to swat the sweater away. “I need to check on Spec.”
“Liv, baby, you okay?” Spec’s shout made Liv burst into tears.
“He’s all right, Liv, see? And listen… the shooting stopped.” Their eyes met. Liv looked like an extra from an action movie as she held the sweater to her bloody head. “She’s safe,” Talia shouted back. Telling Spec Liv had been grazed by a bullet would not be a smart move. Her injury wasn’t life-threatening, so he could find out that tidbit later. “Is it over?”
“Not sure,” Spec hollered back.
The night was as quiet now as it had been when she left the building, except for Liv’s choked breathing.
“Okay,” she said, grabbing Liv’s shoulders. “I’m going to try to get to Spec. You need to promise me you’ll stay here, okay?”
“No, Talia…”
“Honey, I have no idea how much blood loss is too much, but you’re bleeding a fuck ton. You need to stay here so I don’t have to drag you back if you pass out from blood loss. I won’t be able to help Spec if I have to help you too.” A low blow, maybe, but she’d say whatever she needed to keep Liv out of harm’s way.
Liv’s shoulders slumped. “Okay.”
“Call Curly.”
Liv nodded. “Be careful.” They shared a quick hug, and then Talia crawled around the side of the car toward Spec. She made it about five feet before the first bullet hit the asphalt, so close that gravel spray pelted her cheek.
“Talia, what the fuck are you doing? Get back,” Spec roared.
“I’m coming to help you, you asshole,” she growled as she crawled toward him as fast as she could while her palms and knees screamed in agony.
“Get back behind the fucking car!”
A loud rumble had their gazes whipping toward the road where Pulse headed their way on his motorcycle.
“No,” Talia whispered. She wanted to jump up, wave her arms, and shout at him to turn back, but she’d be shot dead for sure. Instead, she had no choice but to watch with her heart in her throat as the man she loved turned into the parking lot amid a spray of bullets. His shout rang out at the same time his bike tilted.
Talia screamed as the motorcycle hit the ground. Pulse scrambled away on all fours as bullets hailed around him like lethal raindrops. The screech of metal on concrete had her wincing as the bike slid across the parking lot, showering the air with a spray of sparks. Pulse made it behind a large pad-mounted transformer directly across from them. He sat with his back to the large metal box, panting and wild-eyed.
“Spec?” Liv called.
“I’m okay, baby. Don’t fucking move from behind that car.”
Talia couldn’t tear her gaze from Pulse. “You hit?” he asked, panic in his voice.
She shook her head. “No. But Spec is. He was shot in the leg, and he’s bleeding a lot.” A bullet pinged against the bike, and she flinched. “And we’re not exactly safe here.”
Pulse ran his hand through his hair. “Can you walk, brother?”
“Of course, I can fucking walk.”
Beneath him, a large pool of blood continued to spread. He’d paled to an ashy gray color that had Talia shaking her head at Pulse. No way could this macho idiot walk. He’d probably pass out the second he tried to stand.
“Here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna stand and draw their attention. Talia, you book it the fuck over here behind this transformer. Then I’ll scramble over to Spec and try to drag him back here.”
What?
“No. No way,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re not standing and drawing their fire. I’ll help you drag him over there. He’s freakin’ heavy,” she yelled. “It’ll be easier with both of us.”
She glanced toward the car, where Liv peered around the side and watched with wide, terrified eyes. Long, red blood trails ran down her face, but she still kept the cardigan pressed to her head.
“Fuck that,” Pulse yelled across the lot. “No way in hell.”
Talia ground her teeth and scowled at him. “Do not fight me on this, Pulse. Either I help you or stand up and draw their attention so you can crawl over here and get him.”
She’d do it too. No way would she allow him to potentially sacrifice himself for her. Did he think she’d ever be able to look herself in the mirror if he took a bullet while she hid like a coward?
“Goddamn stubborn woman,” he grumbled while Spec laughed.
“You got a serious set of balls on you, counselor. Either that or you’re fucking crazy.”
“Yeah, well, I’m trying to save your ass even though you pulled a gun on me the other day, so it’s probably the crazy option.”
Spec snorted.
She kept her attention locked on Pulse, who held up three fingers, then two, then one. He sprang out from behind the transformer like an Olympian runner, but instead of sprinting toward them, he scrambled on all fours. Bullets immediately hit the ground around him, but he made the five-second trip unscathed.
She wanted to kiss him and hold him until she was convinced they were both completely unharmed. A single Harley didn’t provide much protection for three grown-ass adults during a bullet storm.
“Fuck, you’re bleeding like a stuck pig,” Pulse said, frowning at Spec.
“Thanks for noticing.”
“Okay, Tal, hook your arm under his like this.” Pulse demonstrated the hold. “Then we can crawl back behind the transformer. At least we’ll have better coverage there. Spec, you use your good leg to help push along. Ready?”
Spec’s eyes had dulled from pain and blood loss, but he shook his head. “Fuck this. Get your woman to safety. Forget me. I don’t deserve your help.”
The critical level of adrenaline coursing through her system wasn’t enough to stop the pang in her heart.
“Fuck off,” Pulse growled. “Besides, I’m doing this for Liv. I’m afraid she’ll stab me to death with one of those spikes she calls shoes.”
Spec’s weak laugh had Pulse cursing. “Ready?” he asked, staring at Talia with determination.
Was she ready to drag a giant man across fifteen feet of target practice?
Hell no.
“I’m ready.”
“All right, baby, let’s go.”
She heaved with all her strength while crawling and trying to ignore the rough concrete digging into her abraded knees and palms. Thankfully, Spec’s uninjured leg was on her side. The added boost of his assistance allowed her to keep up with Pulse as they scrambled the fifteen feet that felt more like a mile.
Spec ground his teeth, muffling his scream. His leg had to be in agony. Neither she nor Pulse tried to be gentle. All they cared about was getting back to safety.
A bullet hit directly in front of her, spraying gravel and drawing a shriek from her.
“You got this, baby. You’re such a fucking badass. Almost there.”
If she hadn’t loved the man before, she certainly did now. For him to use his energy to encourage and compliment her had her blinking back tears amidst her terror.
They reached the transformer after what felt like an hour but had only been a few seconds. Liv shouted, but Talia couldn’t hear it over her harsh breathing and pounding pulse.
“One more burst of effort, Tal. Haul his heavy ass behind this box.”
She inhaled a deep breath and let out a long wail as she used the last of her energy to help heave Spec behind the transformer. All she wanted to do was slump against the box and breathe, or better yet, kiss the hell out of Pulse, but her man went straight to work on Spec’s injury and might need help.
Now that they were once again hidden, the gunfire stopped. “H-how can I help?” she asked between rapid breaths.
Pulse grabbed the back of her head and yanked her in for a quick, hard kiss. “Fuck, I love you so much, Talia.”
She blinked.
He didn’t mean that, right? It had to be the heat of the moment.
Now, her heart was racing for a different reason.