Chapter Four
Logan
The rest of my day was long and tedious with one call after another. The fact we’d lost two patients today on the way to the hospital didn’t help any. I felt each and every death and remembered them all. Even though I knew we’d done everything we could, it still hit me hard.
I forced my shaking legs to carry me inside the station, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. Beaumont, my ever-observant partner, caught my eye. Before he’d become a paramedic, he’d been a licensed therapist. Sometimes I thought he didn’t know how to turn off that part of his training.
His Southern drawl, thick and comforting, sliced through my muddled thoughts. “Doc, you alright? You look like you wrestled a ghost and lost.”
A humorless chuckle escaped my lips. “Something like that, Beau.” My voice felt rough, like sandpaper scraping against my throat.
“Mind sharin’ what’s got you lookin’ like a kicked puppy? Because I don’t think it’s work-related.” He leaned closer, concern etched on his face. Deep down, I knew I could trust him with anything. Even my relationship with Akira.
The dam was already cracking. I really did need someone I could talk to. “It’s… complicated,” I admitted, the words tasting like ash on my tongue. “I’m in too deep with someone I shouldn’t be.”
Beaumont’s eyebrows shot up, a knowing glint in his eyes. “Has somethin’ to do with that fiery girl from the Dixie Reapers? The one with the cherry blossom tattoo?”
My cheeks burned. “Akira. And yeah, we’ve been… seeing each other. In secret.”
Except it seemed it wasn’t so secret anymore. If her dad knew, that meant all the Reapers most likely had found out. Now that Dawson was on my ass about it, soon everyone else in the Swift Angels would be too. With both of our clubs against us being together, it felt like we were up against impossible odds.
Beaumont placed a hand on my shoulder, his grip firm but gentle. “Listen, Doc, love ain’t always easy. It’s messy, it’s risky, it’s downright terrifying sometimes. But when it’s right, when it feels like your heart’s gonna beat out of your chest every time you see her, well, that’s somethin’ worth fightin’ for.”
His words were a lifeline, pulling me from the murky depths of despair. He was right. Akira was worth the risk, worth the fight. What I felt for her had already gone from a soft glowing ember to a flame.
“Thanks, Beau,” I said, my voice husky with emotion. “I needed to hear that.”
He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Anytime, partner. Now, let’s go…”
Before the word “home” could leave his lips, and before we had a chance to clock out, the alarm went off. A voice crackled over the radio and I felt my heart stop. “Motorcycle accident off Highway 12. Multiple vehicles involved. One fatality.”
When the words motorcycle, accident, and fatality were in the same few sentences, it never boded well. I hoped like hell we hadn’t just lost a Swift Angel, or a Dixie Reaper for that matter. I didn’t want to see Akira’s face if someone she loved had been taken from her.
My heart clenched and I shook off the thoughts. Beau had already run to the ambulance and had it running. I jumped into the passenger seat and we took off, arriving at the scene in a blur of flashing lights. There was already a fire truck and three cop cars on scene. The mangled wreckage had my stomach knotting. Twisted metal, shattered glass, and the acrid smell of burnt rubber filled the air. My eyes landed on what had once been a motorcycle, its rider nowhere in sight. A cold dread coiled in my gut, tightening with each passing second.
Ignoring the fear gnawing at my insides, I jumped down from the rig, Beaumont close behind. We grabbed our gear and sprinted toward the injured, the scene unfolding before us like a macabre dance. My eyes scanned the bloodied faces, searching for any sign of a leather cut. Relief washed over me when I didn’t see any among the casualties, quickly followed by a pang of guilt.
“I’ve got a pulse!” Beaumont shouted. I scanned the area and found him kneeling over someone in the grass, more than six feet from the highway. When I raced over, I saw the leather cut and knew instantly it was one of the Dixie Reapers. I’d seen him around town many times. Tank.
I joined Beau, my years of training kicking in as I assessed the patient’s injuries. A bone jutted from his leg, the femur snapped. His arm lay at a weird angle and I knew it was also broken. Thankfully, he’d been wearing a helmet, but as Beau cut the man’s shirt, I saw the state of his torso and knew there was possible internal bleeding. We needed to move fast.
We loaded the patient into the ambulance, and I stayed in back with him. The wail of the siren was a haunting echo as we sped toward the hospital. Beaumont’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, and I knew he was every bit as worried as I was.
I nodded, my determination growing stronger with each mile we covered. We pulled into the parking lot, not stopping until we reached the covered area outside the ER. As we pulled Tank from the back of the ambulance, I heard the hiss of the automatic hospital doors and the thumping of feet racing toward us.
I rattled off what we knew so far as the hospital staff took over. But I couldn’t leave him. Not knowing he was like family to Akira. My grip tightened on the gurney, the wheels squeaking under the weight of the unconscious Dixie Reaper. Nurses, their faces masks of grim determination, materialized and dematerialized around us, their voices a disjointed melody of medical jargon that my ears couldn’t translate right then.
Suddenly, through the chaos, my eyes snagged on a familiar figure in the waiting area. Wraith, Akira’s father, stood there, a monolith of worn leather and coiled tension. Our eyes met, and the world outside the hospital walls vanished. It was just the two of us, locked in a silent, electric gaze.
His recognition was immediate, followed by a tightening of his jaw, a hardening of his features that spoke volumes. He knew who I was, even though we’d never met. Just like I’d recognized him.
“You,” he finally spoke, pointing at me, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down my spine. “A word.”
I glanced at Beaumont, who returned a curt nod. I stepped away from Tank and went to stand in front of Wraith, not knowing if he was about to throw a punch or not. He tipped his head to the side. With a deep breath that did little to calm the tempest in my veins, I followed Wraith to a secluded corner of the waiting room. The silence stretched between us, punctuated only by the distant murmurs and the rhythmic whoosh of the air conditioning.
“Give it to me straight. Will Tank pull through?” he asked.
Not what I’d been expecting from him, and not so easy to answer. “Only the doctors can answer that for sure. He was stable on the way here, but they’ll have the proper tools to check for things we can’t diagnose out in the field.”
He nodded. “All right. Now for the other reason we need to talk. I know about you and my daughter. And let me make this crystal clear. If you hurt her, if you break her heart, there won’t be a place on this earth, not a single corner, where you can hide from me.”
I met his gaze head-on, my own resolve mirroring the steel in his eyes. “I would never hurt Akira. She means everything to me.”
He held my gaze for a long, tense moment, his eyes searching mine for any flicker of deceit. Then, finally, a curt nod, a grudging acceptance in the gesture.
“I hope, for your sake, that you mean that,” he said, his voice still rough but the edge slightly softened. “Because if you don’t, you’ll have the full force of the Dixie Reapers to answer to.”
He turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the waiting room, the weight of his words settling on my shoulders. I knew the risks, the dangers that came with loving Akira. But I also knew I was willing to face them all, to fight for her, no matter the cost.
Because she was worth it. She was worth everything.
I went back to the station with Beau, and this time we managed to clock out before we were called away again. After I went home and showered, I glanced at my phone, seeing a missed text from Akira.
Meet me at our favorite place . I smiled, knowing exactly where she meant. I grabbed my keys and went out to my bike, starting her up and taking off. It took me about thirty minutes to reach the secluded area.
Akira was already there, leaning against her motorcycle, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders. She looked up as I approached, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
“You came,” she said softly, her voice sending shivers down my spine.
“Always.”
The atmosphere crackled with tension as we stood there, our bodies inches apart. I could feel the heat radiating off her skin, the magnetism that drew me to her like a moth to a flame. I knew I should tell her about Tank, and it was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t seem to find the words.
“I missed you,” Akira whispered, her hand reaching up to cup my cheek.
I leaned into her touch, my eyes fluttering closed for a brief moment. “I missed you too. More than you know,” I confessed.
We moved as one, our lips meeting in a hungry kiss. It was a kiss filled with longing, with desperation, with all the pent-up emotions we’d been forced to keep hidden. It was also the furthest we’d ever gone. Not that I didn’t want her in my bed, but I also didn’t want to move too fast all things considered. We had too much to deal with right now.
Akira’s fingers tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, deepening the kiss. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her tight against me, never wanting to let go.
In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the clubs, not the risks, not the consequences. All that existed was Akira and the all-consuming feelings I had for her.
Our tongues danced together, exploring, tasting, savoring every moment of this stolen embrace. I lost myself in the sensation of her soft lips against mine, the intoxicating scent of her perfume, the way her body fit perfectly against my own.
But even as I surrendered to the passion, a flicker of unease tugged at the back of my mind. I tried to push it away, to focus solely on Akira, but it persisted, growing stronger with each passing second.
Reluctantly, I broke the kiss, my breath coming in short gasps. Akira looked up at me, her eyes dark with desire, a question forming on her lips.
Before she could speak, I glanced over her shoulder, my gaze drawn to a suspicious car parked down the highway. I hadn’t noticed it when I’d arrived. It was a nondescript sedan, the kind you’d see a thousand times a day, but something about it set my nerves on edge.
“What is it?” Akira asked, her voice tinged with concern. She followed my line of sight, her body tensing as she spotted the car.
“I don’t know,” I murmured, my eyes never leaving the vehicle. “But something doesn’t feel right.” My heart raced. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as every instinct screamed at me that we were being watched -- that someone had discovered our secret rendezvous spot here tonight.
Akira’s hand found mine, our fingers intertwining together. “We should go. I don’t think it’s safe here.”
I nodded, tearing my gaze away from the car, and we moved quickly to mount our bikes. As I swung my leg over my seat, the engine roared back to life beneath me. I couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling our forbidden romance had just become even more dangerous. I didn’t know who was in the car, but I could feel their gaze on us.
Once Akira had her bike started, we took off with me leading the way. I kept an eye on my mirrors, making sure we weren’t being followed. Once we got into a more populated area, I slowed and Akira fell in beside me.
“Logan,” Akira called out. I glanced her way, slowing so the engine on my bike wouldn’t be as loud. “We need to figure out who that was.”
I nodded, my mind racing with the possibilities. “It could have been anyone,” I shouted back. “A Swift Angel, a Dixie Reaper, or even someone else entirely.”
Akira’s eyes narrowed, her jaw clenching with determination. “We can’t let this stop us. I refuse to let other people tell me what to do. They can’t decide who I can date.”
I pulled off to the side of the road and she stopped beside me. I reached out, my hand cupping her cheek. The warmth of her skin anchored me, reminding me of what was at stake. “I know. But we have to be careful. Your dad seems pissed, but not angry enough to kill me without reason. It doesn’t mean someone else won’t do their best to break us up.”
“Wait. When did you see my dad?” she asked.
“I ran into him earlier.” If I told her about Tank now, she’d probably get hacked off I hadn’t said anything sooner. She eyed me a moment but gave a nod.
“We’ll figure it out. We have to.”
I nodded. “Meet me tomorrow. I’ll text you the time and place. With us being watched, I’m not sure having you stay at my place tonight would be a good idea.”
Akira nodded. “I’ll be there.”
We share one last lingering look before we part ways our bikes tearing off opposite directions. As I sped down the road my heart felt both lighter and heavier at the same time. Knowing Akira was ready to do whatever it took to be with me thrilled me. The thought of someone doing their best to break us up was another matter. And the way I’d felt with that car on the road earlier… I’d have sworn whoever was inside had ominous intentions toward one or both of us.
As I pulled into the parking lot of my building, I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing thoughts. I knew what Akira and I had was worth fighting for, worth risking everything for. But the fear of losing her, of losing everything I’d worked so hard for, was a constant presence refusing to be ignored.
I made my way up to my apartment, my mind still swirling with conflicting emotions. As I unlocked the door and stepped inside, I was hit with a sudden realization. I thought back to Scarlet’s attention on me earlier in the day.
I knew Scarlet had been at work. I’d seen her in the breakroom. But what if she’d left? Could it have been her in the car? Something about her had left me unsettled for a while now. It often felt like she was staring at me, and in a rather obsessive way.
The thought sent a chill down my spine, and I collapsed onto the couch, my head in my hands. There was no way to know for sure who’d been in the car, if anyone. Maybe I was just too on edge and hadn’t noticed the vehicle at first.
But I couldn’t stop the lingering thought of… what if someone really was out to hurt one of us? I’d always trusted my gut, and right now, it was screaming that one or both of us were in danger. And I didn’t think it was from either of our clubs.