Chapter 38
Taven
Anxiety raged through my system as the little dot on the tracking app got further and further from the city. Where were they taking him? What were they going to do to him once they reached their destination?
Zane and I left Quinn at the house in case things went south, instructing her to stay close to the phone just in case. It was a sunny day, so I had to wait for my brother to get dressed in his riding gear before we could leave. I didn’t envy the man; Keith had to deal with his fair share of sunburns, but Zane turned red almost instantly when exposed to the sun. Even in cool weather, the man could become a lobster.
We didn’t bother paying attention to the speed limit, and luckily for us, not too many cops were out and about. I supposed that tended to happen when there was a cop-killing maniac on the loose.
My eyes darted to my phone on the dash. The dot hadn’t moved for quite some time. They either threw out Keith’s phone or they stopped somewhere and were doing only God knows what. As we leaned into a curve on Route C, a car went speeding in the opposite direction. Before passing, it swerved toward us, and it took everything I had to control my bike as the vehicle raced past. The beast tried to kick out from under me, but I was able to get it in line. There was a loud crunch, and I skidded to a stop, causing the bike to tip as I looked behind me.
The green motorcycle slid along the pavement as Zane tumbled into the ditch, his body slamming against a fallen tree. I pushed my bike away, not bothering with the kickstand. My friend groaned loudly, forcing himself onto his knees. He yanked off his helmet and slammed it onto the ground.
A sigh of relief escaped my lips. “That helmet saved your life, yet you threw it.”
He scowled. “That fucker tried to hit us on purpose!”
I glanced down the road to where the car was heading; it was long gone. “Are you alright? Is anything broken?”
He shook his head. “Just sore. God bless the sun. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have worn my gear.”
“I think that was Chin.”
“Was Keith with him?”
Shaking my head, I ran to my bike and grabbed the phone. The dot was still in the same place. My heartbeat sped up. What if they killed and dumped him? No, they couldn’t have done that. I wouldn’t put it past Chin, but they wouldn’t have allowed Zane and me to continue on. Would they?
“He’s maybe a mile or two away.” Placing the phone back in the holder, I turned to Zane. “Can you ride?”
He picked up his bike, and a loud growl came from deep within him as it slammed back onto the ground. “Fucking rim is bent all to hell! Fuck, man! I don’t have insurance on this thing! It’s stolen. A fucking Phantom special.”
Wincing, I said, “Hop on.”
Zane chuckled, “Go ahead without me. Keith will need a ride back, and I’m sure he’s fine with the nuts-to-butt thing.”
My eyes rolled, but I smirked. “Alright, I’ll be back. Once I know he’s safe, we can call Quinn and figure out how to get your bike home.”
I followed the GPS to the driveway of an abandoned house. My heart skipped a beat when I spotted the body lying on the ground. Stopping the bike, I jumped off and rushed to Keith. As gently as possible, I lifted his head and rested it on my lap. He groaned; good, he was alive. I ran my finger along the ridge of his hairline. “Baby, say something.”
He took a deep breath and spoke in a soft, raspy voice, “I’m okay.”
“The hell you are,” I disagreed through clenched teeth. I had to resist cradling him in my arms. He was far too injured for that. Yanking my cut off, I folded it several times, placing it gently under Keith’s head. “I have to call Quinn. We need to get you to a hospital.”
“No hospital!” he groaned, wincing. “If I point a finger at Chin, he could get arrested, and we won’t have a fall guy.”
I wanted to argue, but he was right. We needed someone to take the blame, or we would be hunted for the rest of our lives. Seeing Keith so hurt was infuriating. Chin had a hand in killing my sister, niece, and brother-in-law, and he beat the shit out of the man I loved. I wanted him dead.
Quinn picked up the call quickly. I told her to go northbound on Route C until she ran into Zane and then keep going until she found us.
I gently pressed my lips to his, and he winced. “Why do you always have to get yourself into trouble?” I asked, trying to force a smile.
He chuckled, then groaned out, “I think I was born this way. Trouble has a tracker embedded in my DNA.”
Smiling, I took his hand, caressing it with my thumb. We stayed silent; talking was clearly hurting him.
It took nearly a half hour, but eventually, the blue Jeep pulled up. It was barely put in park before Quinn and Zane jumped from the vehicle.
Tears streamed down Quinn’s face. “Oh my God! Keith!”
“He’ll be okay, but we must get him home. We need to put him in the back seat.”
Zane nodded and grabbed Keith’s legs as I positioned my arms under his upper back. As I tugged, I cried out and released him much harder than I would’ve liked. Keith screamed. “My arm is fucked. I can’t pick him up.”
Zane bent down. “Can you stand, man?”
Keith nodded and gripped his hand. It took a while, but he gradually stood swaying on both feet. Wrapping his arms around our shoulders, Zane and I helped him limp to the backseat of the Jeep.
“Go home so I can put him to bed. I’ll ride back, and then we can figure out how to get Zane’s bike.”
Quinn nodded. “Be careful.”
I pecked her on the lips. “Hurry home.”