Chapter 30
Nina
Jay drives us to Darin’s house. The moment he has the truck in park, Lauren hops out of the front passenger seat and opens Darin’s door. I’ve been snuggled under his arm the whole way home.
“Mom.” Jay hurries around and pulls her away from the door.
“She’s my sister. I want to help.”
Darin slides out, pulling me with him. Once my feet are on the ground, I reach for Lauren’s hand. “Walk us to the door?”
She looks up at Darin. She wants to stay, but I know she’ll hover over me. I want her to, but not right now.
“Okay, Sissi.” She’s not happy, but gives in.
“I promise to see you tomorrow,” I offer a compromise.
“All right.” She wraps me in a hug while Darin unlocks the door. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.” I hold her tight for a long moment before going inside.
“Let’s get you upstairs.” With an arm around my back, he guides me toward the stairs. Halfway across the living room, my knees buckle. “Whoa, love.” Darin bends down, places his other arm under my knees, and scoops me up.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”
“You just went through a traumatic experience. You’re coming down from the emotion.” He carries me to his bedroom.
I’m a nurse. I know that. I’ve seen it hundreds of times. When a patient realized they were in a safe place, or at least where they knew they’d get help, they let go of their anxiety, some fear, and adrenaline.
Darin sets me on the side of the bed and kneels. “What do you need?”
I wrap my hands around the one he has on my thigh. “I don’t know yet.”
“That’s understandable. You don’t have to rush to figure it out.”
He’s so sweet and patient. My eyes drop to the blood-stained hand I’m holding.
“Do you have a first aid kit?”
“In the bathroom.” His eyes flick to the master bathroom.
“Come on.” I push off the bed, not letting go of his hand.
“What do you need? I’ll get it.”
“Your hands are bleeding. We need to clean and treat them.”
“Okay, love. Hold on.” He lifts me onto the counter and grabs the first aid kit from under the sink.
“I’m treating you, big guy.”
“Yes, ma’am, and you can do it just fine from there.” He opens the kit and sets it next to the sink. “Just tell me what you need.”
“We need to wash your hands first.”
He turns on the water, pumps soap into his hands, and washes them. I lay a towel across my lap and reach for the alcohol wipes in the kit. With his hands on my lap, I pat them dry before opening the wipes. He hisses as I dab the wounds. I swallow hard. He did this to himself for me.
“Did you kill him?” I don’t look up. I can’t.
“Would you be mad if I did?”
I pause with the wipe above the next cut and close my eyes. I didn’t see the whole fight. Jack turned me away, but I could hear it. He and my nephew delivered what they consider biker justice tonight. They’ve waited over ten years to get their hands on my ex.
“I don’t know how I feel, but I’m not mad.” I take a shaky breath.
“He tried to kill you.” His voice is rough and strained. He’s not talking about tonight.
“You were there that night.” I know he was. Lauren told me everything after I returned. I wasn’t given any details before I left.
“Mack and I were the first ones there.” He swallows hard this time, and his voice cracks. “I carried you out.”
I suck in a breath and raise my head. I didn’t know that. “You… you saw me at my worst.”
He wipes the tears from my cheek with his thumb. “He left you for dead, Chrissy. If Presley Nichols hadn’t gotten home when she did, you wouldn’t be here now.”
All I knew when I left was that my neighbor called 911.
Lauren filled in some of the blanks on this part for me.
Presley was fifteen at the time and had just gotten off the school bus.
As she was unlocking the door, Sean ran out of the house, still calling me horrible names.
She quickly went inside, locked the door, and called for help as Sean sped away.
The club had a police scanner and heard the call.
They arrived before the cops and ambulance did.
I was unconscious and never knew how I got to the hospital.
“So, if he’s not here, I’m not sorry.” He softly presses his lips to my forehead.
“You could go to prison.”
“Worth it.”
His phone on the counter dings. He hits the button to open the message without picking it up. I can read it from here.
Bankz: Cops found him. Carrying the dirtbag to the ER. Still breathing.
He cups my face in his hands. “Looks like I’m not going anywhere.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“Not on the part about being with you.” His thumb moves back and forth over my chin.
“But the other part?”
“Would you be mad if I were?”
I take a deep breath and rest my head against his chest. His arms wrap around me, pulling me closer. “No. I don’t know how I feel about it, though. It means he’s still out there. I’ll never have peace.”
His arms tighten. “Oh, lil lady. You’ll have peace. We’ll see to it that he goes away for a long time. Ciara is brutal. She’ll get him.”
I groan. “Court.”
“Yeah, afraid so, love.” He clears his throat. “I hate to ask right now. We know he had help tonight. He didn’t do this alone.”
I nod against his chest. “There were three men with him.”
“Names? Faces? Logos?”
I know what he’s asking. Sadly, I can’t confirm it. “No. They wore black and covered their faces. Sean argued with them before they ran off. They’ve been hiding him.” I suck in a breath and quickly lean back and look up at him.
He cups my cheek with one hand, keeping the other around my back. “What, Chrissy? What do you remember?”
“They told him not to come to Chattanooga or they’d kill him for the McLeods.”
He drops his head and growls low and deep. “Mavericks.”
“But it’s not enough to prove it.”
“Legally? No. But it’s enough for the club. They’ll get their due, too.” He takes another deep breath and releases it. “I’ll call Mack. We can deal with it later. Right now, I’m taking care of you.”
“I’m treating you, remember?”
He takes the tube of antibiotic cream from the kit and places it in my hand. “Finish torturing me, and let me get you settled in bed.”
“You still want me?”
He gently lifts my chin with his finger. His deep, dark black eyes hold mine. “I claimed you. Nothing is taking you away from me. You can’t talk me out of it, cause I love you, Chrissy. I’ll do everything I can to make you happy.”
I laugh and smile through tears. “Good, because I love you, too.”