Chapter 16
AUbrEY
Iwoke up slowly, my head feeling heavy and my body sore. The room was quiet and dimly lit, with a faint antiseptic smell in the air. For a moment, I was disoriented, blinking up at the white ceiling as I tried to remember where I was.
Then it all came rushing back. I sat up too fast, wincing at the ache in my muscles, and looked around. I was alone in what looked like a medical exam room. But I had no idea where I was.
Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stood on shaky legs and made my way to the door. I cracked it open carefully and heard low male voices coming from down the hallway, immediately recognizing Canyon’s deep timbre.
I slipped out of the room and followed the sound on bare feet, my pulse racing faster with every step. The voices grew louder as I approached another door, slightly ajar.
“Bullet’s out. I got it cleaned and stitched up nicely. You’ll need to stay here tonight for observation, though. I want to monitor for infection or any complications.”
Bullet?
Without thinking, I pushed the door open wider and stepped inside, freezing at the sight of my brother on a hospital bed, shirtless, with a fresh bandage wrapped around his side.
Canyon stood near the bed, looking tense. Three other men were in the room with them. One wore a white lab coat that hung open, revealing a Redline Kings cut underneath and a stethoscope around his neck. The other two were big, intimidating bikers I didn’t recognize.
My emotions swung between relief at seeing them and the lingering pain from everything Tripp had told me on the phone.
“You got shot?” I cried out, my voice cracking with disbelief.
All five men turned to look at me at once. Canyon’s eyes widened when he saw me. Tripp looked momentarily stunned before trying to school his expression.
“It’s nothing, Aubrey,” my brother assured, attempting to downplay his injury. “Just a graze. I’m fine.”
I ignored him and turned to the man in the lab coat. “Are you actually a doctor?”
“Yeah, I am.” He gave me an understanding smile as he tapped the right side of his leather vest. “I’m Cage, club doctor when these guys need me and a damn good trauma surgeon.”
I looked back at my brother, worry knotting my stomach. “Is he really okay?”
“He’s stable,” Cage confirmed. “The wound is clean. He just needs rest and monitoring tonight.”
Relief washed over me. I turned to the other two large men standing nearby. “Did you help save me?”
“Yeah,” one of them confirmed. “I’m Kane, club president.”
“Edge,” the other man murmured with a slight grin. “VP.”
“Thank you.”
I managed a small, grateful smile before my gaze shifted back to Canyon, and everything inside me went cold.
My expression hardened as I stared at him. He must have felt the shift because his jaw tightened.
Kane, Edge, and Cage exchanged quick looks. Without a word, the three men quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind them and leaving Canyon and me alone with Tripp.
I crossed my arms over my chest and decided to jump right into the confrontation we needed to have. Rescuing me didn’t erase the possibility he’d played me. “Was Tripp right, Canyon? Did you orchestrate meeting me just to use me against him?”
He let out a heavy breath and met my gaze head-on without flinching away. “Yes, that was the plan at first.”
Hearing him admit it out loud shattered something inside me.
Seeing my agony, he hurried to explain that he’d already decided against using me before we even met. Then he’d fallen for me and regretted the idea even more.
Knowing that helped ease some of my pain, making it easier to forgive him.
Judging him for thoughts he didn’t truly put into action didn’t feel right.
But the hurt was still there, and I wasn’t about to let him off without giving him a piece of my mind first. It was the least he deserved for not just owning up to what he did before I found out the hardest way possible.
“You knew who my brother was.” My voice trembled with fury and pain.
“You knew he was undercover, and you decided the best way to hurt him was to go after me. You made me fall in love with you, knowing all of this was going to come out, yet you didn’t say a word. Do you have any idea how that feels?”
Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
“I trusted you. Let myself believe that what we had was real. That you loved me.” I took a shaky step closer, my hurt pouring out. “You made me feel safe, Canyon. You talked about our future like it was already written. Was any of that real? Or was I still just a pawn to you?”
I didn’t give him the chance to answer. Not that he tried.
Canyon remained silent, letting me have my say.
He took every bit of my pain and fury without flinching, like he knew he deserved it.
He stood completely still, taking every word I threw at him.
His bright blue eyes were filled with regret and something that looked a lot like love.
That only made me angrier and more emotional at the same time.
“I want to hate you for this,” I whispered brokenly. “But I can’t. Because I know the man who held me every night and made me feel like I finally belonged somewhere.”
I wiped angrily at a tear that finally escaped down my cheek and noticed the smug expression on my brother’s face. Like he enjoyed seeing me lay into the bad-ass biker.
But I was angry with him too, so I turned my fury on him. “And you!”
Tripp’s eyes widened. “Wait, why are you mad at me? I didn’t do anything to you.”
“Maybe not, but you started this whole mess by deceiving the Kings in the first place.” I shook my head with a sigh.
“You should’ve researched them better, then you would’ve known the kind of men they are.
Going undercover to investigate a group of honorable men makes no sense at all.
Especially for someone with your record at the bureau. ”
“It’s not like they gave me much choice,” Tripp muttered. “It was either take the case or be fired.”
“Okay, and?” I quirked a brow. “Why haven’t you left already? The club seems like a much better fit for you anyway.”
“What the hell, Aubrey?” My brother jerked his chin toward Canyon. “How can you say that after what he planned to do to you?”
I took a deep breath and looked between the two men I loved most in this world. “Because he reacted out of a deep sense of betrayal over your actions, and changed his mind once his head cleared. In the end, he didn’t actually do anything.”
“That doesn’t make any of this right,” Tripp insisted.
“I disagree,” I replied firmly. “I’m choosing Canyon. And the Kings.”
Tripp pushed himself up slightly on the bed, wincing. “Aubrey, no. This isn’t the life for you. You have no idea how dangerous it can get. You deserve something safer.”
I shook my head. “It’s not your decision.”
Canyon finally stepped forward. “She’s mine. She belongs with me.”
I turned on him quickly. “Don’t speak for me right now, Canyon. I’m still mad at you.”
He dipped his chin in acknowledgment but kept his mouth shut.
“I’m choosing you, but only if you’re truly all in. No more hiding anything from me, no matter how hard it is. I need all of you.”
“You know everything now.” His bright blue eyes were completely unguarded as he murmured, “I’m done letting guilt hide how I feel. I love you, sunshine. I’m all in.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “I love you too.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ring box. My breath caught.
Before he could open it, Tripp scoffed from the bed. “If you really meant it, you’d have a property vest for her, not just a ring.”
Canyon gave my brother an irritated look, then called toward the door. “Prez.”
The door opened, and Kane stepped inside, handing him a folded piece of black leather.
“Like this?” Canyon held it up so I could see the back where “Property of Blitz” was stitched onto a patch.
I looked up at him, happy tears slipping down my cheeks as he helped me put it on. Then he cupped my face with both hands and kissed me deeply. I lost myself to the passion between us until my brother finally let out a heavy sigh.
“Fine. I can see it. You really do love her.” He looked at Canyon with reluctant acceptance. “Kinda guessed when she told me you let her call you Canyon, but I was too pissed to believe it. Don’t make me regret changing my mind.”
“I won’t,” Canyon promised.
Tripp shook his head. “It’s gonna be hard not to see you as much, baby sis.”
“I don’t understand.” I was completely confused as to why my being with Canyon meant he couldn’t see me.
“Motorcycle clubs are notoriously private, sunshine,” Canyon explained. “We don’t let many people around, much less inside our compound. But I promise, anytime you want to see your brother, I’ll make it happen.”
Warmth and love flooded my chest again.
Edge stepped back into the room with a smirk, leaning against the wall by the door. “Or maybe you can see him anytime you want.”
Kane moved to my brother’s bedside. “You’ve proven yourself.”
My brother’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You took a bullet for me, and I found out from one of my contacts that the evidence you turned in got the case closed. Most of it was factual, but from what I heard, you added some shit that made me look so damn squeaky clean, your boss had no choice but to drop it. Which could land you in prison if it ever got out.” The corner of Kane’s mouth lifted. “Mutual destruction and all that shit.”
“That kind of loyalty means something,” Edge agreed.
“You’ve still got to finish your prospecting, and it’s gonna be extended some, but if you want it, the door is open to patch in,” Kane offered.
“I’d be honored to become a King.” My brother narrowed his eyes at Canyon. “It’s just a bonus that it means I’ll be around to keep an eye on Blitz to make sure he treats my sister right.”
“Mind your own business.” I flashed Tripp a sassy little smile. “Or else you’re gonna see something you don’t want.”
Cage stepped into the room, clearing his throat. “Aubrey, can I speak with you privately for a minute?”
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. Canyon’s body went rigid with tension, and his blue eyes locked on me with a fierce protectiveness that would’ve washed away any lingering doubts if I’d had them.