Chapter 28
KNIGHT
The Buick bounced over a pothole, jostling me awake. I straightened and glanced out the window, spotting the dark rectangular shapes of mobile homes. Relief swamped me. We were almost home.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Tex said. “You okay back there?”
I rubbed my face—a mistake that shot a stabbing pain through my right hand—and yawned. “Can’t believe I fell asleep.”
“That’s the adrenaline crash,” Aiden said. He sat beside me, his thigh pressed to mine, a reassuring presence. “Look at me, Will. I want to check your eyes.”
I flinched at the pen flashlight directed at my pupils. “Fuck.”
“Still equal and reactive,” Aiden murmured. I hoped he was talking to himself because I had no idea what it meant. Thankfully, he tucked away the pen and settled for prodding at my head once more.
I hissed. “I’m fine, Angel. Just a little tender.”
I shifted and moaned as pain rocketed through my body.
My head throbbed like the bass beat in a club.
My shoulder twinged. But it was the muscles throughout my torso that complained the loudest. I’d hit the gym a few times, but nothing could prepare me for the brutality of that fight.
Theo had been a big dude, and the hits he got in hadn’t landed lightly.
I was lucky he’d missed my nose with the knee to the face. He’d misjudged and given me a hell of a shiner instead.
“Just a little tender, huh?” Aiden said, calling me on my bullshit like he always did. He pulled out another couple of tablets from his med bag along with a Gatorade. “Take these.”
“Didn’t you just give me a couple of these when we left?”
“You can handle a stronger dose of Tylenol.”
“Wouldn’t ibuprofen be better?” Tex asked from the front seat as he navigated the final turn into the driveway.
“Increases the risk of a brain bleed.” Aiden pointed to his chest. “Doctor.”
“Right, sorry.” Tex chuckled. “Doctor knows best.”
“Yes, I do.”
I popped the pills and washed them down with a Gatorade. I gulped half the bottle down, not realizing how dehydrated I’d become while sleeping.
“Doing okay?” Aiden asked. “Anything else hurt?”
“Everything,” I said, “but I’m okay. Thanks to you.”
“I didn’t do much,” Aiden said.
But he was wrong. He’d done the most important thing when he’d believed in me.
When Theo sat on my chest, I’d thought it was game over. He’d slammed my head until I saw stars. My vision began to gray at the edges, a sign of an impending blackout.
I’d panicked, knowing that would be the end of me. Then, out of the darkness, I heard him. Like a fucking angel, Aiden called to me.
It gave me the strength to fight back.
Tex parked the car. “Okay, lovers. End of the line.”
Aiden reached for the door handle. “Let’s get you inside. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the ER? You took some pretty hard knocks.”
I resisted the instinct to refuse immediately. I wasn’t a criminal anymore. I didn’t have to avoid hospitals, but I sure as fuck wanted my bed right now.
I did a quick mental assessment, flexing my fingers—earning another sharp pain for my trouble—and rolling my neck. My shoulders were tight as fuck.
“I’m sore, but it’s nothing a hot shower won’t fix.”
Aiden looked conflicted. “I can keep an eye on you, but if you develop bleeding on the brain, it can take a while to show up. A CT would be safer.”
“Watch me as close as you like, Angel, but please take me inside and put me to bed. If you’re still worried tomorrow, I promise I’ll go in.”
“Okay.” Aiden slid out of the car, then retrieved his med bag. “Thanks for driving, Tex.”
“No problem.” He smirked. “Thanks for the show.”
Aiden raised a hand to his blushing cheek. “I can’t believe we did that.”
“He didn’t see anything.” I shot Tex a look. “Right?”
He took in my expression. “Right. Just giving you a hard time. I was focused on the road.”
“See, Angel? All good.”
I eased myself out of the car, biting down on a curse. I’d gotten stiff from sitting in one position too long. Should have stretched and cooled down properly after the fight.
Joyride’s Hummer pulled over at the curb, and Hollywood, Ghost, and Flynn spilled out. They were laughing.
“Hey, man, you were awesome tonight,” Hollywood said. “I’m glad you came out on top.”
“Me too.” He leaned in as if to hug me—faltered at my still bare chest—then settled for patting my shoulder instead.
Tex stood nearby, leaning against the Buick, watching our exchange without a word.
“Glad you’re okay,” Flynn said. “It was a little dicey there for a minute.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Did you hear us pulling for you?”
I slid an arm around Aiden’s waist. “I heard. It helped.”
Flynn’s gaze flicked to Aiden. “You scared my brother. Let’s not have a repeat of that, huh?”
“I’m fine,” Aiden said.
I glanced over uncertainly at Aiden. Shit. Had seeing me beat on that man brought up ugly memories? Had it made him wonder if I’d ever turn those fists against him?
“It’s okay if you’re not,” Flynn said. “What we saw tonight was pretty intense.”
“I’m just focused on what Knight needs right now.”
“What about what you need?” I protested.
“Later,” Aiden said with a tight smile. “Right now, I want to get you to bed before you fall over. Good night, guys. We’ll check in tomorrow.”
The Hummer took off, and Flynn walked over to collect his keys from Tex. Everyone headed for their cars, calling out a good night as they went.
“Rest up, man! We’ll see you soon.”
Aiden guided me up the porch steps, keeping an arm around me as if he really thought I might faint on him. I was made of sturdier stuff than that, though.
I was tired, battered, bruised. But I would live. It was the first time I’d known that with any certainty since the Serpents found me.
Aiden opened the front door and Waffles yipped and danced excitedly.
“Hey, boy,” Aiden crooned. “I’ll let you go potty as soon as I get my other guy settled.”
He turned toward the hallway. “Bed?”
“Shower first. I feel so dirty.”
It was the dirt, sweat, and dried blood, yes, but also the stain that violence left in me.
I hated that Aiden had seen me that way.
I hadn’t been sure when I came out of that cage if he’d ever look at me the same.
I shouldn’t have let him come. When I thought of the things that could have gone wrong, it made me a little sick.
He’d never have stayed home and played it safe, though. That wasn’t Aiden. He was strong-willed. Independent. I’d come to understand that he let me take care of him sometimes, but he didn’t need me to.
I followed Aiden into the bathroom and sat down on the closed toilet, slumping against the tank behind me.
Waffles jumped against my legs, whining for attention, and I lowered a heavy hand to his head, stroking his fur. He settled, and in a way, so did I. I was far from the ugliness of illegal fighting rings, just me and my angel and our cute foster dog.
If it weren’t for my aches and pains, it might have never happened.
Aiden knelt before me and untied my boots. “Get undressed and in the shower. I’ll be back as soon as Waffles does his business.”
“Okay.”
Aiden removed each of my boots, setting them aside, then stood and called for Waffles to follow him.
I listened to him open and close the front door before moving. I pushed up from the toilet and unfastened my jeans. My right hand was swollen, so I used my left to tug at one side of my waistband then the other, slowly working the fabric down my thighs.
I must have been moving even slower than I thought, because Aiden returned while I was still half-tangled in my jeans. He closed the bathroom door behind him and came over. “Let me.”
I stood, helpless as a baby as he peeled my jeans the rest of the way down and helped me step out of each pant leg. He drew my underwear down next.
When I was naked, I stepped into the shower. Jets of water hit my abrasions, making me hiss with discomfort, but then the heat sank in, loosening my sore muscles.
Aiden stripped and joined me. He slipped his arms around me from behind. “How’s the water feel?”
“Like fucking bliss.”
He laughed softly and pressed his lips between my shoulder blades.
“I’m still dirty. Don’t touch me.”
“You’re not that dirty.”
“I am,” I rasped.
I flinched as the fight flickered through my brain like a series of movie scenes I couldn’t forget.
My fist slamming into Theo’s throat. The give of his flesh. The choking sound as I’d cut off his air. The crunch of my knuckles against his temple. The thud of his body hitting the mat.
He’d barely been standing when he took the hit. I could have killed him. Flynn had killed his father with one hard punch, and that was without a long, drawn-out fight beforehand.
“How can you be with someone like me?” I blurted in disgust.
“Oh, Will.” Aiden gripped my shoulders and turned me to face him. “You know what I see when I look at you?”
“No.”
“Someone strong. A protector.” I shook my head, but he didn’t stop. He reached for the sponge and poured bodywash over it. He massaged it into my skin as he spoke. “You look out for your friends. For me. All those dinners you made me. You took such good care of me, Will.”
I wet my lips. “That doesn’t erase what I’ve done.”
“I know, but it tells me you’re a good man. You can do great violence, but you’d rather love people. Help them. Protect them.”
“And who was I protecting tonight?” I asked, voice caustic.
“Me.”
I blinked water out of my eyes. “No, I was just fighting for myself.”
“Yes, and protecting you was protecting me because I love you, Will.” He lifted my hand, my fingers bruised and swollen, and laid a soft kiss on it. “I love you, okay? And if I’d lost you, it would have broken me.”
My chest loosened. The dark pit threatening to swallow me receded. “I love you too. So damn much. I don’t want you to see that brute from tonight when you look at me.”
“I only see the man I love,” Aiden said. “Nothing has changed, sweetheart. I already knew who you were before tonight. I still know who you are now.”
“Okay.” I bent to kiss his forehead. “I don’t deserve it, but okay.”
Aiden cupped my face. “Of course you do. Don’t let those bikers take everything you were fighting for. This is your life, here. Not there. Not with them.”
I kissed him, need rising in me. Not lust. Hell, my dick wasn’t even hard. No, this was a different kind of need.
I was desperate for Aiden’s comfort. His compassion. His words soothed the ragged edges of a wound tonight’s fight opened. It was a scar that hadn’t fully healed. One I thought faded and nearly invisible. Turned out, it was just under the surface, waiting to bleed.
Aiden kissed me gently, backing up his words with love. “Turn around, baby,” he whispered against my lips. “Let’s wash your hair.”
I turned and tilted my head back, letting the spray pour over me. Aiden traded the soap for shampoo and worked his fingers through my hair.
The soap stung the back of my head. I gritted my teeth, silently enduring it.
“You’ve got a small cut. I’ll doctor it up in bed.”
I grunted. “I’m fine.”
He scratched at the top of my head with his nails—away from my sore spots—and it felt so good I closed my eyes and sighed.
“There you go,” he murmured. “Just relax and let me take care of you.”
“You’re too good to me.”
“Just the right amount of good, I think. Okay, let’s rinse you off.”
He eased back, guiding me under the spray again, and worked the soap from my hair.
“There we go.” He pressed up against me and kissed my shoulder. “All clean.”
If only it were that easy. But as Aiden held me, his love unwavering in the face of my darkness, I thought maybe I was closer than I’d ever been before.
If redemption existed for me, it surely lived in the love I had for this man.