“If you don’t start doing your goddamn job, I’ll put a bullet in you,” Oliver growls to the man standing on the side of the doorway and he nods as he draws a pistol out of his belt.
“Noah, gun!” I scream just before he turns and charges outside, shutting the door behind him and cutting off my view as gunfire explodes around us like a war zone. Glass breaks in the living room and one of the girls screams from the bedroom as Oliver lifts his hand and slams the butt of his gun down on my head. My world spins as pain explodes through my body and I whimper. I glance back up at Oliver as he shakes his head.
“You really shouldn’t have done that.”
“Biche!” Noah roars again and I cry out in relief. Oh, thank God, he’s okay. “Your man is getting handcuffed as we speak. You gonna come out here and end this?”
“Looks like this is it. I’ll be sure to open the door so you can watch your boy die.”
I jerk forward, fighting against the ropes. “Think about this, Oliver. There are a lot more of them than you. You can’t win this and if you go out there now, there’s a very good chance you will get killed.”
“Aw, baby,” he whispers, grinning as he crouches down next to me and cups my cheek. “I knew you cared.”
My stomach rolls as I nod. I don’t give a single shit if Oliver dies. In fact, it would make my life a hell of a lot easier but I can’t stand the thought of Noah getting hurt in this, too, and I know how determined Oliver is.
“You know… I’m good with that as long as I take Noah with me. I’ll open the door again so you can watch as your boy takes his last breath.” He lightly slaps my cheek and stands as tears form in my eyes. The ropes dig into my skin as I struggle against them, my heart thundering in my ears.
“No, please,” I beg as he walks to the door and pulls it open, not even sparing me a second glance as he raises his gun and starts firing. The door swings open just in time for me to see Oliver crumple to the ground and I release a breath as I scan the crowd for Noah. Our eyes lock and I sob as he starts walking toward me. Another gun shot goes off and I jump as my gaze falls to Oliver. His hand falls back to the ground and my gaze jerks up to Noah as he grabs at his stomach. Dark red blood stains his shirt and I scream his name as he falls to his knees in front of the porch.
Oh, god.
No
“Noah!” I scream, pulling against the ropes so hard that they slice my skin but it doesn’t matter. Nothing else matters except Noah. The guys all rush around him, cutting off my view and I lift my head up as I scream.
This can’t be happening.
I can’t lose him again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Noah
“You listen to me, Noah LeBlanc,” she whispers, the ache in her voice reaching through the darkness to torment me as she grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “I love you so that means you don’t get to leave me.”
Never, baby.
I try to open my eyes and turn to her but my body doesn’t do as it’s told. I try to move again. Pain shoots through me, so intense that it feels like every nerve ending in my body is on fire and I groan.
“Noah? Can you hear me? You will wake up, you hear?”
“Leave it to you to think you can order me out of a coma,” I answer, my voice hoarse and my throat aching as I struggle to swallow.
“Oh my god. Noah.”
“Yeah, baby?” I whisper. Fuck, I need some water.
“Oh my god, you’re okay. Can you open your eyes?”
I suck in a breath as I accidentally move again and send another bolt of pain rocking through my body as I crack my eyes open.
“Fuck,” I groan at the bright sunlight streaming in through the blinds. “Water, please.”
She nods and grabs a cup from the table next to my bed before bringing it to my lips and tilting it so I can get a drink. I take a couple small sips before brushing her away.
“What happened?”
“You were shot.”
I turn to her. My eyes widen at the sight of the cuts on her face, the bruises on her eye, and the bandages around her wrists. “What the hell happened to you?”
“It doesn’t matter. How are you feeling?”
I roll my eyes. “Like I got fucking shot. Now, tell me what happened to your face.”
“How much do you remember?”
Turning to stare up at the ceiling, I go over the last thing I can remember. “I was at the clubhouse, getting ready for our wedding and Chance came running into my room saying that Biche was at the cabin…”
“And after that?”
I shake my head. “We all raced over there and all I could think about was how I was going to finally end this. After that, it’s just bits and pieces. Why, what happened?”
“Biche is…”
Someone knocks on the door, interrupting her, and we both glance up as Rodriguez walks into the room. “Hey, you’re awake! How are you feeling?”
Why the hell does everyone keep asking me that?
“Like I got shot in the gut.”
He nods. “You up for answering some questions?”
“Sure.”
“So, what can you tell me about yesterday?” he asks, sitting down in the chair next to my bed as he pulls a notepad out of his pocket. I shake my head.
“Honestly, not much. I was just telling her that I remember being at the clubhouse, getting ready for the wedding, and Chance ran in saying Biche had the girls at the cabin.”
He nods. “And how did Chance know this?”
“Carly called him.” I’ll never forget the look on his face as he ran into the room. Both of our worlds were in danger so I can’t say that I didn’t look the exact same way. Hell, Smith about put his fist through a wall.
“So you all went over there?”
I nod. “Yeah. I remember driving there but after that, not a whole lot.”
“Okay,” he says, turning to Kady. “Can you fill in some of the blanks for me?”
She nods as she grabs my hand again. “I was getting ready for the wedding when the motion sensors went off. I was back in the bedroom and my gun was in the kitchen so I told the girls to hide in there while I went after it.”
“That’s the shotgun that we found on the kitchen table?”
“Yes,” she answers and he nods for her to continue. Goddamn it, I told her to keep that gun with her at all times so shit like this wouldn’t happen. I shoot her a glare but she ignores me.
“Before I could get to it, one of his guys crashed through the door and tackled me.”
Rodriguez holds a hand up. “Do you know which guy?”
“The one that went outside.”
“The man we found dead?” he asks, glancing up at her and she nods. He starts writing again and nods. “Okay.”
“He slammed my head into the floor before tying me to the post. Oliver came in then and started saying how he had to fix this problem he had and how he had to get Noah out of the picture permanently.”
I squeeze her hand as I clench my teeth. That stupid motherfucker really thought I was going to let him take my girl from me again? Hell, no.
“So he wasn’t there to hurt you?”