“Let me up!” I wheezed, attempting to get out from underneath a solid body of muscle.
“I’m not gonna let you die,” Knight murmured in my ear.
“I’m not gonna die,” I snapped.
Gunshots rang out, cutting through the screams. I managed to lift my head, enough so that I could watch more people dodge bullets and run for cover.
“Let me up,” I commanded again.
Knight’s hand went to my head and pressed it into the grass. “No.”
“Colt—I have to go to him.”
He sighed. “All right, but you crawl. You stay low to the ground. The brothers need my help. You promise me you’ll stay low!”
“I promise.”
Knight reluctantly released me and then went to join the fight. I hadn’t considered him my father, but he’d thrown himself over me, shielding me from the spray of bullets. It was true paternal instinct.
I crawled on my hands and knees, my pistol still in my grasp. When I got to Colt, I pressed two fingers to the pulse of his neck. It was rapid but strong.
I let out a breath.
“No, get to safety,” he croaked, opening one eye.
“Hush.” I set my weapon next to me and pulled up his shirt to assess the damage. Not that I had any idea what I was looking for.
“Mia, get out of here, it’s not safe,” he gritted as I lowered his shirt and mashed it into his side to staunch the flow of blood.
“I’m not leaving you.”
Flynn bellowed from behind us and it jarred me out my stupor. I took Colt’s right hand and pressed it to his left side.
“Press here, and hold tight,” I said.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins. The love of my life, the last person in the world I could bear to lose had been shot by a man who was hell-bent on killing me and destroying everything I loved.
Anger, unlike anything I’d ever felt, burned inside of me, demolishing every last trace of fear.
I watched as the Iron Horsemen drove around, trying to circle Flynn and escape his men. One of the bikers approaching on a motorcycle caught my eye. It was Dev and his mask had slipped during the fight.
The bastard had made this personal.
I picked up my pistol, lifted myself slowly to balance on one knee, and locked eyes with Dev as his motorcycle roared.
The scent of bloody steel, oil, and gunpowder engulfed me in the faint stirring of the breeze.
I raised my pistol and gripped it with both hands, focused on my target, and fired.
Chapter 26
I stared into a pair of cobalt blue eyes.
Flynn Campbell looked down at me with a gentle smile. “There you are.”
“Here I am,” I murmured. “What happened? Why am I flat on the ground?”
He scratched his jaw. “You—ah—might’ve hit your head when you were tackled.”
“Twice in one day,” I groaned. “Who took me down? You?”
“No. Ramsey did.”
“Ramsey? Who’s Ramsey?”
“For all intents and purposes, Ramsey is my younger brother.”
When I tried to move, Flynn crouched down next to me and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. “Take it easy. You might have a concussion.”
“Why are you here?” I asked. “I thought you and Barrett went back to Scotland.”
“We went home to visit the boys, but Colt called and—”
“Colt,” I demanded. “Where is he? Is he—”
“He was loaded into one of the first ambulances on the scene. Joni rode with him to the hospital.”
“Take me to him, please.
“Stay down,” he growled. “Until an EMT can check you out.”
“Where’s Knight? Where’s Shelly?”
“Take a deep breath, Mia.”
“Don’t tell me to take a deep breath,” I snapped. “Was anyone killed? Did I—please tell me I got him? Please tell me I hit Dev.”
Flynn shook his head in negation, his jaw clamping shut. He didn’t address any of my other concerns because his eyes strayed from mine to look across the lawn.
“What is it?”
“The sheriff is here.”
“For the love of God, that’s all we need,” I muttered. “Fuck this.” I slowly sat up and I was immediately assaulted by dancing vision. I closed my eyes to keep from throwing up.
Flynn bellowed, “Hey! We’ve got a woman with a concussion over here.”
“Why did Ramsey tackle me?”
“You’ll have to ask him that.”
“Where is he,” I muttered. “I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.”
“Pleased to meet you,” said a smooth voice, dripping with a velvety Scottish brogue.
“Mia, I’d like to introduce Ramsey Buchanan. Take nothing of what he says at face value.”
The man named Ramsey rolled striking green eyes and pushed the dark curls off his forehead before squatting down next to me.
“Sorry, lass.” He winked. “Had to take you from behind.”
I couldn’t help but laugh even though it hurt my head. “You didn’t have to tackle me.”
“Aye, I did. You were in danger. Quickest way to get you out of danger was to tackle you.”
An EMT finally made his way over to me; Flynn and Ramsey stayed while I got the green light to move.
“If a headache comes on, get to a doctor immediately,” the young EMT said. “Same for blurry vision, nausea, any hint of passing out or not being able to stay awake during normal hours.”
“I’m about to head to the hospital. I’ll be surrounded by doctors if I need one,” I replied.
Looking around the park, I was saddened by the carnage. Books with fractured spines and torn pages littered the grass, broken toys, splintered pieces of furniture—everything that had been for sale was decimated. It was a depressing sight.
I walked toward Boxer and Reap. They were talking with a handful of men I didn’t recognize; I assumed they were with Flynn. “Where’s Knight?” I asked Boxer. “The last I saw of him, he was in the thick of it.”
“Getting stitched up at the hospital.” Reap grimaced. “He went after one of the guys that shot at you. Got himself a knife to the shoulder for his trouble.”
A pang of worry went through me when I thought about my father and his injury, but he was alive.
“Just got off the phone with Joni,” Boxer said, his eyes dark. “They’ve patched up Colt’s side. He’ll be fine, but they conked him out.” His jaw clenched. “Cheese took a bullet to the chest. He’s in emergency surgery.”
“Oh God,” I whispered.
Boxer looked at Reap, who nodded.
“What?” I asked. “What’s that look mean?”
Boxer placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. “It’s Shelly.”
She looked peaceful.
Her left hand rested on top of the sheet, her engagement ring catching the sunbeams streaming through the blinds of her room.
The ventilator machine beeped in time with the rise of her chest.
“You shouldn’t be here.”