“Where are Ripper and Sahdev?” Kyle interrupted.
“Ripper ran up the hall, probably looking for Kenzie. Boyd chased after him. I jumped Jerrilyn, then the doctor took her gun and chased after Boyd.”
Another gunshot splintered the silence.
FORTY-SIX
Ripper
“Doc!”
After the longest few seconds of my life, Mac’s pulse tapped against my fingertips, faint but unmistakable.
Sahdev stumbled to the bed. His fingers skimmed over her face as he examined the thumbprint-shaped bruises on her throat, then peeled back her eyelids to reveal red, pinpoint spots on the whites of her eyes.
Mac’s eyes fluttered open and she dragged in a deep breath. She panicked, slapping at Sahdev’s hands.
“Mac.” Soon as she heard my voice, she stilled and turned her head, her eyes seeking mine. “I’m here, darlin'. Tuck’s dead. You’re safe.”
“Ripper.” Her voice was a hoarse rasp. She swallowed, her throat muscles working painfully as she struggled to speak.
“Try not to talk,” Sahdev said. “Your larynx—your voice box—might be bruised.”
Mac shook her head, rejecting his advice.
“Ripper,” she whispered.
I touched her face with my blood-spattered hand. Instead of shying away from the gore, she pressed her cheek against my crimson fingers, her eyes shining. My heart turned over in my chest when I saw the love glowing in her eyes. The trust. The acceptance.
So close. Fuck, we’d come so close to losing everything. Again.
I leaned over her. “You’re getting your happily ever after, Ms. Dunwitty. Just like in one of your books. I’m no Prince Charming, no white knight, but everything that I am is yours.”
“I love you.” I could barely hear the words.
“Love you, too, Mac.” I turned my eyes to the doc. “Sahdev, you saved my life, brother. Thanks.”
He nodded.
“Is Kenzie all right?” Kyle stood in the doorway.
“Come in and see for yourself,” I called.
Kyle sat on the edge of the bed. Mac lifted a weak hand to clasp his. His gaze skimmed over her face and throat, taking in the evidence of what she’d endured at Tuck’s hands. His expression tightened. He glanced at Tuck’s body on the floor, then at me.
“Good,” he said simply. His face softened when he looked back at Mac. “We won, sweetheart. We took Valhalla.”
Mac swallowed and cleared her throat, trying to speak.
Kyle held up a hand, cutting off her questions. “Dwight and Darryl are dead. They probably ignited gas fumes by using their lighter in a shed full of gasoline cans. That red-haired woman with all the tattoos—”
“Nyx,” I interrupted.
“Yeah, Nyx. She helped Sahdev overpower the old woman, then she tied her up with some neckties she found hanging in the bedroom closet. Nyx and Bear are watching over Libby and Jerrilyn now. It seems Bear is impressed with Nyx’s knot-tying skills. He asked her if she knows anything about ropes.”
I snorted, suspecting that Nyx might very well be acquainted with ropes.
“Levi?” Mac whispered.
“Levi drove back to the house to get Hannah,” Kyle said. “They’ll be back soon.”
Mac’s eyelids drifted shut, then flew open again, as if she suddenly remembered something important.
“Libby?” she croaked.
“Still in labor,” Sahdev said. “I should get back to her.” He touched my arm. “Call me if Kenzie needs anything.”
“Will do.”
Mac blinked, losing the battle against the sleep her abused body needed. I scooped her into my arms. Didn’t want her to wake up in a slaughterhouse. I carried her down the hall to an unused guest room, stripped her, and tucked her into the bed.
Kyle waited for me in the hall. “I’ll help you get rid of the bodies and clean up the mess.”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thank you, brother.”
Kyle startled, then smiled. “Whatever you need...brother.”
Odd how naturally that word came to my lips again. First Sahdev and now Kyle. Before long I’d probably be calling Levi brother, too. When I lost my club, I figured that kind of connection was a thing of the past, dead, like most of the people on the planet.
We form new connections, new bonds. Life persists. And life can still be good.
FORTY-SEVEN
Ripper
Hector sprawled next to Mac on the bed. One stern look from me and he would’ve hopped down and settled on the floor, but I didn’t have the heart to say no to anything that gave Mac comfort. Years of training undone by a woman who threw an arm around my dog’s neck, then smiled in her sleep.
“I promise, I’ll call for you if she wakes up,” Hannah whispered. Hannah had burst into tears when she saw the bruises on Mac’s face and neck, then she’d sucked it up and asked to stay with Mac. I wanted to stick by Mac’s side myself—to watch her sleep, watch her breathe—but Hannah was trying to step up, trying to contribute. That deserved recognition and respect.
“All right.” I laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I know I can count on you. Thanks, Hannah.”
Bone-weary, but too keyed up to hold still, I walked down the hall, pausing in Libby’s doorway. She lay on her side, breathing hard and groaning.
“How’s she doing?” I asked Sahdev, who sat on the edge of the bed.
“How do you think she’s doing?” Jerrilyn spat. “After you all murdered her husband?”
I turned my gaze to the Widow Wilcox—the first Widow Wilcox—and narrowed my eyes. We murdered Boyd, huh? That was rich, coming from the woman who’d led the brigade on their killing spree.
She’d begged to be allowed to witness her grandchild’s birth, to comfort Libby in her time of need. Jerrilyn had to be the least maternal woman I’d ever met. The idea of her comforting anybody was a joke, but Libby had asked to have her mother-in-law at her side. I’d zip tied Jerrilyn’s arms and legs to a chair, and threatened to gag her if she gave us grief.
“Do I need to muzzle you?” I demanded.
She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head.
“The contractions are lasting longer and are closer together,” Sahdev said. “I expect that the baby will come in the next hour.”
Nyx hurried up the hall, carrying a cup of ice chips and a spoon. “There’s cold beer in the garage fridge. Looks like you could use one.”
“Thanks, Nyx.”
She handed the ice chips to Sahdev, who lifted a spoonful to Libby’s mouth.
“I’m going to stay and keep an eye on Jerrilyn,” Nyx said, taking a seat in a rocking chair. “Make sure she plays nice with the good doctor.” She picked up one of the discarded neckties and snapped it between her hands. Her meaning was clear. One disrespectful word directed at Sahdev, and Nyx would gag her.
I wandered toward the living room, where Kyle and Levi sprawled on the leather couches. They looked exhausted and demoralized.
“I thought I’d feel like celebrating once we beat the Wilcox Brigade,” Levi said. “But I don’t want to party. I feel like going to bed and sleeping for a week.”