“Breathe. Try not to panic,” I offer calmly, not sure what else to do for her.
Was she poisoned?
“Fuck,” Briar curses savagely beside me a beat later and digs into his cargo pocket. He thrusts something at me. “Here, use this. I think it’s an allergic reaction. Her throat’s swollen, so she can’t breathe. The splotches are hives.”
My brow scrunches, but I do as he directs. I stab the medication into her flesh, and it begins its magic. The woman clutches to me, never breaking my gaze as I watch life blossom inside her once more. She really was dying, and to witness life fill her once more is a miracle I’ll never forget as long as I live.
“You’re okay,” I console. “We’re here, and I won’t let you die. Not in my arms,” I foolishly promise. I don’t have that power, but I vow it regardless.
With a soft exhale, she murmurs, “My prince,” then she promptly passes out again. This time, she’s breathing and owning every piece of my soul.
Chapter Two
HUNTER
“We have to get the fuck out of here.” I stand with the delicate woman in my arms and turn to Briar. “Who knows if someone tried to kill her. We have to take her with us.”
“But what about the others? Viking?”
“Viking has a plan, so they’ll be fine. I don’t know if anyone is still looking for this woman. I’m not taking the chance of us waiting around and anything else happening to her after she nearly died.”
He nods, heading in the direction we came from. I follow behind, moving swiftly but carefully so as not to jolt the beauty in my arms. She’s exhausted, yet randomly flutters her lashes, so I know she’s still fighting whatever took her under before.
Charmer and Diablo hear us approaching and meet us on the narrow path. Their eyes widen as they notice our newest addition. “We’re leaving,” I inform them without time for argument, and we hightail it to the Jeep. Charmer and Briar climb into the back seat, and I hand the woman over. They lay her across their laps, one hand securing her to them while the other is heavy with a Glock. There’s no telling what we may come across on our way out, so better safe than sorry.
Diablo’s more alert as we reverse, watching everywhere while I concentrate on driving. It’s much too tight for me to turn around, so I can only back up, which doesn’t exactly work in our favor when we’re in a rush to get the fuck out of Dodge. Viking wasn’t kidding, this island is riddled with secrets, those of which I can only imagine the true depth of.
“I’m taking her to my place. I can drop you guys off on my way there, but I want to get her to safety before anyone else is aware of her existence.”
“What about the Jeep?” Charmer asks as the thick foliage lets up enough for me to swing the vehicle around and finally stop driving in reverse.
I shift gears, briefly meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror. My stare flicks down to take the woman in, and I reply, “I’ll call Malevolent and let him know what happened. He’ll take care of it.”
“Sounds like a plan, brother,” Diablo reassures. This is one of the reasons why I ride with these guys—they always have my back with whatever the issue may be. “Has she said anything? Or are we kidnapping a sleeping woman? This has jail time written all over it.”
“Nothing,” I grumble and pick up speed as we close in on the road leading back to the mainland. I ignore his jail-time comment because I won’t allow it to get that far, that much I know for sure.
Briar snorts, knowing what went down back there. “She called him her prince.” I catch his suggestive tone, attempting to rile me as my brothers chuckle. I have no doubt in my mind that if we weren’t on alert right now, they’d be giving me a truckload of shit about being a dark prince in disguise.
“A smart-ass biker prince who hunts people down for a living, more like it,” Charmer adds, causing the guys to laugh more. I hope she’s not hearing any of this. I’m not ashamed of my best friends or anything, I am only worried it’d embarrass her, and the last thing I want is for her to be uncomfortable while knocking on death’s door.
I obviously didn’t think this completely through, taking a random woman with me in the Jeep full of oversized, rough men. She may be terrified when she catches a good look at them, and I don’t want that. She needs to relax after whatever she just went through—anyone would after nearly dying.
“What exactly are you planning to do with her?”
I glance at Diablo and sigh. “I haven’t thought too far ahead. She was left for dead back there, and I wasn’t going to have that on my conscience. Once she’s had time to recuperate, I’ll get as much information from her as I can. We’ll go from there.”
He huffs. “More trouble that doesn’t belong to you. Always the knight to go running.”
My gaze falls to her in the rearview mirror again. I can’t seem to get my fill of checking to make sure she’s okay. I shrug. I’ve always had my nose in a bit of trouble, and it’s given me the opportunities to help countless people. “I’m a bounty hunter. It’s what I do.”
“And I’m there with you, brother, but there’s no payday on this load. Just a broad destined to get you into a pile of shit. No telling how deep it’ll pile up in the end.”
Charmer pipes up, “Ouch, that’s harsh.”
Rather than replying, he quiets and stares out the window. He’s a broody fucker, always has been. He never shies away from giving me his opinion, but he’s never been one to fill the silence with words either. I appreciate the trait.
Charmer, on the other hand, is his opposite. The brother always has a grin on his face and is known for the wake of ladies always chasing after him. They all want to be his Mrs. Right, but he’s yet to find the one he can’t live without. Someone will fill those shoes eventually, that much I’m sure of.
Eventually, we make it to the docks where we’d traded our bikes for the Jeep. Malevolent is right where we left him, clad head to toe in black. He’s the biker version of the Grim Reaper with an inky mohawk styled sharp enough you’d swear it could cut, and the glare he wears along with it is enough to make any man pause.
“You ugly fuckers are still breathing, so I take it everything went well?” he grumbles, making all of us smile except Diablo. He peeks his head over the back of the topless Jeep to get a decent look at the sleeping woman. “Who’s the secret stowaway?”
“We’re straight,” I reply. “And we don’t know.”
His brows kick up. “She doesn’t speak, either? What happened to this chick?”
Briar shakes his head. “She talks, just been passed out. Hunter saved her life, gave her CPR and an EPI shot.”
“No shit?” Malevolent’s gaze meets mine.
I nod. “Giving her a chance to recuperate. Bet your ass once she’s awake, I’ll find out whatever I can.”
“She’s hot, so, of course, he’d save her,” Charmer ribs, and I roll my eyes.
“I’d have saved her whether she was hot or not.”
“Yeah, but this is a bonus. Maybe she’ll want to repay you for helping her.” The guys laugh while I shake my head. I’d probably be joking too if I knew her back story and what she was about, but at the moment, I know absolutely nothing.