Goddammit, she was alive!
And Daxton was dead.
I dropped to my knees and grabbed Harlee, pulling her close.
I would never let her go ever again.
thirty-six
(harlee)
My arms were tight around Trent as I screamed.
That was my body’s only reaction to everything. I was in terror and shock at the same time.
Trent got me to my feet and I glanced at Daxton’s body on the ground.
“Darling, it’s okay. He’s gone now.”
I looked up at Trent and tried to catch my breath.
He kissed me.
Just like in some dumb fairy tale, it was like his kiss brought me back to life. A surge went through my body even as my hands still clung to him.
We started to walk and were quickly bombarded by the guys in the club.
“What the hell happened?”
Trev, Jasper, and Cash appeared, running toward us. Behind them were two men. One was a little short and very round. The other guy was tall, built, and had a rifle in his hand.
“Are you okay, brother?” Trev asked Trent.
“Fine.”
“Harlee?” Cash asked, looking at me. “You okay, sweetie?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m so…”
“She’s in shock,” Trent said.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Cash said. “Do you need a hug from me? I can make everything go away.”
“Fuck off, Cash,” Trent growled.
“Meet Alexei,” the round man said in a Russian accent. “Sniper.”
“Fucking shit, Peter,” Trent said.
“I called him right after we split up,” Trev said. “I knew he was still in the area. Figured he could help us. I knew if Night Soul found out about what we did…” Trev looked at me and shook his head.
“What did you do?” I asked Trent.
“Business,” he said. “Nothing more.”
“That was a good shot,” Jasper said.
“I never miss,” Alexei said in a monotone voice. “Now we go. Right now.”
“Do you have payment?” Peter asked with a big smile.
“Austin,” Trev said. “Keys.”
Austin took the keys to the van out of his pocket. Trev ordered them to be handed over to Peter.
“What is this?” Trent asked.
“He’s taking the guns,” Trev said. “Payment.”
“Seriously?” Trent asked.
Trev grabbed Trent’s shoulder, making him yell out in pain. “You’re fucking family, Trent. And your old lady is family. I don’t care what it fucking costs to keep this MC and family together.” Trev then looked at me. He gently touched my jaw with his pointer finger. “You understand that too. Okay?”
“Yes,” I said. “Thank you. I don’t…”
“We leave now,” Alexei said. “We go to Nevada. Bloodshed is over here.”
“Can you clean this?” Peter asked Trev.
“It’s already taken care of,” Trev said.
I refused to take my hands off Trent’s body. I clutched tight to his leather cut and he held me.
“Brother, you’re bleeding,” Cash said. “That shoulder looks nasty.”
“I’ll call a doctor,” Jasper said.
“No,” Trent said. “There’s one more thing to do here.”
When he said it, there was no need for more explanation.
“Okay, brother,” Jasper said.
“We can still approach the O’Nuall family,” Trev said.
“No. My father betrayed me worse than ever in his life or mine. He used me and set this up.” Trent looked back at Daxton’s body on the ground. “Fucking scum. All of them.”
“How do we prove this to them?” Austin asked.
“I’ll call Garvan,” Trent said. “I’ll put the phone on speaker and do what needs to be done.”
“What if he runs?” Jasper asked.
“Got that money, Prez?” Trent asked Trev.
“Yeah, I do,” Trev said.
“The old man will never walk away from money. I’ll tell him we settled up with Daxton. He’ll buy it. It’s money. He needs it.”
“I’ll go with you,” Cash said.
“No,” Trent said. “I ride alone on this one. I don’t want to spook him. The second he sees me and Harlee…”
“Cash rides with you,” Trev said. “My order. But when you get close, he’ll hang back. What just happened with Night Soul is going to come back at us hard. Once we’re all back at the clubhouse, I’ll make the call to Rocco.”
When Trev put his sunglasses on, the meeting was over.
Trent turned to face me. His hands ran up my shoulders and he cupped my face. “I’ll never forgive myself for trusting your protection with someone else. I’ll never make that same mistake again.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I said. “I’m alive. And Daxton’s gone. I can be happy now. As long as I’m with you, Trent.”
“Darling, I’m the fucking monster. I’m the fucking enforcer. Not even a bullet can stop me. You’ll always be with me. I’ll always be with you. Why don’t you ride with someone back to the clubhouse?”
“No,” I quickly said. “That asshole tried to have me killed. I want to know, Trent. I want to be there. I don’t want to see it, but I want to feel it.”
I figured Trent would fight back at me for it. Instead, he put his lips to mine. We kissed over and over. The guys started to whistle. Cash made some joke that if we made out longer than five minutes he’d jerk off to us.