“Blaze...” A woman's voice said
I opened my eyes and saw him standing over me. At his side, some blondie in scrubs, probably the one named Emma I'd heard about. She was Tank's old lady and the club medic. Behind her, standing against the wall, there was a dark haired beauty and my sis.
They looked at me like I was a fucking ghost. I sat up, and instantly felt the straps binding my arms.
“Hey! What the fuck!?”
This was not what I needed. Shit, how many precious hours had I lost being laid out here in their infirmary? All while that sick sonofabitch had my girl at the clubhouse, doing God knows what?
“We'll let you go when we know you can be a good boy,” Tank growled behind me, out of my line of vision. “You want me to give him the medicine, boss?”
Blaze nodded. Something strong in a glass pushed its way to my lips and I fucking choked. Tank held my mouth shut like a dog, making me swallow it. I thrashed, thinking I'd been poisoned.
No, not poison. It was just Jack. Sweet, smooth, strong whiskey, something I thought I might never taste again.
“Fuck,” I grunted between my teeth.
“We're giving you a shot to calm your ass down,” Blaze said. “We're damned lucky Blackjack's a chiller dude than you. I gave him a call, and he's gonna work like hell to get your girl away from Fang. We're all on the same page, so you can stop worrying we're gonna hold you down and slit your throat. Tempting as that would be.”
“Get her away? Fuck, you need to stop her, Blaze. Tell Blackjack to sit by the highway, make her pull over before she gets into town...”
Stinger stepped up next to Blaze and grinned. “You've been out all fucking day, asshole. One of your brothers down there saw her drive in, but he couldn't do shit about it by himself. It was too late to stop her from rolling right into the bear's den.”
His harsh words almost set me off again. Almost. The whiskey definitely helped soothe the radioactive fire bristling in my blood, throbbing in my chest, ready to beat its way out of me.
Save it, you fucking fool, I told myself. Save it for the fucks who really deserve it. Not these Prairie Pussies.
“Just let me up,” I said, resisting the urge to bolt up and punch every one of those fucks in their smug jaws the instant I could.
Blondie looked at Blaze. “I think it's time. We can't keep him strapped down here forever, Blaze.”
The Devils' Prez looked down at me and nodded. Tank hovered over me, undoing the straps on my arms.
“You're a prick, but you gave as good as you got, Brass. Good hook. Hard fist. I can respect that shit.” The giant motioned to the bruise I'd left on his face.
I grunted, halfway amused. He was right there to knock me out again if I did anything stupid. I sat up, fighting to let go of the anger. I looked at Blaze.
“They've got my old lady. We need to ride tonight.”
“Already working on it. You think I've been standing here jacking off while you were dreaming?” Cocky as ever, he gave me a fierce wink. “Unfortunately, there's no chance in hell we'll have time to pick up any guys from Dakota to help us out. It's just us, plus all the men you've got playing freedom fighter in Redding.”
My heart tightened. Steep odds. Blackjack told me about a third of the local guys deserted after our mutiny, but Fang still had numbers on his side. Possibly huge fucking numbers if the charters all along the west coast decided to stay loyal and send in reinforcements.
Whatever. Shit odds were nothing new to me. Having a woman on the line was, and not just any, but the one I cared for more than anything else in this fucked up world.
I slid off the table, standing. “When do we leave?”
“A couple more hours. Just need to get a few more things ready,” Blaze said. “You'll ride with Stinger and Moose. Gotta make sure you've worked all that piss outta your system, and you're not gonna do anything stupid.”
That was fair. Didn't change the fact that they were fuckers. I nodded.
Blaze stepped out, giving Shelly a quick hug and a kiss on his way out. The other guys hung back, tucking into their old ladies. Seeing Tank press the tiny blonde into his immense frame and plant his lips on her made lava seethe in my veins.
Then I saw Stinger, his arms wrapped around the dark haired girl, whispering to her. “I promise I'll be back before you know it, baby. Stay sexy and help Saffron with the girl while we're gone. Love you, Alice.”
“You know I will,” she purred.
They kissed. Fuck. Panic burbled deep in my brain, the horrible possibility I might never see my girl again. Let alone hold her like that, suck her bottom lip, whisper all the thousands of sweet and filthy words pent up in my head.
No. She's coming home in one piece. Same beautiful package I'd rip my fucking heart out for.
You can't fucking lose her like you've already lost your mind.
Hold on, babe. Your old man's coming.