by Blair Grey
As long as we got through this fight, everything would be okay. As long as we both made it through to the other side.
I felt a surge of confidence rush through me, but it was nearly snuffed out when suddenly a strong hand came out of nowhere, grabbing me and yanking me toward them. I let out a scream, suddenly realizing just how far I’d moved from where Harley had been hiding with me.
I tried to kick off the assailant, not having to look to recognize the feel of that strong hand on my body.
It was Shade.
I didn’t know where he had come from, but he was suddenly there, and he had me. He was dragging me toward the other side of the street – and toward the men who were part of his MC.
The screams continued to rise from my throat, but I knew I had to be the one to get myself out of this. For as much as the others in our MC were trying to fight off the rivals, I was stuck in the middle of the battle, but entirely alone in this fight. Shade had me, and I didn’t want to think about what he was going to do if he got me to the other side of the lines.
He was stronger than me, but I wasn’t about to go without a fight.
I turned, twisting under his grip and doing everything I could to get out of there. I didn’t want him to touch me, but I didn’t know how to get him off me, either. He was all over me it seemed, blocking me from getting away from him even in the heat of the battle.
I hoped against hope someone would shoot him where he stood, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harley get up and start for us. There was rage in his face, and I knew he wasn’t going to let my ex take me. He would kill him with his own bare hands if he had to. I knew that look.
He started for us, and I planted my feet as best as I could, doing everything I could to get away from Shade. If I could just slow him down enough for Harley to reach us, I knew I would be safe. He wouldn’t be able to get a hold of me. He wouldn’t be able to take me anywhere.
Maybe I would even get the chance to land a good lick on the side of his face with my fist. I was against hitting anyone, except for when he was on top of me and trying to hurt me. But now, if I had the chance to hit him just to prove a point to him, I would take it in a heartbeat.
I wasn’t going to let him treat me like shit anymore, there wasn’t anything holding me back. I just knew I couldn’t let him take me wherever it was he was going. Once he had me back there, that would be the end. Once he had me in his grasp, that would be when he would kill me.
I had to stay out in the open. I had to be with the rest of the MC. The men I had been so afraid of before, they were the men who were going to be there for me now. They were the ones who were going to save me from this, as long as I could just stay on my feet long enough for Harley to reach me-
Shots rang out all at once. It was as though everyone on the other side fired at Harley at the same time, shooting him and filling him with their bullets.
Harley dropped to the ground with the bullet holes littering his vest, and a new scream emitted from my lips. I felt I had watched the man I loved more than anything else fall to the ground – the one who was meant for me. I felt that everything I had loved in this life was suddenly being ripped from me. The glimmer of happiness that had grown over the past week was being sucked right out of my life as though it had never existed in the first place.
The sight of it was enough to make me stronger than I could ever remember being. All at once, the strength flooded through me, rushing through the very tips of my fingers. I shoved Shade with all the power I had left in me, knocking him off balance.
He had stopped to watch Harley fall, the look of triumph on his face as he did so, and it was enough to make me as strong as a bear.
But, he didn’t get up again. He fell right into the hands of the waiting MC, and they were more than happy to take over for me. They made short work of him, but I didn’t have time to watch. I would have liked to see Shade meet his end, to know that I finally never had to worry about any of this again, but I had more important things to do now.
I had to get to the love of my life – the man who had fallen riddled with bullets for my sake. I had to get to him before it was too late.
I pulled Harley over onto his back, cradling his head in my lap. I cried, letting the tears run freely down my cheeks. The battle was still erupting around me, but I didn’t care. Now, the only thing I cared about was Harley. I had to be with him. I had to get him to pull through this.
I had worked too hard and risked too much to lose him now. No matter what, I had to have him.
“Please stay with me,” I cried, letting the tears run down my face and splash onto his own. “Please don’t leave me. I love you. I need you. I need you in my life, Harley. Please. Don’t leave me!”
I didn’t know how long I stayed there with him, but it felt like an eternity. Every passing second, I wondered if I would end up with a bullet in my back, but nothing stopped me from holding him in my arms and cradling him with all that I had. This was the man I loved more than anything – this was the one for me.
And, I was losing him.
I thought I knew what fear was. I thought I knew what it was like to lose something I loved. But nothing in my life had ever compared to the pain I was feeling right now. Nothing compared to how I felt with him in my arms.
Nothing compared to the fear that I would lose him for good.
All I knew was that if Harley died, I didn’t want to live. I couldn’t face my life without him. Not after all that had happened, not after how close we had become.
I had to have him in my life. I had to be with him no matter what.
I worried our relationship was ending before it even had the chance to start, and the thought made me sick to my stomach. I couldn’t lose him now. Not after all we had been through.
I closed my eyes, holding him close to me and letting the battle come to its own end.
I just needed Harley.
That’s all I needed in life.
Chapter 22
Harley
The light from between the curtains danced around the room, bringing me out of the medicine-induced sleep I’d been drifting in and out of over the past few days.
There were vague memories of the fight still bouncing around in my head, but I was far enough away from it now to know that I was safe in the hospital. I didn’t know how I’d gotten there, and I was glad to know Jett had taken care of things to ensure I didn’t have to talk to the cops about the fight, so I was on the slow road to recovery.
I hadn’t been conscious much during the past few days, but I wasn’t really feeling up to talking much anyway. Every now and then my eyes would flutter open and I would see someone I recognized in the room with me. At times it was Jett, and then there was Blade.
Knox had stopped by at one point, as had Roman and Ares. I had seen Ryder, I thought, but perhaps that had been one of the dreams that I had often. But, the person I wanted to see most of all hadn’t seemed to be in the room, and I worried something had happened.
When I tried to talk about it, my words got stuck in my throat, and I wasn’t able to make much sense of anything. It wasn’t until the night before when I was finally able to talk to the nurse that I could get some of the answers I was looking for, but not all of them.
So, when I opened my eyes and found Paisley sitting on the edge of the bed, my heart leapt to my throat. She looked like she had been crying, and as she gazed down at her hands folded in her lap, I thought she was the prettiest thing I had ever laid eyes on.
She turned when I stirred slightly, her eyes widening when she saw I was awake. She leaned forward as though she wanted to give me a hug, but then she hesitated, clearly unsure of what to do.
“It’s okay,” I managed. “Come here, I want to touch you.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry I’ve been so out of it for the past few days, but I was really tired. Really, really tired, and the medication doesn’t help, you know.”
; She let out a soft laugh, laying down on me as much as she could with all the wires and monitors that were connected to me. “I thought you were going to die,” she sobbed.
“It’s going to take a lot more than a few bullets to stop me, let me tell you,” I said with a wink. She let out another soft laugh, but lay down gently on top of me.
“I was so scared. I really thought the worst was going to happen. Why did they attack us? I thought they just wanted to talk to us about what was going on with Shade,” she said.
“I figured something like that could happen,” I told her. “It’s the way of life. If they thought there was a chance they could get us, then they were going to take it. You were just a pawn in the grand scheme of things, even more so for them than you were for your ex.”
She sighed and shook her head. “I would have felt terrible if anyone from the Steel Wings had died because of me.”
“I’m glad no one did,” I said, relieved at the news. I had worried about that more than once, but there wasn’t anything the nurse could tell me the night before. I knew I was going to have to wait until I saw one of the guys again, but I was grateful she was able to confirm that to me.
“Several of you were shot,” she said with a shake of her head. “But no one died, thank God.”
“I’m thankful for that,” I told her as I put my hand on her. “And, I’m most of all glad you got out of there without so much as a bullet, too.”
Another small smile flashed over her cheeks, and she shook her head. “I guess you could say I was lucky, but I’m not so sure. That was the worst thing I’ve ever been part of, and I never want to do it again – ever.”
“You’re not going to have to,” I promised her. “You’re going to live the rest of your life without having to deal with anything like that.”
“I’m so glad,” she breathed.
There was silence in the room for a moment, and I fought to find the right words to say. There was a question that was pressing on my mind, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. It was strange for me to have to feel that way, but I did. I was always the guy who knew what to say and how to say it, especially when it came to women, but there was something different about Paisley, and once again she made it hard for me to find the right words.
“Can I ask you something?” I managed at last.
“What?” she looked at me with raised eyebrows.
“I heard what you said when you were holding me after I got shot,” I told her. “Did you mean it?”
“That I love you?” she asked in surprise.
I nodded. I was almost scared to ask her if that was true, but I wasn’t going to back out of it now. She had seemed so genuine at the time, and I wanted to know if she meant it.
But then, she nodded. “I meant every word. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I love you more than life itself.”
I smiled, reaching for her hand. It meant a lot to me that she was willing to say so, and I gave her a light squeeze. “I love you, too, Paisley. I never thought the day would come when I would fall in love, but you have made me feel like the luckiest man in the world. Really.”
Paisley lifted my hand to her face, leaning against me and smiling down into my eyes. “I’m so glad you’re going to be okay. I was so scared you were leaving me for good, and I don’t think I could go on without you.”
“I know I can’t go on without you,” I told her, not a moment of hesitation in my voice. I meant it. This was the woman I wanted to be with, and I wanted her to know just how much she meant to me. She had been through such Hell, she had to know now how much she was worth.
It was far more than what her ex had told her, and I hoped he hadn’t made it out of the fight alive.
But, as if they knew what I was thinking, Roman and Jett walked into the room with grim faces.
“We heard you were awake, and we wanted to talk,” Jett said after the greetings were made.
“About the war?” I asked.
He nodded. “We did some damage to the other side, that’s for sure, but I’m afraid the one who started it all was able to get out of it alive.”
“Shade’s still alive?” Paisley paled, and I put my hand over the top of hers.
“He’s not going to come anywhere near you,” I told her. She still looked nervous, but Jett nodded, affirming what I had said.
“He’s in custody, and he’s being held on a variety of charges. I can tell you he’s going to be going to jail for a very long time. He might not ever get out if we bring in your own testimony against him,” Jett said.
“That means I’m going to have to go to his trial, doesn’t it?” Paisley said with a sigh. She clearly didn’t want to, but it was the right thing to do, especially if she didn’t want to risk him getting off easy. We wanted him to go to prison for as long as possible, if not for the rest of his life.
I didn’t know much about the legal system, but if there was any chance we could get him locked up for good, we were going to take it in a heartbeat. Hell, I would be happy to add onto the testimony if there was any way I could help, and I knew everyone else in the MC were more than willing to help, as well.
We did everything together, and if that was what we had to do, then I knew we’d all do it. Jett wouldn’t even have to ask.
“We’ll see how it plays out,” Jett said with a small smile toward Paisley. “But I can promise you no matter what, you’re not going to be going in there alone, and you’re not going to have to deal with Shade ever again. He’s gone from your life, and you’re officially free to do anything you want.”
Paisley smiled, giving my hand a squeeze. “I don’t know what to say. That is the most freeing feeling I’ve ever had, and I’m not sure what to even think about it.”
“Just enjoy it,” Jett told her with a nod. “We’re going to be going, but you two relax. We’ll get this worked out with the court, and before we know it, that guy’s going to be behind bars for good.”
“And, we can work on expanding our territory now that we don’t have to worry about the other MC,” I called after the two of them as they left the room. He held up his hand to show that he heard me, but he wasn’t going to talk about it right now.
I had to get some rest, they would insist on that, but that was okay with me. I was happy. Paisley was there, and she wasn’t going anywhere. It was just her and me now, us against the world.
I might have a few bullet holes in me and a long recovery ahead of me, but I was okay with that. I would deal with all of it if it meant I could be with this wonderful woman.
She deserved the world, and I was proud to be the one to give it to her. After all, I knew a thing or two when it came to romance; just because I hadn’t done much of it in the past didn’t mean I didn’t know how to spoil a woman.
Now, more than anything, I looked forward to the chance to prove to this woman she was the number one thing in the world for me. And, I would do anything to make sure she was happy and taken care of.
We might be a team, but I was the team captain, and that meant I would take care of her. I wasn’t going to control her. I had no interest in that. I would cherish her and love her. I would prove to her she was the one meant for me. I didn’t care if it took me the rest of my life to do it. I had a new mission, and I would do it with all I had in me.
And, I would show the world the same thing.
Chapter 23
Paisley
“You’re going to have to settle down, or you’re going to wind up hurting yourself again!” I said with a laugh.
“I’m not a baby, and I’m not going to break!” Harley retorted.
I shook my head. “You just got out of the hospital yesterday. Do you really want to end up back in there? I would think you’re more than a little tired of hospital food by now, right?”
“I’m sick of a lot in the hospital, but most of all, I’m sick of being horny and not being able to do anything about it.” He shook his head, and I laughed once more.
/> “You have a hand, you could do something about it if you really wanted to,” I told him, but he gave me another look that brought a fresh wave of laughter.
“You know that I mean. I can get myself off if I want, but it’s not the same thing as when you get me off. Or when I get you off, for that matter,” he smirked, and I blushed.
“You know you like it,” he continued, and I laughed before shrugging.
“I never argued with that. But, the doctor did say that you have to be careful with strenuous activities, and that included no sex for a few weeks,” I reminded him. “How the Hell did you manage this when you just weren’t able to find a lady to take home at night?”
“I never had that problem,” he gave me a look, and all I could do was laugh and shake my head.
“I don’t even want to know,” I said with a grin.
“I’m sure you don’t,” he said, but then laughed. “You know I’m only teasing. It’s not so bad when I’m alone, but I want to have sex with you, and it’s driving me crazy that I can’t. All I want is to sink my dick deep inside your pussy and-”
“You’re only going to make it harder on yourself if you keep this up,” I told him playfully, and he shook his head.
“I don’t think I can get much harder. I’m full mast already and have nothing I can do about it. You should really feel bad. This is your fault, after all,” he said.
“How the Hell would that be my fault?” I asked with a laugh. “You’re the one who’s hard, and I didn’t do anything to make it that way!”
“You made it this way just by being so goddamn sexy. Do you really think it’s possible for me to be around you like this and not want to do all sorts of naughty things to you? I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and now that I have someone like you with me, all I want to do is sleep with you,” he said.
With a smile, I walked over to him. He was sitting on the couch with his phone on the cushion beside him and sports playing on TV. But, his focus was entirely on me. All he wanted was my attention back on him, and I had to admit, it was hard to say no.