Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“If she had pulled the wheel in the other direction, she woulda been fucked.”
My stomach lurched with realization.
There was a twenty-foot drop on the opposite side of the road, but she probably wouldn’t have hit bottom because of all the trees she would’ve hit on the way down.
“Been on this road a million times. Probably turned this way on instinct,” Leo said, opening the truck door. There was blood all over the steering wheel and seat. Harper’s glasses were on the floorboard near the passenger door, completely mangled. “Goddammit”
“I’ll wait until you’re back on the road,” I said, guilt like a heavy blanket over my shoulders. “Then follow you back.”
He must’ve heard something in my voice, because he took his eyes off the mess and looked at me. “You were right behind her,” he said. “She drove to your house this mornin’ just fine. Couldn’t have known someone would hit her tonight.”
I just nodded. I didn’t agree. I knew in my gut that someone was fucking with her, even if the club hadn’t made up their minds yet. I should’ve been more careful.
Leo pulled the truck out of the mud with no problem, and I followed him back to his house without incident. When we pulled in, there were a few more cars parked outside than I expected.
Leo pulled the truck into the garage, and I parked behind him. With the lights from the garage illuminating the damage, it looked so much worse than I’d realized. The tailgate was toast, and by the way it was bent, it was going to be a bitch to remove. I wanted to get a closer look, but I needed to see Harper first.
I’d been working on autopilot since I found her—making sure she was okay, calling her parents, watching for threats—but now that I knew she was safe, I was beginning to feel tentacles of panic wrapping around my chest.
The first thing I heard when I followed Leo in the front door was Harper’s irritated voice.
“Just stitch it,” she said. “It’ll be covered by my glasses anyway.”
“Harp, I don’t want to stitch your face,” her Aunt Molly argued as we entered the kitchen.
Harper was sitting in a kitchen chair, her head tilted up so Molly could assess the wound.
“I swear,” Harper said, a little desperately, holding a pad of gauze against her face. “I’m not worried about a scar. My glasses will cover it, or I’ll wear makeup. Just close it—you could even use glue! Do you have any of that skin glue in your bag?”
Molly looked at Lily for saving, but Lily just shrugged her shoulders.
“She’s never been vain. If you can glue it, do it.”
“I’m not a plastic surgeon,” Molly mumbled as she rummaged through her big black medical bag. “I should not be doing this.”
“Should be fine, right?” Harper asked when our eyes met across the kitchen. “The cut isn’t even that big.”
“You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” I asked quietly as I walked closer.
“Hell no,” she replied. “I just want to glue this shut so I stop bleeding.”
“How are you feeling?” I asked, reaching out to run my thumb down her cheek. Her face was covered in dried blood. “Dizzy? Nauseous?”
“Hey, who’s the nurse here, me or you?” Molly joked.
“My head fucking hurts,” Harper replied. “Not dizzy. Not nauseous.”
“Does she have a concussion?” I asked Molly.
“I love how everyone forgets I’m not a doctor,” Molly replied, rolling her eyes as she urged me out of the way. “This is going to sting, Harp.”
“Just do it,” Harper ordered lightly. Her hand fisted in the fabric of my sweatshirt, making sure I didn’t go anywhere.
Beyond a sharp inhale, Harper was silent as Molly glued the cut closed. It was only about a centimeter long, but all around it had already started to turn dark with bruising. When Molly was done, she turned to Lily. “You have a washcloth? We should clean all this blood off her face.”
“Yes, we should,” Harper said, releasing her hold on me. “But take a picture first. I’ll set it as my screensaver on my laptop.”
“Hey, Bas,” Gray called from the back door. He jerked his head, indicating I should follow him.
“I’ll be right back,” I assured Harper.
“Don’t leave,” she ordered softly.
Instead of answering, I pulled my bike key out of my pocket and put it in her hand.
Outside, I followed the sound of voices to the garage, where Leo, Gray, Casper, Dragon, Harper’s uncle, Hulk, and Molly’s husband, Will, were standing at the rear of Leo’s truck.
“To do this kind of damage, that truck had to be big,” Hulk said. He was bent down looking at the huge dent. “And there’s a winch on the front.” He pointed to a deep gouge. “And it’s lifted.”
“Some redneck hit my kid,” Leo said flatly. “Should be easy enough to find.”