I push to my feet and reach for Rainer, taking his big hand in mine. “Hey you,” I whisper, feeling tears welling.

“Hey yourself,” he rasps. “How long have you been here?”

“A few days.”

His brows furrow. “Pip, you should be resting.”

I reach over and stroke his face. “Not when you’re in here because of me.”

“No,” he whispers, taking my hands and pulling them to his lips. “I’m not in here because of anyone. It happens, Pip. Don’t blame yourself.”

“I’m sorry, Rainer . . .” I look away as tears slide down my cheeks.

“Come here,” he says, patting the side of the bed.

“I can’t,” I croak.

“Pippa, get in the bed.”

I don’t want him to strain himself, so I let him pull me into the bed. I tuck myself in beside him and he holds me tight.

“Don’t you feel bad about asking me for help. You needed to get out of there and I took you. You couldn’t have predicted that those men would be waiting. I told you years ago, and I’ll tell you again. I’ll always save you, Pippa.”

God, I love him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

NOW – Pippa

The call comes in the middle of the night.

I’m sleeping restlessly and so therefore I hear the phone the moment it rings. I reach over and stare down at the flashing screen. It’s Santana. My stomach drops. This can’t be a good call. Anytime a call comes in the middle of the night, it’s never good. I pick it up quickly and press it to my ear. “Tana?”

“Oh Pippa,” she sobs.

“Tana what’s happening?”

“Krypt called me. He said . . . he said . . .”

“Santana,” I cry. “Please!”

“He said there’s been an accident. He said when they ambushed Ingro and his group, things went bad. There was an explosion, not set by them, nor for them. Ingro was expecting some other enemies, too, it would seem. The boys had just stepped up to the compound when it blew.”

My hands start to shake.

“Santana . . .”

“S . . . s . . . s . . . some of them died.”

“Santana!” I scream.

“Tyke is alive. He’s injured. So is Maddox, Mack, and about four other guys. They’re being transported to the hospital now. No one knows how bad it is. Krypt said . . . he said it was horrible.”

“No,” I choke out.

“Ash and Jaylah are a mess, but Ash is holding it together because Krypt is only mildly injured. She’s coming to get us so we can be at the hospital when they arrive.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

I hang up the phone and smother down my tears as I rush to my closet and get on some day clothes. Then I run downstairs and wait at the door. I’ve never been so terrified in all my life. The fear coursing through my veins is enough to bring on a panic attack, but I fight it back. When I hear the sounds of a car outside, I run out.

The moment I climb in, Santana pulls me into her arms. We cry the entire way to the hospital; Jaylah huddled in close, too. Ash drives, her face grim. When we arrive, we all pull it together and rush inside and straight towards the desk. “We’re here with the men who were brought in from the explosion,” Santana says desperately. “Have they arrived?”

The nurse nods. “Are you family?”

“Their wives,” Ash informs her.

“Right this way.”

We follow the nurse down some halls, and then into another ward. We can’t see any of them, but when we round a corner, about five bikers are sitting outside. Krypt is one of them. Ash cries out and runs towards him, throwing herself into his arms. He holds her, his eyes closed, his mouth tight. He’s hurting. He looks horrible, too. His skin is marked with black streaks and his clothes are torn. He has blood on his cheek and on his hands. I don’t know if it’s his . . . or someone else’s.

He pulls back and looks over to us, and his face breaks. He looks as if he’s going to cry. Coming from a hard biker, it means only one thing. It’s bad. He walks over, holding Ash’s hand tightly. He scans all three of us, then his eyes settle on Jaylah. “Mack is bad, Jay. He . . .”

Jaylah starts to shake. “Please, Krypt. Tell me.”

“His leg . . . it was damaged so badly, the doctor . . . he said it has to go.”

My knees start to wobble.

“He’s got third degree burns on the other one. It’s . . . bad.”

Jaylah crumples to the floor and Krypt lets Ash go so he can scoop her up into his arms. She clutches him and cries so hard I can’t fight back any more tears. I cry, too. So does Santana. So does Ash. We all stand there crying. Another biker, Grimm, comes over and takes Jaylah, holding her tight.

Krypt looks to Tana next.

“Maddox was in a different area, and the explosion didn’t hit him as hard. He’s injured; he had a piece of rubble hit him in the stomach. It partially impaled him, but the doctor said it missed vital organs. He’s got burns on his neck, but they’re not third degree. He also broke his arm when he was launched from his bike, but the doctor said he’s okay.”

Tana nods, her bottom lip quivering. I clutch her hand, holding her tight as Krypt turns to me.

“Tyke was with Maddox, too—as was I. He was thrown from his bike with the force of the explosion. He snapped one of the bones in his leg and sliced open his arm badly enough to require at least twenty stitches. Otherwise he’s okay. He’s having surgery on his leg, though. It’s a mess.”