“Rachel!” came a voice from behind me, almost making me jump a foot in the air.
“Jesus tap dancing Christ, Heather! I’ve just nearly pissed myself!”
“Do you not check your voicemail?” She hissed at me, her face red and sweaty.
“We’re not supposed to have our phones in here for safeguarding reasons. What’s wrong? What’s happened? Is it Bee?” I asked, getting to my feet and pushing her down into the space I had just vacated before she passed out.
“It’s not Bee, but we need to leave.”
“What’s happened?”
“It’s Vienna,” she breathed, and every last bit of air left my lungs. I instantly froze, growing lightheaded.
A million scenarios went through my head.
Had he told Dante? Had someone seen us? Was he hurt? Had he left out of guilt?
“What’s happened to Vienna?” I asked quietly, so quietly I could barely hear the words I was speaking.
“He was shot.”
There was no way. There was no fucking way Dante would have shot him. Not over this. Not overme.
“Shot?! Heather, I’m going to need more. A whole lot fucking more.”
“Get Axel and I’ll tell you everything on the way to the hospital. I promise. Dante is going to meet us there.”
Heather was true to her word and told me what had happened only once I had Axel safely strapped into his car seat and we were on the road to the hospital.
It seemed Tyler, one of the prospects, had been blackmailed by some low-ranking members of the Riders into allowing them to hide in the clubhouse whilst Church was taking place.
Whilst the men were relatively unarmed and occupied with their meeting, Tyler sent the text and allowed them access into Church, shooting Vienna in the process. Dante had instantly killed Tyler, and the Riders had been defeated. They were clearly low ranking members, because nobody high up would have been stupid enough to attack the Devil's Disciples with just two people.
And that was all she knew. Pivot had taken Vienna to hospital, and Dante hadn’t been seen since. It had been hours since this had happened—it was early morning, just before I had snuck out, that Church had taken place, so I must have just missed the Riders as I jumped in the car with Axel.
I shivered at that piece of information and made a mental note to be much more aware of my surroundings.
And even though my heart was hurting at the thought of Vienna being in hospital, there was a flicker of relief that was growing stronger and stronger every second.
Because Dante wouldn’t have shot and wounded. Dante would have shot and killed. Wounded by the Riders meant he had a chance. Shot by a Devil meant he was long gone. Even in the remote chance Vienna survived, If Dante had known about us, he would never be welcome in the club again. And that would be a fate worse than death, as far as Vienna was concerned.
Jesus Christ, we really, really fucked up this time!
As we pulled up to the hospital, I saw Dante’s bike parked outside, meaning he must have returned from whatever hole he was hiding in. And even though he didn’t know about me and Vienna, it still sent a shiver down my spine as I thought about the repercussions of my actions.
“Go,” Heather said, misinterpreting my reason for hesitating. “I’ll take Axel home. We’ll do some finger painting and make cakes. Go,” she repeated, reaching over me to open the door and practically pushing me out of the car.
“You’re a godsend, Heather,” I said, leaning over to give her a quick hug and then leant over the back of the seat to give Axel a kiss. I rushed out of the car, waving them away before I turned around and ran over to Dante.
He nodded at me as I approached, and the first thing I noticed was the overwhelming smell of copper.
I looked him up and down, but he was clean. There wasn’t a speck of blood on him. But that smell didn’t appear out of nowhere.
“What did you do?” I breathed, taking a step back and covering my nose with the back of my hand.
“I dealt with it,” he said shortly and grabbed my elbow, yanking me through the hospital doors.
“Is Vienna okay?” I asked, almost having to run to keep up with his long strides.
