I jerked the steering wheel as hard as I could, the truck leaving marks as I U-turned into oncoming traffic. It was late enough that the streets were almost empty, but a few horns blared at me all the same. I ignored them, desperate to catch any sound coming from that phone. I could only catch the occasional whimper, and the sound of another man’s voice. I muted it so whoever it was couldn’t hear me. Pressing the pedal to the floor and urging the big truck to go as fast as it could, I sent up a prayer to a god I wasn’t sure I still believed in.
“Hold on, baby. Just hold on. I’m coming.”
I grabbed my club phone and dialed the number from memory.
“Hey, big brother. I’m guessing since you’re calling me, you didn’t get lucky tonight. Gosh, you must be feeling left out—”
I snapped, “Shut the fuck up and listen. Someone’s in Vixen’s apartment. She was screaming. I turned around, but I don’t know what I’m walking into.” Dead silence, “Dalton?”
Then I heard the jangle of keys and the slamming of a door.
“I’m still here.” Gone was the light and carefree tone most people were used to. This was the sound that many of our enemies heard right before they died. “I’ll be there in ten. Jackson! Diego! With me. Now.”
The call disconnected, and I threw it to the side.
My wheels jumped the curb as I turned back into her shitty apartment building. I knew Dalton would be there soon, but I wasn’t waiting. I grabbed my gun from under the seat and ran inside. I didn’t stop running as I checkedthe clip. The movements were familiar to me. Something I could do in my sleep. Forgoing the elevator, I took the stairs three at a time. When I stepped out onto her floor, I kept my steps light. Nothing to break the silence that clung to the stale air around me. I took the safety off as I ran to the woman who had somehow found her way into my heart.
When I got to the door, I strained to hear any sound. Unable to make anything out, I opened the door as quietly and as smoothly as I could. The door, thankfully, eased open without even a squeak. When I peered into the room, I saw fucking red. My vision tunneled. Daniel Hall stood in front of my Vixen, who was passed out on the couch. I took in the blood seeping from several wounds, and the bite marks on her breasts and neck. Fucking animal was unzipping his pants. I didn’t even hesitate as I stormed into the tiny apartment.
Daniel turned to me, shock and horror on his face when he realized who was now in the room. Fucking fool. I closed the distance between him and me in seconds. My hand closed around his throat, and I tossed him against the wall like a rag doll. He fell there, the impact knocking him out. I didn’t spare him another glance as I leaned over her limp body. She didn’t stir. Nothing. Her chest rose and fell. Barely.
I heard Dalton in the hall hollering for me, and I yelled back, “It’s clear! Get the fuck in here!”
I kneeled on the couch, holding her face between my hands. She had three stab wounds, and the couch was soaked red beneath her.
“Baby girl, I need you to wake up. Come on, Vixen, wake up.” I grabbed a blanket off the couch and pressed it to her stomach. That son of a bitch had sliced her open. So much red. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t see beyond the woman in front of me. “You’re stronger than this. Let me see those beautiful brown eyes.”
Please.Please open your eyes.
“Oh my fucking God, no,” Dalton said as he ran into the apartment, barely glancing at the prone figure still by thewall. He felt for a pulse. “She’s alive, but barely. We gotta go, Mac. Now.”
I scooped her up in my arms as carefully and quickly as I could. She might as well have been a doll. Rodney, Jackson, and Diego stood in the hallway. Their eyes widened when they saw my Vixen.
Diego turned sheet white. “Holy fuck, this is gonna kill Maria.”
Dalton glared at him. “This isn’t gonna fucking kill anyone, except him.” He pointed behind us at Daniel, who had begun to stir. “Take him to the shed. Make him comfortable.”
The shed was where we took men when we wanted information out of them. My three best men knew exactly where it was, and what to do when they got Daniel there.
My truck was still idling in the parking lot, their bikes scattered by the door. I handed Nicky over to Dalton before climbing into the back seat of the Ford, turning to grab her back from him. The bleeding was slowing down, and I had seen enough men die from blood loss to know that wasn’t a good thing. I cradled her in my arms, and Dalton jumped in the front. He peeled out into the streets, heading to the nearest hospital.
“How is she?” he asked, glancing in the rearview mirror, his eyes heavy with worry and fear. He looked so much like our mother, and the thought of her was like a bullet to the chest. I couldn’t face burying another woman I loved. I couldn’t fucking do it. I ran my hand down the side of my Vixen’s face. She had been so vibrant just an hour ago. Now her pale skin stood out in stark contrast against the black leather of the seats.
“Not fucking good. She’s lost a lot of blood.”
I saw the muscles in his jaw clench as he focused on the road, bobbing in and out of the late-night traffic.
“Are those actual fucking bite marks?”
I just nodded, and he swore. In the distance, I could see the lights of the hospital. “Come on, gorgeous, hold onfor me just a bit longer.” I placed my fingers just under her chin, and my heart fucking bottomed out. “Dalton, I can’t find a pulse. She’s not breathing!”
Not again.Please, not again.
“No, no, no,” I muttered, and minutes later Dalton skidded to a stop outside the ER entrance. He screamed for help and ran to help me get her out of the truck. I slid her along the seat as gently as I could, until Dalton was able to lift her in his arms. A few nurses ran out as he turned with her limp body, and I heard one of them yell, “Oh my God, someone page the trauma team and get me a gurney.”
There was a rush of movement, and more staff running out of the hospital as pagers went wild. Dalton laid her on the gurney that was wheeled out, and we ran with them as they rushed her inside. The team swarming around her worked to get a pulse, and a couple of people forced me and Dalton out of the room.
“Clear!”
