Brick Brick (Knights Corruption MC - Next Generation, #4) - S. Nelson Page 0,97

most likely anticipating we’d be carrying two bodies out of the house and not wanting to walk the distance to the truck.

The yellow dress she wore, the one she changed into because of a stupid comment I made, was painted red, the neckline torn, barely covering the top of her. When I shifted her toward the far seat, I saw she wasn’t wearing any panties. Rage clouded my vision, my hand shaking when I lowered the bottom of her skirt back down. I wanted to remain in the realm of not knowing, but the absence of her underwear meant only one thing.

“We’ll take her to the cabin,” Stone said, peering into the back seat but he couldn’t see Zoe because I hovered over her. “Addy will look her over, and if she feels she needs to go to the hospital, then she’ll go.” He touched my shoulder and I flinched. “Addy needs to look at your leg, too.”

“What if she’s hurt too badly for Addy to fix?”

“Then she’ll go to the hospital.” Stone had just told me that, but my brain wasn’t working correctly. “We don’t need any more police attention right now, especially when we’re still in the middle of all this. Griller’s not here and he wasn’t at either of the other two locations.” The VP mumbled something else but turned away from me to speak with one of the other guys a few feet away before I could ask him what he said. Then he was back, standing outside the SUV. “Ryder and you are gonna take Braylen and Zoe back to the cabin. We’ll be along shortly afterward.” I didn’t say a word when he walked away again.

My hand drifted over Zoe’s arm, but she didn’t move. I leaned in close, releasing the suspended air in my lungs only when I saw her chest rise, then fall. She’d passed out, and I couldn’t help but be thankful she was able to find some sort of brief reprieve from what just happened.

Slipping from the back seat, I gently closed the door behind me, resting briefly against the side of the truck. Blood continued to pour from my left leg, and I needed to stop the steady flow if I had any chance of not passing out myself. Hobbling toward the back of the vehicle, I rifled around inside, snatching an old towel tucked into the corner. I wrapped the material around my leg as best I could and cinched it tightly, my features contorting from the jolt of pain that followed.

My mind started to wander, remembering Zoe shouting “You said you’d only take me,” but before I went completely off the rails, I needed details, specifics. I feared the knowledge, but I needed it to know what to do next.

“How is she?” Ryder stood next to me, his wife tucked securely under his arm, sobbing silently, brushing away her tears as swiftly as they trailed down her cheeks. It was then I realized I never answered his previous question about Zoe.

“I don’t know, other than she’s covered in dried blood.” My voice shook. “I don’t know what they did to her.” My eyes jumped to Braylen, realizing she was the only other person, beside Zoe and the corpses spread around this place, who knew the truth. I leaned down and touched her arm. “What did they do to her?”

She shook her head, turning fully into Ryder while she continued to cry, her sobs tearing me apart on the inside. When I looked up, Ryder’s eyes were glassy, his expression stoic yet crumbling the longer he tried to comfort his wife. He knew, as well as I did, that Braylen’s silence had answered my question, but I needed to hear the words.

I didn’t want to push her to respond, but the storm brewing inside was set to engulf me any second if she didn’t start talking. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and opened my mouth, but I didn’t get the chance to expel any of my anger onto her because she removed herself from the security of her husband’s arms and reached out to grasp my hand.

“At first, I didn’t know… I was still unconscious, but when I came to… she never said anything.” The tremor in her voice affirmed my fears. “She told them to take her instead of me. Oh God,” she cried, covering her face with her hands before moving them to rest over her belly. “She was trying to protect me…