Nox (Untamed Sons MC #2) - Jessica Ames Page 0,1

all I manage to squeak out is a pitiful sounding, “Help.”

His brows draw down and his hands come to the side of my face. There’s panic growing in his eyes, and that scares me. He’s not a man to frighten easily.

“Lucy, look at me.”

I try to, but my eyes are heavy and unfocused. He’s blurry in front of me.

“What the fuck happened? Is this blood yours?” he tries. “Fuck, Whizz, get over here.”

“Get her inside first,” another voice growls out. I’m sure it’s Ravage from the gravelly, angry sound of it, but I can’t see him clearly and my ears are still ringing. My head is also a ball of agony now. “Titch, move the fucking car.”

I’m pulled up to my feet and swept up into strong arms. I cry out as I’m moved, pain flaring through my chest.

Nox mutters an apology as he carries me bridal-style into the clubhouse. I burrow my face into his chest as we walk, smelling the leather of his vest, feeling the softness of the worn material against my swollen face, seeking comfort from him. In Nox’s arms, I finally feel safe, even if that safety is only borrowed. If he knew the truth of what happened, he would never protect me.

He would never put his club at risk.

I’m placed on a hard surface—a tabletop—and then a guy with chin length, dirty blond hair steps into my space. Whizz. I vaguely remember him from the hospital. He’d visited Lily-May a few times.

He shines a light in my eyes and I push his hand away with a groan as the brightness burns the backs of my eyes.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but I need to check you over.”

“He’s the club’s doctor,” Nox tells me.

It’s Nox’s reassurance that has me lowering my hand and letting him shine the light again, following his directions.

“This is a pretty nasty burn you’ve got.” Whizz probes around the wound on my forehead and I pull back at the white-hot pain his touch brings. “How’d you do it?”

I lick my lips, not sure if the truth will help here or not, but there’s suspicion in Whizz’s voice. Presumably, as the club’s doctor, he’s seen his share of gunshot injuries.

I decide the truth is the better option here. “I was shot at.”

“The fuck? Who shot at you?” Nox demands, rage lacing his words, as I hear the door open.

“Someone want to fill me in?” Ravage.

My stomach twists. I know Sasha loves this man, but honestly, he makes my blood run cold. I’ve been around men like him my whole life—men with souls so dark, so twisted and fucked up they don’t know right from wrong. I have no doubt Ravage would snuff my life out to protect his club, to protect Sasha and Lily-May, and he’d be right to. Me being here is a danger to everyone he loves—to everyone I love too.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” I mumble, trying to slide off the table even as pain lances through my body, but strong hands grab me, stopping my escape.

“You ain’t leaving,” Nox says. His words are soft, not filled with malice, but the meaning is still clear. I’m staying whether I want to or not.

“Explain,” Ravage snaps, his fuse clearly reaching its end.

The tension blossoms in the room, filling every space with a suffocating heaviness as I feel all eyes lock on my face. I push my hair out of my eyes, trying to see through the blood, but everything comes at me from behind a film of red.

Panic starts to flood me. Did I jump out of the fire into the pits of hell? Was coming here a bad idea? In a daze, it was the first place I thought of, but now I’m wondering if I should have kept running.

“Start with the fact that someone tried to shoot you in the fucking head,” Nox says, sounding a little pissed as he hands me a towel.

I wipe my face, clearing the blood from my vision. It leaves me feeling less vulnerable having my sight back—for about half a second.

I peer up at the three burly men standing in front of the table. Suspicion is mixed with outright hostility. Then I’m looking down the barrel of a gun for the second time today. I flinch as I glance up its length to look at Ravage’s angry glare, then I steel my spine. I won’t show my fear, even if it’s there. I learnt a long time ago that fear is something that can be