doesn’t have any strength. I keep her head steady and as gentle as I can, I turn her to see him.
“Hey,” he chokes when he gets a good look at her pale skin and bloodshot eyes.
“You came,” she whispers, making him nod. I have a feeling it’s because he’s too choked up to talk.
“Carnage came,” she adds, looking from him to Bates beside him.
“Family, together,” she murmurs before passing out once more.
“We’ve got her,” I tell Tate, who looks devastated. “You can fix everything between you guys later, but we have to get her out of here,” I urge him.
“She’s gonna be okay. We’ll make sure of it because I’m never letting her out of my sight again,” Bates tells Tate, who surprisingly nods.
“And when we have her safe,” Priest adds, looking up from Reign, his eyes filled with the promise of retribution, “we’re going hunting because I refuse to let her lose one more night of sleep over him.”
And that’s a vow we’ll all keep, regardless of if we wear leather cuts or badges to do it.
Chapter Forty-Six
Reign
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
I groan, trying to reach over to shut off the alarm clock, but a shard of pain stops me. Cracking open an eye, I’m dazzled for a moment by the light so I can’t focus on where I am.
Not my room, not my alarm clock, a voice whispers in my head.
“Raindrop?” I open my eyes at the sound of my dad’s voice and frown at the man who looks like he’s aged ten years since I last saw him.
“Dad,” I croak, confused. “What’s going on?” I moan, my throat sounding like I’ve started smoking twenty a day.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Reign,” he chokes, bowing his head. I can’t remember the last time I heard my dad swear like that in front of me. It’s shocking but not more than the tears I feel running over my arm where his face is buried.
“Daddy,” I whisper.
The sound of a door opening draws my eyes across the room to a haggard-looking Owen with two cups of coffee in his hands. That’s when I realize I’m in the hospital and everything slots into place. He freezes to stare at me in shock. I just stare right back, trying to reassure him without words that I’m okay even if I’m not entirely sure that’s true.
He walks forward, his movements almost mechanical as he places the cups on the table at the bottom of the bed before stepping over to me and bending to kiss my forehead.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers as my dad moves to sit in the chair beside the bed.
“It’s not your fault. Where is everyone else?” I ask, feeling lost without my guys. Do they think I’m dirty now?
“Tate, Priest, and Saint have gone hunting. Took the rest of the Carnage boys with them,” my dad answers, and from his tone, I sense he wishes he was with them.
“Garrett’s still out there?” I whimper. Is it too much to want this guy to just die already?
“Shh… they’ll find him. They’ve been out looking for the last two days.
“What about Bates?” They didn’t mention him. Did he lose his shit? Is he in jail?
Owen steps aside and points to the corner, where Bates sits on the floor fast asleep, his big frame hunched over as his head rests on his knees.
“Bates,” I say, so relieved it comes out on a sob. His head snaps up, a feral look in his eyes until they land on me. “Hey, princess,” I sob, then find myself bawling into his shoulder as he makes it across the room to me in record time.
“Come on, son, let’s give them a minute,” I hear my dad say before the door opens and closes.
“From now on, I’m tying you to the bed. You’ll only be allowed to leave the compound with me, Saint, or Priest. And if anyone tries to arrest you again, I’ll shoot first and ask questions later,” he complains, making me laugh before I groan.
“Take it easy, Trouble,” he warns me. I scoot over to the far edge of the bed.
“Lie with me?”
He looks hesitant. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I need you,” I tell him, knowing he won’t deny me, and he doesn’t. He kicks off his boots before climbing up beside me and gently pulling me into his arms.
“So, tell me what the damage is,” I prompt, bracing myself.
He strokes over my hair, breathing me in when I know I must smell awful.