“You’re not fine,” Pitt says tightly, his mouth pressed hard against my temple. “We canfeelyou, Abbie. Your bond was there, then you were gone, and then you were so scared, I nearly ran us off the road…”
“He wanted information,” I whisper, hating the way my voice cracks. “He abused a patient of mine and he thought I knew where he was hiding. He was behind the butterflies in bed incident. I don’t know about my bike…”
“We don’t need to know this now,” Pitt growls.
“We do. Because it ends here.” I look at Ark. “Is it really secluded out here?” He gives me a sharp nod and I take a deep, shaky breath. “Then we take care of him here. Not a scrap of his existence left.”
Pitt and Ark exchange a look before Ark turns towards the door. “Bluff, strap him into the driver’s seat and then burn it to the ground.”
“Wait.” I squeeze Pitt’s arm. “Can you take me out there? I want to talk to him first.”
Ark glowers, but when he gives a terse nod, Pitt scoops me into his arms. I can feel the strength coming back into my limbs, but I let him carry me right over to where Hargreaves is sprawled in the dirt. His glasses are gone and his dark eyes are blinking at the sky. The front of his white coat is torn and stained with mud, and his face is a swollen, bloody mess. I glance at Bluff, who’s looming over him with a savage grin. “Princess,” he says slowly, “you want to say something to this worm?”
Hargreaves turns his head, malice burning through the bleary pain in his eyes. I nod, glad that he still recognizes me. “Damien was never yours. He was barely a patient, since you were barely a doctor. But other than that, you were nothing to him. Just an ugly, pathetic man who tried to cage something that you knew you didn’t deserve. He’s happy now, strong and free. He also has an alpha who will protect him with his life, so even if you got close to him, you’d still be bleeding in the dirt. You lost, Hargreaves, and Damien is thriving. So, think about that while you rot in a shallow grave.”
His face twists, but before he can reply, Bluff laughs and drives his boot into the other man’s chest. “He’s not gonna have time to rot, princess. This guy is catching the bus straight to hell.”
I don’t stay to watch Hargreaves die. Ark wants to get me to Patch as soon as possible, and Bluff isn't in the mood to leave until the ambulance is a burned-out husk. Pitt insists on holding me the whole way back to the compound, while Ark takes the driver’s seat. It’s strange seeing him behind the wheel of a van instead of straddling his bike, but Pitt tells me they always usethem on the raids, and it was the closest thing at hand when they got Wings’ call.
I frown, hazy with the timeline. “What did he say?”
“He felt something was off, so he called Goldie. He checked your access records, but you didn’t log in. He told Wings to call us while he pulled up the CCTV.”
I suck in a sharp breath. “Wings must’ve been out of his mind.”
Ark’s gaze flicks to me in the rearview mirror. “Your bond was gone. And when it came back, I could taste blood in my mouth.”
“Shit.” I swallow, imagining his panic. “He jumped me. Needle to the neck and then I woke up strapped to the gurney.”
Pitt’s arms squeeze around me, a growl vibrating in his chest. “We know. Goldie caught most of it on CCTV. But the fucker was gone before anyone could raise the alarm.”
I nod, because it happened so fast. I still can’t believe he got the jump on me. He might have been an alpha, but he was a wreck of a man, existing only through hate and obsession. “So, if you couldn’t track the bus, how did you find me?”
“Ark’s stalker tendencies.” Pitt chuckles softly as he hooks a finger around my neck and pulls my dog tags out from under my shirt. “He put a tracker in them before he gave them to you.”
I squirm, feeling more outraged than I probably have any right to be.
“Don’t,” Ark says before I can open my mouth. “They’re the only thing that got us to you in time.”
I swallow back my protests, since I don’t really have the energy to fight anyway. The sedative might be wearing off, but my adrenaline is crashing, and I still don’t know what side effects I might have from the cancer drug. “I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.”
“That can be arranged,” Pitt says, kissing my forehead. “But first you have to brace for Wings.”
I groan because I can feel an ache in my chest, next to the relief and the exhaustion. Ark and Bluff’s bonds are big and all-consuming, like a looming shadow that I’m guessing won’t subside for some time. Pitt’s bond is gentler, but also sharper, maybe because I’m in his arms, or because he can feel my heart skipping erratically against my ribs. But the little pocket where I’ve always kept Wings’ soul feels torn open, the edges as fragile as gossamer wings.
He’s waiting at the front door, Jedi tucked close to his chest. Tricks and their parents are there, too, along with Glory and Lyla, huddled together like they’ve stepped out to greet a storm.
“Is she alright?” Wings calls before we’ve even stopped, his voice high with strain.
“I’m fine,” I call back, squirming off Pitt’s lap. He grunts but lets me go, and I stagger out of the van and limp straight into Wings’ arms. The breath leaves his body in a strangled whine, and I think we’ve squashed Jedi between us until I feel little teeth tugging at my bootlaces. “I’m sorry,” I pant, covering Wings’ face with kisses. “I never should have left you.”
“I knew something was wrong.” He pulls back to stare into my eyes, his misery and fear written all over his face. “I could feel it, the second you left.”
“I was fine, Wings. I mean…”
“Until you weren’t. You’re too…offhandabout your safety, Abbie. Do you have any idea how I would’ve felt if you were really hurt?”
I flinch, hating the sheen of tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I really thought it would be okay.” I cup his cheek, pressing a soft kiss to his mouth. I want to scrub the last few hours from my body with a wire brush, but I need to fix this first. “I know how you’d feel, because I’d be the same. And I won’t forget that, Wings. I bleed, you bleed.” He looks down at the bandage on myarm, and I grimace. “I mean, I’ll look after myself the way you’d look after me.”
