Page 31 of My Wild Biker

"That's what they do. They watch, they wait, they strike when they think we're vulnerable." She pauses. "But they miscalculated. They didn't account for Chuck getting back in time."

Sydney finishes cleaning the cut on my lip and examines it. "You'll be fine. It's not deep. Just splits that bleed a lot. Keep ice on it tonight."

"Thank you."

"That's what we do." She squeezes my shoulder. "You're Vigil family now. We take care of our own."

Family. The word sits heavy.

The brothers' meeting breaks up and Chuck comes over immediately. He crouches in front of me so we're eye level and his hands rest on my knees.

"How you doing?" His voice is softer than I've heard it.

"I'm okay. Scared. But okay."

"Good. That's good." He looks at Sydney. "Thank you."

"Of course."

The women drift away to give us space and Chuck stays crouched in front of me, his eyes searching my face. "Clint wants to talk to you. If you're up for it."

"What about?"

"About what happened. About what comes next." He pauses. "You can say no if you're not ready."

I look across the room to where Clint is standing. He meets my eyes and nods once. Not demanding, just offering.

"Okay. I can talk."

Chuck helps me up and we walk over together. Clint gestures to his office and we follow him in. Inside it's just the three of us. Clint leans against his desk and looks at me steady.

"First, I'm glad you're okay," he says. "Second, I'm sorry this happened. Chuck brought you into this world and Marrow saw an opportunity to exploit that. That's on us for not anticipating it."

"Chuck said it's not his fault."

"It's not. But it's still our responsibility to protect family, and we failed at that tonight." He pauses. "Now I need to know what you want to do. You're supposed to leave for Millbrook tomorrow. You still planning on going?"

The question catches me off guard. "I... don't know."

"If you go, Marrow might follow. If you stay, you're still a target here. Either way there's risk." Clint's voice is matter-of-fact. "What I can promise is if you stay in Bloomfield, we'll protect you. Full club resources. But I need to know what you want."

I look at Chuck and he's watching me with an expression I can't read.

"Can I think about it?"

"Yeah. But not too long. Sun comes up in six hours and we're riding out at dawn." Clint looks at Chuck. "Crane's location is confirmed. We're ending this tonight. Taking everyone who can ride."

My stomach drops. "You're going after him."

"We don't have a choice. He came after our family. That's a line you don't cross." Clint's eyes are hard. "So you need to decide before dawn whether you're leaving or staying, because either way Chuck's riding out and you'll be on your own for a few hours."

"Unless I stay here at the clubhouse," I say.

"If you want. Women can stay here where it's secure. Or you can lock yourself in at Chuck's place. Either works."

I process that. Chuck leaving at dawn to hunt the man who sent people to hurt me. Going into danger. Maybe not coming back.

"Okay," I say. "I'll decide before dawn."