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Chapter Forty
I placed Hadley in the backseat of one of the SUV’s, it took me a few minutes to get her to release the death grip she had on me, and I offered her as much comfort as she needed. But whatIneeded, was to remove the blood from her body.
My mind told me it wasn’t hers, but my heart needed it gone. Losing her would be too much, I needed reassurance that she was still here, breathing, and alive.
Camo rushed over and tore off a piece of his T-shirt. He found a water bottle in the back of the car and soaked it before handing it to me. I started with her face, smoothing it over her features and washing away the red stain on her skin. She sat still, staring straight ahead as I cleaned her off.
She was like a zombie.
I knew the feeling.
Seeing someone that you cared about, killed, was never an easy thing to get past. I’d seen my fair share of it to know that she’d have nightmares for a long time after this.
Slider was dead.
There was nothing she could have done, I know that for a fact because if there was, I don’t doubt that she would have attempted to save him. That was just who she was, always putting the people she cared for first, even if she risked her life in the process. Telling her that she couldn’t have prevented what happened would never wipe away the vivid memories or give her any peace of mind.
She would still feel the pain.
It would hurt, and sometimes it would feel like she was suffocating.
But I knew that I would do anything I could to breathe the air into her lungs when she felt like she was going under. She was my woman. I would protect her with my life, I would give her my life.
Just like Slider, I’d watched the second in which Simon had made his decision. He knew he wasn’t getting out alive, and the only way he was going down was to take Hadley with him, knowing that it would cause more pain.
I’d been too far away.
In my heart, I thought for sure, that I was going to lose her.
Slider knew that too, and he had sacrificed himself in order to save her.
“Why’d he do it, Leo?” she asked so quietly I almost missed it.
I continued to wipe the cloth over her bare arms. It was soaked, drenched in my brother’s blood. I clenched it tightly in my hand, before tossing it out onto the grass. I turned back to Hadley, her swollen puffy eyes watching me cautiously. There was a slight bruise coming up on her cheek.
“Why’d he do what, baby?” I asked, brushing the blood matted hair away from her face.
“He knew,” she answered, her eyes drifting to outside the car. “He knew that Simon wouldn’t miss. He knew he would get hit if he put his body in front of mine.”
I thought it was obvious, but Hadley was struggling to get her head around it. “He put you first,” I told her. “He did what any of us would do, put ourselves on the line to protect one of our family.”
“He used it as an out!” she cried, shoving at my chest. “He knew he was going to die anyway!” I wrapped my arms around her flailing body, she fought me, pounding her fists against my chest. “It didn’t have to be this way,” she screamed.
My brothers rushed toward the vehicle as I pulled Hadley out, cradling her against my chest.
Judge and his boys watched from a safe distance. I could tell they wanted to help, to comfort her as she broke down, but they allowed her the space to crash, knowing that I was there.
My heart broke as she finally gave up her fight and her body fell limp in my arms, sobs wracking her body. I dropped to the ground, and she straddled my lap, clutching to my body like a lifeline.
My brothers stood around us, a sign of support. I looked up, finding the eyes of my president, filled with complete devastation.
“I need to take her home.”
He nodded without a second thought.
Judge tossed me the keys to the SUV we’d just been sitting in. “Take it, I’ll bring your bike back.”
I lifted my chin in thanks, and Blizzard helped me to my feet when it became evident that Hadley wasn’t going to let go. I bundled her into the passenger’s seat and took a look over my shoulder. Eagle and Wrench were crouched down next to Slider’s body. I wanted to go to him, I wanted to tell him how much I owed him for protecting Hadley.
