Bash grabbed me and pulled me roughly against him. For a second, I saw the flash of emotions churning in his electric-blue eyes. The rage, the fear, the need to maim and kill those who had hurt his family. I stroked a hand over his jaw, letting him know it was okay to feel those things—to do them. His dark lashes lowered for a moment, and when he lifted them, they were emotionless once again.
“I love you. Take care of our daughter.”
“Always.”
Chapter Twenty Two
MATT
“BOOMER WAS SPOTTED IN PORTLAND, Oregon,” Hawk told me as soon as we were outside and alone. “Dutch caught his ass, has him at one of the cabins up that way. He’s waiting on us before he does anything to him.”
“I’m going,” I said without hesitation. “Boomer’s mine.”
“I told you he was. Jet and I will go with you first thing in the morning.” Bash laid out the game plan for the next day. I was ready to go tonight, right fucking now, but this night was still about Tanner and Warden.
Plus, I needed to tell Rory I was going to be gone for a few days. The thought of being away from her for more than a few hours set my teeth on edge, but there was no damn way I could take her with me. My gaze went to Hawk and Spider. “You two will be here?” They both nodded. “Take care of Rory for me.”
“You don’t even have to ask that
, brother,” Spider assured me.
“We got your back, man,” Hawk seconded.
Relieved that two of the men I trusted the most were going to be watching out for my girl, I took the beer Spider had snagged on the way out and swallowed half of it. “Fuck, man, I’m starving.”
“When aren’t you hungry?” Bash complained. “Go find your woman and eat, cousin. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
“I’m gonna find Willa and take her home. She needs to rest,” Spider grumbled as he started to follow me back inside the bar. I hadn’t even reached the door when there was the sound of screeching tires behind us, followed by doors opening and slamming shut.
I glanced over my shoulder, my brows already raised, when I saw the four black sedans and the fuckers getting out. The streetlights in the parking lot were bright enough to show us who it was—and the fact that they had semiautomatic guns in their hands.
“Fuck!” Hawk yelled as he dropped down behind a trash can.
I didn’t have time to do more than drop behind the two motorcycles I was close to as bullets flew over my head and into the concrete wall of the bar. “Rory!” I whispered her name, wanting to get inside and make sure she was safe. But she and everyone else weren’t going to be safe at all if we didn’t take out these motherfuckers.
I opened the satchel on the side of the bike I was ducked behind, realized it was Uncle Jack’s, and wasn’t surprised when I found two guns inside. I tossed one to Spider and then checked the mag in my own before shooting back at the fuckers who wanted us all dead.
It was a blur of bullets and shouting for the next ten minutes, but when it was over and the cops were making their presence known, all I could think about was getting to Rory. I rushed into the bar and found her on the floor beside Raven. Seeing the blood on Rory’s shirt, I went a little crazy.
“Baby!” I was across the room and pulling her up into my arms in the next second, my trembling hands skimming over every inch of her. “Where are you hit? Does it hurt bad?”
She caught my hands and gave them a weak squeeze. “It’s not my blood, Matt. Lexa got shot in the arm.”
“But your face…” I stroked my thumb over one of the cuts on her cheek. “You’re bleeding here. You have cuts all over your face.”
“The glass cut me,” she explained in a voice that was even weaker than her touch had been. “I…” She swayed, and I caught her. Blinking her eyes a few times, she sighed. “It’s just a delayed reaction. I’m okay.”
I lifted her into my arms and carried her over to the first chair I could find. Sitting her in it, I barked at the sheep who was still cowering on the floor at her feet. “Get her some wet paper towels.”
“Yes, Matt!”
A glass of water was shoved into my hand, and I gave Aggie a thankful nod as I lifted it to Rory’s lips. She swallowed a few sips then pushed the glass away, gagging. “I’m okay.”
The wet paper towels appeared, and I unfolded one to place on the back of Rory’s neck, using the other to wipe some of the blood from her face. She was right; they were just little cuts from the glass that was still clinging to her hair. I cleaned them out, noting how white her normally honey-kissed complexion was now.
“Hey, man, I’m taking Gracie and Willa back to the clubhouse. You want me to take Rory too?”
I lifted my head to find Spider standing behind me with Willa tucked into his side. I didn’t want to let Rory out of my sight, but she needed to be away from all of this shit. Wordlessly, I stood and lifted Rory into my arms again. I carried her out of the bar, ignoring Bates as he told me no one could leave yet, and put her in the back seat of Willa’s SUV beside Gracie.