“It’s about time, but damn, can you guys do that after we get there? I have a client coming in soon,” Chains grumbled good-naturedly behind me before he got on his bike and started it.
I smiled against Soleil’s lips. “I’ll give you however much time you need, because you are my everything. We’re going to figure this out. If you never remember, we can deal with that too. As long as we’re together, there’s nothing we can’t handle. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Okay?”
She licked her lips and nodded. My heart was suddenly lighter.
We got our asses in gear and pulled out after Chains. For a moment, I placed my hand over hers where she rested them on my stomach.
About a mile away from RB, Ink., we stopped for a red light. When it turned green, we rolled forward, but movement from the right caught my attention. A truck was barreling toward the intersection without signs of stopping. Chains and I both hit the throttle, but I wasn’t fast enough. The truck clipped my back tire, and everything went to shit.
Screaming and the screech of tires filled my ears as my world went topsy-turvy. I landed in the road with a thud, and everything went black.
When I awoke, I was in the ER.
Fuck.
The doctor came in to see me, and I got the whole “you’re a very lucky young man” spiel.
“I get that, doc, but what about my girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend?” The doctor cocked his head in confusion.
The door to my room slid open, and I glanced over to see Chains and Venom barge in.
“Hey, is he ready to be discharged?” Venom interrupted with an overly bright grin as he tossed me a support T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
“Sure thing. I’ll just send the nurse in with your paperwork to sign, and you’ll be out of here.”
The moment he stepped out, I snapped. “Where is she? What the fuck happened? All I remember is a truck running the red light, then I was ass over elbows until there was nothing but darkness.”
“We need to get you out of here ASAP. Chains, go work your magic with his nurse,” Venom instructed. Chains nodded and darted out the door. I ripped out the IV port and held my thumb over it.
“Prez?” I nervously inquired. My heart rate had my monitor alarm going, and I yanked off the sensor. I’d never dressed so fast in all my life.
Before he could answer, an older woman wearing scrubs came in and shut off the monitor. “Hello, Mr. Denali, I’ll just take out your IV and then I have your discharge paperwork for you to sign.”
“Already out.”
She blinked in surprise as she realized I was right, then started going over the instructions, but I interrupted. “I know the drill. Where do I sign?”
“Suit yourself.” She held out her pen, then I signed in the appropriate places, and gave it back to her. She handed me my copies, and we were running out the door before she could say a word.
“I take it my bike’s trashed?” I asked when we all climbed into Venom’s truck.
“You could say that,” Venom replied.
“My cut?”
“Salvageable. Chains secured it the second the paramedics cut the side laces and pulled it off.”
I nodded sharply. “Now tell me where Soleil is,” I demanded, wincing at the shooting pain in my shoulder. It had been dislocated, and I was told they reset it while I was out. Thankfully, it wouldn’t bother me for long.
“The truck that hit you—it was no accident. The driver got out and scooped her up like she weighed nothing. Insanely, none of the witnesses that called the accident in had the same description of him or his truck, and none of them remembered seeing a woman on the bike with you,” Chains explained.
“What?” I shouted as panic began to burn through me. That was impossible.
Then it hit me. The fucker used glamor to hide what he was doing. Which meant he had a powerful ally. Goddamn fae.
“Shit!” I roared in frustration as I threw myself back against the seat. I fucking knew she shouldn’t have been going in to work. I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted. My chest caved—despite my brave words to her, I couldn’t lose her again. “How the fuck are we going to figure out where he took her?”