“Everywhere, I feel out of it. Think I smashed my head into the window, Wraith, and it hurts to breathe,” I answered, and Wraith grimaced. I licked my lips and reiterated the words a second time.
“Ambulance is coming, Bunny. Stay put, okay?”
“Yes.” I wish I could hear him. I wondered if I’d damaged my hearing. Everything seemed muted and muffled, and I speculated if Tanner was dead. A man pushed Wraith to one side, and an EMT appeared and fitted a neck collar around me. He asked questions, but I pointed to my ears and shook my head. I felt a rumble under my feet and tall, cut wearing men arrived.
“Micah!” Drake roared, racing towards Wraith’s car where Fanatic was laid on the ground, and two EMTs were working on him. A sideways glance showed an EMT moving on Tanner.
“Got a pulse!” the man called. I heard him faintly. That was a shame. Tanner’s looks would be ruined for the rest of his life. Payback was a bitch. The EMTs lifted me into a stretcher, and I saw Chance approaching at speed with Bear and Diesel at his side. The strange biker stepped into their view, and they skidded to a halt as disbelief crossed their faces. All three paled and stared open-mouthed.
“Let’s go,” my EMT shouted to his partner and began lifting me into the ambulance.
“What the fuck?” Bear said as I read his lips. Bear paled even further under his tan.
“Sunny?” Chance’s mouth moved, and Chance shook his head as he stared at the biker, unable to take his eyes off him. The motion of the EMT distracted the three of them, and Chance cocked his chin for Diesel to follow me. Diesel didn’t move as he gazed at this Sunny.
“Chance!” Drake thundered, and that jolted him. Chance looked to where Micah was being loaded into a different ambulance.
“Clubhouse!” Chance roared at Sunny, jogged over to Drake, and climbed in behind him. Fanatic’s ambulance pulled away, sirens blaring.
“Go with Bunny. Diesel, I’ll take the asshole here,” Bear ordered Diesel, who nodded and finally moved towards me. There was little space with Diesel crammed in, but the EMT working on me said nothing. I coughed and felt blood trickle down the side of my mouth. Well, fancy that, I had internal injuries. Wearily, I closed my eyes and ignored everything going on around me. That was a much better place, especially with my sound levels muted.
???
Shocked, I watched the high-speed chase on tv as the news station reviewed it. In the corner, a reporter talked while the chase was filmed from high above. I winced as Wraith shot past the vehicle as Tanner hit the brakes, and then the car rolled. Somehow, the report of my kidnapping and subsequent car chase had caught the eye of a news chopper, and they’d recorded it. The ‘Live’ version ended, and there was speculation that it had been me inside the car. The following clip showed Tanner, Fanatic, and me being carried out on stretchers. My door opened, and Dakota hobbled in, and boy did he seem pissed.
Dakota gazed steadily at me and then stomped across the room and sank a deep kiss on my lips before hauling himself onto the bed. Dakota didn’t say a word as he tucked me into his arms, and I snuggled into his side. Minutes ticked past as we lay there, both grateful to be alive. The door opened, the stranger walked in, and Dakota froze. Slowly, he sat up and shook his head.
“No fuckin’ way,” Dakota said. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“Yo, bro,” Sunny responded, hooking a foot around a chair and sitting down. Dakota continued to stare Sunny down as he smirked and leaned back. “Long time no see.”
“You’re fuckin’ dead. Zeus claimed your kill. He told us so,” Dakota muttered.
“Zeus tried and failed.”
“Then where the fuck you been?” Dakota demanded, and I sensed his temper rising.
“Wherever the army sent me. Look, bro, long story cut short. Zeus put four bullets in me and thought I’d kicked the bucket. Asshole was wrong, and I got hospitalised. Knowing who I was, Doc Gibbons kept my name on the lowdown, and when I was fit, I signed up. Been army until six months ago when I came home.”
“So why not come home?” Dakota demanded, his temper burning hotter and hotter. “Signing up and not letting us know you’re alive. That’s bullshit, Sunny!”
“Didn’t have a choice. Zeus sent his little pack dogs after me in the hospital. Had to disappear. And when I did, Zeus was winning the war to claim Hellfire. I had a daughter Pyro! Zeus would have gone after Olivia to get me. Doc Gibbons signed a death certificate, and I disappeared. That kept Olivia safe,” Sunny said calmly.
“Left Hellfire grieving you! You could have come home once we won,” Dakota spat.
“Kept signing up for tours, Pyro; I was needed there. Chance claimed Hellfire and had installed Bear as VP. My return would have destabilised Hellfire. So I stayed away, watched my brothers get clean, and took pride in you. I left the army six months ago, and I’ve been watching to make sure you were clean and spent quality time with Olivia. We’re moving back to Spearfish. Bought a house four weeks ago,” Sunny announced.
“Where was Olivia?” Dakota asked, distracted.
“With Mom in Florida. They’re both coming here,” Sunny replied.
“You’re a fuckin’ asshole, a shithead and a motherfuckin’ sight for sore eyes, brother,” Dakota said, and his voice broke. Dakota reached out with an arm, and Sunny clasped it.
“You ain’t scraping by with such a flimsy explanation with me, Sunny,” Chance said from the doorway.
“Didn’t expect to. Did what was necessary to keep my kid alive. Ain’t nobody ever gonna make me regret that,” Sunny shot back.
“Ain’t a man if they did. But now we got fuckin’ issues as Bear’s been VP for a long time, and Bear earned it, Sunny. And I’m expecting you want VP as it’s your legacy position, and your right,” Chance demanded, entering the room with Bear behind him.