No. No. Fucking hell no.
“I love you,” Duke said.
Mac laughed. “Do you think I’m kidding?”
“One man against my club. You want to play this game, then we’ll play.”
Matthew stared at Mac, and then he turned off his cell phone.
“Sorry, kid,” Mac said.
“No!” Luna charged forward as the gunshot rang out. She shoved Matthew hard and then felt the pain in her side.
Matthew’s arms wrapped around her, and he dropped her down to the ground. An eerie silence followed and then complete noise as the Trojans MC completely swarmed the diner.
Luna didn’t get to see what happened.
“What the fuck did you do?” Matthew asked.
“I— You can’t die. I can’t allow you to die,” she said.
“Luna?”
“I love you, Matthew. I love you so much. Even if I hate you, I can’t, I don’t want to live without you.”
The pain was getting worse. Matthew lifted and put his hand against her stomach. “No, Luna, don’t!”
His voice faded, and she felt so very tired.
She loved Matthew, but she was so sleepy.
****
Several hours later, Matthew sat at Luna’s bedside. The bullet had gone through and through. Mac had been a bad shot, and the bullet never hit him.
They had no choice but to bring Luna to the hospital, but the bullet hadn’t hit any vital organs.
The moment Matthew had gotten the call, he’d already been with his dad and Pike. Mary had finally told him about what Luna had said to Mary. Mac closing the diner, the sudden disappearances, and the OD victims. It had been a stretch, but Duke had put it together.
Mac was the guy smuggling drugs into Vale Valley.
Duke had told him the club wouldn’t be far behind, but Mac would ask him to pick his son or the club.
Matthew stared at his girl. She had taken a bullet for him. It would never have hit him, but he’d seen what she did. She was a fucking hero.
“How is she?” Duke asked.
He looked toward his dad. “She’s fine, as you already know.”
His father would have gotten an update long before him. The one thing he knew about his dad, Duke Bana was always one step ahead of the game.
“She shouldn’t have been there,” Matthew said. “This is all my fault.”
“It’s not your fault.” Duke closed the door. “I asked Luna to help.”
This got Matthew’s attention. “What?”
“She has contacts at the college, and she was in the right age group. I know she’s a strong woman. I couldn’t ask Maya. Not after everything she has been through. I wouldn’t risk it.”