“I-I didn’t know she was with you.”
“Well now you do. You have till sunrise to be gone.” Gasps ring out around us. He drops his gun back to his side and turns his back to her, effectively dismissing her without remorse. He stares down at Gage and I for a moment, his brown eyes are filled with anger. “Can you walk?” I push forward from Gage but only end up slumping back against him, my vision swims and I know I’m about to pass the fuck out.
Knight
I grind my teeth as I shove my gun into the back of my pants, ignoring all the stares on me as I lean down and grab her—Gage doesn’t fight me—lift her bride style in my arms and turn to head out. The crowd parts for me now they know who I am. Gage is hot on my heels as I make my way out of the run-down building. Koby is limp in my arms and I can feel her blood seeping through my sweatshirt. Grinding my teeth in anger, I fight the urge to turn back and kill the bitch who dared to hurt her. Gage pushes past me and opens the door to the corridor, then runs to the next one and pushes it open. We exit the building without a word being spoke. He's smart enough to know that if he speaks right now, he’ll wear the brunt of my rage.
My dodge comes into view and I sigh with relief at the sight of her not being damaged. Mav leans against my car. I narrow my eyes at him and the fucker just smirks. He’s too comfortable and it grates on my frayed nerves that he thinks he isn’t replaceable.
“Move!” I snap at him. He shifts out of the way and I have to balance Koby in my arms in order to retrieve my keys and open the door. I place her in the passenger’s seat and buckle her in, then step back and run my gaze over her looking for any other injuries; but there are none to be found. I close the door and turn back to face Mav and Gage. Only one of them looks worried and he fucking should be. There is no way Bishop sanctioned Gage to fight Koby in that pit of a place. “Meet me at home,” is all I say to Gage as I round the car and hop in.
* * *
The whole way back I have kept checking on her to make sure she is okay. She took a hard hit to the head and I know it’s wrong to let her sleep but it’s not like I had a choice when she passed the fuck out in Gage’s hold. I park the car in front of the house and groan when I see lights still on inside—of course fucking Mav called Bishop about what went down. I climb out and move around to her side, lift her from the car and she cuddles into my chest. I glare at the blood that coats my seat. She needs a fucking doctor! I carry her up the stairs and do the thing I swore I wouldn’t, I bring the enemy into my family’s home. Bishop, King, Ally, Kiara and Rook all stand there. The girls look horrified at the sight, while my brothers show nothing.
“What happened?” Ally rushes to ask as she comes forward and checks her friend. I keep my gaze on Bishop as I say,
“She needs a doctor. She took a blow to the back of the head and it hasn’t stopped bleeding.” Bishop eyes me warily for a moment, he has every right to. I have done nothing but fight him at every turn for having Koby and her brother here. Now here I am asking him to help her. He pulls his phone from his pocket and dials a number before placing it against his ear.
“Get a doctor here now.” He steps aside and motions for me to come forward. I’ve just taken a single step when I hear a car door slam. King and Bishop pull their guns, I shake my head knowing exactly who it is.
“It’s just Gage.” Again, Bishop eyes me like I’ve grown a fucking second head. Him, King and Rook may be accepting of Gage, but he hasn’t done shit to show me that I can trust his ass! I lay Koby down gently on the couch, and cringe when I see her blood coating my forearm. I grit my teeth trying to quell the rage inside me. I want to fucking destroy her not watch some other assholes do it for me. Her pain and misery will be by my hands not someone else’s. I stand here and stare down at her. How can someone so fucking vile look so innocent?
“What happened?” Ally asks as she kneels down beside her friend and runs the back of her hand over her cheek.
“She was hit from behind,” I answer.
“By fucking who?” King growls. I dart my gaze to Gage as he walks through the door. The fucker doesn’t even look worried that he has just walked into the lion’s den. He may be Tony’s bastard and related to us by blood but that doesn’t mean shit to me.
“Ask that bastard. He’s the one who set up her fight at Chop’s Den.” Bishop and King both swing toward Gage. Kiara’s eyes widen, she knows exactly what fighting at Chop’s Den entails. Bishop steps toward Gage, but Kiara darts out in front of him with her back to Gage and stares at Bishop with a pleading look in his eyes.
“Bish, please don’t hurt him.” Gage reaches out and places a hand on Kiara’s shoulder. She shrugs it off and still tries to defend him against my brother. “Bishop, don’t!”
Bishop tenses and I can tell he is debating what to do. The lover in him wants to listen to his fiancée but the Don also knows he cannot let this go unpunished.
“Princess, he knew what would happen. He went against the rules and defied the boss––”
Kiara glares at King and shakes her head. “No. There is no way Koby wasn’t willing to fight.”
“She’s right.” I drop my gaze back to the blonde who has taken up way too much of my head space lately. She flinches as she pushes herself up into a sitting position. Allison tries to help but Koby waves her off, her green eyes lifting to mine.
“Can you step back so I can stand?” I keep my face blank and stay where I am for a moment until her eyes pinch at the corner showing her pain. I find myself extending a hand toward her. She eyes it warily for a beat before placing her taped hand in mine.
I look down at her. I can see the fire in her eyes and it calls to the beast inside me. This girl is the enemy and yet I find myself wanting to make sure she is okay and remains unharmed. I need to put distance between us, the problem with that is I’ve been doing it since she moved in here and Gage has swept in. I’ve seen the way he is with her, how he can get her to smile easily and the way she trusts him. She brushes past me and moves toward my brothers, each of them eye her warily but don’t say a word.
“How you doing, killer?” I grind my teeth in anger and manage to keep my retort inside at Gage’s question.
She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m okay, we won so that’s all that matters.”
Gage stuffs his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels, clearly feeling awkward. Koby releases a sigh as she turns to Bish, he eyes her with the same distrust I do.
“It was my idea,” she says firmly. Bishop cocks a single brow at her as he answers.
“What was?”
“The fight. It was my idea, not Gage’s. If you want to punish someone then you punish me. I’ll take whatever you throw at me, big man.” Bishop’s face remains impassive as he stares down at Koby. Gage moves slightly so he is standing in front of Koby, shielding her.
“Who told you about the fight?” King asks.