Brenna

Gunn had a vice grip around my waist. My ears rang as he lifted me off the ground and threw me bodily toward the front door of the Wolf Den.

“Stay down!” he yelled. “Stay away from the windows.”

I stumbled into the bar. Gunn shouted something else to two of the probies, Teague and Judd. Judd pushed me forward, putting his body between me and the door. Mo stood in the middle of the bar, paralyzed from shock. Glass shattered as the window behind us exploded. I dove for her, dragging her with me behind the bar.

“Stay there!” Judd shouted. He went back to the front of the bar, gun drawn. More gunfire exploded outside. My heart burst from my chest as I held Mo against me.

“No,” she sobbed. “No more. I’ve got to see. I have to get to them.”

“Not yet!” I yelled. “Mo, just stay out of sight. You won’t do them any good if you’re out there getting shot at too.”

It was good advice for both of us; my insides churned. Gunn was out there. They all were. I tried to push thoughts of Scotty out of my mind but it was so hard. Had it been like this for him? Chaos and noise. I knew someone was hurt. Angel had Emily, one of Scarlett’s bridesmaids, in his arms as I ran through the front door. There was blood everywhere. I didn’t know if it was his or hers. I said a quick prayer for both of them. For all of us.

“Mo!” Charlie’s gruff voice cut through the noise. Mo let out a choked sob.

“Over here!” I shouted. Charlie moved fast, diving behind the bar beside us. I just prayed he hadn’t broken a hip. Ava told me he’d already had them replaced once. Mo fell into his arms, crying against his shoulder. Charlie dripped with sweat.

“You okay, kid?” he asked me.

“I think so.” I checked my arms, my legs, my stomach. I knew people could go into a shock and not realize they’d been badly hurt until later. But there was no blood anywhere. Other than my racing heart, I was okay. I was whole.

“Switch’s hit!” someone shouted. I pressed my head against the bar. Oh God. No. Not this. Not now.

“Fuckers,” Charlie said. “They knew. Somehow, they fucking knew we’d all be here tonight.”

“Charlie, how?” Mo cried. “You promised me this was all over. No more club wars. No more.”

“Shhh.” He kissed her forehead and smoothed her hair away from her face. There was something wrong with Mo more than just the shock of the trauma. It was like she was seeing something different behind her eyes. Some past nightmare played in her mind. Charlie whispered soothing words and kept her close. He shot me a look over her head and mouthed the words, “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Engines revved and I realized with horror what was happening. The club was mounting up. They’d taken to their bikes and were riding toward the source of the gunfire.

“Charlie!” I tried to leap up but Judd was there. He grabbed my shoulder and shoved me back down.

“Stay put,” he said. “We don’t know if there’s anyone still out there.”

“Who was that?” I asked. “Judd, what’s happening?”

He shot a grim look to Charlie. Club business. I wanted to start screaming again. Gunn was gone. The man I loved was still out there. I couldn’t lose him. He couldn’t be like Scotty. I couldn’t go through this all over again.

“Just sit tight,” Judd said. “You’re safe enough right here. Plus, they’ll kill me if I let anything happen to you.”

“To me? Judd, what about Gunn? Did you see? Is he okay? Is anyone else hurt?”

“I think so,” he answered. “About Gunn, I mean. He was on his feet heading toward his Harley the last I saw. I don’t know about anyone else yet. Ava’s trying to …”

Ava. Of course she’d stay out there no matter what Dex or the others tried to tell her. She was a nurse. Her instinct and training would kick in.

“She needs help, Judd,” I said. “If anyone’s badly hurt, she’s going to need at least a second pair of hands until we can get an ambulance out here. I’m not a nurse, but I’ve taken enough first aid courses in my life to maybe be of some use. Listen, the shots have stopped.”

“Brenna, Gunn wants you to stay put. He sent me in here to make sure.”

“Well, you said yourself, Gunn’s gone. If there’s anyone dying out there, we might still be able to do something about it. Come on.”

He was going to argue with me. But no sooner had I said it than Ava shouted through the barroom door.

“I need more help out here. Now!” I didn’t wait for permission. I vaulted back over the bar. Judd shouted after me, but he was on his feet too.

“Goddamit,” he shouted. “At least stay behind me.”

I ran to the door and froze as I got there. Ava was bent over Emily. Both of their yellow dresses were stained almost completely red.

“Ava,” I said. “You’re hurt.”

She was out of breath and doing chest compressions on Emily. Oh God. Emily’s skin. It was a pale gray. The blood covering them both was hers.

“Do you know CPR?” She looked at Judd and me. I gave her an open-mouthed nod.

“Good,” she said, out of breath. “You two take over with Emily. There’s an ambulance on the way. Judd, while she tries to breathe for her, you keep pressure on this wound. She’s been hit in the side. It’s her spleen probably. That’s why there’s so much blood. God knows what else. You doing okay over there, Switch? Talk to me. We made a deal, remember?”

I turned. Switch was slumped against the side of the building, his legs splayed out. He had a piece of fabric pressed against his side. I realized it was the satin shawl that went with Ava’s gown.

I slid to my knees and started chest compressions on Emily. Judd pressed his hands against the wad of cloth on her wound. I did what Ava asked, but I didn’t need to have medical training of my own to understand how grave this was for Emily. Her eyes were open, her pupils fixed. She wasn’t breathing and there was so much blood on the ground beneath her. Judd caught my eye and we understood each other. We would do as Ava asked. But Emily probably wouldn’t make it.

Sirens blared in the distance and my heart dropped. Thank God. Maybe there was time after all. Red lights flooded the parking lot as two ambulances barreled in. Adrenaline coursed through me. I wanted to run to them. I wanted to tear down the driveway and look for Gunn.

There was no need. It was as if I conjured him just with my thoughts. Three Harleys ripped down the driveway. Dex was in the lead, followed by Curtis. Gunn brought up the rear, protecting their backs.

He kicked up dust as he screeched to a halt and dismounted. Two paramedics ran to Emily’s side. Stumbling, I rose to my feet.

Gunn was there. He was everywhere, filling my senses, lifting me into his arms. He squeezed his arms around me and pulled me to the side of the building.

“Are you okay?” We said it together. I felt his face, ran my fingers over his shoulders, under his jacket. Sweat poured from him, grime from the road darkened his face. But he was whole. We both were. It was going to be okay.

“I don’t think Emily’s going to make it.” My words burst out of me in a sob. I’d been holding it together, now I felt like the ground had opened up beneath my feet. There was only Gunn tethering me to sanity.

His eyes searched my face. “Marcus, Angel, and Ford are still out there. Nobody can get a hold of Sly.”

Cold horror filled my heart. Sly and Scarlett had ridden off alone just before the gunfire. I tried to sort it all out for myself. I’d heard a car. Something big. It sped past the clubhouse as the fireworks went off.

“Oh God,” I said. “You don’t think …”

“I don’t know.” He pulled me close. “Son of a bitch. I don’t know. Dex, Curtis, and I split off. We’re going to try to find him at the airport. But I had to come back. Dex too. We had to know. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded. The thought of Gunn leaving again ripped me apart. But I understood. God. If anything happened to Sly and Scarlett …

“Who was it?” I asked. I don’t know why it mattered. I just wanted something to hold onto. I wanted everything to make sense.

“We don’t know yet,” he said. “But we have to assume the worst. If it was the Hawks, they’ve changed the rules. You don’t go after families. You don’t spray gunfire into a fucking wedding party!”

Gunn jammed his fist into the siding. Shocked, I tried to pull him away. “Don’t do that. Gunn, if nothing else, you’re going to need your damn hand to ride.”

He clenched his jaw. He’d drawn blood. When I tried to look at it, he jerked his hand away. “Promise me,” he said.

“Baby, what?”

“You stay here. Go up to your room and lock the door. You don’t come out until you hear from me. We’re putting the clubhouse on lockdown. The probies, Big John, Tiny, and Charlie will stay here with the families. I’ll call you when I know something.”

“Gunn …”

He raised a finger. Dex shouted to him. It was time for them to mount up again. My heart lurched. I wanted to pull him to me, beg him to stay. As he stood before me, pain haunting his eyes, I had the strangest premonition that I’d never see him again.

No. I wouldn’t give into it. I would not let Scotty’s ghost drag me into despair. Gunn would be okay. He wasn’t Scotty. He would come back to me.

Gunn gave me a desperate kiss, gripping my arms so hard it hurt. Then he made a circular motion with his finger and signaled to the rest of the men. They mounted their bikes and rode away.