Fuck. That also means I lost my damn pamphlet. I’ll have to go to another stupid seminar to get full credit for that intro class.
I shake my head. “Dad’s going to be pissed if he has to buy me a new one.” Phones are fucking expensive, and this is the third one he’s bought me this year. I’m not exactly graceful. I can walk in eight-inch heels, but ask me to hold a phone and not drop it or knock it off a counter or desk and you’re just asking for trouble.
“Here’s a concept: Get one that isn’t so expensive and maybeyoucould afford it yourself.”
I narrow my eyes at him, but then the nurse tells me not to so she can start stitching up the cut I got from his damn license plate. I know he’s just pushing my buttons because that’s what he does, but I’m mad about everything. And while I have no money, thanks to Dad saying I shouldn’t get a job except for babysitting, relying on my pops is just part of my life. I would love to support myself. It would be a dream come true. But I know my dad also enjoys having a part of me that still needs him.
Which I’m sure Kooper gets, but he’s still a prick about it.
“You might want to check him out, too, once you’re done with me. I think he has a dislocated shoulder.”
I smirk as I see the fury flare in his eyes. Kooper’s like every other biker—big, bad, and a fucking pussy when itcomes to asking for help. Bet he’d rather be the one to knock his shoulder back into place, but if he’s going to play his role of asshole, I’ll play mine too: pain in the ass.
Or in this case, theshoulder.
Chapter 9—Kooper
“So, want to tell me how all this happened?” The doctor checking over the stitchwork the nurse did on Ruby looks over at me. And the damn sling on my arm.
Considering everything, I say we got off lucky. A dislocated shoulder for me, a concussion, a gash on the head, and a twisted ankle for Ruby. I made them look at her leg after she mentioned my minor shoulder issue. Did it hurt? Yeah. Did it mean I couldn’t drive home and have my brother, someone I trusted, look at it? Hell no. But the nurses here wouldn’t hear of it, and since my goal is to keep our heads down, I relented and let them do it.
When I saw Ruby open her mouth to call out the shot on my back, I gave her one shake of the head, and that had her shutting up. Just because she’s looking to one-up me doesn’t mean she gets to draw attention to us being in a shooting that’s probably all over the news right about now.
Thankfully, there was no penetration where I got hit, and it only looked like a bruise when the nurses took my shirt and jacket off to examine my arm. I was able to convince them it was nothing. An added benefit of the special lining the club invested in for all Hounds to have in their biker jackets. We don’t always wear them, but I put it on more times than not. It’s meant to help with road rash if I ever fall off my bike because of some fucker who can’t drive, but italso keeps me alive if some idiot thinks it’s wise to shoot a Hound in the back.
“Just picking up my girl for a ride, and some asshole sideswiped us into a ditch.”
“We can have the police here soon to take your statements to file the report.” He doesn’t even look back at me as he gives Ruby another concussion test. It’s pissing me off. No way does he need to keep looking at her so much. The nurse already did the job; he just needs to sign the damn paperwork to let us out of here.
I shake my headat him. “No good, Doc. Didn’t see what the car was. It was too dark for any description.”
My words have him stopping long enough to turn and give me his full attention. “I see. And what about you?” he asks, turning back to Ruby. “You see who it was?”
She shakes her head. “My eyes were closed. I was just enjoying being on the back of my man’s bike without a care in the world.”
I smirk. Her response is part of the job to make this believable. But it also does something else. It makes the doc take a second to really see my vest and understand that touching her might not be the wisest thing to do if he wants to keep his hands in working condition. Not that he knows we aren’t together, but it’s my job to keep Ruby safe. And that means keeping creeps away from her.
“Right. Let me get those discharge papers, and I’ll have the nurse go over the medications I recommended. It’s best if she doesn’t fall asleep for the next twenty-four hours to make sure nothing happens.”
“Oh, trust me, sleeping is the last thing on my mind. Isn’t that right, big guy?” She gives me a dramatic wink, and I don’t hold back the eye roll. That’s over the top, but whatever it takes to get the guy out of the room and us on the road back home is fine by me.
Five seconds after the doctor leaves, Ruby’s smirking, and I just know I’m going to get an earful.
“Just picking up your girl, huh? Why, Kooper, I’ve never been so flattered.”
I shake my head as I look down at my feet.
“Keep saying such sweet things and Dad might have to kick you off my detail.”
Her words trigger something in me. Something deep and dark that I never thought was an issue till two days ago when that image got into my head. It was only once and never again, but I have this sick fear that somehow Law will know I thought that about his daughter. Someone I should only see as an assignment and never, ever as anything beyond that.
She stands, her ankle wrapped and her feet in slippers to keep her toes from freezing. She looks like a temptress with the way her hair is blown out and her normal badass updo isn’t there. But there’s also a softness about her that anyone would be a fool to think was her real self. She’s a tigress waiting to pounce on anyone not strong enough for a woman like Ruby.
“So, you going to carry me to our chariot so we can have our long night together, lover?” The sass that comes out of her mouth makes me want to find a way to shut it. And not just with my hand over it.
Her words have my blood boiling. And not all of it is because I’m mad. No. A deep, dark, depraved, sick part of me likes what she says.
“I ain’t here because I want to be, I’m here because Ihave to be.Your dad gave me a job, one I don’t intend to fail. And the only reason I got stuck with you is because everyone else worth their salt turned it down, and I’ve got a background in asset protection. Trust me, if I had a choice, it wouldn’t be me. So pack up your shit and let’s go. Your dad wants you home, and I’ve got a vamp waiting on me to give me something good for all the shit I had to do today.”
