“He’s still fighting,” Zelda whispered beside me, her eyes fixed on the road.“Look, Mom.He won’t stay down.”
As if I could force myself to look away.I watched as Tiny somehow regained his footing after another blow.Blood matted his beard and streaked his face, but his massive shoulders squared, his stance wide as he positioned himself between Andy’s men and the woods where we hid.Even now, even as they continued to beat him, he was making sure they couldn’t follow us.
Zelda squeezed my hand, her gaze never leaving the group in the fight just ahead of us.Her jaw was set, her slight body tense as a coiled spring.Terrified as she must be, my fierce daughter was ready to fight.
A sudden cry from the group drew our attention.Andy staggered backward.Tiny stood at full height, proud and tall like he hadn’t been knocked silly by a fucking crowbar.He stood over Andy, not trying to make himself smaller.In fact, now, it looked like Tiny was using his full height to intimidate, his shoulders back.Far off in the distance I heard the faint rumble of motorcycles.
“I hear them, Mom,” Kira whispered excitedly.“They’re coming to save Tiny.”
“They’re here to save more than Tiny.”Caleb was a short distance away, but close enough to hear the conversation.
Both girls immediately ran to him, hugging him tightly between them.They were close enough in age the girls should see him as an equal, but I got the feeling he was more like an annoying older brother to both of them.The three of them had grown even closer over the last few weeks.I was glad because not only was Caleb as solid as they came, he was just as protective as the other men in Kiss of Death.He was devoted to his mother, and he’d extended his protective nature to my girls.
“They’ll be coming around the building in a couple seconds.”Caleb jerked his chin in the direction he’d indicated.Sure enough, eight bikes charged from around the bend and straight to the fight.
One of the guys around Tiny swung a bat at his chest but Tiny caught it with surprising ease.A strangled sound escaping me despite my best efforts.I couldn’t take anymore.
“Caleb, stay with the girls.You keep them safe.Promise me.”
Caleb straightened, his chest going out with pride.Even as a young teen, he was tall.He wasn’t filled out, but he was wiry and strong.And incredibly cunning.“They’ll be safe with me, Ms.Harlow.”Yeah.Caleb was a good young man.I’d already told Violet how fond I was of her son, but I thought I needed to tell her again.And Caleb.
Where the sound of the bikes had started like distant thunder at first, now the rumble grew until it vibrated through the frozen ground beneath our feet.I pulled the girls closer to me as the noise grew louder, resolving into the unmistakable roar of multiple motorcycle engines approaching fast.Through the bare winter trees, I caught flashes of movement on the road, and then the woods filled with the deafening sound of bikes tearing through the underbrush toward us.
I watched through the trees as the first motorcycle burst into view, followed by another and another.The road suddenly swarmed with Kiss of Death cuts, leather, and righteous fury.Knight led the charge, his tattooed face a mask of cold rage as he drove his bike straight at Andy’s men.Riot followed close behind, with Griffin and several others I recognized fanning out in a practiced formation that immediately cut off any escape routes.
Andy’s face transformed from triumph to panic in an instant.His men scattered like roaches when the light comes on, dropping their weapons and bolting for their vehicles.Knight skidded his bike sideways, cutting off two men trying to reach the sedan.Riot and Griffin cornered Andy himself, forcing him back against his car with nowhere to run.
Without waiting for a response, I pushed through the underbrush and back toward the road.My heart hammered against my ribs as I ran, branches slapping against my face and catching in my hair.I barely felt them.All I could focus on was Tiny, still on his feet somehow despite the blood covering half his face, despite the beating he’d endured to buy us time to escape.
Pain dismounted from his bike in a fluid motion, medical bag already in hand as he rushed toward Tiny.The club’s doctor moved with the quick, confident stride of someone who’d patched up worse injuries than these, though my stomach clenched at the thought.
“Jesus Christ,” Pain muttered, reaching Tiny just as the big man finally allowed his knees to buckle.Pain caught him before he hit the ground, supporting him with a strength that belied his leaner frame.“Thank God you’ve got a hard head, Tiny,” he said with gruff affection.
“Never been so grateful for it my own damned self,” Tiny grunted, wincing as Pain helped him sit on the ground.His voice sounded rough but strong, nothing like the fading calls I’d heard during our escape.Relief flooded through me so intensely my legs nearly gave out.
“Tiny!”I couldn’t help the sob that tore from my throat.His head jerked up at the sound of my voice, his gaze finding mine.He opened his arms as I skidded to a halt and threw myself at him.His arms closed around me and I sobbed.And sobbed.
“Penny,” he breathed, his voice breaking before he cleared his throat.“You’re OK.The girls --”
“They’re safe,” I assured him.“They’re with Caleb at the edge of the woods.”
Tiny held me for a long time.I cried into his neck and clung as tightly as I could.He didn’t protest.
“I thought --” I choked on the words, tears streaming down my face.“I thought they were going to kill you.”
He cradled the back of my head, stroking gently over my hair.“Takes more than a few cheap shots to put me down,” he murmured, though I could feel the slight tremble in body, the unsteady rhythm of his breathing betraying how close it had been.“Just needed to buy you some time until the boys got here.”He rubbed the back of his head.“They got in a few good licks.”
“Damned lucky those fuckers didn’t take your fuckin’ head off with that crowbar,” Pain muttered, his expression a mixture of exasperation and understanding.“Let me check him out properly before you squeeze those ribs any tighter,” he said, not unkindly.“He’s probably got at least one or two cracked.”
I immediately loosened my grip, though I couldn’t bring myself to move away completely.Tiny kept his arm around me as Pain quickly examined the gash on his head, shining a small penlight into his eyes to check his pupils.
“Concussion for sure, but nothing that won’t heal,” Pain announced after a moment.He gently pressed along Tiny’s ribs, noting where Tiny flinched.“Two, maybe three cracked ribs.You’re one lucky son of a bitch, Tiny.”
Tiny’s lips quirked in a half-smile despite the blood still matting his beard.“Told you those assholes couldn’t fight worth shit.”
“Let’s get you back to the Bronco,” Pain said, helping Tiny unsteadily to his feet then slid a shoulder under Tiny’s arm to support him.“We’ll clean you up at the compound.”
I turned to look for the girls, needing to make sure they were still safe.They had emerged from the trees with Caleb.Riot joined them, talking quietly with his stepson and the girls.They hung back, watching the chaos with wide eyes.Knight had Andy and two of his men on their knees, hands behind their heads.Griffin stood guard over the others, his face a study in controlled violence as he watched them.
