“Yousaved my life.” I struggle to sit up, ignoring the scream of my ribs. “That man was here to kill me. And you stopped him.”
She looks down at the unconscious figure, at the blood pooling beneath his head, at the weapon still clutched in her white-knuckled grip.
“I’ve never—” She stops. Swallows.
“Come here.”
She doesn’t move.
“Come here.”
Something in my voice must reach her, because she drops the bedpan with a clatter and crosses to my bed on unsteady legs. I grab her hand—the one not dripping blood from the torn IV—and hold on.
“You did what you had to do,” I tell her firmly. “You saw a threat and you neutralized it. Don’t be ashamed. That’s survival.”
“Survival.” She laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Yeah. I’m good at that.”
Before I can respond, the door bursts open.
Stone comes through first, his face a mask of controlled fury. Hawk and Tank flank him, both armed, both scanning the room for threats.
The relief that floods through me is so intense my vision blurs.He’s here.
Stone’s eyes find me, then my roommate, then the man on the floor. His expression cracks—relief and rage warring for dominance.
“Josie.” He’s at my bedside in three strides. “Are you hurt? Did he?—”
“I’m fine. She stopped him.”
His gaze swings to the woman, who’s gone very still beside me. She’s watching the three men with the wariness of a wild animal.
“You did this?” Stone asks her.
A short nod. Her hand twitches like she wants to reach for the bedpan again.
“With that?” He nods toward the dented metal on the floor.
Another nod.
Stone looks at the unconscious attacker—easily twice her size—then back at her. I watch him reassess her in real-time, watch the pieces click into place behind his eyes.
I grip my blanket, pulling it around me as a bone cold chill freezes my blood.
“He knocked out the prospect we had on your door,” Hawk says grimly. “Kid didn’t even see him coming.”
“Is he okay?”
Hawk nods. “He’s alive but bleeding.”
“Hawk, secure the fucker. Tank, deal with the prospect.” He turns back to the woman, and when he speaks again, his voice is carefully gentle. “What’s your name?”
“Isabel.”
“Isabel. I’m Stone. I run the Stoneheart MC.” He gestures toward me. “Josie’s been working with us. Someone wants her dead, and you just stopped their latest henchman. That means you’re involved now, whether you want to be or not.”
Isabel’s expression flickers. “I don’t—I can’t—I have to leave tomorrow. I can’t get involved in anything.”
“Unfortunately, you’ve been bunking with Josie so that means you’re compromised. The people who sent him will be after you. If you stay here, they’ll come for you.”
