My life meant nothing anymore. Joey was as good as dead, and I already caused too much chaos in this world. If I was going to go, I was going to go out trying to do whatever I could to make things right again.
I sped down the road, knowing I only had a few seconds before the stupid bomb blew. In those final moments of my life, I saw my sister’s smiling face flash before me—the sister that used to risk everything just to protect me from the world. I also saw Sienna’s beautiful eyes blinking with worry. Leaving her and the Celestial Sons was probably the hardest thing I’d ever have to do. They all felt like family now, but this was the only way to right all the wrongs I committed and make things okay again.
I heard a strange ticking below my feet and knew my final moments were here. With one final breath, my eyes focused on the foreign object below my feet, and I gave it one hard kick, releasing it from the bottom of the bike. The second the bomb hit the ground, everything exploded. A fiery explosion ignited under the back wheel, and the whole back of the bike lifted up from the ground, sending it and me straight into a ditch on the side of the road.
The second my body hit the unforgiving earth, I heard something snap, and I only had a brief second to move before the bike smashed into the ground, almost crushing my body.
It took me a minute to realize I was alive, but I could barely hear my own thoughts over the insistent high-pitched squealing going on in my ears. I was seeing stars, birds, and everything else you joke about in cartoons. The world swirled around me like I was in the middle of a whirlpool of light, and it was drowning me into its abyss. My body sagged in defeat as the darkness loomed over me, and before I could take another staggered breath, I gave in, my eyes fluttering shut as everything went completely black.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I wasn’t sure how long I was out for, but when I finally came to, I was in the middle of a foreign bed, staring up at a ceiling that was covered in ivy vines. The light of the sun was shining in a large window that overlooked a beautiful garden and a pretty fountain that I could hear bubbling through the screen.
“Am I in heaven?” I questioned the surrounding atmosphere, expecting God or some angel to answer. What I didn’t expect was to see Archer’s face appear above me, or the look of relief that flashed in his eyes.
“No, but thank God you’re alive,” he breathed out, surprising me when his massive body came down and gripped me in a comforting hug. “We thought we lost you, Dillon.”
“We?”
A second later, I felt familiar arms wrap around me and then see Sienna’s bright face appear above me with tears shimmering in her beautiful blue eyes.
“Oh, Dillon. You scared me to death. How could you do something so stupid?”
“What I do?”
I didn’t remember much from before I woke up. The last thing I remember was entering the Artillery clubhouse and finding it empty.
“You took Scorpio’s bike on a suicide mission, kid. You tried to shake the bomb off it and save his bike.”
“Did it work?”
Archer shrugged. “You lived… the bike is heavily damaged, but nowhere near as bad as it would’ve been had the bomb gone off still attached to it. The good news is we can fix it.” He smacked my arm. “Why did you do something so stupid?”
“I had to make everything right, Archer. It was the least I could do after everything you guys have done for me.”
Archer nodded, stroking his chin like he always does when he’s deep in thought.
“The guys are going to be excited when they hear you’re okay. Scorpio has been worried sick about you.”
“How badly did I get injured?” I questioned, groaning when I tried to move, and pain ripped up my side.
“You broke your femur and ulna on your right side. That’s the side that hit the ground after the bike flipped over. You were lucky it didn’t crush you.”
“I think I moved, but I don’t remember much before I woke up.”
“What do you remember?” Archer questioned.
“Entering the Artillery clubhouse. Not much after that.”
“What about the video?”
“What video?”
Archer’s face fell. “The video where they tortured your sister.”
All he had to do was mention Joey and everything came rushing back to me. My eyes closed painfully shut, as her frightened screams invaded my ears all over again. The horrific image of them holding her down and pouring bleach over her eyes to blind her attacked my brain, and my eyes popped open just to rid myself of the memory.
“Damn it. I probably would’ve been better off if I hadn’t remembered that.”
