I’m running before my brain can catch up, my heart in my throat as I race to the entrance and it threatens to stop when I spot two figures lying on the pavement. One of them is wearing a red dress. Sienna.
Oh God.
God no!
No. No. No.
My eyes move from the smoking car currently crashed into the valet stand and to Elise who’s huddled over her kids like a mother hen protecting her chicks. My head doesn’t stop pounding and my legs threaten to give out when Sienna’s eyes find mine over her mother’s shoulder.
She’s alive.
She’s breathing. Fuck!
I rush to them and help Sienna up even as Elise turns to help her son. “Are you hurt?” I ask, running my eyes over her body but aside from a few abrasions on her arms and the tear in her dress, she seems to be unharmed. I turn to see Jude is in a much better condition than his sister, albeit a little pale. “What the hell happened?” I demand.
“I’m okay, we’re okay,” Sienna says, her voice soothing as she runs it over my arm as if to comfort me. “I think someone must have lost control of their car and driven it into the valet stand."
“Fuck that!” Jude rages, earning a look from his mother but he doesn’t seem to notice. He looks livid, almost angry and it seems to bring some color back to his face. “That fucker wanted to kill us.” The young man turns to me, finger pointing at the car. “I was standing at the valet stand when the car came speeding toward it. Sienna jumped in to push me out of the way and if I hadn't grabbed her arm when I fell and pulled her with me, she would have been hit by the car.”
I turn and notice several people around us nod in support of Jude's story. “I saw the whole thing,” someone adds. “Whoever was in that car was headed straight for him.”
“The girl jumped in to push him out of the way.”
“The boy was smart, acted fast too and pulled her down with him.”
“The fucker ran away on foot after he jumped out of the car!”
“Who the hell would do something like that?”
Who, indeed. I trade a look with Ghost who immediately grabs his gun and approaches the car from the rear as I take the front. We circle it and meet at the driver’s door which is wide open. Figures, but never hurts to check if there was another person in the car. He won’t get away with this. “Get the security footage and see if you can ID the driver,” I tell Ghost who nods once before disappearing back into the casino. I turn when another car drives up but I shake my head when I realize it’s Elise’s car, ordering the valet to take it back and park it. I knowan attempted hit when I see one and who’s to say the person won’t follow the pair to finish the job.
I step away from the car and beckon to one of my men, instructing them to help Elise and her son up to one of the casino's private rooms and help them find clothes to sleep in. When Elise tries to brush off the offer, I realize it’s for form. She’s terrified—I read it in her eyes and from the way her hand shakes. It doesn’t take much convincing before she agrees to be led back inside where they'll stay for the night. No one would try to hurt them in my room.
Not without a death wish.
Chapter Five
Pope
I try to keep a tight rein on my temper. Someone tried to kill Sienna and Jude, and almost did. It’s a fucking miracle that all she got out of it was a few scratches. It could have ended worse. Much worse.
Fuck, the thought of Sienna throwing herself in the path of a speeding car only sends a fresh wave of anger rocking through me. She did it to save her brother and fuck, I would have done the same but knowing that does nothing to erase the rage…and the fear.
I could have lost her.
“I’m fine,” she says as I close the apartment door behind me. “I swear, I’m fine. Look.” She spreads her arms and spins around to prove her point but all I notice are the scratches marring her beautiful skin. I can tell she’s waiting for a response but I have nothing. I don’t trust myself to speak so I remain silent, taking her hand and pulling her into the master bathroom. “Pope, I’m fine. I swear.”
But I’m not.
I sit her on the edge of the tub so I can get the first aid kit and with my back turned to her, I realize it's not just anger I amfeeling—anger at the driver, at her for shoving herself in harm's way. For the first time in my life, I have someone to lose. I mean, sure, I have Bishop and my brothers in the MC but I can trust them to take care of themselves. It's different with Sienna.
She came into my life, into this crazy arrangement we made because she believed I would protect her and tonight, I failed to do that. And her throwing herself in danger doesn’t exactly help matters.
I grab the kit and crouch in front of her to tend to her injuries. She doesn’t say a word as I clean and bandage her injuries. I help her get undressed, careful not to disturb her injuries then I carry her to bed. Only when she’s under the covers do I strip out of my own clothes and get in after her.
It's tempting to go down to the gym and work up a sweat. Hell, maybe I could talk some of the guys into getting in the boxing ring with me but with the way I'm feeling, I could seriously injure them in that ring. Besides, the thought of leaving Sienna after the night we just had doesn't sit well with me. So, I pull her into me, against me—wrapping my arms around her soft body and pressing her head to my chest, reminding myself that she’s alive. Breathing.
Alive and breathing.
