“Don’t push me away, Shona, not again.”
“Niall, you should go inside. They need you.”
“I’m not leaving you alone,” he said. “It’s not safe here. This isn’t Kilkenny.”
I scoffed. “Kilkenny isn’t safe anymore either. Nowhere is.”
“Shona…”
I backed up. I knew if he held his arms out to me again, I would probably run into them and never let go.
That’s what he wanted, but it’s not something I could give him.
Shaking my head, I headed back toward the hospital. I could feel him behind me, always watching, always keeping me safe. It hurt my heart that I couldn’t ever feel what I wanted to feel with him. I was too fucked up from my ex to let him in, and that tore me to pieces.
I knew if I ever called him, no matter the time, the place, the situation, he would come for me. That broke me more.
I wasn’t good enough for Niall. I never had been.
Sheridan and Ryleigh were sitting on the seats, tears running down their faces as the boys all stood around. Waiting.
It was the one thing I was good at, but no one else had been.
“Any word?” I asked them, pulling myself together for them.
For my friends. My family.
Ryleigh looked up. “No. Shauna has been admitted and is resting. Chains is still in surgery.”
Ace looked like a man haunted. I’d seen that faraway look in his eyes before, and it was never good. He knew something that we didn’t. Did he know if Chains would live or die?
Savage was beside him now, offering Ace the help he needed. I tried not to watch him as he went about his business. I felt a rush of arousal as I saw him taking charge, everyone looking away from him out of fear. He wasn’t scary to me. He was just Niall, but I knew he had a reputation for being bad when he needed to be.
He was named Savage for a reason, after all.
He moved down the hall with Hawk and Bear, the three of them almost eclipsing the hallway, and I knew in that moment that I’d never stop loving that man.
And because of that, I needed to go.
I needed to get away so he could find someone who wasn’t as broken as I was. Someone who could make him smile every day, who could give him kids, and take his name.
“Shona, why don’t you go and help Maree?” Sheridan offered. “We’ve got more than enough people here to help.”
She handed me her car keys and I nodded quickly, turned on my heel and moved away before I made the terrible mistake of telling Niall just how much I loved and needed him.
How much I needed him to save me.
Savage
Ace took me into the room with Shauna laying on the bed, and I immediately felt anger swell at the fucker who could do this to his own kid. He’dfucking sold her for his freedom. The only good thing was the sale didn’t go through, which means he had worse enemies coming for him now. He’d be dead soon, and we wouldn’t have to worry about him.
Good fucking riddance.
“How is she?” I asked him. I liked Shauna, she had balls and I knew she’d always been good for Chains, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“She is fine,” she croaked, her eyes open and looking over at me. I moved to the side of the bed and helped her to sit up. “They won’t let me go and see Chains though.”
“He’s in surgery,” Ace said, coming to the other side of her bed. “How you feelin’?”
