“Rowan,” I said, my voice low and steady. I had no idea what to say to her. I dragged a hand through my hair and let out a slow breath. The adrenaline was still pumping through me so hard my hands were shaking.
Behind us, Moose shouted that more bikes were coming. Ours, thank God. The Kings started moving to secure the perimeter.
Rowan didn’t look away from me. And for the first time since this whole nightmare started, I felt something like hope cut through the smoke.
The sound of engines rolled in from the distance as reinforcements got closer, and I was grateful for every man that turned up. We were going to need every damn one of them.
But Rowan didn’t look toward the noise. She didn’t look at the bodies or the smoke or the men shouting orders. She looked at me like I was the only thing in her line of sight. And that did something to me I wasn’t ready for.
JD jogged up, breathing hard. “Sorry to interrupt but we’ve got more coming,” he said. “We need to get her out of here.”
I nodded, but my eyes stayed on her.
JD stepped closer, planting a firm hand on Moose’s shoulder. “Get everyone into position, brother. Lock down the perimeter. No one moves alone tonight.”
Moose peeled off, barking orders in every direction.
“Tex, we need to talk,” JD said, and I nodded, “Swampy's shoulder is shot through and we lost a prospect.”
Rowan whimpered at JD’s words, her voice barely above a whisper when she next spoke. “What happens now?”
What happens now. Hell if I knew. But I knew what wasn’t happening.
“We protect you at all costs,” I said.
She wrapped her arms around herself like she was cold, even though the air was thick and hot with smoke. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.”
I stepped in, closing the space between us. “You didn’t cause this.They did.”
“Agreed,” JD said. “This isn’t just about you, this is about the club too. Old wounds and old debts.”
“But they’re coming for me,” she said, voice cracking. “They won’t stop.”
“I know.” I didn’t sugarcoat it. She deserved the truth, and I knew she could handle it. “But neither will we.”
Her eyes glistened again, and I felt something twist in my chest. I wanted to pull her into me, shield her from everything, but I didn’t know if she’d let me.
She looked down at my hands, still shaking slightly from adrenaline, and then back up at me. “Tex, I don’t know how to carry any of this.”
“You don’t have to. We’ll figure it out afterwards,” I said. “And if need be, I’ll carry it for both of us until you can.”
Her breath caught, and for a second I thought she might break down, but she was a strong woman and instead she nodded and took a long, slow breath. “Okay.”
JD was still waiting, his shotgun slung over his shoulder. “Tex, we gotta move her. They’ll regroup. Could be minutes, could be seconds, but if you really want to protect her, then we need to get her out of here.”
I nodded. “Where’s the prospect?”
JD called for him and the kid came forward immediately. “Yeah?”
“You stay glued to her,” I told him. “If she breathes, you breathe. If she moves, you move. If anything comes near her?—”
“I’m on it,” he said, voice steadier than before.
Rowan hesitated, looking between me and the prospect like she wasn’t sure which direction her heart was pulling her.
I reached out and brushed my thumb along her cheekbone, just once. “Go with him. I’ll be right behind you.”
She swallowed hard. “Promise?”
