I told myself that I wouldn’t let her out of my sight just moments ago, but if she saw me like this, it would rip her to shreds more than she already is. She would be more concerned about me than herself because that is who she is. She is sweet, caring, funny, loving, everything else a good woman can possess. That is Piper.

A body slides down the wall beside me, and I recognize the hand that squeezes the back of my neck. My father. And I don’t even care if he knows I’m bawling my fucking eyes out. I’m gutted. Simply fucking gutted.

“I found her as quick as I could, son. I’m truly sorry it wasn’t quick enough,” he says quiet enough for only my ears to hear.

I don’t take my face out of my hands when I answer him with a chocked response. “You found her before she was dead.”

It could be so much worse. I could have lost her forever. The emotions I feel right now are ones of pure agony, and I can’t even think about the hell I would be living if she weren’t found alive.

“That is what matters.” I choke.

We sit in silence and I don’t even get up when the Doc and his son arrive. I can’t. I have to get my bearings straight before I can face her. She is going to need me to be the strong, deadly biker she counts on. I will not disappoint her.

***

Chapter Twenty Two

Sniper

Her first cut is not the deepest

It is my job to assign someone of my choosing to protect my brother while I stay here with Piper while she heals. The choice is not an easy one to make. I pick someone I am not happy with right now, but she is also the best person for the job because she is as deadly with a gun as I am. Lucy, I am sure, is stoked to be out of the live-in doing female shit and back into the game of war.

Jinx must have been be drugged more than Piper because she did not move a muscle when they transported her with Pyro, Akela, and Ripley.

All my brothers have said they are taking a few days to rest before they begin to push out the Cartel members. I have been promised the Cartel Lord. I know my best friend won’t come out of this today and not tomorrow, but she will pull through it, and I will get my fucking revenge for her and Jinx.

When the Doc and his son found out I would be the one taking care of Piper, they almost had heart attacks. God, I still want to punch the shit out of them. My head still hurts from their ramblings.

Almost all of her ribs are broken, her jaw has a slight fracture, her ankle needs minding for infection, and she has small tears inside her from where she was raped. All fucking horrible, but nothing I can’t handle when it comes to taking care of her. A sigh of relief escapes me when I finally get rid of the doctor and his son.

And when everyone, including my pop, leaves and it is just me and Piper like the days before this shit went down, I become nervous. Me, a trained goddamn sniper, a killer, fucking nervous.

When I come back into my bedroom where Piper is supposed to be sleeping, I found her awake and her pills still next to her on the bed side table. I tsk her and walk over, take the pills and hold them out for her.

“If you won’t get some rest for yourself, get some for me, Piper. I’m fuckin’ exhausted, and baby, I haven’t slept in days. While you sleep, I want to sleep, yeah?”

All she can do was nod because she isn’t supposed to say anything.

When I kick off my boots, undo my jeans, and prepare to get ready for bed, she holds up her right hand, puts her ring and middle fingers down, and makes the sign, ‘I love you’. I give her a sideways grin and follow her gesture. When she can talk, I’ll tell her how I feel and that I want to try things out with her. I can’t tell her now because that would be selfish of me. She needs to mend physically and emotionally, and me admitting how I feel will only further confuse her, and I am afraid it will halt her healing.

When I am covered up in bed next to her, I watch her down her sleeping pills Doc gave her. She can’t turn over because of her ribs, so she is stuck sleeping on her back and she fucking hates that. Piper sleeps on her left side facing me when we do our drunken, talk out sleepovers.

But I don’t have to worry for too long because ten minutes later, her breathing evens out and she is out like the light on my bedside table when I flip the switch. Sleep. God, how I have missed fucking sleep. It comes easily to me now that Piper is next to me again.

***

Her morning is my deepest cut

I wake up, smoke a joint, make some coffee, and open my fridge to find it loaded down with groceries. I slept so good last night, I almost forgot some of the guys coming by and dropping this shit off in the dead of night. I pick up the little list on the counter the Doctor made me and make the worst face when I see that Piper’s breakfast will be a yogurt. She fucking hates this shit, but the Doctor said to shove it in the blender with some vanilla ice cream and make a thin smoothie with it. So I blend it, pour it into a glass, and open the bag of straws the guys brought over and walk my coffee and her breakfast to her.

When I enter the room, she is scratching at the bandage around her head. And I smack at her hands after I set the cups down.

“Piper don’t, babe. I’m no doctor, but I know you’re not supposed to fucking do that,” I warn her. “If you promise not to talk though, I’ll take it off for a little while. You need a bath. They could only sponge you yesterday, and I know my Piper. She wants a bath.” I chuckle and hand her the nasty ass smoothie and begin to unwrap the cloth from around her head.

My heart cracks wide open when she whimpers around the straw. She can’t even eat a proper goddamn meal and just sucking on a straw kills her.