Once Shade reached the high school, it was easy to see where Winter had been attacked since it was still taped off. The amount of blood on the pavement didn’t faze him, but it did give him an indication as to how severe her injuries were. Winter was lucky to still be alive.

Shade went over the school grounds thoroughly, finding an oil spot that was still fresh. It was away from the student and faculty parking and gave the best spot for watching Winter’s car unobtrusively. He also found several ashes on the ground before his keen gaze noticed something in the grass a few feet away near a large tree.

He walked closer, using the toe of his boot to move the grass. A cigar butt lay on the ground. Shade used a stick to pierce it, picking it up from the ground then packing it back to his bike where he took a napkin from the saddlebag. He wrapped the cigar butt and placed it in the saddlebag before taking out his cell phone to call Cash.

“Where are you? Viper thought you might need some help.”

“Nah, this fucker was easy to find. He left a trail my grandmother could have tracked.”

“Who was it?” Shade asked curiously.

“Jake. Remember the kid Lily hit with the horseshoe?”

“It was him?” He was surprised the kid had possessed the balls to touch another woman after the beating Shade had given him. He had thought the punk came off as a poser, pretending to be worse than he actually was.

“Yeah, he stopped at his girlfriend’s house first and set it on fire. Luckily, no one was home. The girl’s parents had taken her to stay with a relative. It’s what set him off and made him crazy enough to set the fire and attack Winter. Seems Winter was the one who gave the parents a heads-up to the kid mistreating their girl.”

“They sure it was him?” Shade asked sharply. Lily had also been involved in getting the girl away from the kid, and he didn’t want the punk getting out of jail and going to look for her.

“The sheriff has witnesses seeing him running from the house.”

Something didn’t feel right to Shade. He would drop the cigar butt off at the sheriff’s office then head back to the clubhouse. He didn’t see a kid Jake’s age smoking a cigar, so whoever had been smoking it might not have been the one who had beaten Winter, but he had been watching her.

Chapter 15

Two Months Later…

Shade stared out the factory window, watching Viper, Knox, and Razer as the car they had been waiting for pulled up and came to a stop. He went outside to see if they needed more help than they had anticipated.

Razer opened the car door, pulling Beth out of the driver’s seat. It had taken Razer and Viper weeks to convince her to what essentially was kidnapping. Although she had lived, Winter had been left with injuries severe enough to be unable to care for herself for some time. While still in the rehabilitation center, she had asked Beth to help once she got home. Viper had other plans, though.

He had finally invested in the gym the brothers had been asking for, building it in the basement. However, he hadn’t done it for them; it was to aide in Winter’s recovery. Viper was a tightwad when it came to hanging on to the profits of their company in order to reinvest and expand, but he had purchased the best equipment for her, even putting in a whirlpool when he had heard it would ease some of her pain.

Needless to say, Winter had no idea Beth would be bringing her to the clubhouse, expecting to return to her own home instead. Beth had called thirty minutes before to give them a heads-up they were near, which was why they had been waiting in the parking lot. Shade knew Winter’s reaction wasn’t going to go down well for the soft-hearted Beth.

Shade was proved right when Beth burst into tears. Razer put his arms around her before leading her away while Viper opened the back door.

“Hello, Winter,” Viper said.

“Take me home. This isn’t going to happen, Viper. I am not going to stay here.”

“I’m sorry, Winter, but I am not giving you a choice.” He carefully lifted her into his arms. When she would have struggled, he held her in a firm hold and talked to her in a voice which had her going still. “I know right now you’re mad as hell and I understand, but I am not going to let you hurt yourself. Stay still or else I will make you sorry.”

“You’re going to hurt me to keep me from hurting myself?”

Her attention turned to Knox who was opening the trunk, taking out her suitcases while Razer walked away from Beth to lift out the wheelchair.

When Beth would have gone to Winter, Shade stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“I wouldn’t lay a hand on you, but you would get my message.” Viper carried her up the long flight of steps without stopping, and the brothers packed Winter’s belongings while Shade followed along with Beth.

Evie opened the door as they approached. “Hi, do you remember me from church? Believe it or not, I’m a nurse. I also worked with Beth for a while, so you’ll be in good hands while you’re here.”

When Winter didn’t return her greeting, Viper continued through the entry, going to the stairs not far from the door and then carrying her up another flight of steps. Shade watched as Winter stared toward the club room until Viper turned down the long hallway.

Shade tried to keep Beth from following, but she gave him a look which dared him to stop her. Shade gave her a mocking smile in return, pulling back enough to let her go upstairs. He would keep an eye on her, though. If she tried to interfere between Viper and Winter, he would remove her. Shade let her get as far as the doorway before motioning for her to stop.

They watched as Viper gently lay Winter down on his king-sized bed. The room of the president of the Last Riders was the largest in the house, with a couch and two chairs in a small sitting area. A desk and chair took up space along one wall with a dresser and chest on another.

“I am not staying here, Viper…”

Viper ignored her, walking out of the room and leaving her alone with Evie, who began opening Winter’s suitcases which Razer and Knox had set on the floor.

“Thanks, guys,” Evie thanked the men before both left without a word, closing the door behind them.

The group stood in the hallway, easily listening to what was going on behind the thin door, until the room went silent. Then Beth stared at the men surrounding her with anger.

“I’m not going to just leave her in your care. I’m going to check on her every day, and if I feel she really needs to leave, I’ll carry her out of here myself.”

“Beth, I only want to help her. She has to have constant care, and there’s no way you can provide it unless you let your other patients suffer,” Viper tried to sooth Beth’s fears.

Shade had seen a change in his president since Winter had been attacked. He had stayed at the hospital, sitting in the waiting room until she had awakened, and only leaving then because the sheriff had forced him to see reason. He had gone back, though, every day until she had been discharged to the rehabilitation center. He had gone missing several times after that, asking Shade to keep supervising the factory during his absences. The business credit card statement had showed he was buying gas on the road to and from where she was recovering.

Shade went downstairs with Knox and Rider, leaving Viper talking with Beth and Razer. One thing was for sure—with Winter in the house, things were going to change even more. The brothers were just getting used to having Beth around during the time Lily was in school, and from that point on Winter would be there, as well. It was going to be interesting to see how Winter adjusted. He was just happy he could hand the reins of the factory back over to Viper.