Unlawfully Yours (Lawless MC #1)

46

“You don’t have to watch me so intently, you know? I’m not gonna spontaneously combust.”

Myles’ mouth curves into a smile. “Not taking any chances, pix. Not after nearly losing you.”

It’s been a little over five hours since I woke up in the hospital, hooked up to a number of machines that beep incessantly to the point I’m wishing I was deaf just to mute the sound.

I’ve been slipping in and out of consciousness as the anaesthetic wears off, and in all that time, Myles hasn’t left my side once. He’s been rubbing soothing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb for hours, the feeling of his eyes on me hasn’t gone away either, it’s almost like he can’t bear to let me out of his sight.

Every part of my body aches, my abdomen especially and it hurts to move even a single muscle. According to the doctors, I lost a significant amount of blood from the gunshot, and had I been brought in later than I was, I might not have survived it. I’ve since had a blood transfusion and had the bullet removed and thankfully, I’m expected to make a full recovery.

My memories from what happened at the Cobras’ clubhouse are hazy, coming back to me in tiny fragments but they’re enough to help build a full picture of what went down.

I remember how good it felt driving that knife into Vaughn’s leg and watching the life slowly bleed from him. I recall the searing pain I felt from the bullet that spread like wildfire through my body, but it was nothing in comparison to the terror that gripped me at seeing Christina aiming a gun at the man I love. I knew I couldn’t sit there and watch him die and I’ve never felt satisfaction quite like pulling the trigger, despite how weak I felt at the time.

She was a parasite, just like her husband, Tobias.

“I can’t get the image of it out of my head… Seeing you like that. I was so scared, baby. I’m just so glad you’re okay—” His voice cracks, as he dips his head, avoiding my eyes.

“Myles.” I guide his chin up, forcing him to look at me, and I don’t miss the shimmer of unshed tears that swim in his eyes. “Look at me, I’m fine. I’m here and I’m yours. Always .”

“I love you, pixie. So fucking much.” He seals his words with a kiss, his mouth on mine a welcome feeling.

“Tell me those words again, that you said earlier at the clubhouse.”

He rests his forehead against mine. “My love. My life. My ride or die.”

My mouth stretches into a smile. “I love you.”

There’s a soft knock on the door to my hospital room and a second later, my mom pokes her head around the door. She smiles wide when her eyes land on me. “You’re awake.”

She enters the room, carrying two coffees. Even now as I look at her I still can’t believe she’s here.

“Here you go,” she says, handing one of the cups to Myles.

He smiles up at her. “Thanks.”

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” my mom asks.

“Like I got shot.”

She laughs, perching on the edge of my bed near my feet, taking a sip of her coffee.

I turn to Myles. “You still haven’t told me what happened after Drew and my mom brought me here.”

“I did, and you fell asleep about ten seconds in,” he chuckles.

“Sorry.”

“Tobias is dead. The rest of his crew either left with their tails between their legs or they’re dead too. We released the remaining Cobras under the condition they leave town and never come back seeking retribution. One of them turned a gun on me and Jett shot him dead.”

“Who was it?” my mom asks.

“A big guy. Little taller than Kill. Stocky. Shaved head. Beard.”

“My husband,” she clarifies. She sighs softly, the ghost of a contented smile on her lips. “I’m finally free.”

Myles shakes his head. “Can’t believe Tobias had you all this time. We searched for you. Ray spent weeks looking for any sign of you but you’d vanished. If we’d known…”

“I don’t blame any of you, Myles. The most important thing to me now is that I’m free, my son is alive and I’ve been reunited with my daughter. I can finally start living my life again.”

“You and Drew can stay at my house until you figure out what you want to do,” I offer.

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

I turn to Myles. “And your guys? Did they all make it out okay?”

He gives a slight shake of his head. “Jack didn’t make it, pix.”

I suck in a sharp breath. I didn’t know Jack all that well, but I knew enough to know that he was one of the good ones, with his whole life ahead of him, just a few months short of meeting his unborn baby.

My heart aches for him. And for his partner, Jade.

I give Myles’ hand a squeeze. I can see the hurt in his eyes at losing one of his own. He feels it deeply and I wish there was something I could do to ease some of the pain.

“What’re we gonna tell Walker and Hillcrest PD? They’re gonna be crawling all over that clubhouse.”

“All they’re gonna find is the charred remains of what used to be a clubhouse.”

It burned down? “How are we supposed to explain that?”

“Don’t worry about it, baby. We’ve got it handled. Walker has already been told of what he needs to know, as he has for many years. He knows not to ask too many questions.”

“And how do I explain my gunshot wound and a wedding dress covered in blood? It’ll have Vaughn’s DNA all over it. There are gonna be questions.”

“You tell them the truth. You were about to get married in front of your uncle, your mother and your brother. Only, you weren’t marrying Vaughn, you were going to marry me and Vaughn couldn’t control his jealousy, that’s why I had to strip him of his colours, because he wanted what was mine. In a fit of jealous rage, he tried to shoot me but you got in the way and he shot you instead. He turned on some of the guys and sadly, Jack was killed. Vaughn was stabbed in the pursuit to subdue him and bled out. I helped carry you out to the car where your mom and brother were waiting to take you to the hospital.”

He must see the uncertainty on my face because he settles his hand over mine. “You know how this works, any question that you struggle to answer, you just plead that it all happened so fast and you can’t remember. Don’t worry about what happened after I carried you out, the less you know the better, I just need you to trust me.”

“Of course I trust you.”

“All of this is finally over, pix. It will all be fine.”

“At the cost of too many lives; Jack, Maddie, my dad…” My heart constricts.

He lifts my hand in both of his and presses a kiss to the back of it. “I know, pix. I know…”

There’s a heavy knock on the door and Sheriff Walker, Ryan and an officer I’ve never seen before steps inside the room.

Ryan offers me a friendly smile.

“Good to see you, Adams,” Walker says with a smile. “This is Sheriff Ashworth from over in Hillcrest. I’m sorry to have to ask but is now a good time to talk?”

“You have to do this now? She just woke up,” Myles protests.

“And so everything will be fresh in her mind, isn’t that right?” Sheriff Ashworth smirks at me, shooting a disdainful look in Myles’ direction.

Ashworth is in his mid-forties at least, tall and slim in build, his brown hair thinning and I can already tell that I’m not going to like this guy.

“It’s okay,” I assure Myles. “It won’t take long.”

He nods, rising to his feet and pressing a kiss to my forehead before he and my mom retreat from the room.

Sheriff Walker takes a seat beside me while Ashworth stands at the foot of the bed with his arms across his chest, staring down at me in an attempt to intimidate me. Ryan hovers by the door, giving me a reassuring nod, letting me know that there are two people in this room who have my back, and Sheriff Ashworth is not one of them.

“Start from the beginning.”

I spend the next twenty minutes recounting everything, doing as Myles says whenever I stumble upon a tricky question.

I can’t remember…

“Why the sudden rush into marriage? It’s my understanding your friend, Madison Owens was tragically killed driving your car yesterday. Not to mention you’ve only been in a romantic relationship with Mr. Lawson for a matter of weeks.”

“Is this an interrogation, Sheriff Ashworth? I fail to see the relevance of my sex life to me getting shot.”

“It’s only an interrogation if you have reason to be interrogated.”

“I have nothing to hide.”

“Then you won’t mind answering the question.” Condescending prick.

I sigh deeply to quell the anger inside me. “After Maddie was killed, it made me realise how precious life is and how it can be taken from us so quickly. I love Myles and he loves me. We didn’t see any reason to wait.”

He narrows his eyes. “And you decided to get married in your fiancé’s enemy’s clubhouse?”

“Tobias Grimes was my uncle on my mother’s side. We thought our marriage might settle the feud that has been raging between the two clubs for years and bring a truce of sorts.” The lie falls easily from my lips and something deep within me tells me that this isn’t me, or it never used to be at least.

I’ve never been one to lie, especially to my superiors, but that was until I fell in love with a man I would do anything to protect. I have a family to fight for now, a club who risked their own lives to save mine. It’s time I repay the favour.

“And the dress? Forgive me, but you don’t strike me as the type of woman to choose to get married in a dress so… distasteful .”

“Believe it or not, it’s quite difficult to find a wedding dress at the drop of a hat and I’m nothing if not traditional, I wanted to get married in white. Luckily for me, my uncle’s wife so generously loaned me her dress. Sadly, I don’t think she’ll be getting it back, it’s got my blood on it.”

“That, and the fact she’s since gone missing, as has her husband— your uncle —along with their entire crew.”

“I can’t comment on th—”

“Of course not,” Ashworth scoffs with a roll of his eyes.

“Let her speak, Sheriff,” Walker snaps.

“After I was shot, the last thing I can remember is Myles carrying me out,” I continue.

I can tell Ashworth knows he’s not getting what he was after when he came in here and that fact only has my chest swelling with satisfaction as he grows more and more irritated by the minute.

I want nothing more to do with this prick and I’ll hazard a guess that neither does Walker.

Walker slaps his palms on his thighs as he moves to stand. “Well, if that’s all, Sheriff, I say we give Allie a rest, don’t you? She’s been through quite the ordeal today, any more questions can wait.”

“Hasn’t she just…” I don’t waver under the scrutiny of his eyes. They burn into me for a long drawn-out moment before he storms out of the room.

Walker turns to me. “You rest up, you hear? You leave Ashworth to me.” He pats the back of my hand before following Sheriff Ashworth out of the room, leaving just Ryan.

He smiles wide. “Seems like wherever Allison Adams goes, trouble follows.”

“I don’t go looking for it, I swear. It just finds me.”

He laughs, nearing the bed. “How you doing?”

I press my fingers to the steady pulse in my neck and wait a few seconds before answering. “I’m alive.”

“I’m glad to see you still have your sense of humour, Colorado.” He drops into the seat beside me. “Station’s not the same without you, you know?”

“And I see you still have yours.” I suppress my smile. My guess is, half the station are probably hoping I don’t come back at all. “Missing me yet?”

He shrugs. “Nah, not really.”

“Well, isn’t Sheriff Asshat a delight ?”

“Ashworth is an asshole. He’s had to deal with The Cobras’ bullshit for so long you’d think he’d be used to it by now. He’s just pissed he has nothing to go on and no evidence to tie what happened today to Lawless. But be careful, okay?”

“Careful?”

He leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “I think you should know that Mayor Watson has been poking around a lot over the last day or so, keeping an eye on Walker, asking questions… The Governor’s also been in town. They’re not happy with the way shit’s been happening. They want to make an example out of someone, and all eyes are pointing to the club. I just don’t want to see you dragged into it. All I’m saying is, be careful, the guys too.” He glances over his shoulder towards the door. “Look, I’ve gotta go but you take care, you hear? Work will still be there when you’re better.”

I smile. “Thanks, Ry.”

He squeezes my shoulder before leaving the room, the door clicking shut behind him.