Utah (Knights Corruption MC: Laredo #4)

Chapter 3

3

A thundering gunshot rang out. Then another, followed by three more. A bit overkill just to extinguish my life, but as the seconds passed and my heart continued to beat, I slowly realized I hadn’t been the target.

When I snapped my eyes open, my brain was slow to register what was going on around me. I saw both cartel men on the ground several feet in front of me. Dead.

I barely had enough energy to remain upright, the wound to my stomach leaking profusely, but I summoned everything in me and turned my head just in time to see movement to my left.

“Utah!” someone shouted, the ringing in my ears interfering with the sound of the person’s voice. “Utah, are you okay?” A man dropped to his knees beside me and ran his hands over my torso. An involuntary, guttural groan escaped when he touched my stomach. “Sorry, brother.” Knox looked me in the eye as he gingerly inspected me. “Just trying to assess the damage.” He wiped the blood from my brow, but the gash on my forehead was deep .

“He’s dead. Fuck!” Renner yelled beside me as he and Brick bent over to retrieve Crash’s lifeless body.

I hadn’t allowed myself to grieve his death moments earlier because I believed I wouldn’t live long enough to do so. But as my lungs continued to take in air, an ache began to bloom in my chest for our fallen brother.

Crash didn’t deserve what happened to him. He was the most innocent of all of us, barely living long enough to make any major mistakes. His naivety had been his most endearing and, at times, his most annoying quality. He’d been loyal, trustworthy, and an integral part of our club. We’d give him the proper burial he deserved, and I looked forward to exchanging stories about him, if I survived.

The pressure from my wrists being bound disappeared when Knox cut the zip ties. Blood rushed to my hands, and a wave of burning pain ensued. But the feeling was nothing compared to the pain from my stab wound.

“Can you stand?” Knox rose to his feet and tried to help me up, but I was deadweight. I couldn’t muster the energy to move. In fact, I was getting weaker by the second. Brick appeared on my other side, and both men gently lifted me to my feet. I didn’t recognize the sounds coming from me as they led me through the woods and toward a black SUV.

“We got you,” Brick said, gently maneuvering me into the back seat, the rest of my energy depleted as he strapped me in, careful of my injury. “Knox, stay here and watch him. I’ll help Renner with….” His voice trailed off at the end, never saying Crash’s name.

“How… how did you find us?” Uttering those words stole what little vigor I had left.

“The tracker in your watch. Obviously the one on your truck was useless because it’s still at Cloud Nine. And as far as your phones, we tracked them to the side of the highway where they must’ve tossed them. If not for your watch, I don’t know…. We never would’ve….”

As soon as our eyes locked, I nodded in understanding, fully grasping the severity of what could’ve happened to me, what did happen to Crash.

Months ago, Prez had insisted that we put trackers on our bikes, trucks, and phones. His paranoia took it one step further when he had us put them in something we wore daily, such as rings or watches. And it was because of his fear something would happen to one of us that my life was ultimately saved.

Knox stood guard over me while we waited for the guys to come back, his presence offering a small measure of comfort. His stoic expression battled with the pain hiding behind his eyes. A part of me wanted to comfort him but I had to use all my energy just to keep myself alive for as long as I possibly could.

When Brick and Renner finally returned, they carefully placed our brother’s body in the back of the vehicle. The weight of grief settled heavily on my chest as one painful breath after another escaped my lips. Moments later, we headed out of the dense wooded area and back onto the highway.

“No hospital,” I grumbled, my words barely audible.

Knox sat beside me. “I know.”

I had enough gusto to speak one more word. “Ria.”

Again, Knox replied with “I know.”

Every time my eyelids fluttered open, they’d close just as quickly. Voices pierced the air around me, but I couldn’t decipher one from the next. The only thing I was aware of was that I wasn’t dead. Or was I? I barely remained conscious enough to find out for sure.

A stabbing pain in my stomach shoved me into alertness. Groaning, I started to writhe in agony, but I barely managed to move before someone put weight on my shoulders to hold me still.

“Easy, big guy.” I winced as I pried my eyes open. Tag stood over me, his face inches from mine. “You hurtin’?” he asked.

“Wh… what gave it away?” Those four words were the most I’d spoken in what felt like forever.

“Hold on, I think he’s still here.” He released me and took a step back.

“Who?”

“The doctor.”

I pinched my brows together. “Who?”

“Just hold on.”

Tag disappeared from the room, reappearing a minute later with company. The medical bag in his hand gave away who he was, but I had no idea how he’d come to be here.

For a moment, I wasn’t sure where I was, but the recognizable furniture in the room told me I was in one of the back bedrooms of our clubhouse.

“How are you feeling?” the doctor asked, checking my vitals.

“I’ve been better.”

My thoughts immediately drifted to Crash, and a wave of guilt consumed me. He would’ve given anything to be where I was right now, feeling like shit.

He lifted the sheet and pulled back the edge of the bandage on my stomach, inspecting my wound. “You’re gonna be really sore for a bit. Rest up as much as you can. No driving. No vigorous activities. Nothing for at least three weeks, just to be safe. Take it easy. Luckily, none of your organs were damaged, but the wound was deep, and you lost a lot of blood. I’ve given you some to replenish, but it's gonna take time before you’re feeling like your old self.” He jotted something down on his phone before looking back at me. “What’s your pain level on a scale of one to ten?”

My threshold for pain was high, but right now, I felt like a bitch. “Eight.”

“Okay. Looks like your last dose is wearing off. Let’s get you taken care of.” He opened his bag and pulled out a bottle of pills. I didn’t bother to ask what they were as he handed me one, passing me the glass of water from the table beside the bed.

After swallowing, praying the medicine kicked in quickly, I asked, “Who are you?”

“Sorry, I introduced myself yesterday, but you were out of it. I’m Dr. Sanders. I work with Kyla.” I must’ve looked confused because he elaborated with “Knox’s girlfriend.”

I grunted my understanding.

“The doc fixed you up,” Tag said, moving to stand on the other side of the bed. “You were in bad shape. We almost lost you.” His expression fell. “Twice.”

His concern for me was written into every facet of his disheveled state. Strands of his dark hair stood up in the back as if he’d been running his fingers through it repeatedly. His shirt was wrinkled, which was unusual for someone like Tag who took great pride in his appearance. But it was the blend of anger and worry laced behind his eyes that cut like a knife, no pun intended. I could only imagine the fear that he, along with the others, had endured trying to find me and Crash, only to discover one dead and the other on the brink of death.

I tried to shift my weight to find a more comfortable position, but the pain immobilized me.

“I’ll check back on you in a few days to see how you are and to make sure your wound doesn’t get infected.” The doctor looked at Tag. “Is there someone who can change the bandage every day?”

“Yeah, we got it. ”

“Good. I’ll leave what you need here.” He handed Tag the bottle of pills. “He gets one every six hours.” The doc’s eyes veered back to me. “The cut on your temple required six stitches, and you’ll probably have a headache for another day or so, but if anything else happens, if you’re feeling worse, make sure someone calls me. Okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Doc.”

As he headed out of the room, Knox appeared in the doorway. They spoke in hushed tones before he moved toward me. The fake smile plastered on his face indicated one of two things: Sanders said something about me that wasn’t good, and Knox pretended nothing was wrong, or he didn’t like the doctor, and this was his attempt at being civil toward the guy. I rooted for option number two.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, hoping he’d tell me the truth.

We’d just gotten back on speaking terms after he found out I’d been sneaking around with his sister, as well as getting her pregnant, so I didn’t expect much from him in the way of openness. Not yet at least. But I’d give it a try.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. What’s with the fake grin?”

The corners of his mouth fell. “Was it that obvious?”

“Yeah.”

One second passed. Then another before he shrugged and shook his head. “As long as I don’t punch the guy, I’m good.”

Knox had told me about his suspicions concerning Sanders and his woman, Kyla. And when he found out for sure that her boss was interested in her, he almost lost his shit. But Kyla told him nothing happened between them and not to worry about it, to trust her.

I was in a similar situation because I had suspicions about Ria’s coworker, Will. He liked her, and even though I knew without a doubt she had no interest in him, I still wanted to strangle the guy every time I saw him. So, I empathized with Knox a thousand percent.

“Obviously I couldn’t go to a hospital because the police would get involved, and that’s the last thing our club needs right now. So, I appreciate you putting everything aside and contacting Sanders to help.”

“Well, I asked Kyla to call him.”

“Same thing.”

“I wasn’t about to let my pride endanger your life, brother. Not to mention, I’d have to deal with Ria if anything happened to you and I could’ve prevented it.” His smile returned but fell quickly, his tentative expression confusing me. “Speaking of, she’s here and she wants to see you. Are you okay with that?”

“Are you okay with it?” I asked, parroting his question.

“I’m getting there. Besides, we’re gonna be family soon, right? And to be honest, for as much as I wanted to hate you forever, I missed you.”

“Do you two wanna be alone?” Tag asked, taking a step toward the door.

“Fuck you,” Knox and I replied simultaneously.

“You know what I mean,” Ria’s brother added.

“I do. Me too.”

“Seriously, I think I should give you two some time to—”

My previous two-word response rested on my lips but evaporated the moment my gaze met Ria’s. She stood in the doorway, uncertain if she should enter.

“I’ll talk to you guys later,” I said without taking my eyes off her.

Tag and Knox didn’t utter a word as they walked past the woman I never thought I’d see again.