Chaos Bound (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #4)(25)

“And I can’t see why you’re going to risk your life for someone you barely know,” Ally snapped. “I like him. And I know you like him, but maybe you’re just rebounding after finding out about Maurice. Holt’s an outlaw biker. There are lots of hot guys out there who won’t drag you back into the biker life you’ve been running from all these years or get you killed.”

Naiya scrubbed her hand over her face, torn between the man who had helped her escape and held her in his arms so they could share their pain, and the fierce survival instinct that had kept her alive when she had no one to care for her.

Run. Run. Run. But she couldn’t run and leave him to die. Not just because she felt a moral obligation to save him, but also because she felt a connection with him. When she’d curled up on the bed with his strong arms around her, she felt safe in a way she hadn’t been since her grandmother died. She liked how he hadn’t laughed at her quirks, and how he’d wanted to share her pain. Holt wasn’t like any of the bikers she knew, and that alone was reason enough to help him. But dammit, there was no time to plan.

“Do you have something in your medical kit that will knock him out fast?” The words came out before she could catch them, uncharacteristically impulsive, driven by desperation and a desire to help the man who had helped her.

Ally’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “I brought a sedative just in case he was difficult. It’s an intramuscular injection. But it might take a few minutes to work. How will you get him to stand still?”

“Just give it to me.”

The rumble of motorcycles grew louder, and Naiya’s heart drummed in her chest. She never did anything without a plan. But Holt was a stubborn man, and she wasn’t going to change his mind by banging heads with him. If there was ever a time for a rash decision, this was it. She needed to throw aside her calm, ordered, controlled life and live a little to save a life.

Ally fished around in her medical kit. She quickly prepared a syringe and Naiya palmed the needle just as Holt and Doug joined them outside the door.

“Come with us, Holt. Please.” She gave him what she hoped was a beseeching look, praying he would make the right decision instead of forcing her hand.

“I’m not going anywhere when there are Jacks about. I got a mission. You gotta survive. Now go.”

She slid the needle between her fingers until her thumb was on the plunger. Then she slid one hand around his neck and pulled him down toward her. “Do I get a kiss good-bye?”

Holt’s gaze fell to her mouth. “Naiya…”

She licked her lips and leaned closer, so close she could feel the heat of his breath. “Please.”

He leaned in, and she jammed the needle into his tattooed arm and pushed the plunger.

With a roar of anger, Holt shoved her away, ripping out the syringe. “What the f*ck? What the f*ck did you do?” He came at her, backing her up against the wall, and for the first time since she met him, she felt truly afraid.

“I’m sorry.” She held out her hands in a placating gesture. “It will just make you sleep. They’ll kill you, Holt. I can’t let you die so soon after you got out of that dungeon.”

His handsome face twisted into a curious mask of rage and despair, disbelief and betrayal. “Fuck, Naiya. This was all I wanted. A chance to get back at the Jacks.”

“You want Viper,” she said, struggling to keep her voice firm as the veins in his neck throbbed. “You know he won’t come out on a mission like this. He’s back at the clubhouse, and you won’t get your revenge if you die now.”

He reached for her, his hands just brushing the sides of her neck before he staggered back and into Doug’s chest.

“Christ.” His gaze never left hers as he struggled to stay upright. “You shouldn’t have…” His eyes closed, and Doug caught him as he fell.

“That was so wrong.” Doug heaved Holt over one shoulder. “So damn wrong. A man has the right to choose his own destiny. You can’t take that choice from him.”

“His destiny isn’t to die right now before he gets what he really wants,” Naiya bit out, surprising herself with the conviction in her tone. “Now let’s get him to the car.”

Naiya and Ally supported Holt’s other side and they carried him to the passageway that led to the back of the motel.

“He was a prisoner for three months.” She heaved in a breath as she tried to take more of Holt’s weight. “He’s not thinking straight. He has no chance against a bunch of Jacks alone, barely able to walk, and with only one gun and no ammo. I won’t stop him from going after them and having his revenge. But not now.”

“I wouldn’t want to be you when he wakes up.” Doug tossed the keys to Ally and she opened the passenger door of their sporty green SUV. “I’ll take you up to my brother’s cabin. It’s only a few hours away and very isolated. We can pick up some food along the way. No one will find you there. Ally and I will stick around until he wakes up. Run interference.”

“No. I want you guys as far away from me as possible,” Naiya said as they eased Holt into the vehicle. “If anything happened to you, I couldn’t bear it. I made this choice. I’ll pay the price.”





SEVEN