Page 1 of Break Away (Riot MC Next Generation #2)

Chapter one

Lean on Me for Once

Alexandra

Feeling nothing but dread, bone-wracking shakes, and an impatience to leave the hospital, I stared at the contacts on my cell phone.

Any other time, I’d call Mom without a second thought. This was different, though. It might bother her.

God knew, it bothered me.

I had to call Dad instead. Calling him should be a no-brainer, but his over-protectiveness would go into overdrive.

Deep down, I wanted to call Rafferty, but this felt like too much to ask of him. And he’d probably lose his mind. Or he wouldn’t care at all. It could go either way with us.

Nope, calling him would be a bad idea.

After a deep breath, I focused on the screen. My hands weren’t shaking quite as violently as they had been.

“Did you get a hold of anyone, miss?” a nurse asked, peeking around the curtain.

I held up my phone. “Doing that now.”

She gave me a bland smile, nodded, and walked away.

I hit Dad’s contact, then I put the phone to my ear.

“Hey, Lex, it’s Blood. Your dad got a call for a last minute issue at a new construction home. He left his phone and he’s out at the job site.”

Great.

“Is everything good?” Blood asked.

“Not really,” I muttered.

“What do you mean? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. There was an accident, and I need a ride.” I hesitated. “I’ll call Mom and hope it doesn’t trigger her.”

Blood’s tone turned steely. “Were you drinking?”

I tipped my head back. “No, I wasn’t. I was a passenger. Ines was driving, but the other driver was drowsy, which they say is as bad as driving drunk.”

“I’ll send a prospect to get you.”

“I’m in Georgia, Blood.”

Without missing a beat, he said, “Then I’ll send Rafferty. He’s on his way back from our Memphis chapter and should be in Georgia right now.”

I bit my lower lip. “No, no. Don’t do that. I’ll figure out something else.”

“He isn’t on his bike, sweetheart. We made him drive up there in a cage out of spite, because it’s hard to beat riding the open road during the month of May. I’ll text you when I find out where he is.”

Should have called Mom after all.

“Okay. Thanks, Blood.”

“I'm glad you’re all right, sweet girl.”

An ER doctor with striking gray eyes assessed the side of my head. “Wearing your seatbelt saved your life. I hope you know that.”

I pressed my lips together and barely nodded, since he still had his hand at my neck. “Do you know if the others will be all right?”

He shook his head. “I’m not supposed to share that information, and it’s too soon to tell right now. They should have been wearing their seatbelts.”

I swallowed and wiggled my nose to fight off tears.

His hand left my neck and he stepped back a pace. “There’s some bruising forming where the side airbag hit you. Take ibuprofen if it’s sore, but otherwise, we’ll get you discharged.”

My eyes slid to the side and back to him. “Any idea when I’ll stop shaking? Every time I think it’s done, another wave comes over me.”

Those gray eyes held compassion. “That’s shock, and everyone’s different. It should wear off in time. If it doesn’t, come back to the emergency room.”

I lifted my chin in a slow nod. “What about the police? I thought they had questions.”

He tucked a pen into his shirt pocket and nodded. “Yes, they do. I’m not sure where the officer is, but don’t leave without speaking to someone.”

The EMTs at the scene had given me a blanket. I gathered it tighter around me and nodded. “It’ll be a while before my ride gets here, so that won’t be a problem.”

A nurse whipped the curtain open soon after the doctor left. “I don’t have your discharge paperwork yet, but we need the bed. Let me take you to the waiting room; we’ll get your discharge papers to you shortly.”

I followed her, wearing the blanket like a cape. I stopped mid-way to a row of chairs when the sliding glass doors opened and Rafferty stormed inside.

Under the best circumstances, I had to brace myself for being around him.

It made no sense because we’d grown up together.

I used to see him every day… then we went out of our way to avoid each other.

Now, we continued to keep our distance. I stayed away because he’d become a man and every time I saw him, I swore he became more everything.

More muscles, more height, more broody. He also had more facial hair, that I wasn’t sure I preferred, but today, seeing his fuller, darker beard sent a warm tingle through me.

A chain attached to his wallet bobbed against his leg as he strode toward me. His jeans were so faded, I knew they would be soft to the touch. I closed my eyes and gave a tiny head-shake because this was no time to think about touching Rafferty’s legs - no matter how much I wanted that.

Over the past few years, it seemed he’d put effort into avoiding me.

My best guess was that he held a grudge, though, right now, that didn’t seem to be the case.

He scanned me from top to toe. The concern shining from his dark brown eyes made me yearn for things to be different between us. But that was a pipe dream.

“Lex, are you all right?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Is he your ride?” the nurse asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Wait for your paperwork before you leave, and Officer Peterson needs to have a word with you, too.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, as Rafferty drew even with us.

She gestured toward the chairs. “Have a seat.”

I sat and pulled the scratchy blanket tighter around my neck.

Rafferty stared down at me. “You sure you’re all right? You don’t look too good.”

The last few hours were catching up with me. I was hanging on by a frayed thread.

“I’m okay. I’m sorry I messed up your Sunday, and I’m sure you had—”

He squatted in front of me, planting his strong hands on my knees. “Stop. You didn’t mess up anything, Lex. I just want to get you out of here.”

I grimaced. “I think it’s going to be a while. A police officer needs to speak with me, and I don’t have my discharge papers. It’d be good to find out about Ines and the others.”

He nodded. “It’s fine, Lex. You want me to get you a coffee? Something to eat?”

Yeah, I should have called Mom, because him being this nice to me was killing me.

For the last few years, Rafferty and I put up with one another. If we were in the same space, I kept my distance like a moon orbiting a planet. He preferred it that way.

I didn’t need coffee or food. I needed a hug, and a shoulder to cry on, but with our mangled past, I wouldn’t get that from him.

“No, thanks,” I whispered.

With a sigh, he stood, and then sat next to me.

He settled his arm on my shoulders, pulling me toward him.

“You don’t have to—”

“Shut up, Lex. You’re shaking like a fucking leaf, and freaking me out.” His chest rose and he exhaled slow and steady. “Just lean on me for once, all right?”

After a beat, I rested my head on his shoulder. The frayed thread snapped and I let my tears stream quietly down my cheeks.

Rafferty’s hand on my shoulder squeezed. “I’m sure Porter will be fine. Did you ask how he’s doing?”

“They wouldn’t tell me.”

“Didn’t you tell them you’re his girlfriend?”

Strange how I knew from afar what was going on with him, but he obviously didn’t know anything about my life.

I blew out a breath. “He broke things off a few months ago. The only reason he came along was because we bought the concert tickets back in January, and I guess he couldn’t find anyone to buy his ticket.”

Rafferty’s fingers traced along my jawline and he tilted my face up. “I thought you were moving in with him.”

I pressed my lips together and gave a short head shake. “Nope. Things didn’t work out, and he’s transferring to a college up north so he can help with the family business.”

Raff’s dark brown eyes stayed locked on me. I couldn’t tell what was working behind them. Then he schooled his expression. “He’s a moron.”

“Wouldn’t you put family first?” I asked.

“That’s what I’m doing right now.”

That felt like a bucket of ice water on our conversation. Rafferty and I were always on different pages. If I was family, then he clearly thought of me as a sister. I blinked and tried to pull away from him, but he held firm.

His eyes widened. “Lex, you’re still shaking. Let me hold you.”

Someone loudly cleared their throat and we looked in that direction. Porter stood near the nurses’ station with his arm in a sling and a bandage on his forehead.

He trudged closer. “Should have known you’d call him. You talked about—”

I leaned away. Raff let me go, but kept his hand on my back. After the crazy morning, I forced myself to ask, “Are you all right, Porter?”

Porter’s blue eyes darted from me, to Rafferty, and back to me. “Yeah. Ready to put this shitty day behind me. Was gonna offer you a ride, but it looks like you’re covered.”

“She is,” Rafferty said, his hand clamping on my shoulder near my neck.

I turned to him, but he and Porter were having a stare-down.

What was that about?

I looked to Porter. He stopped staring at Rafferty and looked at me. “Be well, Lexi.” His snide tone negated any semblance of actual well-wishes.

As I watched him walk to the exit, Rafferty gently pulled me back into his hold.

“Lexi,” he said with a scoff.

I kept quiet.

“You let him call you that?”

I glanced down the opposite end of the corridor. “For a little while. I wanted to try something new.”

“Alexandra Robertson,” a nurse called.

I stood along with Rafferty and went to the counter.

She handed me my discharge papers and tilted her head to the side. “There’s a small office to the right, here. Officer Peterson is waiting for you there. When you’re done with him, you’re free to go.”

I stepped out of the small office with a pounding headache forming behind my eye. It was most likely because of the car crash, but my mounting frustration also might have been a culprit. Reading between the lines of Officer Peterson’s questions, Porter and Brantley had blamed me for the accident.

Rafferty shoved his bulky body off the wall where he’d been leaning next to the doorway. “You’re done?”

“Yeah, but I’d like to check on Ines.”

His lips quirked to one side like he didn’t want to speak. “Doubt you’re going to be able to. She’s in ICU.”

“How do you know that?”

Another brother, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to read him, but I knew most of Rafferty’s tells. The way his eyes slid side to side, he really didn’t want to tell me anything.

He dragged a hand down his face, his fingers pulling at his short beard.

“This accident opened my eyes. I didn’t know what to expect coming in here, and I heard a man on his phone say ‘She’s gone into ICU.

’ I thought he might be talking about you, but before I could turn to ask him, he said the name Ines.

It isn’t cool of me to say this, but I’ve never felt so relieved. ”

My chest seized up like a heavy weight sat on me. “Well, let’s get up there. I can’t leave her if she’s in ICU.”

His lips pressed into a hard line for a beat. “I knew you’d say that, so while you were in there with the cop, I asked a nurse about visiting. She said family only, and she was a real bitch about it.”

I lifted my chin in a slow nod, then shrugged. “I don’t care. I’m going to see if I can sweet talk someone into letting me see her.”

Twenty minutes later, Rafferty and I exited the hospital into the thick, Southern Georgia humidity. The glare of the late-morning sun intensified my headache.

Rafferty grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers.

My gaze darted from our hands to his profile. “Why are you holding my hand?”

He stayed focused on the parking lot. “To remind myself you’re still here and in one piece.”

“That’s sweet, but as you can see, I’m fine.”

Rafferty stopped us at the bumper of his beat-up Nissan Titan. My eyes darted to his gleaming silver motorcycle strapped down in the truck bed. I wondered if Blood knew he’d done that… then I thought better of it. Very little slipped past Blood.

Rafferty’s words cut into my thoughts. “I’m not sweet and you know it.”

I pulled my hand back.

He held firm.

“Then you can let go,” I said.

Something shone in his eyes again - it wasn’t concern this time - it was something I couldn’t figure out. “Not until I get you in the truck.”

My seatbelt locked with a snick. I glanced up at Rafferty when he angled into the driver’s seat and closed his door. “Thanks for picking me up. I really appreciate it.”

He stared at me and kept quiet for a long moment. Long enough to make me nervous. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked finally.

“Yeah. They told me I’d be sore tomorrow, but I’m still concerned about Ines and Brantley.”

“Is that her boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you concerned about him?”

I glanced out the window. “I don’t know, he…”

“He what?” Rafferty demanded, in a stern tone Dad would have admired.

I turned my face toward him. “Chill out, Raff. He seemed a little extra for this trip.” I pressed my lips together and shrugged. “Maybe it’s my imagination since I can’t put my finger on exactly what bothered me.”

Rafferty’s brows shot up. “What do you mean, ‘He seemed a little extra’?”

I rubbed my index and middle finger along my forehead. “I don’t know, he convinced Ines to change her mind about things and do things she normally wouldn’t do.”

“What kind of things?”

I sighed. “Things that… it sounds crazy, but things that she’d have said no to just weeks ago. But I could be misreading the situation.”

Rafferty shoved the key in the ignition, but didn’t start the truck. “I’ll take your word for it, but I always listen to my gut when it’s trying to tell me something.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. It’s the reason I asked the officer about Brantley’s condition, and he said Brantley had been discharged and left already. That seems pretty callous - especially since Ines is in ICU.”

“Maybe he got the same run-around that nurse gave you. He isn’t family, there’s not much point sticking around.”

I narrowed an eye at him. “Do you really believe that? Would you leave if I were in ICU?”

His head tilted a bit. “No, but I wouldn’t tell the whole truth either.”

“Right,” I whispered.

He nodded. “You ready to go? Or do you want to stick around here and see if a different nurse will be more lenient?”

I’d met Ines’s parents outside ICU, and we’d exchanged numbers.

They told me they’d call if there was news.

The more I considered it, even with a shift change I didn’t think I’d get in to see her anytime soon.

I took a deep breath. The thought of getting back on the interstate made me uneasy, but I’d have to face that irrational fear regardless.

“Yeah, as ready as I’ll ever be.”