Page 5 of Love Me Back (Diamond Creek #2)

Grayson

“What the fuck was that?” Carson asked. I could hear the anger in his voice. He was the one I talked to about Jessie. He knew how I felt about her. How much I loved her, despite barely knowing anything about her.

“She doesn’t need to be here.”

It was all I could say. When they learned what the doctor had told me, they would understand.

“Grayson, I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re okay. And how sorry I am that our shit might have knocked on your back door.”

King, the president of the Silver Shadows MC, a club my baby brother was a part of, stood at the foot of my bed. I swear he’d aged years in the last few months.

“I’ve had Banshee and Aspen move back to the clubhouse.”

“That wasn’t necessary, King.” I shook my head. I didn’t know my accident wasn’t a result of the MC in Wyoming, but something inside me told me this was different.

“It was. I can’t continue to put your family at risk. This just proves it.”

“We don’t even know what happened yet,” Hudson remarked.

“Can you tell us what happened, Gray?” Carson asked.

“Thunder and I were doing rounds.” I looked up at Emerson. “Where is Thunder?”

“He’s wandering around the yard. Tonight, we’ll leave the paddock open and his gate. I’ve already put food in his stall, and I’ll sit out there tonight until he wanders in. But he’ll have to wait to be brushed down.”

“He needs to be put down,” Carson mumbled, and I glared at him.

“Don’t fucking shoot my horse; it wasn’t his fucking fault.”

“Gray, tell us what happened.” My baby sister was the peacekeeper. She was always the first to step in when our tempers flared and douse us with her loving manner, like a bucket of ice water.

“Everything was fine. We were patrolling the grounds as we do every day. Thunder became unsettled. He gets like that sometimes when he wants to run, but it was more than that. He was snorting and refusing to move forward. That was when I called Tyson.” I paused and looked at King. “It’s been nice having him home.”

King nodded. He didn’t say much. I knew he told me more than most people outside the club. It was a requirement when he wanted to hide someone on the ranch.

“I turned Thunder around, and I heard a whisper.”

“A whisper?” Addie asked.

“A bullet,” King declared.

I nodded. “Then another hit the ground at Thunder’s feet, and he reared. I was caught off guard, and I slipped off his back. I must have hit my head, ’cause everything went black until I woke up here.”

“When I found you, I thought you were fucking dead.” Tyson’s voice was harsh with emotion.

We were a close family. Losing any one of us would devastate the rest of the family.

“Thunder didn’t leave your side. I won’t let Carson shoot him.

Most horses would have run. But he stayed to protect you.

” He smiled then. “Though I did think I would have to shoot him to get near you.”

“He’s smart; he knew I needed help.” My eyes caught on Tyson’s hand as it rubbed my leg. I couldn’t feel anything. If I hadn’t been watching him, I never would have known he was touching me.

“So someone shot at you?” King asked. “Did you see them?”

“No. I couldn’t see anything.”

“I’ll have Nav go through the Death Dog members and see if any of them are snipers. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I don’t know how they knew Banshee and Aspen were there.”

“We don’t know it had anything to do with the club,” Tyson pointed out.

“You have any other enemies?” King asked, looking at my baby brother.

“Why do you assume it’s the other club?” Addie asked.

King inhaled slowly. I could see his anger rising as he glared at my brother, who refused to look his president in the eye. Carson and I would corner him later when we were alone and find out what the fuck he did to piss off King.

“What did the doctor say?” Hudson asked. He was always the one who got straight to the point. He didn’t sugarcoat things, and he didn’t beat around the bush.

“My head is fine; I have a mild concussion.”

“But...?” Carson hedged.

“But when I fell, I must have landed on something. There is significant swelling in my lower back.”

“What does that mean?” Addie asked. Her voice was quiet. A whisper, as if afraid to hear the answer. I reached over and held her hand.

“I can’t feel my legs.”

“You’re paralyzed?” Emerson asked. He was the one who always asked the obvious questions. He had no filter and let every thought he had slip between his lips without thinking about the repercussions.

“That’s why you made her leave,” Carson grumbled.

“She doesn’t need to be here. She’s made it clear she doesn’t want to be a part of my life. It’s time I let go of the fantasy.”

“Bullshit.”

I glared at Carson. “It’s done.”

“You’re not a fucking martyr.”

“What makes you think she wouldn’t run anyway? She doesn’t want to be with him. He should have given up months ago.”

“You’re an asshole, Ty,” Addie snarled, her arms crossed over her chest. She liked Jessie. She’d told me on more than one occasion I needed to step it up and stop playing games.

I liked her too. In fact, I loved her. I loved her enough not to saddle her with a cripple. I was useless without my legs. Hell, I didn’t know how I would even reach high enough to brush my fucking horse, let alone ride him.

“Is it permanent?” King asked. He was watching quietly as my brothers and sister squawked at each other.

“He doesn’t know. The doctor said, until the swelling goes down, we won’t know if the damage is permanent.”

“This is on me,” he said. I opened my mouth to disagree, but he held up his hand. “This war is my fault. The Silver Shadows owe you a debt. Whatever you need.”

I looked over at Tyson. Shame lit up his face. It was clear he was involved somehow. Not just as a patched brother.

“What did you do?” I asked. His eyes snapped to mine before turning to his president.

“It’s your choice if you want to tell them,” King said to Tyson, then he turned back to me. “I have to get back and let the others know what happened. I meant what I said. You need anything, you call us.”

I nodded. It was easier than arguing. There was nothing we needed from the MC. We had plenty of money and hands to work the ranch while I was down. If my paralysis became permanent, we’d have to reevaluate everything. But until then, I was trying to stay positive.

“What was King talking about?”

Tyson shot Addie a glance before locking his eyes on the bed.

“What the fuck did you two do?” Carson growled.

“It might be better to talk about it at home,” Addie confessed.

Tyson and Addie had spent a lifetime getting into trouble. She might be seven years younger than him, but the two of them had always been co-conspirators together.

“Tell me this has nothing to do with the shooting.” I watched them both as they looked at each other and then looked down. “Goddammit, you two!” I slammed my fist on the bed .

“He was a bad guy, Gray,” she whispered. “A really bad guy.”

“How does that connect to the other MC?” Carson asked.

“I can’t say.”

“But it does?” Tyson nodded.

“You two really stepped in it this time,” Carson said between gritted teeth.

“Don’t let Pops know; he’ll take them out for ice cream,” Hudson said, trying to lighten the mood. It wasn’t working, though.

“Does the sheriff know it was you?” I asked.

“No, King would never tell him that.” He was right. The sheriff was King’s older brother, and the two were very close. But he would never sell out one of his men. He would protect Tyson with his life.

I crossed my arms over my chest. This fucking bed was uncomfortable, and I hoped I wouldn’t be here long. I looked at my baby sister, watching her face for a moment before I asked, “How do you fit into this?”

Her face paled, and she looked up at Tyson with wide eyes.

“Go ahead,” Tyson conceded.

“I etched the guy’s name onto the bullet,” she admitted.

“What the fuck for?” Carson yelled.

I reached over and smacked his chest. “Be quiet, asshole.” After taking a long, deep breath, I looked at my sister. My calm demeanor was waning. “Why?”

“It was Massacre’s idea. He said there was a hitman who did that and it would take the heat off Tyson.”

“And what happens when this hitman finds out you framed him for murder?” Carson growled.

Addie shrugged. “Massacre said he would handle it.”

“Does he know this hit man?” I asked Tyson. His only answer was a shrug.

“I can’t fucking believe you two.” Carson paced around the small room.

His anger was about to boil over if we didn’t find a way to appease him.

He stopped and looked at Tyson. “You killed a man connected to another MC and started a fucking war. You’re the reason Gray is in this fucking bed—the reason he can’t fucking walk. ”

“Carson, stop!” I growled. “It’s not his fault. We don’t even know if it’s connected.”

“You think it’s a coincidence?” Emerson asked.

He had been suspiciously quiet. Em wasn’t known for keeping his thoughts to himself.

“I guess it’s possible. We still don’t know how those women were killed or how they got on the ranch to begin with.

Maybe you stumbled upon a serial killer, and he took a shot at you. ”

And there was the brother we knew.

“Or King was right, and the MC found Aspen and Banshee. We know they were at the ranch to hide; we just don’t know why.”

“No one outside the club—hell, no one outside the officers and a few Golden Skulls—knows I was the one who took the guy out. There is no reason to think the attack on Gray had anything to do with him. It’s more likely it had to do with Aspen and Banshee.”

Nurse Sally came in to check my vitals and shoo my brothers and sister out. She said it was past visiting hours, but I think she could hear us arguing and decided to save me.

Closing my eyes, I laid my head back against the pillow. I needed to go home and take care of my horse.

Jessie’s face flashed behind my eyelids. I had to find a way to take care of her too. I wanted her here. Wanted her to crawl into this bed with me and wrap her arms around me as she laid her head against my chest.

I wanted her to love me the way I loved her.

I knew I was asking a lot, especially after I told her to leave.

But she wasn’t there yet, and that was my fault.

I hadn’t spent enough time seducing her.

There was no way in hell I would saddle her with someone who couldn’t take care of her the way she deserved.

Christ, I didn’t even know if I could get it up. I had no way of knowing how extensive the damage was. The fucking catheter stuck up my dick kept me from knowing if I could even pee on my own. Much less anything else .

No, sending her away was the best decision for her. I would always put her before me. Her happiness was more important, and she would never be happy with a man who couldn’t walk beside her.