Page 5 of Unmasked Anarchy (Fallen Sons MC #3)

"I don’t have a guess," I say, because it’s all I am willing to give right now. "It was a job. Nothing personal. The kind of thing you send when you want to send a message and don’t care who dies to do it.”

He grunts. "What’s your club goin’ to do about it?"

I snort.

A joke, maybe. Or maybe he knows, even before I do, that Gage isn’t going to move heaven and earth for a wife who crawled her way back to the road with her insides hanging out. The club will be far more focused on who did it and how to stop them than they will about any kind of revenge for me.

"Gage isn’t worried, not about me, anyway,” I force out, crossing my hands over my middle. "He isn’t wired that way. He thinks it’s noise, someone trying to rattle the cage—his focus will be on stopping that and nothing more."

Kael rubs his jaw, and I notice old bruises on his knuckles. Another day as a biker, I suppose. "That why you looked so spooked when he walked in? You think it was him?"

My chest tightens, but the question is honest, not cruel.

For a second, I wish I was the sort of woman who could just lie to both men, keep each one in the dark, stay safe forever.

But I’m not. The weight of the truth presses down on me, a constant reminder of the tangled web I’m caught in.

I’ve never been good at deception, never mastered the art of weaving stories to protect myself.

"No. If he wanted me dead, he'd do it himself."

The room is thin with silence. Kael leans back, his face twisting with something I can’t read, maybe disgust, maybe pity.

"So, this ain’t about you at all," he says after a minute. "You’re just collateral."

I want to laugh. Of course I am. Aren’t we all?

I don’t respond.

"Maybe you don’t know the full story, Sable," he says, low. "Maybe you should try to remember more. You see a ring, a sleeve, gloves. You hear two voices. You get stabbed and left for dead in a place where someone would eventually find you, not a spot where no one would ever look."

His words claw their way inside. I feel my heart try to punch through my chest. I shake my head, but flashes come anyway. I clench my eyes shut, forcing them down, not wanting to remember a single moment of that horror again.

I can’t keep this conversation going.

It’s too risky. Too dangerous.

“Look, Kael—” I bite down a groan, shifting to prop myself up on my good side. “—you really shouldn’t be here.” Every hiss of pain in my gut reminds me exactly whose name is inked over Gage’s heart—claimed and branded—and what he’s capable of if he ever thinks he’s been slighted.

Kael leans closer, dropping his voice to a low rumble. “I’m not scared of your old man, darlin’, or his security outside. I came back for a reason.” Something in his face softens for a breath before hardening again. “You nearly died. You think I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t see what I saw?”

I choke on a laugh. “I think if you want to keep breathing you should piss off while you still can.”

I am half teasing, but there is a hint of firmness in my words.

For a second, his gaze snaps with challenge, like I’ve just handed him a dare. “He doesn’t scare me,” he says, his eyes unwavering “But you, darlin’. You do.”

My mouth goes dry, and I shift, yanking a little too hard at the sheets. I can’t be doing this. I can’t. “Could you call my nurse?” I ask, avoiding his eyes. “I need some help walking to the bathroom and I need to pee.”

He stands so fast the chair rocks, holding out one of those big hands.

I stare at him, horrified.

“No.”

He smiles, a small tip of his lips that has my heart doing silly things in my chest.

“I ain’t callin’ the nurse when I’m right here. I’ll wait outside.”

I bite my lip, staring at him.

He keeps his hand out.

I take it and let him anchor my weight as he pulls me upright. We’re both careful, but it’s still agony, and I clench my jaw so tightly my teeth ache. Kael steadies me at the elbow, and when the hospital gown slips, it’s him who tugs the shoulder back up, covering me without thought.

He’s so close I can smell him, and I have to close my eyes for a second to focus on the task at hand.

We make it to the bathroom, and I catch my reflection, my hair is a mess, my skin pale. I look like a ghost. God, is this what he is seeing? Kael sets me down on the closed toilet, holding my wrist while I catch my breath, refusing to let go even though we both know how fucked this is.

“You gonna make it?” he murmurs.

I nod, teeth grinding. “Yes. I have suffered enough humiliation catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I don’t need you to see me pee. We’re still on a first name basis.”

He grins, and the sight has my breath catching in my throat. Then, he leaves. I exhale loudly. It takes me a long time to manage to pee, straighten myself, and wash my hands. I also splash water on my face, running my fingers through my tangled hair as if that will make a difference.

When I finish, he’s waiting just outside the door.

He threads my arm through his, slow enough to not rip anything open, steering me gently back to my bed.

Once I’m in, he pulls a comb out of the inside of his jacket and steps closer.

I stare at him, eyes wide with shock and horror.

“Firstly, why do you have a comb. Secondly, what are you doing with it?”

A low chuckle. “I got hair, in case you didn’t notice, though I’m cuttin’ it off today because it’s a pain in my fuckin’ ass, and I’m goin’ to brush yours. Now turn your head.”

“I still don’t even know your last name,” I protest.

He chuckles. “Ashford. Now lean forward.”

I press my lips together and do as he asks. Using his fingers and the comb, he gently runs it through my hair, smoothing out the tangles. My skin is on fire with every touch, and I’m holding my breath, desperate for this to go on forever and also to end, because I can’t handle how it makes me feel.

When he’s done, he places the comb down on my lap. “Keep it, I won’t need it anymore.”

Why can’t I breathe properly?

What is this man doing to me?

“I gotta run,” he murmurs, offering me a small smile.

I swallow. “Don’t come back,” I whisper. “If Gage finds you here, I don’t know what he’ll do. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

He leans in, and my breath hitches. He smells so god damned good. “I’m coming back,” he says. “You can’t scare me off that easy, Sable. I found you for a reason.”

“Trust me. I’m not worth it. If you’re smart, you’ll disappear.” But he just keeps looking at me, and I know he’s already made up his mind.

“That’s up to me to decide.”

Then, he turns and leaves without another word. I watch his broad shoulders vanish around the corner. The moment he’s gone, the air in the room changes. I sink into the bed and pull the sheet up to my chin, closing my eyes and praying this doesn’t go bad like I fear it will.

A low grunt outside the door. Regg. He’s been hovering since sunrise, probably eavesdropping while pretending to read a week-old sports mag. He glares at me from the door, thick jaw clenched, then tips his head toward the now-empty corridor. “Not a good idea.”

I shrug, pretending exhaustion. “He saved my life and is the reason I’m here. He was just checking in.”

“Yeah. Gage’ll want to know he came back. Nice patch, too. Fallen Sons, took some of our business a while back. Ain’t a good mix. You’d want to keep away from him.”

It won’t be long before word trickles back to Gage. Nothing stays secret here. My hands won’t stop shaking. Maybe from the painkillers, maybe from the knowledge that I’ve set something in motion that can’t be taken back.

All I can do is lie here and wait for the storm. If I’m lucky, maybe it’ll kill me the next time.

If not, I don’t know what comes after that.