Sweet relief sweeps through me when we finally cross into Empire County. Wrath takes us through the winding, country roads and the left over tension from the fight ebbs away.

Teller and Murphy are suddenly on either side of us. Just seeing that they've broken formation is enough to make me tense right back up.

"The fuck?" Wrath shouts.

For a brief second my gaze collides with Teller's and he shakes his head.

The revving of an engine behind us, makes me turn around. There's an SUV bearing down on Z. Rock's only slightly ahead.

Fuck.

Z swerves to the side and lets the SUV pass, but it keeps pressing Rock and Hope to the edge of the road.

"Hold on," Wrath shouts.

The SUV bears down on us. My heart jumps, terrified something happened to Rock.

Something definitely taps our rear tire and we swerve, but Wrath keeps us upright. A scream tears out of me.

"Fuck!"

Glancing down is terrifying. Light glints off the giant SUV bumper bearing down on us. I almost want to reach out and push it away. But at the last second I pull back, knowing that's a good way to lose a hand.

It taps us again, pushing us to the side. The bike jerks to the right. The rear end slides out and I brace for contact with the pavement. Then we're flying through the air and bouncing down the slight hill. I hold my breath as my stomach flips. My arms cling to Wrath as long as possible, but we're thrown from the bike. There's a horrible crunch and snap of metal.

I'm blinking up at the black sky. It's pretty and I wonder if I've fallen asleep outside the clubhouse.

Shots echo in the air and I guess the guys are at the gun range? But that doesn't make any sense because it's dark.

I blink and sit up. The throbbing in my head explodes and I sit there dazed taking in my surroundings.

Ahead of me, I hear Wrath groan.

Okay. Not at the clubhouse.

Woods.

"Trin?"

"I'm here."

I can't stand yet. Nothing's broken, but my knees have turned to jelly. I turn and crawl over the cold, wet ground.

A short, startled scream tears out of me when I find Wrath and scramble to his side.

"Wyatt?"

He groans.

More shots echo through the night.

"Don't move."

Reaching down, I yank the Glock from my ankle holster. Miraculously it stayed put.

"Wrath?" I hate leaving him unprotected, but he's not conscious enough to take the gun.

I get my legs under me and stagger forward.

Ahead there's rustling. I almost sob with relief when I hear Rock's voice. Tears roll over my cheeks when I finally see him.

"Where is he, Trinny?"

My hand jerks behind me. "He's not moving, Rock. It's bad."

More gunfire above us. "Stay low," Rock whispers.

Wrath's groaning when we get to his side and I'm so relieved, I burst into tears.

"Stay quiet, man," Rock says, as he puts a hand on Wrath's chest. He turns and eyes Hope. "Hope, what did you do with the gun?"

"It's in my pocket."

His jaw tightens. "Give it to Trinity."

Before I can open my mouth and say I already have one, Hope's shoving the weapon in my hands. On autopilot, I rack a bullet into the chamber.

"Stay with him," Rock says to both of us.

I glance down at Wrath once more. The best thing I can do right now is keep him safe.

What the ever-loving fuck? Loud groaning is coming from somewhere nearby. My head throbs. My leg's on goddamn fire. I'm cold. I'm wet. Everything hurts.

The person groaning in pain is me.

Someone squeezes my hand, further bringing me awake.

"Shh, honey, it's okay."

Hope?

"My leg."

Something brushes over my face. In the background I hear gunfire and panic tightens my chest.

"Trin!?"

"Right here, Wyatt," she answers.

Thank God.

I need to get to her, but I can't seem to make any of my body parts work. Something presses against my chest keeping me down. I almost laugh when I realize it's Hope.

"Wrath, don't. You could have something broken. Plus, there are still guys shooting at us," she says in a rush.

Fuck. "Prez?"

"He's okay."

Christ, I'm doin' a shit job protecting my president and my girl.

I blink and Hope's anxious face fills my vision. Her hand's wrapped around mine and I squeeze it tighter. "It's gonna be okay, Hope."

She bites her bottom lip and nods, then meets my eyes.

"This is why I been tryin' to push you away, Cinderella. So you don't get hurt."

She tears up. "Wrath," she sighs.

I can't keep my eyes open any longer, but I hang onto her hand. Vaguely, I'm aware of her running her hands over me. Checking for injuries, I guess-seems like an inappropriate time for her to cop a feel.

She touches my leg and I suck down a scream.

"I think it's broken," she chokes out.

"No shit."

Her hand touches whatever stings on my head.

"Ow, fuck. Watch it."

"Sorry," she whispers.

I grab her other hand to keep her from poking at any more injuries.

"I don't know what to do," she sobs and I feel fucking horrible for putting her in danger.

"Just keep holding my hand. My leg really fucking hurts."

"Okay," she answers, so soft I almost don't hear her.

I must black out again. I'm aware that I'm freezing. Something covers my chest. Hope's hands rub over me. Fucking girl has to be terrified, but she hasn't left my side.

Someone else presses against me.

"Honey, you're shivering." I recognize Rock's voice. I try to ask him if he's whole and find out what happened, but I can't force any words out.

"Afraid he's going into shock. He needs an ambulance bad," Hope says.

"A driver stopped. He's calling 911. That's what finally chased those fuckers off."

"His leg, Rock. And his head."

Someone shines a light over my face and pain stabs my eyes.

"Get that outta my face," I mumble.

"Well, his personality is fine," Z jokes. Z. Fuck, I'm thankful he's okay.

"Fuck off," I grumble. He laughs. Fucker.

Sirens. Thank fuck.

I don't have to open my eyes to know my girl's on my other side. "You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah." Thank God. The temperature must be dropping, 'cause I'm fuckin' freezing.

So fucking cold.

Other than what the doctor said was a mild concussion, I'm fine. Wrath's in surgery and no one will tell us a thing. I'm released, with instructions to rest. I don't get far. Rock finds me and leads me to the waiting room.

As soon as Teller spots me, he rushes over. "You all right?" he asks, pulling me against him.

"Yeah," I mumble into his shirt. I'm so frickin' tired.

"Fuck that scared the shit out of me," Teller says. Whether he's talking to Rock or me, I'm not sure. My body sways and Teller grips me tighter.

"Come on. Let's sit down."

The guys sit on either side of me, while Rock and Z talk in the hallway.

"Wrath's bulletproof, Trin. He's gonna be okay," Murphy says, giving my hand a squeeze.

My head bobs up and down, because I think it's expected of me. Rock and Z seem to be finishing up whatever they're talking about, so I wander out to see if they've heard anything.

Rock holds out his arm and I don't hesitate to take shelter against him. He hugs me tight and I inhale a shaky breath. Not only had I been scared for myself, and Wrath, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to Rock. I choke out a sob-snort noise and Rock squeezes me tighter.

"He's gonna be okay, Trinny. He's a fighter down to his marrow," Rock says.

"I know."

The doctor comes over to talk to Rock and he passes me off to Z who hugs me. "Why, Z? Why would someone do that to us?" I sniffle into his shirt.

His hold on me tightens. "I don't fuckin' know, girl."

We are after all, in the middle of the hospital. And even though the only people around are Kings, I keep my voice low. "I get it. But they had to see Hope and-"

"Fucking cowards." He pushes me back and stares me down. "We're gonna handle it, Trin. Promise you that."