Page 41 of Ash (Dragon Riders MC 3)
Waiting for my triumph to happen.
“All right. But he gets ten minutes to look her over before she’s back in that car. Got it?” David asked.
I nodded. “He’s so good he won’t even need ten minutes. Right, Knuckles?”
“Right, Ash.”
David sighed. “You stay on the ground, Hannah. You got it?”
She sniffled. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
It broke my heart to hear her so defeated. But the plan worked. David eased off her back and stood up, and I ushered for Knuckles to head for her. I kept my eyes on her ex as he stood at her feet, clutching that knife much too tightly in his hand.
And then, I waited.
Knuckles got down onto the ground. “Her pupils are dilated.”
I nodded. “Anything else?”
He checked her face. “She’s got an eye that’s swollen shut. Pretty bruised. She’s also clutching her stomach. I’d say either her ribs or nausea. And if it’s nausea, that could mean a concussion.”
David wiggled his knife around. “Nine minutes.”
“Knuckles?” I asked.
He looked up at me. “Yeah?”
“If David moves her, will she be okay?”
His eyes searched mine. “She might puke on him, but yes.”
I nodded. “David?”
He looked at me. “Eight minutes.”
My eyes found his. “Fuck you.”
He paused. “What?”
Hannah cried out in pain on the ground as Knuckles pulled her further away from David. And as her ex’s eyes fell to her moving body, I slung my bow around. I plucked an arrow from the canister on my back just as he tried to reach for her, quickly taking aim. I focused on his left shoulder. Knuckles scooped Hannah up as David scrambled to get to the man. And as I pivoted with his movements, I got a clear shot of his shoulder blade.
“Sly? Take out his knees,” I said.
He drew his gun. “On three.”
I nodded. “One. Two…”
I released my arrow just as Sly popped off two shots. And like a dead tree, David careened to the ground. With my arrow jutting out of his shoulder, I watched him drop the knife. He crunched to the ground, probably breaking his nose as his legs caved from beneath him. Hannah cried as Knuckles raced her over to his bike. I slid my bow back across my body and took off for them, hoping and praying that Hannah understood what happened.
“Hannah!”
I skidded to a stop as Knuckles laid her on the ground.
“Hannah. It’s me. Can you hear me?”
She opened her good eye. “A bitch? Really? You had to go that far?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m just glad you don’t hate me.”
She cupped my cheek. “I could never hate you, Ash.”
I nuzzled against her palm. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
She giggled. “You’ll be cooking me a lot of dinners, though. I hope you know that.”
Knuckles chuckled beside me and I couldn't contain myself. I bent down and captured her lips, despite the cut that had already scabbed over on her upper one. Our tongues fell together, and my soul took flight, as if the final missing piece of my own personal life puzzle had fallen into place. I blocked out the groaning and cursing of David. I scooped Hannah into my arms and walked her over to my bike. And as I swung my leg over, cradling her next to me, I heard Link on the phone.
Talking to local police and telling them where to find this asshole of a human being we just took down.
“You know I didn’t mean any of that stuff, right?” I asked.
She giggled. “Even if you did, I know you said what you did out of worry for me. Thank you for being strong enough to do what you had to do.”
I kissed her forehead. “Ready to get the hell out of here?”
She sighed. “I might need a doctor first. He clocked me pretty good in my head, and I’ve been sick to my stomach ever since.”
Link patted my shoulder. “There’s an ambulance on the way if you want to wait.”
I peered over my shoulder. “Thank you for not killing me on the spot.”
He grinned. “Don’t worry. You’ll be cooking me some dinners, too.”
All of us had a good laugh at that before I gazed back down at Hannah.
“What do you want? An ambulance ride to the hospital or a ride with me?”
She smiled. “Why don’t you drive me to the nearest hospital? Then, I get the best of both worlds.”
I nodded. “That, I can most certainly accommodate, beautiful.”16HannahThe doctor clicked on his pocket light. “Open wide.”
I stuck my tongue out as he examined down the back of my throat.
“Well? You see anything?” Ash asked.
The doctor chuckled. “This is just preliminary. We’re going to want to hold her for some tests just to make sure there’s nothing going on like internal bleeding or anything.”
I blinked. “What?”
The doctor gripped my chin. “No talking.”
Ash interjected. “You think she’s got bleeding inside of her?”
