“You’re hurt,” he whispers. “Christ, Lana, whoever did this to you is going to wish they were dead.”
I shiver at the intensity of his voice.
“You were hit on the back of your head. Doctor thinks you passed out on impact. You’re mainly bruised. A few broken ribs. You were kicked.”
Who would want to hurt me? I didn’t do anything to anyone.
“How long have I been here?” I ask him.
He takes my hand in his, kissing my knuckles. “This is your second night here. They gave you pain medicine and you’ve been in and out of it. I rode back as soon as Faye called me. Your mom found you and called her to tell her what happened and that you wouldn’t be in to take care of Clover.”
I lick my dry lips and he instantly brings me some water with a straw. “Drink, baby.”
I drink greedily until he pulls it away. “Not so fast.”
Even swallowing hurts.
“Can I get you anything?” he asks.
“No,” I whisper. “Just stay here with me.”
“I haven’t left your side,” he says. “It fuckin’ hurts to see you like this, but I’m trying not to be selfish, since you’re the one in pain, not me. Trust me, if I could take the pain away for you I would in an instant.”
“Tracker,” I whisper. “I love you.”
His fingers tighten on my hand. “I love you too, Lana. ’Bout time you realized it though.”
I fall asleep feeling safe.
* * *
“I’m fine,” I tell a fussing Anna, who won’t leave me the hell alone.
“You are not fine,” she snaps, her eyes starting to water.
“Anna,” I say softly. “I’m fine. Banged up, but fine. Whoever beat me must hit like a girl.”
Her head suddenly snaps to me, like the chick from The Exorcist. “A girl?”
“What?” I ask at the look on her face.
“Nothing,” she says instantly, softening her expression. “Let me fuss over my best friend, would you? It’s either that or I lose my shit.”
“Fine.” I give in. I spent two nights in the hospital and now I’m in the clubhouse, because Tracker won’t let me go home. To be honest, I’m fine. Ribs hurt, yes, face is swollen and bruised, yes, but it could have been a lot worse. I’m on pain medication and catching up on some reading. Nothing was stolen from my house, so I don’t know why it happened, but it happened. Vinnie felt awful. Tracker told me he had refused to sleep until I woke up. I reassured Vinnie that it was okay and he wasn’t at all to blame. I feel safe in the clubhouse, and I’m surrounded with people who care about me. Tracker has been amazing.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” Anna asks.
I nod. “Sure.”
We’re halfway through my favorite part of the movie when Tracker storms into the room, giving my forehead a quick kiss before looking at Anna. “Need to talk to you.”
I sit up. “What’s going on?”
He glances my way, eyes softening. “Nothing for you to worry about, baby. You relax. Faye will be in in a sec to keep you company.”
Anna stands and follows Tracker out.
What the hell is going on?
Faye walks in a few minutes later, redirecting or straight out ignoring my prying questions.
“Whatever you want to know, you ask Tracker,” she says. “I don’t know anything.”
She so did.
“How’s Clover?” I ask. “I miss her.”
“She’s good,” Faye replies. “I took the week off work.”
Shit.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble.
She gives me a stern look. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You’re family now, Lana. Family takes care of each other. If what happened was because of your affiliation with the club, Tracker is going to handle it. Even if it wasn’t, Tracker is going to handle it.”
“I don’t want him to get hurt.”
Or end up in jail.
Faye laughs. “You know why they call him Tracker, right? He can find anyone. Anyone. Whoever did this to you will pay.”
She says it like a vow.
In this moment, I see Faye, the president’s wife.
She is kind of scary.
“Remind me never to mess with you.”
She grins. “You wouldn’t. You’re a nice girl, Lana, and you make Tracker happy. That’s all I want: all the men happy.”
“And out of jail,” I add.
She smiles sadly. “And out of jail. As their lawyer, I try and make that happen too.”
“Must be a full-time job,” I joke.
“You have no idea.” She laughs, her eyes sparkling. “But I’ve found them to be the biggest contradictions. They have a dangerous side. Arrow for one—but see how he is with Anna? He’d never let anyone hurt her. Not everything is black-and-white.”
I nod. “I had preconceived notions of what the men here would be like, but they weren’t anything like it. Most of them were welcoming.”
Faye smirks. “That’s because you were already one of us. If you were a random woman it would have been a whole different situation. Tracker warned them to be on their best behavior if they wanted to live.” She clears her throat. “I believe he said, ‘If you want to live to fuck another pussy.’ ”
I almost choke, making Faye laugh harder. “Not all of them are good, but you, you got a good one, Lana.”