Shade didn’t hear anything else as he realized only one other person would have been driving Beth’s car—Lily.

Shade forced himself to stand still as Beth convinced Ton to go with the nurse. Then the sheriff walked out of a room down the hall, drawing everyone’s attention.

“How is she?” Beth asked.

“Lucky. She has a concussion, a sprained ankle, and she is going to be sore as hell for a couple of days, but all that research you put into purchasing a safe car paid off.”

Shade went outside, sucking in a deep breath. He didn’t have to question if his attraction to Lily had lessened or not. He had his answer.

Shade paced back and forth outside the E.R. door, trying to keep from going in and demanding to see with his own eyes that Lily was all right. The brothers and his president would look at him like he was crazy, and he was at the moment. Although he had never even spoken to the young woman, she had his insides twisted into a knot.

Since when did he care for anyone? It wasn’t in his emotionless soul to give a fuck, yet something inside her spoke to him. She made him feel human, as if he was real and not a man who lived constantly in the shadows.

Razer strode outside, pausing when he saw Shade. “You know about Lily?”

“I heard. How is she?” Shade asked despite himself.

“Beth is with her. She told the sheriff her brakes didn’t work. It could have been much worse; Beth drives all over the county in that car. She could have driven off a mountain.” His hoarse voice showed Shade wasn’t the only one who was coming to the realization that he cared about someone.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“You want to go back to the clubhouse?” Razer asked, getting on his bike.

“Fuck no. I’m going to have a look at Beth’s car.”

* * *

Shade sat next to Razer near the entrance to the hospital.

“There they are,” Razer said unnecessarily, since Shade had seen them the instant they came outside.

After Razer pulled forward, bringing the dark blue car to a stop in front of the hospital, Shade opened the door and got out to see both sisters staring at them in surprise.

“Your chariot awaits, ladies.” Shade grimaced at Razer’s lame comment. He was trying to ease the women’s tension, but it sure as shit hadn’t worked.

“But Evie is picking us up,” Beth protested, standing still.

Lily’s eyes darkened in fear as her gaze went to Razer coming to a stop next to him. He felt a jolt of electricity as she looked at him, taking in the tattoos that covered his body. He had never pretended to be the boy next door.

“Evie was, but Loker called. He rented this car until yours is repaired. He asked us to drop it off to you.”

“He shouldn’t have done that. Ton wasn’t responsible for the accident.”

“You can take that up with him. Loker didn’t want to leave Ton alone, so he asked me. I wasn’t busy, so here I am. Now, are you ladies ready to roll?”

Shade held back as Razer took the wheelchair away from the orderly. He wanted to be the one to help Lily into the car yet could see from her terrified gaze that Razer came across as less threatening to her.

Shade watched as Razer and Beth helped Lily into the car. When she was in and Razer had moved away, Shade knelt down beside her, removing his sunglasses so he could see her clearly.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yes.” At the tremble to her voice, something twisted inside of him, relishing the fear he felt emanating from her in waves.

She wasn’t like other women who would stare at him. He was well aware of his attraction to them, knew they fantasized about having sex with a bad boy, and he did his best to make their dreams come true. When Lily stared at him, though, he was her worst nightmare.

She smoothed down the dress which had ridden up her silky thighs when Razer and Beth had helped her into the vehicle. Shade’s eyes followed her movement, a sexual aura hanging around him despite his attempt to tone it down. He tried to soften his facial features, to lower his voice to place them on a more intimate level. However, the woman wasn’t reassured. She saw right through him, her discerning gaze shifting slightly away along with her body so he wasn’t as close to her.

Shade lithely stood, closing the car door then getting in the front seat. Razer talked to the women during the drive, but Shade wasn’t paying attention. He was studying Lily in the rearview mirror as she talked about college.

Razer pulled up in front of their house much too soon for Shade, and they got out of the car. While Razer grabbed Lily’s bag out of the trunk, Shade opened Lily’s door, stepping away as Beth handed Lily her crutches.

Her sister helped her get out of the car, and Shade didn’t miss Lily’s wince as she placed the crutches under her arms.

“I guess I’m still a little stiff.” Lily tried to laugh it off.

When she took a step forward slowly, a whimper escaping from her pursed lips, Shade expected her to stop and ask for help; instead, she attempted another step. Her face was filled with pain, which was unacceptable to him.

“For Christ’s sake,” he finally exploded.

Unable to watch any longer, he swept her off her feet and into his arms. The crutches fell to the ground as she arched her back, trying to throw herself out of his arms as if his touch were burning her flesh.

He knew Beth didn’t like him touching her pretty little sister. He saw her take a step forward, but Razer held her back as Lily continued to struggle.

“Wait, I can walk on the crutches.” Lily tried to reason with him.

He gave her a small toss into the air, as if he was going to drop her, causing her to circle her arms around his neck, holding on to him.

“Be careful, you don’t want me to drop you.” He laughed, trying to ease the tension. However, the feel of her breasts against his chest had him clenching his teeth until she leaned away from him as he packed her into the house.

“Where do you want her?”

Beth motioned to the couch, where he gently laid her down on it, making sure her back was propped up with a pillow and another under her sprained ankle. He then went outside to get her crutches without explanation, afraid his hoarse voice would give away how her nearness had affected him. He went back inside without knocking, taking the crutches to lay them within her reach. When he saw her face turn up to him, her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath, Shade turned on his feet immediately and got the hell out of there.

Closing the door behind him, he worked to slow down his breathing.

“Fuck.” He was in trouble.

Chapter 6

The car door opened, and the sheriff slid into the front seat of his cruiser. He was about to start the car when he glanced into the rearview mirror.

“Shit, Shade, you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“No, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Checked out Beth’s car, only thing wrong was cut brake lines. Looks like someone was trying to hurt, if not kill her.”

“You could have told me this in a phone call without scaring me to death,” his father snapped.

“I could have, but that wouldn’t have been as much fun.” Shade gave his father a wry smile before becoming serious. “Call Beth in for a talk. Try to find out who would want to hurt her, and tell her to be careful. Make sure she understands that someone wants her dead.”