Page 70 of Crush's Fall

With the cut on her face, Axle knew both of the men would hesitate to do the stitches. They could do it, but it wouldn’t be pretty, and they would feel horrible about any ugly scar that would potentially be left behind. No, it would be better to have Dr. Janson take care of it.

The anger he felt at seeing Halo beat to hell was almost more than he could control. Yeah, he offered the Howlers services as backup, but the truth of the matter was he wanted to beat the hell out of the piece of shit just as much as Crush did. She may not be in his club, but Halo was family.

He wanted to avenge her, but he didn’t want to overstep Crush’s authority. As much as he hated it, Crush was right. It wasn’t a Howler issue. It wasn’t their business unlessshemade it their business. The offer of help was out there, and she rejected it. The only thing he could do was make sure Halo received the medical help she needed.

“I don’t know what the fuck her problem is,” Bullet grumbled as he helped Dragon lift Halo carefully up and moved her to the top of the pool table. “I get that she thinks we take over sometimes, but we’re trying to help.”

Axle let out a sigh. “I’m sure she has her reasons.”

Halo

Halo could hear male voices, but it was as if she was listening through a thick door. They were muffled and seemed to be coming from a distance.

She knew she was moving but she wasn’t sure how until the feel of hands on her body told her that she was being carried. With every movement, her ribs screamed at her, and her head pounded angrily.

Crying out from the pain of it, she was too weak to stop them from moving her. All she could do was suffer through it and pray that it didn’t last long. She didn’t even have the strength to open her eyes to see who was carrying her.

When they finally stopped moving her, she tried to figure out where she was, but she couldn’t. All she knew was it was a hard surface. It could be the floor, the bar top, the pool table.The pool table. That would explain the slightly scratchy fabric-covered surface rubbing against the back of her arms, exposed by her sleeveless tee and her hands.

As soon as she began to focus, a new part of her body began to scream in pain, stopping her from being able to think. It was as if she was experiencing the world through a fog or through deep water. Nothing was sharp or clear, except for the pain.

A warm weight on her shoulder caught her attention, then she heard who she assumed was Axle say into her ear, “Try to relax, Halo. You’re safe. Dr. Janson’s coming.”

Knowing she was truly at the clubhouse, and she hadn’t dreamed of making it home, Halo took the first relaxing yet painfully shallow breath as tears slid away from her eyes and disappeared into her hair.

Lucifer

After working late, Lucifer had returned to the compound to find numerous Tiger’s Claw members leaving on their bikes. Crush looked pissed, judging by the expression on her face and the tension in her body, but she did give him a nod. He was curious about where they were going, but he figured he’d find out when Crush returned. Shrugging off his questions, he headed inside the clubhouse to have a drink and wait for her to return.

As soon as he stepped through the door, he figured out why Crush was tense. Halo, a younger member of Tiger’s Claw MC, was lying on top of the pool table, talking to Dr. Gloria Janson, the doctor they always called at times like that, while Siren and Ranger cleaned and wrapped injuries.

“What the fuck?”

“Her boyfriend beat her up,” Bullet said from his seat on a stool at the bar.

Lucifer turned his head and looked over at Bullet, only a few feet away. “Is he breathing?”

Bullet shrugged. “For now.”

Lucifer thought about going over and checking on Halo, but she looked to have all the help she needed. He didn’t want to be in the way, so he moved over to the bar and took a seat on the stool next to Bullet.

They weren’t exactly friends, but Lucifer figured they should probably get used to each other, basically being brothers-in-law. Whether Bullet liked it or not, he wasn’t going any damn where.

“You need to talk to your woman,” Bullet said with a huffed breath. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her. Axle and Dragon both offered the assistance of the Howlers. We would have had their backs, but she’s stubborn.”

Lucifer thanked Rex, who was behind the bar, and grabbed him a beer, setting it in front of him. He thought about the situation from Crush’s position. If Axle just offered their help, Lucifer couldn’t see Crush shooting them down completely and abruptly. There had to be more to the story. Curious, he asked, “What exactly did Dragon and Axle say to her?”

Bullet gave Lucifer a more in-depth rundown of what happened, and it all became clear. As Bullet talked about Crush getting in first Dragon’s face and then Axle’s, Lucifer started nodding. He could practically guess Crush’s thought process.

“You gonna talk to her?”

After taking a sip of his beer, Lucifer set the bottle down in front of him and glanced over at Bullet. “Nah.”

Bullet stared at him for a long moment, his brows pulled together. “You’re too fucking calm about this. Your woman just took off to confront a woman-beating bastard with no back-up, and you’re sitting here, calm as shit, like she just ran to the store for milk.”

Lucifer met Bullet’s stare, head-on, and replied, “She has back-up.Her clubis her back-up. And from what you’ve told me, she didn’t turn down an offer from Axle, she told Axle and Dragon to mind their fucking business, because they had every intention of having her sit here like agood little womanand let thebig mentake care ofherbusiness. Nah. Fuck that. My woman doesn’t play that shit. You should know. She’s your sister. And as her Ol’ Man, it’s not my job to get in her way or tell her how to run her club. It’s my job to be here when, or if, she asks for my help… kind of like her brother and ally club should be doing.”

“That’s not—”

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