Page 135 of Reaper

“I’m fine. It’s not mine. Are you okay?” she asks quietly over and over again.

I hear her say something else, but none of it makes sense. My heart is racing so fast black spots overtake my vision, and the next thing I know I’m waking up on a bed in an unfamiliar room.

“Hey, you're awake.” Evelyn sighs as her shoulders relax. “You had me worried there.”

“Where am I?”

“You’re in the basement in the clubhouse. This is where I do my doctor thing for the club.” She winks. “Now do you want a surprise?”

“I don’t know if I could take much more excitement.”

Evelyn tilts her head back and laughs.

“Oh Natalie, never change.”

She helps me sit up, and the first thing I see is Jacob leaning against a wall, sitting in a chair. His arm is in a sling and his shoulder is bandaged up.

He gives me a dopey smile. “Hey Natalie. Did Ev give you the good drugs too?”

“Wh-How?”

“Definitely drugged. Isn’t it great?” He frowns. “Hey Ev, I think I’m going to be sick again.”

“I got it.” A man I don’t know rushes forward.

“Hey, he’s fine. I brought him with me because I needed help,” Evelyn soothes me. I hadn’t even realized I had tensed up. “Jacob will be fine. He was shot in the shoulder just right. It will take him a while but he will heal up just fine.”

“A-and T-t-tara?”

Evelyn rubs my arms and jerks her chin toward the back of the room. “She’s over there.”

Reluctantly I turn my head and see Wrath standing over her. I watch as he brushes a piece of hair off of her forehead. She doesn’t move.

“I-is she dead?” I whisper, asking my worst fear.

“No. Thankfully when she was stabbed, the knife wasn’t pulled out, so it didn’t do too much damage. We will have to keep an eye on her for a while. Make sure she doesn’t develop an infection or anything like that, but I’m hopeful.”

“This is all my fault.” I cry.

“Hey.” Evelyn moves, making me look right at her. “This isn’t your fault, okay? If anyone is to blame, it’s Dansworth. Not you. You are a victim just as much as they are.”

“They must hate me.” I shake my head as I cry.

“Trust me. They don’t hate you. Let Jacob sober up and Tara wake up and they will tell you the same thing.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because they love you just as much as we do.” She squeezes my hand.

A door opening catches my attention. I watch as Harrison steps inside. As soon as he sees me, he walks right to me. “You ready to go upstairs, baby girl?”

Before I can even respond, he scoops me up into his arms.

“No sex,” Evelyn calls out as carries me away.

Neither of us speaks as we make our way through the clubhouse. Once inside our room, he heads straight into the bathroom. He turns on the shower, and we both strip down without saying anything. After a quick shower, he dries me off and carries me back into our room and sets me down on the bed and crawls in behind me. Holding me so were chest to chest.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper after a few minutes of silence.

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