Page 24 of Ringo

“I’m fine. Not a scratch,” Calista assured him. “I promise.”

“Not even a tiny scratch?” Bullet gave her a stern look.

“No. I swear.”

Bullet gave me a hard look. “You make sure.”

“Don’t worry. Take care of Apple. If I need you, I’ll bring Calista to your clinic.”

“I’ll let you know if I need to get her to a hospital.”

“What do you mean if?” Calista got to her feet, even though I tried to keep her on the ground. “There is no if! She’s been fucking shot!”

Bullet gave her a tight smile. I knew the other man wanted to get Apple to his clinic so he could properly assess the damage, but he also took time to reassure my woman her friend would be seen to properly.

“I swear to you, Calista. I won’t take a chance with Apple’s life. Besides the fact Lemon would kill me, I’d never deny anyone care who needed it. Especially one of our women.”

“How would you explain this?” I knew Bullet would have trouble with an extensive gunshot wound if he had to take her to the hospital. Even he took her to his old hospital where he could still get things done off the books, stuff like that was required to be reported.

He shrugged. “We’ll figure that out if it comes to it. But I truly think Apple will be fine here. I don’t think it’s as bad as it looks.”

That seemed to put Calista at ease because she let me pick her up to carry her inside the house. Before I took her inside, though, I wanted her to see that Apple wouldn’t be alone. I saw Lemon approach as Falcon and Leather carried Apple on the board to the SUV and loaded her into the back.

Lemon got there right before they got her inside the truck and hurried in that direction. She stopped briefly to punt Redwood in the head with her booted foot before climbing in with her sister.

“I need to go with Apple,” Calista said shakily. “I don’t want her to be alone if Lemon needs to leave.”

“We’ll go in a minute. Just let me look you over first. Besides, do you honestly think Lemon is going to leave her sister?”

“No,” she said. Calista buried her face in my chest and cried. “This is my fault.” Her voice was muffled, but I heard her clearly.

“Hey. No,” I said firmly, sitting on the couch in the living room. Thankfully, everyone else was in the panic room, and I could take a few moments with Calista to calm her fears and maybe look her over quickly. “This isn’t your fault.”

“I brought these people straight to your door! I don’t know how they found me, but none of this would have happened if I hadn’t come here! Redwood said he was taking me back to Borris.”

“You did what you had to do to survive. Redwood was already here. If this hadn’t flushed him out, something else would have. None of this is on you.” I gripped her chin and turned her face up to mine. “You get me? That motherfucker Illivitch’s gonna fuckin’ die, though.”

She nodded. “Yes. Please.” Then she wrapped her arms around my neck and cried silently against my skin.

I only hoped Dom didn’t find Illivitch before I did. This was one kill I desperately wanted.

Chapter Twelve

Calista

The ride to Bullet’s clinic was a blur. Ringo took me in an old pickup because he thought I was too shaky to ride behind him on his bike. He wasn’t wrong. The thought that I might not see my friend again living and breathing and laughing and giving everyone shit clawed at me.

“She’ll be OK, you know.” Ringo squeezed my hand as he pulled the truck outside what I could only assume was Bullet’s place. “Bullet wouldn’t take a chance with her life. If she needs more care than she can get here, he’ll make sure she has the best. She’s strong.”

“I shouldn’t have called him Peckerwood,” I muttered, inanely. “Then maybe he wouldn’t have done this.” It was a stupid thing to say, but it was the only thought ringing in my head. No matter what Ringo said, this felt like my fault. On multiple counts. “I forced my way in here, I insulted a member of your club. If Apple dies --”

“Stop!” Ringo barked out the command, then pulled me onto his lap to straddle him. I went back to burying my face in his neck because it was comforting. And because I didn’t want to face the recrimination in his eyes. I should have realized at this point that Ringo wouldn’t let me get away with hiding from him. He gently forced my face up, so I had to look at him. “You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Dom gave your mom the information to get you here and you used it. If anyone is to blame for that, it’s Dom. What you don’t seem to get is that Dom did exactly what he was supposed to do, too. If that means bringing danger to our door, you’re most certainly worth it. To Dom. To me. Apple, too. I guarantee you, no one blames anyone but Illivitch and Redwood. Certainly not you.”

I shook my head hard. “You don’t know that.”

He gripped my shoulders, giving me a little shake back. “I do. I absolutely do. This is my club. I’ve known most of these men my whole adult life. Since I was in the service. Certainly after coming here.”

“But Redwood --”