Chapter 24

Quinn

I laughas Tats tries to be mad at Violet.

They"re standing in the middle of the common room. Violet looks ready to weep from laughter, while Tats looks pink, seriously, from head to toe, he looks pink.

"This is not funny, Violet!" he snaps, shaking his head, causing pink dust to fly everywhere. My laughter grows as Alex grips my left shoulder, where his hand rests to keep me from falling, before Tats snaps again, "That is it! You are no longer in contact with the Untamed women, or I"m staying at the clubhouse!"

Violet snorts but shrugs, not one bit bothered over his threat, knowing he"s talking out of his ass. "Maybe you should have made sure that woman didn"t stand too close to you."

He growls and I mumble, "She"s got a point," before I look at Alex, who grins at me. His smile falls off his face when I ask, "Can I meet these Untamed women?"

"No…." echoes through the room, making me jump. Every brother is looking at me. Tats looks petrified while Violet grins wide, shaking her phone at me, making me laugh and Alex groan. "Goldie, our boy is busy pranking everybody that gets too close to either of us. We don"t need any more shit."

I giggle, touching his chest as Tats glares at his love, while Noah rushes over to us.

He grips my cheeks and leans forward, whispering, "Momma, can I go play outside? Auntie Sarah said she"d watch me."

I grin, loving that he"s asking me and not his dad, whose fingers gently glide along my skin.

"Of course, you can, baby," I reply, making him smile wide before he kisses my nose, making me laugh.

He runs out of the room, and I notice the brothers all grinning my way, making my cheeks heat. Alex chuckles.

"Alright, brothers, back to watching the show, yeah."

The brothers chuckle while Tats glares at Alex, making me grin.

"I"m sorry…." Violet whispers, getting everyone"s attention again. Tears shine in her eyes, making me hold in my laugh. When Tats melts, I murmur, "The girl is good," making Alex laugh, then kiss my shoulder.

The brothers go on chatting as Violet leans against Tats" chest as my man rasps, "You"re my everything."

I smile before admitting, "And you"re mine, but I"m still scared."

He hums. Therapy has been helping me, but I still have times where I want to run. He pulls me back, and that"s what matters. My dad has been there every step of the way, alongside Jack. Momma has been trying to contact me, but I"m still not ready.

I go to open my mouth and thank him for putting up with me but the door slams open, and Timmy hobbles in, blood pouring from his leg. My eyes widen as Alex stands. Violet rushes over to the injured man who rasps into the quiet of the clubhouse, "Prez, Jingles has a gun, and she ran to the side yard."

Olivia gasps, grabs Smokey"s arm, and cries, "April!"

My heart instantly stops. Noah's in the yard with her and a pregnant Sarah.

My heart thunders and I knock the chair over as I stand, then run toward the backdoor. Smokey grabs hold of Olivia"s waist as she tries to run out the door to the yard.

"Quinn!"Alex shouts, his hand just missing my arm, causing everyone to look my way and curse. Doc jumps from his seat to grab me, but I dodge him, and then Tech, who shoved Nina onto the floor when she tried to sit on his lap like she was scared.

"Fuck's sake, Quinn, no!"Snake booms, but I ignore him and rush through the backdoor. I freeze as I hit the deck and notice Noah standing near the sand pit with tears in his eyes, while Sarah lies on the ground, unconscious, her hand over her small bump. Her stroller is near the bench, most likely where her little girl, Daisy, is sleeping.

I suck in a breath at the sight of blood near Sarah's head.

Jingles holds the gun to my boy"s head as she sneers, "Your only existence was to get me that patch, but you failed! Why should I live in poverty, and you get all this, huh? You unwanted brat!"

I hear the door open behind me, and I quickly move before they can pull me back. Quietly, I go down the steps and rush over to the benches, then duck down, hiding just in time for Noah to cry,"Daddy!"making my heart stop as the bitch points the gun at him next.

Doc and Sniper are right behind him, and I notice a figure near the back gate.

I try to ignore the gun pointed at the love of my life as my mind focuses on Noah, Tats" tattooed body, and Snake"s bald head coming into view.

"Oh, look who we have here."

I ignore Jingles' sneer and slowly make my way over to Noah. I see April hiding behind the slide near the sand pit, and I slowly lift my arm, motioning for her to come my way. Her tears fall, but she listens. She crawls my way but freezes when Jingles cackles.

"You think you can take my child and not give me your patch! The brat was my meal ticket, and he failed."

I snap my fingers, getting April"s attention. Her tears fall before she shakily crawls to me even as I feel something behind me. I suck in a breath and slowly look, only to relax when I see its Smokey. I look back at April, and as soon as she"s near, I grab her underneath her arms and fall backward on my ass, clutching her.

"I"ve got you, sweetheart," I whisper.

She nods, gripping my top before I slowly turn and hand her off to Smokey, who shakes his head at me. My tears fall, and I mouth, "Noah…." causing him to silently curse as April grips her daddy.

Smokey holds his hand out for me, his eyes stern as he grips April, but I shake my head again, slowly turn around, and crawl to where April was hiding before looking out at the scene. Noah is only a few feet away from me now. I notice Doc and Sniper side eyeing me as Alex tries to keep the crazy lady"s attention.

"I was never going to give you my patch, Jingles, you know this. You were a clubwhore, that"s it, and clubwhores do not become old ladies!" he states firmly, trying to keep her attention off our boy. My heart is pounding.

I can"t lose him or Noah, I just can"t.

Jingles cackles, waving the gun around as Tats slowly makes his way from the gate toward her, along with Phil, April"s dad and Cannon"s old man, and Snake, who makes a beeline for the stroller first. He gently pushes it to Phil before crawling to his woman, checking her pulse, all while the love of my life keeps the crazy woman occupied.

I let out a sigh of relief when Snake"s shoulders drop, sending a thumb's up to Doc.

"You were mine, always mine, Breaker, and I made sure of it!"she shouts, causing Noah to jump in fear.

Pointing at her, Alex replies calmly, "See, right there…. How can I have always been yours when you only know my road name? You wanted my patch, but it didn"t work." His gaze shifts toward Noah as his body stiffens, finally noticing me. He rasps, "Put the gun down, Jingles."

She smirks. "Why? None of you will shoot me, because I"m too close to the brat who couldn"t get me what I wanted, so now I"m taking him back."

Time moves slowly. She turns and points the gun at Noah as Tats makes a run for her, but I know he won"t make it on time. Alex, Doc, and Sniper jump down the deck stairs, and Noah screams. I don"t think—I act. I run and jump in front of him.

I hear Alex scream as I curl my body around Noah"s. He grips my top as a shooting pain hits my shoulder before I fall, covering Noah"s body with my own. In a blink, everything speeds up again.

"Tats, take the bitch to the outhouse!"Snake shouts, and I look up to see him lifting his woman bridal style. Doc is hauling equipment, telling him to take her to the medical room. I move my body off Noah, who instantly starts to scream at the blood pouring from my shoulder. The brothers curse as I flip to my back and gasp for breath.

Oh wow, that hurts.

Alex skids to kneel next to me, his hands cupping my cheeks as he rasps, "You stupid, fucking woman, so fucking stupid," while Noah clings to him, crying.

I cough and rasp, "That"s not v-very nice—and watch your language!"

He shakes his head as Sniper takes a screaming Noah, and Doc drops to the ground near me. He places several patches of gauze on my wound and presses down, making me groan and wince. "Shit, sorry, Quinny."

"Fuck, Squirt!" my brother shouts before he drops down next to me, looking at Doc. "Please, fucking tell me it"s a through and through?"

Doc shakes his head. Both Alex and Jack curse before my brother grabs his phone, places it to his ear, and rasps, "Dad, you need to come to the clubhouse. Quinn"s been shot. We need this off the books."

I blink, tears falling from my eyes as breathing becomes difficult. I breathe out, "I love you; you know that Al-Alex…."

He shakes his head and gently leans down and kisses my lips. "You"re in so much trouble, Goldie. I can"t fucking live without you…."

I cough again and rasp, "And-and I can"t live without you and-and Noah." My brother squeezes my hand, making me drop my gaze. Lights flash behind my eyes, but those lights dim to darkness…then nothing.

Just as the shadows descend, I hear, "Quinn!"