Chapter 3

3

ELISE

" P ardon me?" I huffed, crossing my arms against my chest. "Did you seriously just warn your friend off me? As though you have any say in who I may or may not want to date?"

Gideon thrust his chin out. "Damn straight, I did. And I do."

Planting my fists on my hips, I glared up at him. "Just because you're covering the rest of my tuition doesn't make you the boss of me."

"Maybe not," he conceded. "But being your big brother does."

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Yup."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "What are you, twelve?"

He quirked a brow and chuckled. "What are you, a teenager?"

"Yes, but barely, which you very well know," I huffed.

The sexy biker who'd examined me leaned his hip against the counter lining the wall opposite the exam table I sat on, his gaze darting between us as my brother and I bickered like we were little kids. The ten years between us didn't stop the normal rivalry between siblings. Gideon was a great big brother, but that never stopped me from pushing his buttons. And he'd never had a problem with poking me right back, even when I was a toddler.

Acutely aware of the man who seemed to be enjoying the show Gideon and I were putting on, I decided to end it. The last thing I needed was for the first guy to spark my libido to see me as a little kid because I tended to act like one when I was around my brother.

"But seriously, I've been on my own for years with very little supervision from our parents. I've practically raised myself ever since you left home. You weren't around to complain about any boys I might've dated up until now, so I find it incredibly hypocritical of you to think you have a say now."

Blade's eyes narrowed toward the end of my tirade, and I briefly wondered if he wasn't happy about me mentioning my dating life. My nonexistent one since there hadn't been time for me to worry about boys when I was studying my butt off to make sure my grades were good enough to get into college with a decent scholarship while also working part-time so I'd have some cash to help pay for living expenses while I was at school. Not to mention that I hadn't met a guy tempting enough to sway me from my goals.

Until now.

With his light brown hair and intense gray eyes, Blade was beyond handsome. Add in the scruff on his cheeks, his tall, muscular body, and his dangerous air, and you had an irresistible combination that had my panties almost spontaneously combusting each time he'd put his hands on me during his examination.

I'd never felt anything like my reaction to him, which only made my brother's warning even more frustrating.

"No interfering with my dating life."

"Fine," Gideon conceded. "I'll back off for now, but I still reserve the right to kick anyone's ass who hurts you."

"Nah, I'll do it myself, using the skills you made sure I had." I crossed my ankles, barely holding back a wince at the twinge of pain that shot up my leg. "You know that I kept up with those self-defense lessons because you're the one who paid for them."

"You heard your sister. She can take care of herself." Blade flashed my brother a smug grin, and I returned my attention to the hot biker who'd examined me.

I turned my ire on him. "Don't think you're getting off scot-free. I saw that look you aimed at Whiskey. It was completely uncalled for, especially since I owe him my life."

Gideon's head tilted to the side as he echoed, "Saved your life? Don't you think you're laying it on a little thick there, sis? Blade just said your injuries from the car accident weren't that bad."

"Because they're not." The Iron Rogues doctor's eyes narrowed. "Definitely nowhere near life-threatening, or we wouldn't be sitting here talking like this. I'd have already hauled her ass to the hospital to make sure she survived."

"Then why the hell are you talking like Whiskey rode in like your white knight to save you when you were just in a car accident, El?" Gideon asked.

"It wasn't just a car accident," I corrected, shaking my head as I rubbed my palms up and down my arms. "I saw something that I shouldn't have and was followed from the bar on my way to get to you."

"Shit." Gideon raked his fingers through his hair. "I was so rattled by you getting hurt that I didn't even stop to think about why you weren't pulling your shift at Midnight Rebel. What the fuck happened?"

"Since you had already left for the clubhouse, I decided to head to the bar early for my shift."

"Why the fuck is your sister working in one of our bars instead of celebrating the holiday with the club?" Blade growled, glaring at my brother. "None of this would've happened if she'd been here with us, where she belongs."

"You think I don't know that?" Gideon hissed. "I'm already kicking my own ass for not putting my foot down about that damn job. I don't need you to do it, too. Not when you have zero say in my sister's life."

I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and index finger. "Are you guys going to keep bickering over something neither of you get to decide? Or are we going to focus on the actual problem so you can find the guy who tried to kill me?"

"Tried to kill you?" they echoed together at the top of their lungs.

"That's what I'm trying to explain." I dropped my hand to my side. "I wasn't paying as much attention to my surroundings as I should have while I listened to Christmas music before going inside. So I didn't realize what was happening a couple of parking spots over until I got out of my car."

"I've told you over and over again how important situational awareness is, Elise. You're a nineteen-year-old girl, and most guys have a good fifty pounds and half a foot on you. You've gotta pay attention to your surroundings so you can stay safe. No matter how many self-defense lessons you've taken, your best bet is to avoid the fight in the first place."

"Yeah, well, that's hard to do when there's a drug deal going down in a parking lot where I thought I'd be safe because it's owned by the Iron Rogues." I hopped off the exam table to pace—gingerly, since my ankle was still a little sore—back and forth in front of the two men who were finally focused on me. "You told me that I didn't have to worry about stuff like that while I was working there, but the second I climbed out of my car, I saw a guy handing over a bag of what I'm guessing was cocaine to another guy who looked as though he was strung out."

"What'd they look like?" Blade demanded.

I gave them all the details I could remember about the drug dealer and his customer, as well as the car that had chased me.

Gideon clenched his fists at his sides. "That motherfucker forced you off the road?"

I nodded. "Yeah, and then he tried to force his way into my car. I'm not sure what he had planned from there, except that it wasn't going to be good for me. He was pissed that I stumbled across his drug deal and was yelling about how he wasn't going to let me…um…mess things up for him. If Whiskey hadn't shown up when he did, I don't think I would've gotten away from him."

"Everyone knows we don't allow drugs in our territory." My brother looked at Blade. "The punishment he faced for getting caught dealing at one of our bars would've been severe."

"And he made it a whole hell of a lot worse for going after her," Blade growled.

Butterflies swirled in my belly over how angry the sexy doctor seemed to be on my behalf. "He had no way of knowing who I was, though. He probably figured I was just some server who the club would be pissed at for missing her shift."

"Then he's even dumber than we already thought." At my look of confusion, Gideon explained, "The guy already proved to be a fucking idiot for blatantly breaking one of our rules out in the open where he was practically begging to be caught. But he should've known that the people who work for us are under our protection."

Blade nodded in agreement, a determined gleam in his gray eyes. "He's gonna pay. The statement will be made—nobody hurts you. Ever."