Chapter 13

I'd been pissed as fuck to be assigned a run that morning. I wasn't comfortable leaving Oakley's safety to anyone, especially not when she was in the middle of the mess with Timkins.

But this pickup had been to one of my contacts, and they would only give the shit to me, so Mac ordered Knight, Grey, and me to go on the short run. We'd only been gone a few hours, but I was still anxious as fuck on our way back. I'd been tempted to keep Oakley locked up in the compound, but I'd promised to support her dreams, and I wouldn't go back on my word. If she needed to be on campus, then I had to suck it up and let her go.

I'd been in backwoods territory, and my cell service had been spotty, so the text from Carter didn't come through until I was an hour out from Silver Saints' territory.

Carter: Need to come to the courthouse asap.

Fuck.That couldn't be anything good. I waved to Knight, and we pulled over to the side of the road.

"I gotta get downtown. Carter texted. Problem at the courthouse."

Grey raised an eyebrow. "Isn't Carter watching your woman?"

I nodded, my brow furrowed and my mouth turned down in a deep frown. "Going to kill that motherfucker," I growled, my trigger finger itching at the thought.

"I'll take the package back to Mac," Grey offered. "You go handle your woman."

Knight nodded. "I'll come downtown with you. Just in case shit hits the fan since that seems par for the course whenever one of you falls for a woman."

I lifted my chin, then kicked up my stand and took off with Knight on my tail.

We drove like bats outta hell, and as we were approaching the courthouse, I spotted Carter, Cat, Harlowe, and Oakley coming out the side entrance, the one I'd broken into just a few nights before.

The girls looked smug, and Carter looked worried. Damn straight, he should be fucking terrified.

Knight and I pulled our hogs into the closest parking spot, and Oakley glanced over at us since our bikes weren't exactly stealthy. Her expression turned guilty, and when I pulled off my helmet, she took a step back. I would've been worried she actually thought I'd hurt her, but there was no real fear in her eyes, just the knowledge that she was in deep shit.

I hopped off my ride, but before I could take a step, Knight's hand on my arm had me spinning around to put a fist in his face.

He ducked, and I missed, giving him a chance to snap, "Chill out, Doc. Just wanted to remind you where we are. You wanna kick the prospect's ass? It's your right, but you need to wait until we get back to the compound."

I bit back a roar of frustration and rage. As hard as it was to control myself, he was right.

Harlowe huffed and put her hands on her hips, and she turned an accusing glare on Carter. "You tattled?"

As I stalked up to them, I snarled, "It's the only reason he'll still be breathing tomorrow. Just might be through a tube."

Carter put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Sent the message as soon as I realized they wouldn't back down and would go with or without me. Wasn't going to touch a brother's old lady, so I did the next best thing. Let you know and went with them for protection."

What he said made sense, and after I had a chance to cool down, it might save him from ending up in the hospital. But at that moment, I couldn't see past the fact that my woman had been in a dangerous situation under his watch.

"You bring an SUV?" Knight asked Carter while I breathed deep and tried to get myself under control.

Carter nodded.

Knight jerked his thumb toward the parking lot. "Get your asses to the car," he growled. Then he pointed at Cat and Harlowe. "Talkin' to you two. Now."

It looked like the girls wanted to argue, but they knew better than to step between a patch and his property. Their old men would tan their hides for interfering—they were probably in for a punishment for helping Oakley in the first place. Which made me feel only slightly better.

I waited until Knight had guided the others away before finally facing my woman. Her chin was lifted to a stubborn angle, and if I hadn't been so angry and still a little scared from what could have happened, I might have smiled.

"You," I grated through clenched teeth. "What happened to going to school?"

"This was more important," she said, her chin lifting another notch.

"More important than your perfect attendance record?" I drawled, giving myself another minute to calm down before we talked about what just happened.

"Yes. They don't keep attendance anyway. I–"

I'd heard enough. "You disobeyed me," I accused.

"Um." She shifted uncomfortably but didn't look away, which I highly respected. "You said I couldn"t come to work, you didn't tell me I couldn't stop by to get something."

"Bullshit, baby. You knew exactly what I meant."

"I only stopped by to pick something up. I swear. I was in and out in less than ten minutes."

I crossed my arms over my chest and continued to glare at her. "Pick up what?"

She smiled and held out her hand, showing me a thick folder and a manila envelope. "Everything you need to have the judge arrested and put away."

I barely glanced at the items, more concerned with her lack of self-preservation. "You got any idea how much danger you put yourself in, Oakley?"

Her smile faded. "Seriously, Kendrick. Nobody even noticed me. And…don't you care that I got what you need?"

I closed the distance between us and curled an arm around her waist, then grabbed her chin with my free hand. "You are what I need," I rasped. "You and our baby."

Her mouth formed a little O, and I raised an eyebrow, emphasizing my subtle hint. She clearly hadn't thought about the fact that if she was pregnant, she'd put our child at risk too.

She sighed. "Okay, I wasn't thinking completely rationally. But you have the evidence now."

"I don't give a damn about the evidence, baby. Not when getting to it put the woman I love at risk."