Ride Or Remember

CHAPTER 13

LIORA

"How is she?" Logan asked the second I stepped out of the room where Liora was finally asleep.

The club's medic had pumped enough sedatives into her system to knock her out for the night, but the image of her covered in blood still wouldn't leave my head.

"She's alive."

A few hours ago, after a bottle was crashed to her head, bullets had been flying toward us. I still couldn't wrap my head around it. Someone had tried to put us in the ground.

"Where's Kane?" I asked.

"Rounding up the boys." Logan fell into step beside me as we headed toward the clubhouse bar. "He's already got people looking for the Trio Brothers."

"Call him off."

I grabbed a bottle of Scotch from behind the counter and took a long pull straight from the neck.

Logan stared at me like I'd lost my damn mind.

"The hell are you talking about?" he snapped. "Those bastards opened fire with the intention of killing us. You let that slide and every hungry outlaw in the state is gonna think taking a shot at our club comes without consequences."

I set the bottle down and met his glare. "Did they take a shot at us?"

"You know damn well they did."

I shook my head. "And can you prove it?"

His jaw clenched.

"Exactly." I pointed the bottle at him. "The Trio Brothers came here under the excuse of discussing business. If we go after them now, every club in the region hears this story…we invited them onto our turf and then attacked them. Makes us look guilty as hell."

A string of curses left Logan's mouth as he dragged both hands through his hair.

"f**k. So what now?"

A slow smile pulled at my lips. "We don't hit them where they're expecting."

Logan narrowed his eyes.

“The deal they rode in here for,” I said, tapping my fingers against the bottle, “we’re taking that land for ourselves. Not a single damn dollar goes into their pockets.”

Logan’s grin returned instantly. “Now that’s how you deal with a bunch of backstabbing bastards.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket and headed toward the hallway.

“I’ll call Kane. He’ll want to hear this.”

I grunted in response and watched him disappear into one of the clubhouse’s spare rooms, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

The silence didn’t help.

Leaning against the bar, I stared toward the staircase and exhaled slowly.

She needed stitches.

Fucking stitches.

The image of Liora covered in blood flashed through my mind again, making my jaw tighten.

What the hell had she been thinking charging into that meeting?

Did she honestly believe any of us were stupid enough to drink from an open glass handed over by men we barely trusted?

I dragged a hand through my hair and took another swallow of Scotch.

The burn did nothing to calm me down.

“This woman is gonna be the death of me,” I muttered.

Dumping the bottle onto the counter, I pushed away from the bar and headed upstairs.

I’d known her for a few damn weeks.

A few weeks.

And already I could feel gray hairs growing in.

At this rate, she’d have me looking sixty before I hit forty.

Stopping outside the guest room, I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders before pushing the door open.

The room was dimly lit.

Liora lay sleeping beneath the blankets, a white bandage wrapped around her head where the medic had stitched her up.

For someone so damn small, she had a real talent for finding trouble.

Or throwing herself straight into it.

Shaking my head, I crossed the room and dropped into the armchair beside the bed.

My leather cut came off and landed over the backrest.

Then I settled in, folded my arms across my chest, and stared at her sleeping face.

The doctor said she needed someone watching her all night in case of a concussion, so here I am.”

Her chest rose and fell in slow, steady breaths while I sat in the armchair like some damn guard dog, unblinking.

*************

Sunlight cutting through the blinds told me it was past eight in the morning.

I should’ve been in a boardroom by now. Should’ve been handling club business, not sitting in a chair babysitting a fully grown woman who had decided self-preservation was optional.

I exhaled through my nose, irritation building in my chest.

Then I looked at her again.

That was when I noticed it, the small restless movements.

Her fingers twitched first, curling tightly into the duvet like she was holding onto something in a dream she didn’t like, while her head moved slightly from side to side.

My body reacted before my mind did.

I stood, and crossed the room in two long strides.

“Hey,” I muttered under my breath, leaning over the bed. “Wake up.”

I reached out, ready to shake her shoulder, but her eyes snapped open.

Wide.

Unfocused at first.

She blinked slowly, disoriented, pupils dragging across the room like she was trying to piece reality back together. Then her gaze landed on me.

“Do you recognize me?” I asked, voice lower now. “That hit to your head wasn’t exactly gentle.”

For a second, she didn’t answer, then her lips curved into a soft, almost lazy smile.

“Evans.”

I visibly winced from that name, pulling away. “I can see you are fine.”

But even as I turned away, I could still feel her eyes on me.

She pushed herself upright with a wince, one hand immediately going to her head, then stopping when her fingers brushed the tight bandage wrapped around her skull.

“You wrapped my head?” she asked, squinting at me like she was trying to decide if this was normal. “Was it that serious?”

I let out a humourless scoff.

“Was it that serious?” I repeated, voice rising before I could stop it. “You got a damn whiskey bottle cracked over your head and you’re asking me if it was that serious?!”

She flinched at my tone. “Stop screaming,” she muttered, pressing her fingers to her temple. “My head is banging.”

“It wouldn’t be banging if you knew how to stay out of trouble,” I shot back.

She ignored me.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood anyway, unsteady for half a second before she straightened.

“I saved you and your friends from drinking a poisoned drink,” she said, chin lifting. “You should be thanking me.”

My jaw tightened.

“It wasn’t poison,” I snapped. “It was a spiked drink. There’s a difference.”

She folded her arms, unimpressed. “I don’t see much difference.”

“What the f**k, Liora?” I roared. “What is it gonna take for you to stay the hell out of my life?”

Her expression changed immediately.

“If you so badly wanted me out of your life,” she said quietly, eyes narrowing, “then why bring me to your house?”

“You,” I said, jabbing a finger toward the floor between us, “are here because of obligation, Liora. Nothing more.”

Her breath caught slightly.

“If you had minded your damn business,” I continued, “I wouldn’t have had a reason to drag you here in the first place!”

Here’s a tightened biker-romance rewrite with stronger emotional pacing, cleaner tension build-up, and a more impactful exit:

“Thanking me won’t reduce your lifespan,” she gritted out.

I let out a harsh laugh, tilting my head back.

“Thank you for what?” I shot back. “For being reckless and stupid? For inserting yourself into situations you don’t understand? Now you want gratitude?”

Her jaw tightened. “Evans_”

“My name is Ryder,” I snapped, stepping forward. “Ryder. Not whatever name you decide to throw at me.”

Her eyes flickered.

“And this?” I gestured between us, anger still boiling hot in my chest. “This stalkerish, clingy behavior of yours is giving me grey hairs, Liora. Stay the hell away from me.”

Her mouth dropped open, her lower lips shaking. “You’re being mean.”

“I’m being realistic,” I fired back. “At this rate, no one would even blame your fiancé for clocking out early.”

Her entire body froze, tears rolled down her cheeks. “What did you just say to me?”

I crossed the line…I know, but I am far too pissed to care. “I can tolerate you being around here until you get better, but after that, I want you gone, not just out of my house, but also out of my house.”

Biting her lower lips, she looked away and wiped her cheeks. “You don’t have to wait for me to get better, I can do that now.” She spat before stomping out of the room, intentionally bumping my shoulder and I let her go because chasing after her would give her the wrong impression and I don’t want that, for the sake of her safety and for the sake of my sanity.