Harley's Achilles (The Rock Series Book 3) (6 page)

Achilles

I was out of the bar so fast, I think Rebel’s head spun. Harley had a minute on me at the most. I took off down the alley and jumped on my bike. I had a feeling I knew where Harley was going. Rain began to fall as I headed in the direction of the Payne’s house. The roads were becoming slick as I rounded the curve to Harley’s parents’ house. A light lit up the road and I realized it was the garage door opening. Harley shot out on a motorcycle and flew into the street. The back end skidded a bit and then Harley righted it. I knew I could catch him on my Tomahawk, but I didn’t want to freak him out.

I followed less than a mile behind him and kept my eyes on the road ahead of me. Harley took the Seventeen exit and I cursed. The roads were getting worse as the rain turned into snow. Harley was going almost ninety as we hit a curve in the road and he seemed to speed up before the next curve ahead of us.

“Slow down, Harley!” I shouted. Not that he’d hear me, but what the hell. “Goddammit!” I hissed as Harley took another curve way too fast.

He was going to wipe out. Even on my Tomahawk with four fucking wheels, I had to navigate them more slowly. The back end of Harley’s motorcycle fishtailed and then the bike slid, taking Harley down with it. My heart stopped in my chest as the bike slid across the Seventeen, heading right for the guardrail.

Metal crunched as the bike met the guardrail and I heard the distinct sound of Harley’s scream. His hand flew out, grabbing the jagged metal of the rail before he flew over the side. The motorcycle took flight over the drop. I came to a squealing stop and dumped my bike, running after Harley who was hanging precariously over the edge.

“Harley!” I shouted. “Hang on!”

“Achilles?! Help me!”

I ran to him, throwing my body forward as Harley lost his grip. I grabbed his wrist and Harley shouted in pain. I wrapped my other hand around his bicep and hauled him up and into my lap. I pulled his helmet off carefully.

“Are you all right?” I asked, panicked.

“My hand hurts, and I think I broke my leg,” Harley sobbed. “Holden’s bike…it’s gone.”

“Fuck the bike!” I snarled. “Dammit! You could have
died
! What the fuck were you thinking?” I assessed Harley quickly. The metal of the guardrail had cut through his leather jacket. I removed it carefully and tried to get a good look at Harley’s wound. I whipped off my jacket and then took off my shirt. Ripping off the bottom of the shirt, I wrapped it around Harley’s arm. I tried to get a good look at his leg, but it was too dark. I felt around, trying to feel if there was a break.

“Fuck!” Harley stiffened as I ran my hand over his shin.

“Don’t move!” I ordered. I called the police and kept Harley close to me. He was shivering and probably going into shock. I alerted the police to where we were and then wrapped my jacket around Harley’s trembling frame.

“They’re coming,” I assured him.

“Holden’s b-b-bike,” Harley chattered.

“I’m sure we can get it back,” I said soothingly.

“They’re going to be so mad at me.” Harley sobbed in my arms.

“The bike can be replaced, Harley. You can’t.”

“They won’t care,” he whispered.

“I fucking care!” I held his chin up and searched his eyes. “I care!”

Harley’s bloodshot eyes met mine and I wanted to kiss him so badly in that moment, to let him know that someone fucking cared if he lived or died. I wanted to strangle his parents with my bare hands! Sirens sounded in the distance and I pulled Harley into my body heat. His whole body racked with sobs and I did my best to soothe him. He was still babbling about the bike when an ambulance pulled up next to us, followed by a fire truck and a tow truck. The EMTs approached me and I stood up, holding Harley in my arms.

“Sir? We’re going to need you to let go.” One of them motioned to Harley.

I relinquished Harley, but kept my eyes on him as the police and firemen cordoned off our lane of traffic. The tow truck driver was looking over the side of the cliff.

“Hey, the bike is stuck on a rock,” he exclaimed.

I peered over the side. “Make sure you get it. Hear me?”

“Sir? Is that your bike over there?” One of the firemen pointed to my Tomahawk.

“Yeah, can you put it on the tow truck?” I asked the driver. “I’m riding in the ambulance.”

“That is one gorgeous piece of equipment.” The driver whistled.

I narrowed my eyes and pinned him with a look. “Get both bikes. Don’t worry, you’ll get paid plenty. Take it to Roy’s Auto in Flagstaff.” I got the tow truck driver’s card and then climbed into the ambulance and sat down. Harley was lying motionless, his eyes closed as his chest rose and fell slowly.

“What did you give him?” I asked, worried.

“Just a little something to calm him down,” the EMT assured me. “He’s got a nasty gash in his upper arm, some road rash, but he’s lucky to be alive. Someone up there must like this kid.”

As the ambulance drove us back to Flagstaff’s hospital, I called everyone I could think of. Stan was first on that list. As their manager, he needed to be privy to anything. I also called Rebel, Ransom and Gareth. Ransom assured me that he would get in touch with Harley’s parents. I wasn’t sure that was such a good idea. Harley was taken back to a private emergency exam room as I paced the hallway. I should have been faster. I should have stopped him. I should have done a lot of things. I grasped at my hair and let out a frustrated shout.

“Whoa!” Ransom stepped back from me. “Is Harley okay?”

I hadn’t even realized he was there. I sighed audibly and met Ransom’s eyes.

“He’s got damage to his arm and some road rash on his thighs and shin.”

“What was he doing?” Ransom rubbed his face with his hands.

“Driving like a maniac.”

“Oh God.” Ransom sunk into a chair.

The ER doors whooshed open and Rebel ran in with Gareth and Axel.

“Is he okay?” Gareth almost shouted.

I explained again to Rebel and Gareth what I knew. Stan arrived and then they all filled him in. I sat down and stared at the tiles of the emergency room floor.

“You were following him?” Gareth asked me.

“Yeah, I was less than a mile behind him on my bike. He should have never taken the bike as angry as he was.”

“What do you mean?” Gareth’s brows furrowed.

“Where is he?!”

I looked up to see Harley’s father speaking with a nurse. His face was beet red and he was wringing his hands. I stood up and walked over to the nurse’s station.

“He’s in the back. They’re looking him over now.”

I was pulled away by my bicep and was surprised to find Axel staring me down.

“Let’s talk,” he ordered.

I followed Axel to the vending machines and he turned to look at me. I met his eyes because, dammit, I’d done my best to make sure Harley never got hurt.

“What?” I snapped. “I was right behind him!”

“What set him off, Axel? Why was Harley riding a motorcycle in this weather?”

“It’s a long story, and I don’t feel like rehashing it. Harley blew out of that garage full throttle and it was just luck that I caught up to him. He almost went over, Axel! He would have if I hadn’t gotten there in time.”

“I’m sorry,” Axel blew out a breath. “When Gareth gets panicked, it seems to rub off on me. I know you’d give your life to protect Harley’s.”

“Fucking right I would.”

Axel clapped me on the back and pulled me into a half hug. I was getting used to it now. Somehow, Gareth had rubbed off on Axel the killer. He was a bit softer. I couldn’t say shit. Harley was rubbing off on me. We walked back to the waiting room and I noticed Harley’s father was gone.

“Where’s Harley’s dad?” I asked.

Gareth pointed down the hall. “He demanded to see his son.”

“Ha!
Now
he has a son?” I snarled.

Shouting came from down the hall and then the unmistakable sound of Harley’s devastated voice floated out to me. I ran through a hallway full of people, pushing them out of the way. I slammed through the door and found Harley on the floor on his knees.

“Get out!” I ground out at Harley’s father through gritted teeth.

“Excuse me? You have no right to tell me what to do!”

“Get. Out! Harley doesn’t need this right now!” I shouted

“Security!”

“Oh yes, please call them.” I leaned into his face. “It’s about to get ugly.”

Two men came from behind and tried to subdue me. I fought them both off and two more arrived. Harley was still on the floor, sobbing about how sorry he was, and a rage came over me I hadn’t felt since I was deployed.

“STOP!” Axel roared. “Let him go or you’ll be dealing with us.” Axel motioned to Hammer and Buster behind him. “And we don’t fight fair.”

“Mr. Payne,” Gareth stepped in between the chaos. “Please, just go home. This isn’t helping Harley.”

“He took my son’s motorcycle and wrecked it! He had no business —”

“Get out,” Gareth said forcefully. “We will take care of Harley. Don’t worry, I’m sure the bike can be fixed.”

I got a death glare from Harley’s father before he huffed and left the room. The security guards holding me let go and I moved to Harley’s side.

“Hey,” I said softly. “Are you okay? Do you need help getting up?”

“I told you,” Harley whispered. “I told you he’d be mad.”

“You need to be in bed.” I placed an arm under him and helped him up, carefully placing him in bed. I noticed a red mark on Harley’s face and balled my fists. “Did he hit you?”

“He was mad, he didn’t mean it —”

A roar escaped me and then I was blasting past everyone in the room, my mission to find Harley’s father front and center. A hand clasped over my bicep and I was whipped back. I expected to see Axel, but turned to find Hammer’s icy-blue eyes staring into mine.

“Don’t.” He shook his head.

“Don’t?” I asked incredulously. “He
hit
him! The guy was in an almost fatal accident and his father hit him! He doesn’t even give a shit about his son, just the damn motorcycle! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t hunt that fucker down and kill him.”

“Harley needs you.” Hammer motioned with his chin to Harley’s room. Harley was curled up on the bed in the fetal position and Gareth was trying to soothe him. “You, Achilles, and no one else right now.”

I sighed and my shoulders slumped. I knew Hammer was right. Harley had grown accustomed to me being there, and I had grown accustomed to him. I patted Hammer’s bicep and moved toward the room. Harley lifted his head as I walked back in and the smallest of smiles graced his lips.

“You came back,” he whispered.

“Yeah, and I’m not leaving.”

Achilles

I stayed with Harley overnight. The doctors wanted to keep him under observation for a full twenty-four hours. Thank God he’d been wearing a helmet. His arm had been stitched up and I was assured he’d have no lasting effects from the injury. His legs had been cleaned and wrapped. I watched as he slept peacefully. After everything he’d been through, I wanted to protect him from anything else.

“Hey.”

I glanced over my shoulder at Gareth behind me. He stepped into the room and leaned over Harley, caressing his cheek. I knew these guys would bleed for one another. They were all like brothers and I respected the hell out of them for their loyalty.

“I told Jinx not to come,” Gareth whispered. “I told him Harley was okay.”

“Let me guess — that went over really well, right?”

“He’s on his way,” Gareth chuckled.

My cell vibrated in my back pocket and I fished it out, looking at the number.

“I have to take this. Be right back.”

I stepped outside and took the call. My mother’s voice came over the line.

“Achilles.”

“Hey, Mama. How are you?”

“Your father is not doing so good. He would like to see you.”

I looked back at the emergency room doors. Shit. I couldn’t leave Harley, but there was no way I wasn’t going to see my father.

“I’ll be there, Mama. Just give me a few days. I’ll be coming with Harley.”

“Oh, I would very much like to meet this man. You make him sound very funny.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s a barrel of laughs, Mama.”

“I am looking forward to seeing you. So is your father.”

“I’ll see you soon. I’ll send you all the info as soon as I know what day and time. Love you, Mama.”

“Love you, Achilles.”

I hung up and groaned, staring up at the night sky. This wouldn’t be easy. Harley was as stubborn as a fucking mule. He needed to get the fuck out of Dodge for a while; and after his accident, I knew I could talk Stan and the guys into letting me take him. My mother would dote on him and my father would keep him busy. Now I just had to figure out how I was going to get him to come with me. I headed back into the hospital and into Harley’s room. A nurse was checking his IV bag and his vitals. Harley was out, sleeping peacefully.

“Did you give him something?” I asked the nurse.

“Yes, we gave him a mild sedative after the ‘incident.’” She used her fingers to imply invisible quotation marks. “He was extremely upset.”

“Yeah, I got that.” I nodded, taking Harley’s hand.

“Are you his boyfriend?” she asked.

Gareth snickered in the chair next to the bed and I shot him a look.

“I’m his bodyguard,” I informed her.

“Lucky guy.” She winked as she left.

“The way you acted, I’d have thought you were his boyfriend, too.” Gareth reclined in the chair with a yawn.

“He scared the shit out of me. Rebel and I were talking about Holden, how we knew he’d have left Harley a letter. According to Harley, his parents never gave him one. I know for a fact Holden would have written one. We all have to in case we die.”

“I agree, Holden would have written a letter.”

We both turned to see Jinx in the doorway. He walked over to the bed and caressed Harley’s cheek.

“There’s no way in hell Holden wouldn’t have written Harley a goodbye letter. They were as close as Gareth and Ransom.” Jinx sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. “Those fucking assholes.”

“I need to take Harley out of here,” I announced. “I’m going to Greece to see my parents, I want to take Harley with me.”

“I think it’s a good idea.” Gareth nodded. “Get him out of here for a bit.”

“He could have died tonight,” Jinx said, his voice a little shaky. “What the fuck was he thinking?” Jinx leaned in to Harley’s ear. “Don’t do that shit again.”

“How long are you here, Jinx?” I asked.

“As long as he needs me. London Boys are wrapping up their tour, but if you’re taking him to Greece, I’ll go back to be with Jayden. You’ll take good care of Harley, right?”

“Don’t I always?”

Jinx turned to look at me. “I trust you, Achilles. Do what’s best for Harley.”

“I intend to.”