With the Colonel’s Help: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

“That should do it.” Dr. Reynolds finished taping a bandage over the wound on my thigh, the elderly man’s grin both knowing and worried, though he kept his voice light since I was definitely not the first of us to call him in the middle of the night needing his services.

Thank fuck he made house calls.

But he was paid pretty well to do the things we needed him to do and to do them in confidence.

Trusted the man, one hundred percent.

“He’s in the clear?” River asked for what had to have been the tenth time since he’d come blazin’ in ten minutes ago.

Rest of the crew had trickled in after that.

Each vibrating aggression where they gathered in some kind of semi-circle around the chair where I sat near the dining room table since the light was best there.

The sun was just breaking the horizon, the massive windows behind us striking with a gray glow and making them all appear like shadowy beasts. Beasts doing their best not to work themselves into a rage but pretty much failing.

I’d at least taken off my boots and pulled on shorts and a tee before anyone had gotten here, so maybe the madman look had ebbed a fraction, but there was no question every single one of us looked a bit psychotic.

“He should be completely fine. Bullet hit the side of his thigh and didn’t lodge, though it took a nice chunk of skin with it. Seven stitches should do it. He might be sore for a couple of days, but other than that, he’s good as new.”

“See, what did I tell you? You can’t keep a good man down, and this one is the best.” I issued it with all the exaggeration I could enlist, hoping it belied the wrath that burned inside me.

My attention moved to Raven who stood on the other side of River. Distress radiated from her every pore.

I itched, wondering if her brother could look at her and see that something had shifted. That a change had been made. If he could see my filthy hands written all over her.

Really fucked-up thing was there was a part of me that thought I hadn’t touched her nearly enough. Part of me that thought there was so much more to explore and discover.

I sucked it down and tried to act like this occurrence was no big deal. Everyone gathered around knew it was definitely an issue, though. Someone didn’t just come around firing shots for no reason.

Dread clamped down on my spirit. Couldn’t shake the worry that my actions had done this. That I’d been discovered before I’d had the chance to enact the revenge that had been coming for a long, long time.

But I wouldn’t let it stop me.

Couldn’t let it sway me.

The judgement had been cast, and it was on me to execute this wrath.

Dr. Reynolds stood, his knees creaking as he did. Felt bad that I had to drag him out in the middle of the night. Guy should be retired by now, and I was pretty sure half the reason he stayed in business was to be of aide to Sovereign Sanctum.

“If you’re in pain, take up to 600 mg of ibuprofen every four hours. Stitches are absorbable, so you don’t need to follow up unless you feel like you might be developing an infection, but in my experience, it isn’t likely you’d come in even if I wanted you to, anyway.”

The old guy had us pegged.

“Don’t think you need to worry about me.”

Dr. Reynolds chuckled. “Just as I thought. But try to lay low. Don’t go running any marathons in the next week.”

“Can’t make any promises,” I ribbed, keeping it light as I lifted my arms out to the sides.

He grunted a laugh then turned to everyone hovering close. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you,” Kane told him.

“You know I’m at your beck and call,” he said before he angled around them and crossed to the door to head downstairs.

The second it closed behind him, Theo whipped forward, venom dripping from his tongue. “Did you get a look at this fucker?”

Trepidation spiraled through my senses. Knew the second the doctor left, the inquisition would start. Wasn’t sure I was prepared for it, though.

Guilt weighed so heavy I thought it might crush me.

A strained sigh rolled out of me as I scrubbed a palm over my face.

Hated it.

Keeping my crew in the dark.

My family.noveldrama

The ones I trusted most.

“No. Best I could make out was it was a male. Tall and thin. Took off on a dirt bike. Camera footage was grainy as fuck and not a whole lot of use.”

“Fuck,” Kane spat toward the ground. He glanced around at our crew.

River was a dark cloud, that quiet, terrifying fury oozing from his being. Theo looked like he was a second from hopping on his bike and searching every square inch of Moonlit Ridge, murder pricking on his tattooed fingers.

And Cash…Cash lingered a couple steps behind, staring at me with his brown eyes narrowed into accusatory slits.

No doubt, he had an idea of who it was, though he was keeping quiet, waiting on me to make the right choice to come clean.

Agitation twisted my stomach into knots. Couldn’t. Not yet. I had to see this through, and I had to do it without dragging my crew into this disaster.

It might be inevitable, though. Wasn’t sure I could keep this secret if someone had found out what I was doing. Couldn’t keep going along like nothing had happened if it put my family in danger.

Second I thought it, my gaze shifted to Raven.

Fuckin’ gorgeous Raven.

Wearing those sleep shorts and that tank, shifting on her bare, pretty feet. Hair piled high. A total mess that I wanted to make messier.

Her face was contorted in a thousand things that I both adored and didn’t want to recognize.

It was like standing there, she knew. Like she possessed some ability to see straight to the middle of me, dig around in my secrets, and discern exactly who I was and what I was up to.

“Has anyone heard anything? Had any sign that someone has discovered who we are?” River asked, attention volleying between each of us.

Kane and Theo shook their heads. “It’s been quiet.”

River shifted to Cash. Cash who looked like he wanted to call me out, his bearded jaw clenched as he looked from me to River. “My surveillance shows all current placements remain in their homes. I also haven’t intercepted any indication of someone searching for us.”

Frustration heaved from River’s nose. “This can’t be fuckin’ random.”

“Nah, there’s no chance,” Theo agreed, studying me like he was also searching around for some sort of clue hidden on my face.

“Did anyone look downstairs?” Raven asked. “See if any evidence was left behind? A window was broken, and whoever this was took off on a dirt bike, so there have to be tracks, right? There has to be some clue to find this creep.” Her tone was harried. “He can’t just get away. We can’t let him get away.”

Her words broke on the last, and she turned a forlorn gaze on me. A gaze I was worried said too much.

Was I the only one who could read it? Feel it? Her desperation? The way she looked like she was a second from running to me and crawling right onto my lap?

I guessed the rest of my crew was too disconcerted themselves to notice it.

“No, we’re not letting this piece of shit get away,” Kane growled. “Going to hunt the fucker down and let him know exactly what happens when you mess with one of us. And you’re right, we need to go downstairs and see what we can find.”

I’d attempted to before they’d all gotten here, but Raven had refused to let me, telling me I had to sit until the doctor showed or she was going to be the one to make me bleed.

Fiery little vixen had come at me full force.

They all started for the door, and I flinched with the bite of pain that zinged down my leg when I stood.

“Fuck,” I grumbled.

“You stay,” Theo ordered.

I scoffed as I limped behind them. “No chance I’m sitting on my ass while you all go off defending my honor.”

“And what honor would that be?” Kane cracked, nudging my arm with his elbow.

I didn’t miss the way that Raven flinched at the insinuation, though she covered it as she got behind me like she was going to follow us.

“Want you to wait here,” I told her, nothing I could do against the wave of protectiveness that slammed me.

The way I wanted to lock her behind closed doors and keep her safe forever.

Even from behind, I could feel the roll of her eyes. “And what? You want me to sit on my ass? I don’t think so. I am perfectly capable of looking for clues. I’m part bloodhound. Charleigh lost her keys a couple weeks ago. She was searching everywhere…and guess who found them, lickity-split? This girl right here.”

“Don’t like you getting involved in Sanctum business, Raven,” River rumbled as he started downstairs, leading the pack.

Disbelief shot from her nose. “Do you think I haven’t been all along, River? You all think just because you don’t give me the details, it doesn’t affect me? This is my life, too, and I care about Otto every bit as much as the rest of you, so don’t ask me to stand aside and act like some helpless damsel who can’t help find the asshole who hurt someone I love, because I promise you, that is not going to happen.”

Her words struck me.

Arrows that impaled.

I tried to breathe around their impact while Kane let go of a low whistle. “Damn. Someone is telling it like it is.”

“Well, I’m tired of not telling it.”

A low laugh reverberated from Theo. “Girl said she was ready to stretch her wings. Just didn’t know they were going to be coming up against all of us.”

How everyone had gone light in the midst of this should have been impossible, but we’d seen enough shit in our lives that these types of situations weren’t exactly rare. They came far less once we’d parted from the MC, but trouble still seemed to manage to make its way to us.

But this one?

I was pretty sure it was on me, and my guts twisted when we got to the lower level.

The lights were on full blast, bright and stark as they illuminated the area. Shining over my collection of restored trucks and bikes. But it was the broken window on the opposite side that held my attention.

I strode that way, forgetting the pain as I got close enough to see what had busted the glass.

It was a rock about the size of a fist, but wrapped around it was a piece of paper that was held by a bunch of rubber bands.

I knelt to pick it up.

“You find something?” River asked from behind.

“Looks like someone might be sending me a message.”

I was likely outed. Right in front of my whole fuckin’ crew.

Guilty.

I wouldn’t deny it—what I’d been doing. What I had to do. The revenge I had to seek because those deranged bastards couldn’t go on living after what they had done.

Thing was, I knew down to my soul they would have gladly jumped on their bikes and rode with me to enact the punishment.

But this wasn’t about them, and this vengeance had to be committed by my own hands. Four of their deaths had already been stolen from me. I hadn’t been willing to give up any more of them.

A lump the size of Georgia filled my throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe as I pulled off the rubber bands and unfurled the paper from the rock. Setting it aside, I lifted the paper to see what the message read.

Then that ball of dread in my throat dropped to the pit of my stomach.

A stone sinking to the bottom of the sea when I saw the words scrawled in red across the paper.

Did you think you would get away with it? No, bitch, you will bleed.

Any fury I’d thought I was feeling? It was nil compared to the rage that slammed me. A tsunami that threatened to knock me from my feet.

I turned to find her standing just behind me. Horror blanched her face, the color draining away to a pasty white.

A storm of madness whipped through the garage.

Every member of Sovereign Sanctum instantly riding a sharp, cutting edge.

Because it became immediately clear that the slur written on Moonflower’s window wasn’t random, and this motherfucker hadn’t come for me.

He’d come for Raven.