He takes my wrists and pulls me down closer so I fall onto his lap. “That’s a piss-ass answer, stop your bullshit and pull yourself together.”

“Oh, bite me.”

He smirks and leans in, doing just that. I squeal loudly as his mouth closes over my neck and he bites me. The motherfucker makes it hurt, too.

“Ow,” I scream. “Maddox, you bastard.”

He laughs as he pulls away, and I can’t help but grin back.

“There we are, pretty smile returned. Now get off me or I’ll change my mind and bite you in other places.”

I smile at him, not because he’s being sexual again, but because I think it’s the first nice thing he’s done for me. I shove off his lap and stand, catching a glimpse of Krypt standing at the bar. His eyes are on mine, fierce and deadly. I lose my smile and walk off down the hall, giving him nothing.

It’s clear we’re done.

He’s ashamed of me. He doesn’t want his precious Penny to know about me, and that’s fine, but I don’t have to accept it.

I won’t accept it.

I’m woken in the morning to a high-pitched scream.

I jerk up out of bed as footsteps pound down the hall. I rub my eyes, trying to listen, terrified to even move. That wasn’t a good scream, it was the kind of scream you hear when someone finds a dead body.

“Fuck, shit, get her inside,” I hear Maddox bark.

“What is it?” another voice yells.

“Howard left us a present. Where’s Ash?”

Krypt’s voice.

“Sleepin’. Who is that?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know, but he’s in a bad fuckin’ way.”

He?

I get out of my bed, pulling a pair of jeans on before walking through the house and out the front door.

What I see has my entire body skidding to a halt.

There is a man slumped outside of the gates, but all I can see of him is blood. He’s covered in it. My eyes widen, and I begin to tremble as I force my legs to take me closer. The bikers are rushing about, some of them on the phone, others standing back and watching with disgust.

Maddox and Krypt are leaning down, touching the man, no doubt checking for a pulse. Santana is standing to the left, her hand pressed over her mouth. Penny is beside her, her face pale.

I turn my attention back onto the man that’s been dumped. As I near, I see his arms, that tattoos winding up them. I freeze in horror when my eyes fall on an all-too-familiar tattoo of a skeleton with a name wrapped around the skull.

I scream before I think, running full-throttle towards the body.

Krypt spins around, and so does Maddox. They both stare at me in confusion for a minute, until they realize my eyes are trained on the body. I am sobbing wildly by the time I skid to a stop. I drop to my knees, reaching out. “Leo?” I whisper.

“You know this man?” Maddox asks.

“Yes, oh God. Leo, honey, wake up.”

His entire body has been beaten; he’s covered in blood. His eyes are puffy and there is a split under his cheek that’s gaping and dripping with blood. His lips are busted up. He looks terrible.

“Leo,” I croak.

“Get her inside, now,” Krypt suddenly yells, an urgency in his voice that has me panicking.

“Krypt?” Maddox questions.

“Fuck, now!” he roars.

Someone runs towards me, standing me up and jerking me towards the house. I don’t know what’s happening.

“Krypt?” Maddox yells again.

“Don’t you fuckin’ see? They knew she’d come out here, which means . . .”

He doesn’t get to finish, because the sound of gunfire rings through the trees. A bullet zooms right past my head. I scream and begin running towards the house. Another shot rings out, and a burning pain rips through my shoulder. I drop to my knees, crying out in agony.

“Get her in, now!” Krypt roars.

Someone leans down, lifting my body and dragging me through the front door. Another shot hits the pole beside my head as we pass it. When I’m inside, I’m rushed down the hall until whoever has me reaches a bathroom. I see it’s Grimm, when I manage to focus through my pain. He lays me on the floor, pulling out his gun. He lays me directly under the window, so that I can’t be shot through it.

He pulls a towel off the rack and presses it against my shoulder. “It’s goin’ to be okay.”

“It hurts,” I wail.

“I know. Stay still. You can’t afford to move right now.”

“Krypt,” I croak.

“They’ve got this.”

I hear more gunshots, doors slamming, and girls screaming, before everything falls silent. I am still shaking through the pain, my vision blurring as my body threatens to drop into darkness.

“Oh God, it hurts,” I scream.

“Hush,” Grimm says again. “It’ll be over soon.”

My head swims and my eyes flutter closed. I’m still screaming, but soon darkness clutches me and takes me with it. I let it, too. I need the escape from the pain, because the pain is too much, and I feel as though I’m going to die if I don’t get away from it for just a second.

“Ash,” I hear Grimm say as I sink further. “Ash wake up.”

Then I hear nothing.

“Motherfucker, she’s bleeding,” I hear through a foggy haze.

“Stitch her, fast. If you don’t, she’ll lose too much blood. The bullet is gone.”