Thirty-Seven

In a split second, all hell broke loose.

Eden had just enough time to register Tig dashing to try to stop Archie taking off when Chibs seized his chance the moment that lethal-looking blade was away from her throat. Her captor - still howling in agony from her unexpected assault on him - was tackled off his feet, but she didn't get far enough away to avoid Mack grabbing at her, managing to catch her off-balance. And all three of them crashed to the floor in a tangle of bodies, a grunt of pain registering as her head cracked off the well-trodden wood and she saw stars.

Immediately trying to shake off her daze, the paramedic tried to push herself to sit up, her body still aching from her earlier rough treatment at the hands of the War Boys sergeant. Her warning shout came even as Chibs also clocked Mack going for the knife he had dropped in all the confusion, landing a punch to his face and buying himself enough time to kick the blade out of reach.

"Bastard," Mack spat, lashing out with his fists and somehow ending up on top of his target, pinning him down as his hands went for his throat in an effort to crush his windpipe.

"Filip!" Eden cried out in alarm, watching wide-eyed as he struggled furiously to get free, choking under the pressure of that relentless grip.

"Not so fucking … tough now, are ya, old man?" Mack goaded his prey, between gritted teeth. "No wonder your little bitch needed … a tune-up …"

As much as that sparked fresh fury in the older biker, Chibs was clearly weakening and his heart sank with the realisation of the true source of the pain sapping his strength. Much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he was beginning to fear that all he had achieved was forcing the woman he loved to watch him die before being left to whatever godforsaken fate was intended for her.

"Get off him, you piece of shit!" Eden tried, her fists raining blows on the War Boys sergeant, between trying to pull him off his target. "Stop, please, stop!"

It only served to fuel Mack's rage though, finally distracting him enough that he let up his hold just enough to deliver a hard punch to the face of the young woman, knocking her to the ground. That alone was petrol on flames to Chibs and he rallied enough to get more than a few brutal punches in himself.

"You fucking scummy bastard," the Scotsman snarled. "Laying your fucking hands on her – I'll bloody gut ya!"

"Try it," Mack challenged him, breathing hard as he managed to kick Chibs' legs out from under him and then he had him by the throat again.

There was a dark look of something close to glee in Mack's eyes as he too realised just how badly injured the Samcro president was and he shifted to use his knee to put pressure on the source of his pain, dragging a howl from the older biker.

A hand closed around the discarded knife.

"Let's see who's gutting who …" Mack grinned.

This time, it was no accident when the blade plunged into flesh.


"Oh my god …" Eden managed faintly. "Oh my god … Oh shit, no …"

The blood-soaked knife fell to the floor with a clatter as she stood rooted to the spot in horror, trembling as shock and disbelief took hold.

"Jesus Christ," Chibs groaned, struggling out from beneath the dead weight of the other biker and dragging himself slowly to his feet, dashing blood from his nose with one arm and keeping the other wrapped around his abdomen. "Jesus fucking Christ."

"I … I just wanted to stop h-him …" Eden whimpered. "I didn't mean … Is he …? Oh my god, I killed him! I killed him, Filip, I didn't mean to, I just …"

He stumbled towards her, hating to see the distress etched so deeply across her pale face and in her wide eyes and the torn uniform that suggested things he couldn't even bear to think about, gathering her into his arms and shielding her from the gore that had her so transfixed. He was more than a little stunned himself to realise his girl – his sweet, caring girl – had stuck that vicious blade right in Mack's neck. The bastard hadn't stood a chance, choking on the blood that gargled up in his throat, not that Chibs gave a shit about that. His only concern was for the clearly traumatised Eden.

"My wee love," he choked out, his voice husky as sorrow, anger and regret battled for a place on his scarred face and he cradled her to his chest, realising too late that he was only getting more blood – his and Mack's – on her. "You saved my life, my darlin', and you're safe now – that's all that matters. You hear me? That's all that matters."

"But I killed h-him!" she sobbed, trying to pull away from him without even really seeming to know what she was doing. "I-I'll have to tell the p-police, I'll … I'll go to prison!"

"Never," Chibs said firmly, taking her bruised face in his hands and pulling back just enough to look into those distraught green eyes. "Never, ever am I gonna let that happen. Eden, listen to me – listen. It was self-defence, love. That mad bastard would have killed both o' us. You did what you had to do and I'm so fucking proud o' you. But we get our story straight, just in case, yeah? Because this was all me. No, no arguments, sweetheart. I told you before there'd be times where you'd have to trust my decisions. This is one o' those times. Trust me."

Eden could only shake her head. "Seth went to prison because of me," she wept, practically pleading with him to understand. "I can't have that happen to you too. This is my fault!"

"Oh, my darlin'," he sighed, his hand caressing her cheek gently as he pressed a tender kiss to her lips. "I promise you I ain't going inside, not for this. Self-defence, remember?"

"W-what if they don't believe that?"

"They will," Chibs said grimly, reluctantly pulling his cut aside to reveal the growing bloodstain darkening his shirt. "Because that fucker got me first."


Eden's eyes widened in fresh shock at the sight of the blood oozing between Chibs' ringed fingers as he pressed a hand over the wound he had picked up right when he had first tackled Mack to the ground.

"No …" she breathed. "No, no, no, oh, please, no!"

"Probably looks worse than it is," he tried ruefully, even as he grimaced in pain and sagged against her, the adrenaline that had kept him going already starting to fade. "Stings like a bastard though."

"Filip!"

His name turned into a little sob as she tried to ease him down onto the floor, frantically pushing aside his cut and ripping his shirt open to try to get a better look, finding the wound clean but worryingly deep and bleeding heavily. She couldn't seem to keep from crying no matter how much she tried to call upon all her experience as a medic. That professional detachment just wouldn't come though. "Oh god … Desi? Desi! Desi, help!"

Hearing his partner's distressed screams, Desi – in the process of telling TO everything he knew about what had happened, both of them oblivious to the extent of the carnage that had unfolded inside – simply bolted for the house with the biker on his heels.

"Eden? Oh, shit," he exclaimed. "What the hell happened?"

"He's been stabbed," Eden managed, tears pouring down her face as she tried to keep pressure on the wound. "Oh god, he's been stabbed and it's pretty bad."

"Don't cry, lass," Chibs murmured weakly, reaching towards her with a blood-stained hand. "I … fuckin' hate makin' ya cry …"

"Then you need to stay with me, you hear me?" she told him, even as his hand fell back down onto his chest and his eyes started to drift closed. "Filip!"

"Holy fuck, Chibs!" Tig swore in alarm, striding back in followed by Knox and Bug, breathless after their fruitless efforts to chase down Archie only to have lost him among the trees.

"What can we do?" Knox demanded, equally horrified to see the Samcro president bleeding on the floor.

It was Desi who spoke up, with Eden too focused on the man she loved to even really hear them.

"Go to the ambulance – we've used a lot of the pressure dressings already, but see what you can find. But what he really needs is a hospital. And fast."

Tig glanced around at his brothers and then, as Knox took off in search of supplies, whipped his phone out of his pocket and started dialling.

"Who you calling?" TO demanded.

"Fucking 911," the VP snapped. "We ain't in the frame for any of this shit and I ain't standing here with my thumb up my ass while he ups and dies on me too. You better hear me, you Scottish bastard - after everything we've been through, you don't get to do that to me!"

"Love you too, Tiggy," Chibs said weakly, his wry smile fading as his head rolled weakly to the side and he gazed longingly up at Eden. "My angel," he slurred, barely managing to do more than mouth the words. "I love you … I'm s-sorry … for everythin'."

Having let Desi take over trying to stem the bleeding, Eden shook her head as she clung to the biker's hand, leaning down to kiss him with tears coursing down her cheeks.

"Please don't leave me," she begged him, while Tig paced the floor beside them like a caged animal, raking his hands through his curly hair like he might tear it out in helpless frustration. "I need you."

A phone ringing cut through the increasingly laboured sound of Chibs' breathing.

"Hap," Tig realised, glancing from the screen to his closest brother as he lay almost lifelessly, half cradled in Eden's arms. His blue eyes hardened, knowing their sergeant was expecting instructions.

"Filip, please …" Eden sobbed, as Desi swore and redoubled his efforts, adding the wadded shirt Bug had stripped off to the dressing Knox had retrieved to try to put as much pressure as he could on the wound.

Tig's mind was made up. For what one of their number dared do … Fuck the War Boys and anyone associated with them. But not right now. Right now, they had more pressing concerns.

"Get outta there and get to St Thomas," he told Happy grimly. "We're coming in."

Tig hung up, taking a deep breath as he wondered for a second whether he had done the right thing. But when he knelt beside a devastated Eden, laying a hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her, he was sure he had.

"Please, Filip," she pleaded with his beloved brother, her fingers running gently through his hair. "Please stay with me. I love you - I love you so much."

That was the last thing Chibs heard.