“If by ‘the whole time,’ you mean at the hospital and the bar, then yes,” she answered with a hint of attitude in her voice.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”
“I just told you. Because I don’t know where my mother and brother are, and I have no interest in seeing either one of them.”
“And why’d you start going by River?”
She sighed. “Because I wanted to distance myself as far away from this place as possible, physically and figuratively. Rain was the poor little fat girl with no future. River is the healthy, college graduate with a solid career and a promising future.”
“I see,” I said. I wanted to argue with her about her description of her younger self, but I knew it was pointless. “Well, I don’t know shit about your mother, but Da—Reed doesn’t live here. He hasn’t lived here for a long time,” I told her.
“Oh, well that’s good to know. With any luck, my mother is dead, and I have nothing to worry about for the rest of my contract,” she chirped.
“Your brother isn’t a bad man, Rain,” I said.
“River. My name is River,” she corrected.
I held my hands up in surrender. “Sorry. Your brother isn’t a bad man, River.”
“Never said he was a bad man. I said I didn’t want to see or talk to him. And I don’t,” she stated.
I sighed, knowing what I was about to tell her would not make her happy in the slightest. “You remember the Blackwings MC?”
“Yeah, why?”
“The club moved to Croftridge a while back. A few years ago, a new chapter of Blackwings was started in Devil Springs. Anyway, your brother is a member of the Croftridge chapter,” I told her.
“Okay. Why are you telling me this?”
“Because, I’m a member of the Devil Springs chapter, and I have to tell him you’re in town,” I said.
The steak landed hard against my chest seconds before she walked out and slammed my front door in her wake.
***
I hoped River would knock on my door after she’d had some time to cool down, but three days passed, and I hadn’t even caught a glimpse of her in passing. So, I sucked it up and knocked on her door, but, if she was home, she didn’t answer.
I went back to my place and picked up the phone. I’d already waited too long to call, and I couldn’t put it off any longer.
“Judge, what’s up, man?” Dash answered.
“Hey, brother, uh, I ran into your sister a few days ago,” I said.
“No shit. Where?”
Dropping down on my sofa, I filled him in on my encounters with River.
Dash blew out a slow breath. “I hate to say it, but I’m not going to bother her. I know she doesn’t want to see me. She made that clear the one time I was able to track her down a few years ago. If she’s in trouble or she needs my help, I’ll do anything I can for her, but otherwise, I’m going to leave her be.”
“Can I ask what happened between you two?”
He let out a humorless laugh. “Honestly, Judge, I don’t fucking know myself. When I was discharged from the Marines and came home, she was gone. Took me a few years to find her, and she flat out told me she would press charges if I came anywhere near her again.”
“What about your mom? Do you know anything about her?” I asked.
“Last I heard, she was still using and was whoring herself to pay for her drugs, but that was also a few years ago. Bitch is probably dead by now,” he said, his voice full of disgust.
“Gotcha. So, do you want me to tell her I talked to you?” I asked.
“No, probably better if you don’t. But I do want you to keep an eye on her. Regardless of what she thinks, I do love her and care about her. Now, my mother? I don’t give two flying fucks what happens to her,” he said.
“Will do, man. How’s Ember doing?” I asked.
The tone of his voice noticeably changed. “She’s doing great. Only a few weeks left before we get to meet our baby girl.”
“Awesome, man. Keep me posted.”
After getting off the phone with Dash, I sat back and wondered what could have happened that made River hate her brother so much. I could understand her dislike for her mother, but her brother was a good guy.
Before I could talk myself out of it, my phone was in my hand making another phone call.
“Brother Judge,” Harper answered cheerfully.
“Hey, little sister cousin. You busy?”
“Not at all. What’s up?”
“I think she may have been a grade or two ahead of you in school, but do you remember Rain Lawson?” I asked.
Harper inhaled sharply. “How could I not remember her?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seriously don’t know? The whole thing that happened at prom the first year I went? I didn’t think people would ever stop talking about it.”
“Well, they did, because I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I grumbled.
“From what I remember, she went to prom with that douchebag, Brett Owens. They had been dating for a few months. Anyway, she went to talk to some friends and then went to the restroom. She came out of the bathroom to find her mother sucking Brett’s dick in the girls’ locker room. She started screaming at Brett and kicked the shit out of her mother. Some teachers came in to see what was going on, and it turned into a huge ordeal. Her mom started having a seizure and foaming at the mouth while her wrinkled, saggy tits flopped around for all to see. Brett’s junk was hanging out on full display, and they were threatening to arrest her for aggravated assault. If that wasn’t bad enough, Brett told everyone Rain’s brother paid him and her mother to do it.”
I was on my feet and pacing from one side of my living room to the other. “What happened next?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Nothing really. I don’t think she came back to school after that. It was near the end of the year anyway, but I don’t remember seeing her again after prom. Why are you asking about her?”
“I ran into her a few days ago. So, I’m guessing you don’t know who her brother is?” I asked.
“No, should I?”
I snorted. “Yes, Harpy. Her brother is Dash.”
Harper’s shriek damn near busted my eardrum. “He would never do something like that!”
“Yeah, I know, but listen, this isn’t our business. He knows she’s back in Devil Springs, but she’s asked him to leave her alone, and he’s respecting her wishes. So, can you not mention this conversation we just had? It just seemed like there was something I was missing, and obviously, I was.”
“Yeah, I can keep it to myself. I mean, my big scary biker is right here listening to everything we’re saying, but he knows how to mind his own business. Right, pumpkin?”
“Call me pumpkin in front of a brother again, and I’ll put you over my knee,” Carbon rumbled in the background.
“And that’s my cue to go. Talk to you later, Harper. Love you,” I said and disconnected the call before I heard anything that would mentally scar me. Even though Harper was technically my first cousin, she came to live with my mother and me when she was ten years old and has always been more like a sister than a cousin to me.
I sat back and wondered if what Harper had said was the reason River hated Dash. But then I reminded myself that we were all adults, and it really wasn’t any of my business.
Chapter Six
River
You can ask any nurse who’s ever worked in a hospital what happens when it’s a full moon, and they will all give you the same answer. The crazies come out to play. It didn’t matter if it was a big city or a tiny town. So, I wasn’t surprised when I dealt with difficult patient after difficult patient, followed by a “you waited until two o’clock in the morning to have someone look at the golf-ball sized cyst on your leg” and a few “you really didn’t need to come to the ER for that.”
Kennedy sped past me with a wad of papers in her hand. “I’ve got discharge orders for two of
mine. Can you check in on the abdominal pain that they just brought back to room four?”
“On it,” I said and went to see our newest patient. I should’ve looked at the board. Should’ve at least checked the name. But we were crazy busy and doing everything we could to stay on top of the madness.
I knocked and pushed the door open. “Hi. I’m River, and I’ll be one of your nurses tonight. What seems to be—?”
“Is that any way to greet your mother, Rain?” the toothless, wrinkled woman asked before dramatically clutching her stomach.
Okay, I just needed to make sure she wasn’t actively dying, remain professional, and get the hell out of her room as fast as possible. Most hospitals wouldn’t make you take care of a family member if you didn’t want to; some wouldn’t allow it even if you did want to.
I cleared my throat, “What are we seeing you for tonight, ma’am?” No way in hell was I calling her any form of mother, and I didn’t have a clue what last name she might be using.
She scrunched her face and moaned. “My stomach. It hurts. Please make it stop. Oh, the pain. It’s killing me,” she wailed.
“I see. And where does it hurt?” I asked.
“My stomach, you stupid bitch. Just told you that,” she spat, no longer clutching her stomach.
“And on a scale of zero to ten, what would you rate this pain?” I asked.
“A twelve,” she yelled and fell back onto the bed dramatically.
“Have you had this pain before?” I continued.
“Yesss!!!” she screamed.
“And what helped it?”
She sat up quickly and said, “Dilaudid. Only Dilaudid. They gave me some through a needle in my arm and sent me home with pills. Made it all better.”
“Okay, the doctor will be in to see you in a few minutes,” I said and got out of there as fast as I could without actually running for the door.
I looked around but didn’t see Kennedy or Dr. Daniels anywhere. The two other nurses working were with Dr. Alvarez getting a patient ready to take to surgery. I waited at the nurse’s station, hoping one of them would return soon. And then room four’s call bell went off.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
With no other choice, I walked back through the portal to hell with a fake smile on my face. “Did you need something?”
“Pain medicine! I need something for pain before I die!” she cried.
“Okay, let me see if I can find the doctor,” I said and turned to leave the room only to be shoulder checked by a greasy, dirty, stinky man who was clearly on some kind of drugs.
“Why the fuck are you just standing there? Get my woman something for pain,” he shouted.
I left the room again and blessedly found Dr. Daniels at the nurse’s station. “Everything okay, River?”
“No, ma’am. Uh, the patient in room four is complaining of severe abdominal pain, and, um,” I sighed and covered my face with my hands. “And she’s my mother, so I would like to trade patients with another nurse, please.”
Dr. Daniels frowned. “Um, that’s fine, as soon as Kennedy comes back. She got puked on and went to shower and change,” she said as she clicked through the computer. “So, Spring Lawson is your mother?”
“She gave birth to me, yes,” I answered. She didn’t deserve the title of mother.
“I see,” she said kindly and patted my hand. “I’m familiar with Ms. Lawson. Let me go see if I can get her out of here so you don’t have to deal with her.”
“Thank you, Dr. Daniels,” I said and breathed a sigh of relief.
True to her word, Dr. Daniels called my mother on her bullshit and sent her packing with nothing stronger than acetaminophen. “She comes in and tries that abdominal pain bit every couple of months, hoping a new doctor will be working. What she doesn’t realize is that her history is listed right there in the chart for all to see,” she said. “So, hopefully you won’t have to see her again.”
Unfortunately, she was wrong. My mother and her male friend were waiting for me in the parking lot. How they knew which car was mine, I have no idea, but there they were with their disgusting asses resting on my bumper.
My plan was to completely ignore them, get into my car, and drive away with or without them still sitting on my car. They had a different plan. One that involved the male party wrapping his hands around my throat and choking me while my mother spewed spittle all over the side of my face as she flapped her toothless gums at me.
“I’ll be back tonight, and you will make sure I get some pain pills or I will fuck you up, you hear me, whore. Fuck. You. Up. You owe me, and now that you’re back, you’re gonna pay.”
With that, I was released and shoved away as they scurried off and disappeared between the cars. And at that moment, all I could think was, I hope they didn’t give me lice.
I went home, showered, and slept. Or tried to. Despite my best efforts, my mother and her friend had gotten to me. I wasn’t scared of them, but I didn’t want to have to deal with them. And I knew I would, because addicts were relentless, and she saw me as a means to an end.
After staying in bed for hours and not falling asleep, I got up and moved to the couch hoping I would fall asleep while watching my beloved Golden Girls DVDs. Finally, somewhere between the fifth and sixth episode, I did fall asleep only to be woken up some time later by someone knocking on my front door.
I got up and peeked through the window, groaning when I saw Jonah standing on my front porch, staring at me. Growling to myself, I opened the door and didn’t bother to hide my annoyance. “What do you want?”
He stepped forward and tried to crowd me into my own home, but I refused to move, and he ended up with his body pressed almost flush to mine. “The fuck happened to your neck?”
“None of your business. Why are you here?” I asked.
“I wanted to talk to you about the other day, but now I want to know who did that to you,” he demanded.
“I like rough sex, and I don’t want to talk about the other day. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for work,” I huffed and closed the door in his face.
“River! Damn it. We’re going to talk about this!” he yelled through the door.
“No, we’re not. Go away, Jonah.”
Things only deteriorated from there. When I got to work, it was still a madhouse. On top of that, Kennedy was off and so was the doctor I usually worked with, but I couldn’t complain too much, at least not about the staffing. I had yet to meet anyone who wasn’t confident and friendly, which had never happened to me in my few years as a nurse, even as a student nurse.
As promised, my mother showed up about halfway through my shift claiming she broke her finger. Once she was triaged, the charge nurse assigned Virginia to be her nurse, and I breathed a sigh of relief until Virginia returned and said the patient was asking for me to be her nurse.
Instead of putting up an argument about it, I sucked it up and accepted the assignment. I knew she wouldn’t go away until I made it clear that I would not help her in her quest to acquire prescription narcotics. And that’s exactly what I was going to do.
“What brings you in tonight, Ms. Lawson?” I asked in an overly cheerful tone.
She held up her hand and pointed to an extremely swollen and misshapen finger. “I broke my finger.”
Yeah, I had to agree with her. Yuck. “Okay, let me get the doctor for you,” I said and quickly left the room.
“Dr. Alvarez, the patient in room three appears to have a broken finger. Would you like for me to go ahead and get an x-ray?” I asked.
“Yes, please. And thank you,” she said with a smile as she continued typing and clicking on the computer in front of her.
It didn’t take long for the x-ray to confirm the break, causing my mother to smile with glee. Dr. Alvarez placed her in a splint, went over her discharge instructions, and gave her a prescription for ibuprofen.
“I want something stronger,” she demanded.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Lawson,
but your injury doesn’t warrant something stronger,” Dr. Alvarez said and left me standing there while my mother fumed at me.
“You go after her and get me something else!” she screamed.
“It doesn’t work like that. It’s people like you who’ve made it damn near impossible for people who actually do need pain medication to get it. Now, you have your paperwork, and it’s time for you to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I have something for pain!” she screeched.
“You have a prescription for pain medicine. If you don’t leave on your own, I will call security and have you escorted out,” I told her.
“I’d like to see you try,” she spat.
I didn’t have the time or patience to deal with her shit. I wasn’t kidding, and I proved it ten minutes later when two security guards entered her room and told her to leave. She made a huge scene and threw herself onto the floor kicking and screaming with a tantrum that any three-year-old would have been envious of.
Dr. Alvarez stepped into the doorway and took in the scene. “River, call the police while I order a psych consult,” she said loudly.
Silence suddenly fell over the room. My mother got to her feet, glared at Dr. Alvarez, and stomped out the door.
My mouth dropped open in shock, and Dr. Alvarez grinned. “Works every time.”
I was so relieved to have my mother out of the hospital that the rest of the night’s craziness didn’t bother me. And when I got home, I fell asleep the second my head hit my pillow.
Chapter Seven
Judge
The one thing I didn’t like about living in the rental house was the distance it was from my office. My mom’s house, the clubhouse, and my new house were all on the other side of town where my office was located. Since I tended to do a good bit of work at home, I set up a makeshift office in one of the guest bedrooms of the rental house.
It didn’t happen very often, but occasionally I would get an alert that needed immediate attention. So, when one of those alerts came to my phone Saturday morning, I stopped what I was doing and went back to my home office to see what was going on.
Judge (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 2) Page 3