“Red?” I ask, I’ve never experienced my past stitches become red so I’m wanting to understand exactly what he means when he mentions the color.
“Flaming red, feverish, hot to the touch,” he advises me.
“Got it.” I nod my head, asking, “when can I see him?”
“He was just starting to come around when I left him. You’ll be able to go on in now if you’d like.” As soon as the last word leaves his mouth, I walk away from him.
I don't have to worry about getting his location from the nurse’s station, because I can hear his voice booming from his room.
13
Kruger
“Get these fucking wires and IV off of me, now!” I growl out at the shaking nurse who’s looking at me as if I’m the devil incarnate.
“Sir, you haven’t been discharged yet. You still need to wait for the antibiotic drip to finish,” she shakily scolds me.
“Do I look like I give a fuck?” I angrily ask her.
“Sir,” she tries to continue with her blabbering mouth, which is going in one ear and out the other… I need to get the fuck out of here! I need to find Stella.
“Kruger,” I hear Gunner call out my name as he comes strolling in the room, fire blazing in his eyes. “Finish your meds and then we’ll get you out of here. Lady,” he says turning to the nurse, “you gotta go, we have business to discuss.”
“But I have to finish taking his vitals,” she informs him, with a look of utter dismay plastered on her face. Fucking women, why do they always have to question and not follow orders when directed? I know I’m being snappy, well, with good reason I’m pissed off and need to be out searching and locating my woman.
“You heard the man,” I spit out. “Get lost, you can come back with my discharge papers and check me over before I leave.”
“I have to chart them before the doctor will release you,” she huffs out her annoyance.
“Well then get it done and over with.” Gunner snaps his fingers at her, he’s well and truly fed up. She stomps her foot but comes over to me and places a thermometer in my mouth as she straps on the blood pressure cuff. In my personal opinion, she tightens that thing just a little too much as she squeezes the little ball at the end that inflates it. I scowl at her, but outside of that, I don’t say a word to her seeing as my mouth is filled with the temperature gauge… but I make sure she sees the displeased look directed at her. Gunner rolls his eyes at me and I turn my scowl in his direction. I’m not pleased that I’m forced to stay here, I’m fucking fine, and perfectly capable of being out there combing the streets.
“There, all done,” she announces, but then ruins it with the next words that leave her trap. “Men can be such babies sometimes.” Gunner and I both send her a menacing, petulant look which has her quickly scurrying out of the room.
“Did anyone tell you about the note you had attached to you?” Gunner asks me.
“Sure the fuck did, what are we doing about it?” I need to know that everyone’s not just sitting on their asses waiting on me to get out of here.
“Just before coming in here, I ordered the guys to burn that reservation down,” he says with a tone that causes my body to break out in bumps. It takes a lot to get Gunner to the point he’s currently at, I’m thinking that Jamie taking Stella was the last damn straw.
“Good,” I state, “we need to be ready and willing to do whatever it takes to cause Jamie the fuckface to lose all of his composure and make a mistake.”
“This will do that. He needs to do something, make some sort of oops in order for us to get the upper hand. I’m tired of always being one step behind him,” Gunner disdainfully states.
“We need to be ready for when he retaliates, because he will,” I tell him as my mind begins to plot one scenario after the other. “If that fucker hurts one hair on her head, I’m gonna fuck him up.”
“He’s gonna get fucked up whether he’s done it or not,” Gunner issues. “He and his tribe of ruthless fuckers need to be permanently eliminated.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more,” I concur with his declaration of intent. “Let’s get the fuck out of here and make some damn heads roll.”
“Soon, man. According to the doctor, you need these antibiotics in order to not get an infection. We need you at a hundred percent, so just let the meds do their thing.”
“Fine,” I grumble.
Stella
I come awake with a startle. As I go to sit up, I notice that my head is pounding and my stomach is turning. It takes me a minute to get my bearings, but once I do and open my eyes, I don’t recognize where I am. Scanning around, I take in my surroundings, and it’s not a pretty sight. The room is dingy, unkempt, and smells atrocious. A damn porta potty smells like roses compared to this room. “Uck,” I mutter as I begin to breathe through my mouth instead of my nose, but I swear, I can taste the stench which makes me begin gagging. Who the fuck can stand to live like this? It’s fucking unsanitary and I don’t want to get any sort of disease from this damn place.
The need to relieve my bladder is screaming out at me. Glancing around, I don’t see an attached bathroom anywhere, but in the corner of the room, there’s a bucket with a roll of toilet paper sitting to the side of it. “You have got to be shitting me!” I knew I wasn’t at a fucking five-star resort or anything, but surely, I could have some human accommodations! That’s fucking worse than roughing it in the wild. I’d rather be peeing in a bush in the woods than pissing in a damn bucket that looks as if it’s never been cleaned. “If you’re gonna kidnap someone, the least you could do is make sure they have a damn toilet and sink to wash their hands afterward. Fucking nasty ass people,” I sourly express my opinion out loud, not caring in the least if anyone hears me. “Fucking pigs.”
My body is sore, but it’s not bad enough to deter me from getting up and walking the room to see if there’s anything I can make a weapon out of. “Really? Not even a rusty nail?” Just as I’m about to squat over the bucket, since it’s my last resort, the door swings open. And who comes strutting through the door, is not the person I expected to see. My eyes take in her entire being, all the way down to her stripper shoes. My nose curls as a growl leaves my throat when I see the stupid bitch who’s standing in the doorway smirking at me. Well, I guess they are keepers of all things trash related. Fucking hoarders, great, just my luck.
“Aww, does the cat got your tongue? Surprise!” Janella gleefully calls out.
“The fuck are you doing?” I hiss. “Gunner and Kruger are gonna fucking kill you for taking me.”
“Well, that won’t be falling on my shoulders. That’s all Jamie’s doing, I just gave him the information he’d need to keep an eye on you. Have you figured out yet, that you're the string they’re dangling over the club's head in order to get them to bend to their will in order to get their hands on that bitch, Cameron?”
“Sorry, I saw your mouth moving, but all I heard was a bunch of static coming out,” I taunt her ass. She’s easy to rile up, and I quite enjoy being the one with the capability to piss her off. Usually I just sit back and let Charlee and Cameron bring her to her knees; unfortunately, it’s only me today.
“Bitch, you have no rights speaking to me. Here, I’m the one in charge, not you.” Who the hell died and made her the queen of all fuckedupness?
“As soon as I see that in writing, I’ll… no, I take that back, I won’t be giving one single fuck you crazy ass bitch,” I seethe.
“Watch it,” she hisses back at me, placing her clenched fists on the sides of her hips. What the hell do men see in this woman? It’s a mystery I don’t think I’ll ever solve or understand.
“Hey, what’s with all the squabbling and shit coming from in here?” the man who dragged me from the car asks as he enters the room with a pissed off look embedded on his face.
“I was just informing little Mrs. Sunshine here that she has no say in anything anymore.” She gets a sly look on her face as she walks over to the menacing l
ooking man and wraps her arms around his waist.
“I’d watch it if I were you, she let every man in the MC, outside of the taken ones, have a turn with her. No telling what she’d pass down to you.” I snicker with delight as she gives me a methodically stern look. If she was anyone else, I’d pause and question my sanity. I should really stop poking at her. These men may delightfully hold me down and let her get some hits in; seeing as it’s the only way she’ll ever get them, because I’ll fight her tooth and nail after the way she’s treated me.
“What do I care? It’s not as if I plan on making her my wife or anything.” The guy shrugs his shoulders. “She’s not wife material, there are women built for nothing more than pleasuring a man in bed, and those you bring home and introduce to your parents.”
“You’re a bastard,” Janella hisses.
“No, I’m just truthful,” the asshole states. I feel as if I’m in the middle of a twisted television plot. But to be honest with you, I’m enjoying that neither one of their attention is on me. “Came to see if your waste bucket needed to be emptied.” He looks over at me dismissing Janella.
“Didn’t actually get a chance to go before I was rudely interrupted,” I say to the asshole while looking over at Janella.
“Janella, there are better things you could be doing to occupy your time other than messing with our guest. Let’s go.” He grabs her by her upper arm and escorts her from this hell hole of a room I’m sequestered in. I can hear her running her mouth as they head away from the door that separates me from possible freedom.
“Kruger, don’t leave me here too long,” I mumble under my breath before taking care of my pressing bladder.
14
Kruger
It took fucking hours for me to finally be released. The only thing that kept me from tearing that hospital into fractured pieces was the fact that a few of my brothers were already on the hunt for Jamie and my woman. Country was busy at the clubhouse assisting Buster with getting the Molotov bombs ready, on top of the explosives we plan on placing around the gates that bar us from entering the reservation.
They are known to have guards, but we have silencers that’ll take them out before we make ourselves known.
Master was a sharpshooter once upon a time, his skills come in handy during times such as these. As I walk into the clubhouse, he’s sitting at a table cleaning his rifle and checking his sight. I leave him to do his thing, he hates being distracted while getting his shit ready. Walking slowly up to my room, I go over to the safe inside of my closet and turn the dial until the code is complete. As I hear the latch give, I swing it open and take in my stock. I have more than guns and ammunition in my stash. Deciding that since we’re gonna rain down hell on a bunch of Native Americans, I grab my machete and hatchet. I need to feel the blood flow on my hands as I take out the fucktards that thought it’d be a good idea to harbor Jamie and his band of misfits.
In my eyes, they are just as guilty as he is since they feed into his warped way of thinking—hell, for all I know they’re the ringleaders who’ve been feeding him this prophecy bullshit. He couldn’t have just pulled that out of the thin blue air, someone had to insert that load of garbage into his miniscule brain.
“Kruger?” I hear Cameron call my name through the door. “I have a little boy here who's been fussy. Can I come in so he can see you?”
Laying my things on top of the safe, I close the closet door and head over to the bedroom door. I swing it open and see Jaggar on Cameron’s hip with tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. “There’s my boy,” I say as I reach my hands out for him. He leans out of Cameron’s embrace, anxious to get into mine. He begins babbling at me, and if my ears are tuned into him as well as I believe they are, my son is scolding me for pulling a disappearing act on him.
Cameron hands me his bottle and leaves us alone. I sit on my bed as I comfort my son with words filled full of love and promises. I vow to him that I will bring his momma back to him… to us. I swear to him that I will make us a family.
Past be damned.
Stella
I’m so fucking bored that I’d love for Janella to present herself to me for a little verbal sparring. I’m gonna assume that the whole reason she hasn’t made herself known to me in hours is because she’s busy spreading her legs for the men… it’s what she does best. What has only been hours, feels like weeks as I sit here and think about Kruger and if he’s alright. I wonder how Jaggar is coping without his parents there taking care of him. I know Charlee and Cameron will pay as much attention to him as they can while also taking care of their own children. I wish I had a pen and paper to write them each a letter in case anything is to happen to me. I want them both to know how much they mean to me.
Will Kruger take on an old lady so Jaggar has a mother figure? The thought sends waves of sadness strumming through my body. I want them both to be happy, but I’d prefer to be the one dishing out their contentment in life.
Maybe that makes me a selfish person, but I’d rather be the one that lights up their days for a lifetime. There’s so much I’m gonna miss if these men have ill intent where I’m concerned. Jaggar starting kindergarten, learning to ride a bike, graduating high school and hopefully college, getting married… I can’t miss those things! A boy needs his mom through life, and dammit, I plan on being there. My survival instincts kick in and I begin plotting my escape. I can’t depend on anyone getting me out of here other than myself.
I have to be strong for my family.
No weaknesses allowed.
Kruger
As the sun begins to lower into the sky’s horizon, my brothers and I are locked and loaded, ready to hit the road. Master and Shamus already headed in that direction so that Master could find a good hiding spot to take out the guards who stand sentry over the entrance and exit points of the reservation. Shamus is there to watch his six as he finds that perfect place to take those imbeciles out.
I’ve already said my farewells to those staying behind and gave my son some extra hugs in case things don’t go the way I want them to. I’d prefer to have both of his parents coming back to him, but that’s not a guarantee. Just in case I’m the one who doesn't make it home, I want his last memories of me to be ones that will always be loving. Cameron and Gunner will make sure that my memory lives on where it pertains to my son. He’ll never doubt how much his father loved him and what I sacrificed in order for him to have his mother in his life… because she will be alive and present in his life.
“Ready?” Gunner asks me as I sit astride my bike next to him. We’re in formation, ready to ride out.
“I’m ready, brother. I have a suspicion that she’s there on that land, and I’m not leaving until I’ve searched every damn square inch of that place.”
“Finding her is our first priority, then, we’ll burn that place to the motherfucking ground,” Gun grits out through his clenched teeth. “I just hope that Jamie fucker is there so I can take him out and give Cameron the peace she deserves.”
“If he’s not there, we won’t stop hunting until he’s found.”
“Damn straight,” Gun says, grasping my shoulder. “Let’s go get your woman and end those pieces of shit.” Our bikes rumble beneath us as we kick start them to life. As each one of my brothers rev their engines, the ground vibrates. We are a sight to see as we each turn out of the clubhouse as Jonah closes the gate and securely locks it as the last bike pulls out. Since we believe we have eyes on us, we take the long way out of town, taking each windy back road as gravel and dust kicks up from our wheels.
“Hold on, baby, I’m coming for you,” I announce to myself.
What is normally a three hour drive turns into four as we continually take the beaten path. No one has spotted a tail, but we chose to take no chances. We need to go in undetected and under the radar. Nightfall will be our best friend as we infiltrate them. We won’t be trying to locate Shamus and Master, just in case we missed someone following. Tracker, Kong, Bull and Bear staye
d behind with the prospects to keep watch over the women and children and to protect the homestead. We need some of our strong men there in case they have a plan of their own.
Cameron all but begged for us to bring her along as bait. I thought Gunner was gonna toss the clubhouse when she requested this. Instead, he simply took her, Charlee and all three of the kids, and locked them in the safe room. It’s designed and set up to meet all of their needs for weeks on end. I could hear the women shouting from the other side, but Gunner, Country and I ignored them and continued to head for our bikes. I’m sure there’s gonna be a protest as soon as we make it back, but that’s a problem for another time.
We pull our bikes behind a dump site, they’re well-hidden and out of the way. It’s two miles from our destination, but we don’t want the rumble of our bikes to be heard. Going in by foot is the best way to catch them off-guard. We use the dark of night to cover us as we head in their direction. My body is strung tight, but I’m alert and ready for anything.
This is when I’m at my best.
When I’m under pressure, all of my senses are on full alert.
Nothing, and no one, is gonna slip past me.
We all hunch down, and use what little brush is available from the land to hide behind. The space around us is so sparse that it has me looking around, expecting a tumble weed to pass by as it does in the wild west. Since we’re all wearing black from head to toe, we blend seamlessly into the background. We’re spread out, Gunner, Country and I are in a team together.
Shattered Trust : DreamCatcher MC Page 10