by K E Osborn
Dalton folds his arms over his chest. “I understand the spin you’re putting on this, Constance, but—”
“Uh, uh, uh… no buts,” she interrupts like he’s an errant child.
“But Constan—”
“Dalton…” she emphasizes his name, “… you know my position on this. Defiance, from what I have seen when I walked in here just now, have lost someone and another is critically injured. That is punishment enough. If you and the force understand what’s good for you, you will let them go. Now! Allow them go to the hospital to be with Prinie because if anything happens to her and they are not by her side because of you, do you think that’s going to end well for you, Dalton. Do you?”
We all turn to the Chief as he swallows hard, his lip turning up like he knows he’s lost this round. Again. “Constance, this could be our only chance to—”
“Defiance is not our targets, Dalton. We have bigger fish to fry. And if you keep on this path, you will be one of my fish in that very big frypan. I own you, and if you know what’s good for you and your men, you will do as I say. Right, Dalton?”
He grits his teeth, almost snarling, then signals to his men aggressively. The cop behind me, releases my handcuffs and pulls me up into a standing position. I rub my wrists as I watch the officers briskly walk toward the exit.
“Hey!” Zero calls out to the officer who assaulted Wraith.
He turns back to Zero raising his brow. “Yeah?”
“What’s your name, officer?” Zero asks.
“Officer Lyndon Mitchell. The man who kicked your guy’s ass.”
Zero smirks. “Okay, Officer Lyndon Mitchell… I wouldn’t get too cocky if I were you. Believe me, I am very good at remembering names.”
Mitchell’s eyes light in fear. He quickly turns and heads out of the fairgrounds while I chuckle.
Yeah, we’ll be paying him a visit later.
The Baroness spins on her heels heading for the exit, then glances over her shoulder. “I’ll be seeing you real soon, Zero.”
Zero nods in acknowledgment.
This shit’s going to cost us.
Nothing ever comes for free via the Baroness.
How she even knew this was going down is beyond me. But thank fuck she showed up when she did.
We all head over to Wraith. He slowly opens his eyes, then jerks up, groaning as he sits. “Where the fuck is she?”
“At the hospital. The cops are leaving. We can go now,” I tell him.
Wraith rubs his head, seeming a little distant as he tries to focus. “Why are the cops leaving?”
“The Baroness.”
“Oh, fuck… we are gonna owe her big time. Fuck that right now, though. Get me to my woman!”
We help him stand, and he wraps his arm around me as he wobbles.
“He can’t ride,” I state.
Kevlar glances over his shoulder to his blood brother who’s standing back watching us. “Ethan!”
He hesitantly walks over. “I shouldn’t be seen with you.”
“I know all that shit. Shut the fuck up! Wraith needs to get to the hospital, but he can’t ride.”
Ethan scrubs at the back of his neck, letting out a low groan. “Chief’s gonna have me for this. Fuck! Okay, get him in my cruiser.”
Kevlar slaps Ethan’s shoulder as we walk Wraith over to Ethan’s cop car and slide him in. Kevlar bobs his head at his brother. “Will me coming as well, help or hinder the situation?”
Ethan rolls his shoulder. “Probably help if they know I’m doing this for my actual brother.”
Ethan grabs my shoulder, leans in close as Kevlar closes the door. “Tell Zero I called the Baroness. When we were called, I thought you might need an out. Hope I did the right thing.”
My eyes meet his in appreciation. “Ethan, we’d be fucking lost without you, brother.”
He nods, then turns to get in the car.
I tap the roof. “See you at the hospital.”
When I reach my brothers, Neon slowly approaches covered in blood.
Zero looks up, he furrows his brow while looking him over. “Shit! You hurt?”
“Anna’s dead.” That’s all he says.
Zero exhales, then pulls Neon in for a real embrace, not a man-back-slapping bro hug, the real deal. He grips Neon’s face in his hands looking directly at him. “I’m sorry. I mean that.”
Neon nods. “She said she told Damir we’d be here. Being a part of the club for so long, she knew we did this event annually. She’s the one behind this attack today, Zero. She’s the reason Prinie—”
“Then we just have to make sure Prinie and the baby pull through. That their attempt at getting one over on us, failed,” Zero states.
Koda steps forward along with all the women, and he lets out a long breath. “We should get to the hospital. We need to be there for Prinie, and for Wraith, if Prinie is…”
All of us shudder at the thought, so without saying another word, we all turn for our bikes. I reach mine, slide on, and wait for Fin. She’s pale like she’s having trouble dealing with all this, and I know it’s fucking hard, but we have to head to the hospital because that’s the club’s priority right now. She looks at me, her hand moving out swiping at the fresh bullet graze on my arm. “That’s real? Not zombie makeup?”
“Yes, but I’m fine. Are you hurt at all?”
“Just a little rattled, but I’m fine. We need to make sure Prinie is okay. The way he stabbed her in her stomach. The baby…”
I’ve been thinking the same thing.
I just don’t want to say it out loud.
“Yeah… c’mon, let’s get over there and see for ourselves. Assuming isn’t going to do us any favors.”
She slides in behind me, wrapping her arms around me. For the first time in hours, I finally feel some calmness wash over me.
All this crap has been exhausting, completely overwhelming. I haven’t had a moment to stop and think about what it would be like if Fin managed to get hurt in all this. I should have been protecting her. But once it all started, it was like a domino effect.
One I think will rattle through us as a club for a long time to come.
We will have an account to settle with Connie, and I hate to think what that may be.
TEXAS
Standing back while Wraith paces frantically like he’s losing his damn mind, I overhear Zero and Neon talking somberly. Their body language teemed equally with sadness and tension.
“I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling right now, brother.” Zero grips Neon on the shoulder as his eyes drop to the floor.
Neon grimaces, shaking his head. “It doesn’t seem real. I mean, I understand you’re going through shit too. Prinie is in there fighting for her life because my damn sister told Damir where to attack. I’m so fucking angry she did that. But I can’t help but be miserable at the fact that she died saving me… the fact that even after everything I did trying to help her be better, she still went down that dark path… I failed her, man.”
Zero turns to face Neon, his face in a scowl. “You did not fail her! She went along that path all by herself. Nothing you did could have changed the fact she was led by Damir. Anna was a free spirit. I cared about her too. It may not have seemed like it, but in my own way, I did. I hate she’s gone, brother. And I want you to know if there is any-fucking-thing I can do for you, I need you to tell me!”
Neon scrubs at his face. “I just need time. Being around everyone helps. I just don’t know how I’m gonna tell Mom and Dad—”
“I’ll come with you.”
Neon nods his head, then pulls Zero into an all-man tight embrace with none of this brother-back- slapping shit.
I turn away letting them have their moment when Wraith races forward toward a nurse who is walking by the emergency room doors.
“Where is she! Tell me you motherfucker or so help me, I will find your family and I will strangle them all,” Wraith yells at the nurse, making her cry as she hurries through some notes.
“Calm the fuck down,” Zero calls out as we all make our way over to where Kevlar tries to hold Wraith back from the emergency room doors.
“Calm. Down! You’re telling me to calm down? Did you not see what that asshole did to your sister? Calm down my ass! Let me in there to see her. NOW!”
The nurse visibly shakes as the security guards start taking notice and walk over.
“I’m s-sorry. From what I can see, they’ve taken Miss Walker up for surgery.”
“Surgery! What kind of surgery?”
Her eyes flood with tears. “I… I don’t—”
Chills steps forward placing her hand on Wraith’s chest. “Take a damn breath. I’ll go see what I can find out, okay?”
Wraith turns, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. He storms over to the wall, slamming his fist through the plasterboard, leaving a gaping hole. Security moves to go toward him, but he turns sliding down the wall onto his ass, his knees pulled up to his chest.
He’s broken.
At this sight, security takes a step back. Even they can see how broken he is.
Zero walks over to Wraith, then slides down onto the floor beside him.
I turn to Fin letting out a long exhale. “I know you didn’t sign up for this,” I murmur to her.
“What do you mean?” She looks at me raising her brow.
“This… all this chaos. I should be protecting you from it. Instead, I brought you right into the thick of it.”
Her hand comes out, caressing my cheek. “The only thing I was scared for out there was that you were going to get hurt. Losing you, now, after everything we’ve been through… I can’t even imagine that pain.”
I turn to her, gripping her hands in mine. “So even after all this, after seeing the worst of what we do, you’re still all in?”
She shrugs. “I can’t help it. I’ve fallen for you.”
My fingers thread into the back of her hair, and I pull her to me, kissing her gently. That fucking volcanic eruption surges through my body making me feel more alive than ever, as I pull back looking in her eyes. “I’ve fallen for you, too.”
Fin bites down on her bottom lip, the move sexy as sin, when Chills comes rushing back out panting like she’s out of breath. We all turn to her, Zero stands, but Wraith stays on the floor. I think at this point, he’s completely defeated.
Koda rushes over. “Well, is she okay?”
Chills moves in closer, and Zero cranes his neck to the side. “Chills, just tell us straight.”
Her eyes fall to the floor and instantly, I know the news is not good. “She’s lost a lot of blood, the blade went through Prinie’s uterus, the amniotic sac was still in place keeping the baby safe, but the damage and blood loss were too severe, teemed with the oxygen depravity she suffered, so the doctors had no choice.”
Wraith suddenly finds the strength to stand, though his legs are wobbly. “What the hell are you telling me here, Chills?”
She swallows hard. “They delivered your son by cesarian, Wraith.”
We all turn to face him, his brows furrowed tight. “No. They can’t. It’s too fucking early. He won’t survive!”
Chills grimaces. “If he stayed inside Prinie, he definitely wouldn’t have. This way, he has a fighting chance. It’s small, but he has a chance.”
Zero wraps his arm around Wraith as he tries to keep his shit together. “And Prinie?”
Chills hesitates.
Wraith steps forward, determination in his stance. “The fuck, Chills. Tell me she’s okay!”
She sniffles, wiping a tear away from under her eye and looks directly at him. “When Damir strangled her, it starved her body of oxygen. Along with that and the blood she’s lost and having to have a cesarian, it’s all too much for her body to deal with.”
Wraith, Zero, and Koda all stumble, grabbing onto the nearest thing to steady themselves.
“No, she can’t be…” Koda mumbles.
Chills grips his shoulder. “She made it through the surgery, but she’s barely hanging on. So they have placed her in an induced coma to try and let her body heal itself.”
“She’s in a coma?” Wraith mumbles.
“Yes.” Chills nods sullenly.
He scrubs at his face, turning and pacing like he doesn’t know what to do with this new information. His chest heaves as he spins back to face Chills. “She’s gonna be okay, though, right? Like in like a couple of days she’s gonna wake up, yeah?”
Chills wipes another tear from her cheek and weakly smiles. “We just have to wait and see…”
Torque lets out a long breath and stands. “She’s a fighter. If there’s one thing we learned about Prinie while she was with us, it’s that she’s fuckin’ tough. She’s got this. You’ll see!”
“I can’t lose her,” Wraith mumbles to no one in particular.
“How ‘bout we go see your son?” Zero offers. “Can we do that, Chills?”
She nods. “Yeah, we can go, but only two will be allowed in the room. The rest will have to wait in the hall and look through the glass partition.”
Wraith tenses. “I don’t think I should do that.”
We all turn to him, and Zero furrows his brows. “He’s your son, he needs you right now.”
“But Prinie should see him at the same time I do… it doesn’t feel right.”
Zero rolls his shoulders. “If you want your son to pull through this, Wraith, he needs to know his father is watching out for him. I know this is fucking shit, and the next few weeks are gonna suck, but right now, we all have to pull our shit together to get through this. For your son… and for Prinie.”
Wraith gives a simple nod before he turns to walk toward Chills. We all stand and follow, the mass of bikers and old ladies walking through the halls of the hospital to the neonatal unit.
Wraith glances down at himself. “Do I really want my son’s first impression of his old man to be a fucking zombie?”
Chills smiles. “He won’t be opening his eyes very much, Wraith. I wouldn’t worry. You’re not going to scare him.”
He lets out a long exhale like he’s nervous as hell as we approach the doors of the unit. “Okay, you guys will have to wait out here. Wraith, who’s coming with you?”
“Zero,” he states without one second’s hesitation.
Zero slaps his back, then they walk through the swinging doors. We watch against the huge glass panel as they make their way to an incubator. The baby inside is so fucking tiny, only around thirteen inches long with a tube down his throat obviously to help him breathe. His tiny fingers and toes so small I can’t even make them out to see if he has ten of each. My heart breaks for Wraith as he steps up to the incubator, placing his hand on the side. Chills must be talking to him, her lips are moving, but we can’t hear what she’s saying. Watching this hard shell of a man crumbling before our eyes is so fucking difficult to witness. My hand tightens in Fin’s.
Koda steps up to the glass. “That’s my nephew.” Thayleah clings to him as he presses his hand to the glass wall.
“He’s gonna be okay.”
Koda huffs and starts pacing the hall. “This is fucking bullshit. Prinie shouldn’t be suffering like this. Missing out on seeing her son’s first moments… it’s fucking crazy that’s she’s asleep through all this!”
Thayleah grimaces, grabbing Koda and pulls him to her. “I know, but the people who did this, they’re gone. It’s over.”
“This should never have fucking happened in the first place. Damir should have been dealt with long ago, and Anna! She was fucking dead to us years ago. They both should have been cut off when their time was up.”
“Koda,” Thayleah chastises.
Neon huffs and takes off down the hall.
Koda watches Neon storm off. “Shit, I didn’t mean… fuck, Neon, wait!” he calls out chasing after him.
Thayleah looks a little lost. “Should I?” She gestures in the direction where Koda ran off.
“No. L
et them settle their differences. If they both come back with a bruised face, then they will feel better for it. And if they settle it amicably… even better.”
Fin raises her brow at me in question and I exhale. “It’s just the way we deal with our issues. Either they will beat each other up or talk that shit out. It works, either way, for us.”
Her eyes fall back to Wraith and Zero in the neonatal unit, and she loops her arm with mine. “Wraith’s always so head strong. So cocky and arrogant. I’ve never seen him this rattled.”
Shrugging, I huff. “That’s what loving someone so strongly does… it breaks you.”
She looks at me. “You think he’s going to be okay?”
Wraith bends down, his eyes in line with his son as he takes him in, his little blue body, his tiny features, the medical equipment surrounding him, and for a moment, a brief moment, I think I see a tear running down his face.
I have never, ever, seen Wraith cry.
He wipes it away confirming my suspicion, and my heart shatters for him.
I am feeling.
I feel everything in this moment.
The heartbreak.
The loss.
The sadness.
I feel it all.
And it’s fucking devastating.
Swallowing a lump caught in my throat, I shake my head. “No. I don’t think Wraith will ever be the same again.”
FINLEY
We’ve been at the hospital for what seems like an eternity. Honestly, I just want to go back to the clubhouse and get this Batwoman costume off me. There’s only so long you’re supposed to wear a full leather outfit, and this long is certainly not it because it’s chaffing in all the wrong places.
They let Wraith, Zero, and Koda in to visit Prinie a few hours ago, and have been letting others go in sporadically as the hours pass. Each of us getting a turn to see her, but I don’t expect the sight will be anything pleasant. I feel terrible for Wraith, but I am glad they were able to get their son out, and he wasn’t harmed when Damir stabbed Prinie.
Thank God, that bastard is dead. That’s all I can say.
I’ve never been one to think of an eye for an eye. I’ve always been about justice taking the place of vengeance. But what Damir did to Prinie? Yeah, I now understand why the guys handle shit the way they do. I might not always like it, but I sure as shit understand it.