Owning Victoria (Devils Riot MC: Originals Book 2)

by E. C. Land

  Another sharp pain in my stomach hits and I know I’m in labor. This can’t be happening right now.

  Not yet.

  It’s too soon.

  I cry out in pain as another wave hits.

  My screams go unheard as I do my best to crawl away from the wreckage. Another contraction hits and I fall crumbling to the ground.

  Curling into a fetal position.

  This can’t be the end.

  30

  Tracker

  “No disrespect VP, but you’re a stupid motherfucker when it comes to your ol’ lady,” Shadow growls as he stands across the ring from me.

  “Stupid motherfucker? You’re the dickhead in the damn ring with my goddamn ol’ lady. Who’s also seven months pregnant at that, fucker,” I snarl getting in his face.

  “Yeah VP I think you can be sometimes. Vi is my friend and she was frustrated with you because she overheard you say something that upset her,” Shadow sneers. “Being her friend, I wanted to help her. Even I told her I’d spar with her using non-contact.”

  “You should have come to get me instead of taking it upon yourself to help my ol’ lady,” I snap.

  “Enough you two,” Momma B yells from where she’d been standing near the ring along with several of my brothers.

  If it hadn’t been for Blaze texting me to get in here who knows what could have happened.

  “Step away from each other and take a breath before either of you do something stupid. Shadow you go walk it off. Tracker you need to go make things right with Victoria. You should know her well enough by now, she didn’t just run to your room to cry it out,” Momma B snaps.

  I’m out of the ring and racing for the door before Momma B finishes yelling, a sense of dread filling me.

  Idiot.

  You let jealousy get in your head, dickwad.

  Just as I make it to my bike, an explosion goes off down the road.

  “What the fuck was that?” Blaze yells from behind me.

  “Victoria,” I scream, leaving my bike behind. Running as fast I can down the road I try not to let my fear overtake my mind. She couldn’t have gotten far.

  I can hear my brothers yelling, but I can’t stop. I need to get to Victoria.

  The closer I get to the wreckage, the more my stomach plummets at the sight in front of me. The entire Jeep is in flames and debris is scattered across the road.

  As I get closer, I spot my woman doing her best to crawl away from the flames. My heart sinks as she collapses and screams out. Darting around pieces of the Jeep, I make it to my woman just as she starts to scream again.

  “Fuck, baby, I’m so fuckin’ sorry,” I say as I kneel next to her to check to make sure she’s okay.

  “James?” she whimpers, clenching her stomach. “The baby.” Her voice is so quiet, I barely hear her. Glancing down to her stomach then further down, my heart completely stops at the sight of blood soaking the ground underneath her.

  “Prospect’s gone to get the van while the guys clear a way for it, VP,” Ranger says as he comes to kneel next to me.

  “Vi, you're gonna be okay. Just hold on a little longer. We’ll get you to the hospital,” I murmur, cupping her cheeks as tears fill my eyes.

  I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve cried since I was a kid. And none of those times were anything compared to right now.

  “Van’s here, VP. Let's get her loaded,” Ranger says.

  Nodding, I gently scoop Victoria into my arms, whispering sweet nothings in her ear as she whimpers from the pain.

  “What the fuck happened?” Stoney growls as he climbs in the driver’s seat and hits the gas.

  “Don’t know, don’t fuckin care right now. I’ll deal later,” I mutter, not taking my eyes off Victoria. Only because of her heavy breathing do I know she’s still with me.

  “Sweetness, we’re almost there, baby. You’ll be okay, Vi, I swear it. I’ll make sure of it. You and our son are the most important things in my life.” Victoria’s eyes flutter open to meet my own gaze. “Please forgive me, Victoria. I didn’t mean a damn thing I said,” I murmur loud enough for only her ears.

  “I don’t want to leave you,” she whimpers just as another wave of pain hits her.

  “I’m not letting you leave me, baby,” I say calmly.

  “We’re here,” Stoney announces as he pulls around to the entrance of the ER. Doctor Alverez is standing with a gurney waiting for us when the van comes to a stop.

  The side door is swung open and I jump out trying not to hurt Victoria.

  “What happened?” Alverez asks as he and two other nurses come closer with the gurney.

  “Explosion,” I mutter, laying Victoria down. “She’s bleeding. You gotta save her and the baby.” Panic starts to set in as my woman’s body starts to convulse.

  “I’ll do everything I can to save them both,” Alverez yells out over his shoulder as he rushes through a set of doors barking orders. Two security guards stand between me and the door Alverez just went through with Victoria. But it’s Stoney and Blaze holding on to me that keeps me from following them.

  “Easy, brother, you don’t wanna do something stupid for them to make you leave,” Stoney murmurs as I fight to break their hold.

  “It’s gonna be okay, brother,” Blaze rasps.

  “How can it be okay? Nothing is okay. I may lose not just my ol’ lady but my son as well. And for the rest of my fuckin’ life that shit will hang over my head because I’m the reason she was in that Jeep to begin with.”

  Storming away from them, I make my way to the waiting room.

  I don’t know how long I’d been sitting in the hard as fuck chair, staring at the tile on the floor. It was as if time slowed to a stop as I waited to hear word on Victoria. Momma B, Rachel, and Raven had all showed up at some point.

  “Mr. Wilson?” an unfamiliar voice calls out from the other end of the waiting room.

  Glancing up, I take note it’s one of the nurses here.

  “Harlow, I didn’t know you were working here today,” Raven says as I stand up.

  “Yeah, sorry, I didn’t know you were here. I was going to call you after I spoke with Mr. Wilson,” she says to Raven, then turns to me. “Are you Mr. Wilson?”

  “Tracker,” I say, stepping forward. “How’s Victoria?

  “Doctor Alverez has her stable now and she’s asking for you,” Harlow states firmly, glancing around the room. “If you follow me this way, I’ll take you to her.”

  Nodding, I glance at my brothers. “I’ll be back soon as I can,” I say.

  “Take your time, brother. We'll be here for you,” Stoney says firmly, taking Rachel into his arms.

  Turning, I follow Harlow through the automatic doors and down the hall to an elevator. Inside, she presses a button for the third floor. Neither of us says a word the entire ride up. As the doors open, Harlow steps out first and looks at me.

  “If you're serious about Vicky, you need to treat her right. She’s one of the best friends I have and I won’t see her hurt. You do and you won’t have the Inferno’s Clutch MC or Raven to deal with— I’ll put a bullet straight between your eyes myself,” she says before storming down the corridor.

  What the fuck?

  Did this tiny as hell woman just threaten me?

  More than that, who the hell is she? I’ve never met her, not since Vi and I’ve been together.

  Shaking my head, I slowly follow her.

  “This way, come on, hurry up,” she yells over her shoulder.

  “Who are you?” I ask as soon as I catch up with her.

  “I’m Raven’s sister,” she says, giving me a sideways glance. “I’m also one of the nurses who saved your damn life. Don’t make me regret it.”

  “Duly noted, and just so you know, I’d die for Victoria,” I mutter.

  “Good to know. Then I shouldn’t have to worry about killing you,” she sneers right as we stop in front of a hospital room door. “So you know what you're walking in on, she�
��s a mess right now and I’ve never seen her like this other than once. That was when you were shot.”

  “I’ll take care of her,” I murmur as I step passed the woman and into the room. My heart plummets into my stomach at how tiny she looks in the hospital bed.

  When she sees me enter the room, no words are said as she starts sobbing.

  Rushing to her side, I gently sit on the side of the bed, “Shh, Sweetness, I’ve got you,” I say placing kisses against the side of her head. “It’s gonna be okay. I’ll make sure of it,” I swear.

  Victoria doesn’t say a word, only nods her head as she leans further into my body. Leaning back, I meet her gaze. “Tell me what you want me to do,” I demand.

  Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she reopens them and places her hand on her stomach. “Kill them all. Kill them for putting Jamie in danger,” she says.

  Our son. It’s then I realize her stomach is gone.

  “Where is he?” I ask quietly.

  “In the NICU. I haven’t even seen him. Harlow was here when I woke up and told me. I told her to come get you immediately. I’m sorry I didn’t protect him,” she cries.

  “Shh, baby. You did protect him. You got out of that Jeep before the explosion. It’s my fault you were in there in the first place. I’m the one who’s sorry for everything,” I say, cupping her cheek.

  “It’s not your fault,” she protests.

  “Yeah, Vi, it is. I shouldn’t have overreacted the way I did. This would have never happened if I hadn’t let jealousy get in my way. I’ll spend the rest of my life making this up to you,” I murmur, leaning forward to kiss her.

  “How about we just forget the whole ordeal and you find those responsible?” she suggests.

  “You got it, Sweetness. But first, let’s see if we can meet our son,” I state as I let a plan start to form in my head.

  I’ll do as she wants me to do, and she can do what she needs to, stay with our Jamie and protect him from anyone who would try to harm him.

  I have a feeling no one will be able to get close to him with her, Raven, and Harlow here.

  31

  Victoria

  They say when you have a child, you’ll do anything to protect them. Whoever came up with that line got it right. I’ll do anything to protect this little boy who’s connected to so many wires. It’s why I’m leaving the finding those responsible for him being here to his father. I won’t leave him here unprotected.

  Doesn’t matter I know Harlow would be here.

  No. Jamie is my son and I won’t leave his protection to anyone but me.

  “Sweetness, you going to be okay for a while?” Tracker asks, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear as he turns me to face him.

  “I’ll be okay,” I murmur, meeting his gaze.

  “Do you want me to bring you anything when I come back? Clothes or food?” he suggests.

  “Just bring you. I’ll see if one of the ol’ ladies will grab me some clothes,” I say, leaning in to press my head to his chest.

  “You sure?” he asks softly.

  I know he doesn’t want to leave me or Jamie. However, someone needs to take out those responsible for this and I refuse to leave my son. I’ll never put him or his father second to anything.

  Even vengeance.

  They’re both too important to me to let something else come before them.

  It’s why I’m okay with Tracker taking over from here. No one can protect our son better than myself while he takes care of the rest.

  Lifting my head, I glance up to meet his gaze. “I’m sure, James. You take care of them, then come back to us. I’m not going anywhere,” I murmur.

  “You need to rest as well, Sweetness,” he says, his brow furrowed.

  “I will, I swear,” I state, giving him a half-smile.

  “Okay then, I’m gonna go meet with my brothers, figure out a plan, and get this shit taken care of. I highly doubt whoever caused this has gone far.” I can sense the tension filling Tracker.

  “Just be careful,” I whisper.

  “I will,” he states leaning in to press his mouth to mine.

  Pulling back, Tracker releases his hold on me and turns to leave. As he gets to the door he glances over his shoulder once more before leaving.

  Sighing, I sit in the rocking chair next to Jamie’s incubator. “Don’t worry buddy, Daddy’s gonna be back shortly,” I murmur. Tears well in my eyes as I suck in a breath to keep them at bay. I won’t cry. Not now. I need to stay strong for my son, for Tracker, and everyone else.

  I’ll let them fall when I know without a doubt my family is whole and the danger is gone.

  “Mrs. Wilson, I’m sorry to bother you, but I think you should go rest in your room for a bit,” Jamie’s nurse states as she approaches us.

  “I’m not leaving my son,” I say through clenched teeth.

  “I understand you don’t want to leave him, but you look like you're about to fall out,” she murmurs, glancing at me briefly before checking Jamie’s vitals.

  “Already said I’m not leaving him,” I mutter, narrowing my eyes on her.

  Why does she seem so insistent for me to leave him?

  “Fine, but when you collapse, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she whisper-yells, turning on her heel as she storms back over to the nurse’s station.

  Maybe I should just get a new nurse.

  Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to my little boy. For being so tiny, he’s still the biggest baby in the NICU.

  “Fight, baby. You’ll make it through this. Mommy and Daddy can’t wait to hold you in our arms,” I whisper, pressing my hand against the glass between us.

  Leaning back in the chair, I rock back and forth, not once taking my eyes off my baby as I ignore the pain my body is feeling.

  What’s that saying, no pain, no gain? You have to feel the pain to make everything worth it and I’ll continue to feel it for as long as I need to.

  Time seems to go slower than normal and the nurse from earlier continuously keeps coming to pester me about leaving my son. By the time she starts coming my way for the third time I’m thankful to see Harlow step into the NICU.

  The nurse remains silent, doing her job in checking on Jamie as Harlow takes a seat next to me.

  “How is he?” she asks.

  “He’ll be okay. I have it on good authority that your kid has some tough as hell parents,” Harlow says with a smile.

  “You think so?”

  “I know so, Vicky,” she nods to Jamie. “This is a lucky little guy. Not only does he have parents who will do anything for him but a family who will kill to protect him,” Harlow says quietly as she leans forward. “Keep your eyes open I’ve got a bad feeling.”

  Nodding, I stiffen in my chair.

  “Where’s Ray?” I ask.

  “She is out where she can keep everything in her sight,” Harlow responds.

  “Okay anyone else around?”

  “Tracker left a couple guys here. Neo and Cane, I think their names are,” she shrugs.

  “Good,” I say, nodding my head, catching a glimpse of the nurse in my peripheral. The woman is getting on my ever-loving nerves. Giving my attention back to Harlow, I lean forward. “Do you know this nurse?” I ask.

  Harlow lifts her gaze long enough to take the woman in. Stiffening, she shakes her head. “No, she must be new.” Pulling out her phone, she presses some keys before tilting the phone slightly for me to see the screen.

  She’s not a nurse.

  I don’t have to read it twice to know what’s going on here and why she wants me to leave so badly. The bitch is one of them.

  “Call Raven,” I murmur, acting nonchalantly while keeping the annoying bitch in my sight.

  “Sent,” Harlow mutters. “What do you want to do?”

  “What I do best. But I need you to assist and get Jamie back in here ASAP,” I order.

  “Got it. Anything else,” she asks.

  “Yeah. When we walk out of he
re, I want you to let Neo and Cane know to be ready to back us up,” I state. Standing up, I lift my hand and press it to my lips. “Be strong for Mommy,” I whisper, pressing my fingers to the glass.

  Stepping away from my son, I take a deep breath.

  “It will be okay, Vicky. Become her one more time for him, then no more,” Harlow whispers as we leave the NICU.

  “Yeah,” I mutter as I let Silent Night come out to play.

  It will be a silent night tonight as blood spills.

  No one harms my son without meeting the end. And if she does what I bet she will, I’ll be sure her blood falls onto my hand for her part in all of this.

  32

  Tracker

  Fury fills my body as I stand outside the hospital. I refused to leave the premises unless I needed to. I’d left Neo and Cane inside as a precautionary. I know Victoria can handle herself, but she just had our son cut out of her stomach and is technically supposed to be in a wheelchair right now.

  Better yet her ass is supposed to still be pregnant with Jamie.

  Fuckin’ hell. I still can’t believe she named him after me. I’d told her she could pick whatever name she wanted long as it wasn’t ridiculous.

  “You okay, VP,” Shadow asks.

  Glancing at him, I clear my throat. “Yeah, brother. Look, about earlier,” I say, but he shakes his head.

  “Forget about it, man. I get where you were coming from and if I were in your shoes, I’d have probably wanted to kill me too,” he mutters.

  “Still, Shadow, thanks for being a good friend to Victoria. I know she’ll want to ask this, but I’m gonna go ahead for her. Will you be Jamie’s godfather? Stoney’s already family and you’re one of her best friends, so it’s only fair.” By the time I finish, Shadow’s eyes are wide as fuck. “You okay, brother?” I ask.

  Blinking his eyes, Shadow nods his head. “Yeah, I’m good. Sure, I’d be more than happy to be Jamie’s godfather.”

  “Good, now, let’s get this shit done. What do we know so far?” I demand as the rest of my brothers join us.