Doc (A Steele Riders MC Novel Book 4)

by C. M. Steele

  He does as I say and goes outside. I take off my leather jacket so I can get to work faster before this fucker bleeds out. Another member is already clutching a roll of paper towels to his shoulder, but there’s a lot of blood oozing out. “Shit, they must have nicked an artery,” I mutter out, pulling out a syringe with numbing medication from the kit they rushed to me. I slip on some gloves and get to work.

  It takes me twenty-five minutes to stop the bleeding, stitching it as best as I can. “He needs more work than that, but for now he’ll live.”

  “Who are you?” the president of this biker club asks.

  “Dr. Joseph Simmons.”

  “Yeah, a doctor with a gun isn’t that odd in Texas, but there’s more, isn’t there?”

  “Yes, I’m a Steele Rider out of Steeleville. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “None at fucking all. You probably saved his life and Tank’s girl as well. We don’t have any beef with the Riders unless you’re looking to take over our territory.”

  “Not at all. I was just riding after a long day at the hospital.”

  “Well, fuck. Then we just got luckier than a son of a bitch. Those bastards have been trying to take over at every turn. This is the third encounter we’ve had with them in as many months.”

  “Shit. Those bastards have been doing the same to us with almost as much regularity.”

  “I’d like to talk to your president if possible. I want to see what we can do.”

  “Sure. Give me a minute and I’ll call him.” That’s when I see both the big guy and the woman walking out of the back room with their clothes a little disheveled and her hair out of place.

  “Thank you,” the woman says, rushing in and giving me a big hug. “I don’t know who you are, but thank you.”

  “Enough,” grumbles Tank. He drags her back to his side, then sticks out his other hand to shake mine. “Truly, thank you. You saved my family. That’s something I can never repay.”

  “We’re going to deal with this. Call your guy for me, will ya?”

  “Okay.” I read the back of his patch and see his name is Butcher. It’s all I need to tell Boomer about. We’re not about the violence, but with these guys coming after us, we might need to band together.

  “Seriously, what’s your name?”

  “I’m Tank and this is my woman Tara, and we haven’t thought of a name for this little guy in here.” He rubs her belly with a shit-eating grin so wide, my mind goes right back to Sophia. I’m tired of living without her. The danger is everywhere, but is she really safe without me protecting her? I know she has her badass father, but I’m the one she should be counting on for everything.

  I stare at her belly for a minute longer, then look up and say, “I’m Doc.”

  “So how’s Billy-boy?”

  “He’s going to make it, but I’m not sure what structural damage he has. This isn’t the best place to operate on someone. I just plugged the leak.”

  “Thanks from all of us.” Two more guys walk up to us. One of them is older than the rest and I hear him ask, “Did I hear that correctly? I’m going to be a grandfather soon?”

  “Yeah, Pops. Tara and I are pregnant.”

  “Damn another generation coming into the world is a true blessing,” the older man says. “I’m Duke, by the way. Butcher and Tank are my boys.”

  My phone goes off just as he says that, so I excuse myself to the side while they talk things out.

  “Hey, Crystal, just the person I wanted to talk to. Well, your hubby is the one, really.”

  “Actually this is him. I tried calling you about an hour ago and you didn’t answer. I’m just checking up on you.”

  “I’m the one who needs to talk to you. I took a drive to Paxton and stopped in their gas station long enough for Cortez’s men to come in and open fire on everyone inside.”

  “Fuck, are you all right? I’ll get the guys and we’ll be down there in twenty.”

  “We’re good. One serious injury, but I’m fine and the bastards are being well dealt with. The Prez here wanted to speak with you about some stuff.”

  “That’s good. We can be there shortly. I’m going to keep the girls at home, but we’ll be there. I’ve got to talk to you about something when I get there as well.”

  “It’s the first gas station off the highway.”

  “Right. We’ll be there.”

  “He’s on his way,” I tell them as I hang up. When he said girls, I wonder if he meant Sophia was visiting. Fuck me, I sure as fuck hoped so.

  “Well, boys, let’s get this place cleaned up, and turn off the gas sign out there. We don’t want anyone coming in now.”

  “Do y’all operate out of here, or do you have a clubhouse near here?”

  “We have a clubhouse. We were getting ready for a late-night dinner and grabbing some beers when this shitshow showed up.”

  “Damn, you got to be careful, though. One of ours had been working with those fucks, and it nearly went to shit because of it.”

  “Fuck, I’d hate to think one of my guys would be in on it, but I’m always watching. Thanks.”

  Boomer and the crew show up ten-deep for a discussion. “You brought all these guys to talk?”

  “Well, when our brother is shot at, no games will be played. I’m Boomer, President of the Steele Riders.” He pulls me in for a hug. “You’ve got Crystal freaking out over you. I told her not to call Sophia, but you know she doesn’t listen to me.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Now let’s get down to business. I don’t want this to take any longer than it has to.”

  The two men go in the back room and talk it out while the rest of us just hang around.

  All the while, my thoughts are on Sophia. Fuck, I miss her beyond compare. And seeing the love Tara and Tank have even in the middle of the chaos only makes me crave her more. This waiting and hoping that shit would die down is bullshit. It’s not going to stop anytime soon.

  Blade and Wrench come over to me and ask, “I’m surprised you’re still here considering Sophia’s got a boyfriend.”

  “What?”

  “Wait. Boomer didn’t tell you?”

  “The bastard,” I snarl, rushing to the back room and pounding on the door.

  Butcher opens the door and asks, “Is there a problem?”

  “Hell, yes, there is,” I roar, pushing myself past him. “When the fuck were you going to tell me that she has a boyfriend?”

  “Calm down, Doc. I was calling to tell you that when you told me about this. I think this is more important.”

  “The fuck it is.”

  “Besides, I’ve already got you a flight for tomorrow morning. They’ve got a date tomorrow night.” It calms me down just a little.

  “Who the fuck is he?”

  “I don’t know. She’s been dating him for weeks. Crystal said she was tired of waiting for you to care about her. But since you’re here, can you check on this fucker? He’s got some shrapnel in his arm.”

  “Damn, and you didn’t say anything?”

  “I didn’t want to scare anyone, including my dad.”

  “That’s fine. Let me see. Then I’m out of here.” I work on his arm and have him bandaged up in ten minutes. They have a lot to do, but it’s time for the Steele Riders to head out. Boomer and Butcher agreed to meet again to deal with Cortez’s men and hopefully Cortez himself.

  The guys and I load my bullet-dinged bike into the back of Wrench’s pickup and then I hop in the front with him. My whole body is alive with rage and anticipation. I want to murder that fuck. I should have known better and brought her back with me. The men have done things to make us safer including securing my home with bulletproof fencing. She’ll be safe with me.

  I’m bringing her back. For the past two months, I increased my hospital presence to kill the pain of missing Sophia. It didn’t help, so now I go in one weekend a month. My clinic is busy on days I’m open, but I’m going to cut down on that too.

  There�
��s no way I can devote enough time to Sophia like she deserves. It’s my fault that she’s seeing someone else. Fuck, and that tears at my soul. She should be in my arms, kissed by me, fucked by me. Lord, the boy better pray he hasn’t fucked her or I’m going to kill him for sure.

  Chapter Eight

  Doc

  My head is spinning. It’s been so fucking long since I’ve seen her. Even though I have several pictures on my phone that I managed to snap on the sneak tip, I haven’t gotten to be near her and the feeling is unbearable.

  The flight takes too motherfucking long, but I don’t have a choice. Funny, just before they told me about her, I decided that I would take the chance of bringing her home, but this shit pushed me over the edge.

  I scope out her Facebook profile and find nothing of value. I really could use Cyber with me, but I’m not going to ask him to deal with my shit when we have more pressing safety matters. Although, I’m extremely tempted to forget about it and call in a favor. I check out the guys on her friends list, but there’s not many ones on here and they’ve all been friends with her for a long time. From what I heard, she just met the bastard taking my place.

  In fact, she has little to no activity at all on here. Only one post that reminds me of how much damage I’ve done to her and our relationship. It’s only a meme, but it says it all. Breaking me is easy, putting it back together is hard. —The heart

  That tears into me more than I can even express. I promise that once I have her back, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure she knows that she’s the world to me.

  As soon as I land, I’m on the phone with her father. “Hey, what the fuck? Your men couldn’t inform me that she’s moved the motherfuck on?”

  “Chill the fuck out. I called you twice and you didn’t answer, so I left a message. Boomer said you were at the hospital and would get back to me, but you never did.”

  “I didn’t get shit.” My phone pings with a text. It’s a photo of his call log yesterday. “Fucking hospital. Depending on where I am, the phone doesn’t register at all.”

  “Well, she claims this isn’t a real date. So how are things there? I heard about the recent shit this morning. Is this fuck the reason you’re coming?”

  “No, he’s not. That shootout while I was out of town made me realize a lot of shit. One is that I could have been killed, and she would have never known how much I love her.”

  “Fine. Get here, and I’ll give you the house for the evening. My wife and I are going on a date. Don’t kill the fucker, by the way. He’s a rich bastard who will be missed. Besides, she claims it’s just a friend thing.”

  “Yeah, I don’t believe that shit. Not that I don’t believe her motives, but he’s not wasting time or money on a woman he isn’t planning to sleep with. I already hate the bastard.” I hop into my rented SUV and drive off toward their house. “I’m coming from the airport now. I’ll be there soon.”

  “Great. We’re leaving right now.”

  “Good. Thank you, sir.”

  “Just make sure she’s never this miserable again.”

  “You’re partly responsible for this fuckup in the first place.”

  “Tell me I wasn’t right, though.”

  “You had a point, but maybe we took it too far. I’m on my way.” I end the call and use the navigation on the dash. I have forty minutes until I get there. My heart’s racing out of control. A part of me is glad I left my gun at home because when I see this usurper, I’m going to end up beating his ass.

  “By the way, my wife is already planning a wedding. If it’s him or you, she doesn’t care.”

  “If? There’s no motherfucking if. I’m marrying your daughter. I don’t give no fucks about this guy. He’ll be meeting his end if he thinks otherwise. And the wedding better be this week.”

  I pull up to her house and just as I get there, a dude in a pair of jeans and a preppy sweater comes out of a car. “Yo!” I holler, getting his attention before he takes one step onto the porch. “Let me have a word with you.” I grip his arm and drag him off behind a large bush. “Listen, you must be here to pick up Sophia.” He nods. “That ain’t happening. She’s mine, and I’m not going to let anyone take her from me.”

  “Ah, you must be the heartbreaker.”

  I narrow my brows at the bastard. “You must have a death wish.”

  “I don’t, but maybe you should have been fighting for her. I don’t want trouble. She’s beautiful, but I’m not fighting over a woman.” He walks away and gets in his car. As he drives by, he rolls down his window and adds, “But if you leave her unattended again, I can guarantee I won’t be the only one noticing.” He speeds off, and I run up the steps. That won’t happen again. ‘Til death do us part is the only way that’s happening.

  I ring the bell with one mission, and that’s to get my woman and make her mine. She opens it without checking who it is. She smiles until she realizes it’s me. Her upturned lips drop into a scowl. I deserve it, but now is not the motherfucking time. I saw that fucker. He’s like a replacement version of me.

  “What—you were expecting someone else, Sophia?” I push my way in and slam the door behind me. “Fuck, you got dolled up for him. A friendly date my ass.” I run my teeth over my bottom lip, scraping them against my skin as I scowl at her.

  She puffs her chest out with her chin up even as she steps backward away from my approaching steps. “You have the nerve to come here and get pissed that I want to hang out with another guy? You didn’t bother with me until you thought someone was coming to fix the heart you broke. Sorry, Doc, but it’s not that easy. You can show yourself out.”

  I freeze in my spot, stunned; she never calls me Doc. Fuck. I need to fix this. She spins on her heel and walks out of the foyer. That’s more than I can take. Before she hit the doorway to the next room, I reach out and grab her wrist, twirling her around so her back hits the wall. I crowd her with my hands on both sides of her shoulders, pinning her.

  “You think it’s been easy? I’ve missed you with every damn fiber of my being,” I growl, staring into those tear-filled blue eyes. “I’ve ached for you beyond reason. I’ve dreamed of you every time I closed my eyes. It’s been pure torture.”

  “I hate you,” she screeches, raising her hand to crack me across the face, but I’m quicker. My hand grips her wrist tightly, lifting it over her head, pressing my body on hers and leaving no space between us. “And I fucking love you.” For the first time in months, I feed into the hunger and longing I’ve had for her, taking her mouth in a hard kiss. She freezes for just a moment before she succumbs to her feelings and kisses me back. My hands slide down, cupping her soft face; my thumb wipes away her tears. “I love you so much. I’m sorry,” I whisper between kissing her lips and moving my mouth along her jaw.

  “Stop. Please just stop.” My heart cracks as I let go of her. I step back enough to see her face, but I don’t release her completely.

  “Sophia,” I sigh.

  “Don’t. Don’t do this to me. I can’t handle you coming into my life and leaving again.”

  “Baby, when I leave, you’re coming with me.”

  “Who says I want to go with you?”

  “Oh, baby. I know you want to come with me. I know you’re scared and mad, but I promise I did what I thought was best for you.”

  Sophia shoves me, banging her hands on my chest, shouting, “Best for me? Forgetting I exist was the best thing you could do for me? Are you fucking nuts?”

  I drag her over to the sofa and pull her onto my lap. I love that she doesn’t fight my touch. I know she’s pissed, but I need her. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done it that way, but I knew if I caved I would have come for you, damn the consequences.”

  “The consequences? Seriously, what consequences?”

  “I worried what happened to Morgan could happen to you.”

  “The heartache of you dying on me?” she asks.

  “No, that’s bad, but I’m talking about her almost bein
g kidnapped.”

  She gasps, clapping her hand to her mouth. “I didn’t hear anything about that.”

  My hands move up and down her back, rubbing her as a way to calm us both down because I’m about to tell her something that still haunts me. “First, I couldn’t have been happier that your father took you home after Vegas.” She moves to get off of me, taking me wrong. I hold her still. “Listen. Let me tell you what happened. While Mick lay shot, bleeding in my arms, Morgan was abducted. Thankfully they didn’t make it out of the lot, but if they had, who knows what would have happened. I didn’t want you to be the next Morgan while I lay dying and helpless to save you.”

  “Oh, no. I knew my dad left something out.” Tears well up in her eyes again, and that pisses me off because I hate seeing her cry. For a few seconds we’re both silent as she absorbs what I’m saying. She cocks her head sideways and raises her brow. “But that was months ago. Why did you stay away?”

  “Well, that wasn’t the only incident. I’m betting your father didn’t tell you about it. One of our own betrayed us shortly after. I couldn’t trust anyone with your care. Your father was the only one I knew who could protect you.”

  “My father? He knew all of this and hid it from me?” She stands up, pacing, huffing and puffing around the room.

  I stand up and stop her in the middle of the room. “Calm down. Baby, don’t be mad at him. He’s scared. The fact that one of our own tried to take your sister made him crazy.”

  “My sister! No one told me.”

  “They didn’t want you to worry. Besides, we kept it all to ourselves for the most part. We don’t want people knowing that there’s some disquiet among the club. There’s people there ready to take the town over. It’s their attempts that scare me the most. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “So the threat is still there?”

  “Yes, but we’re working on it. We even have some help.”

  “So if it wasn’t for my date, you wouldn’t have come.” It’s not a question. She treats it as a statement of fact, which is the furthest thing from the truth.