“I’m already going to have to bleach my eyes having to watch two of my brothers showering together.” Scar joked.
“Fuck off.” Rider growled. “I’ll wash my own dick.” Grabbing the shower gel he washed the rest of him.
Crash got out, dried off and got dressed in his discarded clothes while Rider lingered under the water. When the water finally ran clear he turned it off, reached for the towel Beast held out to him and got out. They gave him his space to dry off and wrap the towel around his middle. His clothes were already in the bin standing by the door, ready to be burned. They should actually throw his boots in there as well but strangely they didn’t have as much blood on them as you would have expected.
Plus it would give the prospects a job to do. They would ensure no blood or bits stuck to his boots.
“There’re some sweatpants, tees and socks in the cupboard over there, brother. Grab yourself some and let’s get done here.” Scar was at the basin and was scrubbing his hands vigorously. “Beast, Crash, get over here and scrub your hands. I’ll check everyone once we’re done.”
They stood next to each other at the basins and scrubbed their hands and Crash was shocked to see the soap turn faint pink as he scrubbed. Rider joined them and scrubbed hard enough that his hands turned a bright red. He didn’t know what that was about but he could guess. And it wasn’t good.
Rider was their numbers guy, a logical thinker and a methodical man. What he had done was completely out of character for him. Crash knew he was tight with Beast and Scar and that the brothers would take care of him, but their women had been Penny’s friends and tonight they would need their men. It left him to take care of Rider. And he would, because right now there was nothing he could do for his own brother except take care of Rider. He had his brothers’ backs no matter what.
Carrying their boots in their hands they left the bathroom and headed towards the stairs back up to Hawk’s office. Beast let them through the secure doors as they escorted their brother back up.
They heard it before stepping through the hidden door in Hawk’s office. Phones ringing. A lot of phones ringing.
“Fuck. What now?” Beast raced toward the basket that held their phones and dug through it to find his own. He answered the minute he pulled it free.
“Ja.”
He listened with a frown, glancing at Rider then away.
“We’re with Rider right now but we’ll be out in a few minutes. Tell them to cool it until we get there.”
Ending the call he turned to Rider. “The pigs are here to talk to you, brother. Are you up to it?”
In the time it had taken to shower, get dressed and get back up to the office Rider had calmed down. As far as Crash was concerned he was too calm, too shut down.
“Yes. What do I tell them?”
Their president walked in right then.
“We’ll face them together, brother. We keep to the facts. Someone shot at Penny and Sunny. Whoever it was killed Penny and Bakkies, and Jagger was seriously wounded while protecting Sunny. We don’t know who did it.”
Hawk clasped a hand over Rider’s shoulder.
“Think you can handle it, brother?”
“Ja, I’m good, Prez. I just want to get this over with so I can get back to Bulldog’s place. I need to hold my little girl. I need to feel her heart beating under my hand.”
Their prez nodded and turned to the door. That’s when Crash’s phone started ringing. He snatched it up, not giving a shit about what he should and shouldn’t do.
It was Sunny calling.
“Sunny, is he okay? Please tell me he’s okay.”
“He’s still sedated little brother. I just called to give you an update. The doc said his vital signs are strong and he’s doing well but they will be keeping him sedated for a while. He even has a little bit of colour back in his face.”
Still holding his phone against his ear he dropped his head and gave a relieved sigh.
“I’ll be there soon, Sunny. Tell my Ouma I’m on my way, okay?”
“Will do, Sammy. See you soon.”
Looking up he found all eyes were on him so he gave them the news.
“Jagger is doing better. The doc is going to keep him sedated for a while though. Sunny says he even has a bit of colour to his face. He was so fucking pale when I saw him.” His voice wobbled a bit as he finished giving them the update.
Sin stepped up to him and drew him into a hug. “Jag is a fighter, Crash. He’ll get through this.” He said softly before stepping away.
Crash nodded then looked at Rider standing there with an empty look in his eyes. Their Prez put his hand on the back of Rider’s neck and brought him in for a tight hug.
“We’re with you, Rider. No matter what, we’re with you, my brother.”
Rider nodded then pulled away from Hawk.
“I’m going to need clean boots. I can’t go out there with these or wearing only my socks, they’re going to wonder about my clothes as it is.”
There was a sharp knock on the door and Sin unlocked it then swung it open. Adder, their new prospect stood there holding a pair of boots. He kept his eyes from wandering and looked only at Sin.
“I brought Rider some boots like you asked. No one saw me. Breker and Puzzle are handling the pigs, they told them you were in a meeting about funeral arrangements.” He gave Rider a quick look. “Sorry, brother, they had to think quick because those bastards were ready to come busting in here.”
Sin glanced at Hawk and at his nod he pushed past the prospect and stalked down to the common room. Rider sat down on the couch and pulled the boots on, leaving the laces undone.
“You did good, Adder. Thank you. Go back out there and keep your eyes open. Never know what shit the pigs are going to try and pull.” Hawk praised and ordered at the same time.
Adder nodded and hurried back down the passage.
“Right, let’s get this over with.”
They followed their president out of the office and into the common room.
Crash couldn’t wait to get the shit done so he could get to the hospital and see his brother. But the pigs took their own sweet time questioning everyone who had been on the scene. They were especially interested in hearing what Rider and Scar had to say.
They stuck to the bare facts.
The pigs didn’t like it and the one detective tried to trick them into admitting that they had seen the shooter or at least knew who it was.
They denied any such knowledge. Didn’t know who it was or why the shooter had been shooting at the women. Rider’s clothes then got their attention and they wanted to know why he had changed.
Hawk jumped in and answered for him.
“His clothes were covered in the blood of his old lady. I ordered him to shower and then I had the clothes burned. He doesn’t need a constant reminder of what happened here today.”
The bastards tried to make an issue out of it but Ice very quickly shut them down.
With nothing left to question them about they left after warning them not to go anywhere.
Where the fuck would they go? They had a woman and her unborn baby to mourn and bury. And a brother to investigate before they could bury him.
He was heading towards the doors when Hawk called him back.
“You’re not riding alone, Crash. No bikes, take the cage and I want Spook and Buzz on your ass with Breker and Puzzle as back up.”
He didn’t argue, just nodded and again headed for the doors.
His hair was still damp and he slicked it away from his face as he walked out the front door of the clubhouse. The men assigned to him silently followed. The silence continued on their drive towards the hospital. The men were giving him space.
They parked close to the entrance and formed a protective circle around him as they walked towards the doors. Once inside they backed off and followed him up to the ICU. The brothers would have to wait outside in the waiting room while he went in to see his brother.
Aunt Beryl
was waiting for him when he stepped into the waiting room.
“Your grandmother and Sunny are with him now. He’s stable and the doctor is optimistic about his chances for a full recovery. So far the kidney is holding up and they’re hoping for the return of full function.”
Crash was relieved but still worried. He had to see him for himself.
“Okay, thanks for the update, Aunt Beryl. I’ll go see him now.”
He didn’t give anyone a chance to say a word as he strode away towards the nurses’ station outside the ICU. Two women sat behind the high counter and watched him nervously as he approached. He knew he looked rough plus he was wearing his kutte and from experience he knew it scared a lot of people. They looked up at him with wary eyes as he leant against the counter.
“Hi, I’m here to see my brother, Ryan du Plessis. What do I have to do?”
The one got up and gave him a small nervous smile as she rounded the counter.
“We need to get you disinfected and suited up before you can go in, Mr du Plessis. Could you please come with me?”
With a nod he followed her into a room where he was ordered to take off his kutte. He couldn’t leave it in that room and holding up a hand he quickly walked back to the waiting room and handed his kutte to Chris. Back in the room he washed his hands, pulled booties over his boots and pulled on a full dress like thing that fastened behind his back. The nurse did that for him. Then he pulled a damned cap over his hair and he was finally ready.
“If you wait here for me I’ll just go in and bring one of his visitors out before you can go in. Unfortunately we only allow two visitors at a time.” She explained quickly and he nodded.
He watched as his Ouma walked past the room and then the nurse was back. She silently took him through the doors to the bed where his brother lay motionlessly. His big strong brother looked so damned vulnerable as he lay there with a myriad of machines around him and so many pipes going in and out of him it scared the shit out of him.
Sunny sat next to the bed, holding his hand and looked up at him when he walked in. Tears filled her eyes and Crash immediately went to her and gave her a hug.
“Hey, little sister, how are you holding up?” He asked quietly.
“I need him to wake up, Sammy. I just need to see his eyes and hear his voice. The last thing he said to me was to hide in the long grass but I was too slow and he got shot. I should have been faster, Sammy. Why was I so slow?” She whispered brokenly.
“You can’t take this on your shoulders, Sunny.” He took her shaking hand in his and spoke quietly but forcefully. “Jag is going to be so pissed with you when he wakes up and hears this shit. What happened today wasn’t your fault and you shouldn’t blame yourself for my brother getting shot. He took that bullet to protect you. You need to honour his bravery for putting himself between you and the killer.”
“But…but…” He put his hand over her mouth to shut her up.
“No more. It’s done. The important thing right now is getting Jag through this and all these negative vibes you’re putting off isn’t doing him any good.” He had no idea if it was the truth or not but he had to do something, anything, to get her head back into the game.
Scrubbing her hands over her tired face she looked up at him then smiled.
“Okay, little bro, no more negative vibes, only positive vibes from now on.”
Sam smiled and nodded. “Good, with all this positivity we’re throwing out we’ll have him waking up before long.”
Sitting down in the chair on the other side of the bed he picked up his brother’s cold hand and kept it in both of his, warming it.
“We’re here, Ry. All you have to do now is fight like hell and wake up, we’ll do the rest.”
Sunny smiled at him as they settled in to wait.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Jagger
One minute he was floundering in the dark and the next he was surrounded by light and pain. So much pain he couldn’t stop the moan from slipping past his lips. Forcing his eyelids to obey him he opened his eyes fully and painfully blinked to get the world around him into focus. At first it was totally blurry and then his vision slowly cleared.
What happened? Where the hell was he?
The beeping and medical shit all around him finally registered. Hospital. He was in a hospital and by the machines around the bed and the lines going in and out of his body he was in deep shit.
And then it all came back in a rush.
Penny dying in Rider’s arms. Dragging Sunny towards the long grass. Sending Radar and Sassy to find the shooter. Something hitting him in the back and then nothing.
Did he get her to safety? He couldn’t remember.
He tried to move but pain shot through him and he immediately froze. Slowly rolling his head to the side he tried to find the fucking button that usually called a nurse. He remembered that Army had had one right next to his hand, not that he ever woke up to use it.
A cool hand covered his and he slowly opened his eyes. He didn’t remember closing them.
“Good morning Mr du Plessis, I’m glad to see you’re awake. I’m Tito, your nurse, you’re in the ICU ward at the Midrand Hospital. The trauma surgeon and urologist will see you later this morning to evaluate your condition. You…”
He didn’t want to hear about himself he wanted to know about Sunny.
“Su…Sunny.” He was able to croak through dry lips.
The male nurse smiled reassuringly. “Your wife is here, she just stepped out to use the washroom. She stayed by your side all night even though we usually don’t allow it.” He gave a wink. “Your woman is very persuasive and it was only because she’s a doctor that the matron gave in and gave her permission.”
Wife? His wife?
He was about to ask who the hell this wife of his was when a small hand folded over his. A hand he knew very well.
“Ry, baby, I’m so glad you’re awake.”
Shifting his eyes away from the nurse he sighed with relief when he looked into her beautiful blue eyes. His little doll was safe.
“Sunny, love.”
His eyelids were too heavy to keep open any longer. Closing his eyes he slid into a dreamless sleep, satisfied that his little doll was here with him and unhurt.
When he woke again the pain was manageable and his eyelids no longer felt like they had weights tied to them. His Ouma was in the chair next to his bed and as usual she had her crochet work on her lap and the hook was flying in and out as she worked.
“Ouma.”
Her head flew up and her frown slowly became a wide happy smile.
“Ryan, my sweet boy, I’m so happy to see you awake and finally looking a little bit like yourself. You had us worried for a while there.” She dropped her work and took his hand in both of hers.
Her hands had always had the power to soothe his hurts and worries. They were soft but strong and to him it always felt as if her love came through her hands. It was a warmth that soaked into him, like it did right now.
“How long have I been here?” His voice felt scratchy.
“Three days, but you’ve been in and out during those days. The doctors told us not to worry because they had you on heavy doses of pain medication and antibiotics. And they said sleep was the best thing for you. You were so very, very lucky, Ryan. A few millimetres to the side and you would have died before they could get you into surgery.”
Her voice was soft but he heard the fear she tried to disguise but couldn’t.
“When can I go home?”
She laughed outright and shook her head.
“Not for a while, sweetheart. You almost lost a kidney and they had to remove a piece of your intestine. The doctors said you’ll be moved to a high care ward as soon as they’re satisfied with the output from your kidney. There’s a lot less blood in your urine today and Tito thinks they might move you as soon as tomorrow if it stays that way. There were some worries about an infection but it was minor and was easily treated. Tito t
hinks you might be here for another seven days or so, but I know you. You’ll be pushing yourself to heal so you can go home. The doctors told us that it’s going to take about eight weeks to heal completely. And during that time there would be tests your urologist will be running to ensure your kidney is functioning properly.”
The more she explained the more he realised she was right. He had been damned lucky and even luckier because if he hadn’t been in the way the bullet would have killed Sunny.
“Where’s Sunny?”
His Ouma gave him a wink.
“Your wife is in the waiting room giving your club brothers an update. They can’t visit with you yet and it’s making them a little bit grumpy. The doctor said as soon as they move you to the high care ward you can have more visitors but you will only be allowed four at a time. Once they move you into your own room they will be able to visit as normal.”
He was starting to feel tired again but he forced himself to stay awake. There was so much he needed to know. He had to speak to Hawk, had to know what had happened.
“I need my phone.”
She slowly shook her head. “Sorry, but that’s a no. No business while you’re lying here trying to heal.”
Dammit. Time to pull out the big guns. “Ouma, I have to know what’s going on with the club. You can’t keep it from me because I’ll just worry and you know what happens when I worry.”
She gave a snort. “I know. You don’t sleep.”
A grumpy sigh gusted from her lips. “Fine, but the minute I see you’re getting upset or tired I’m taking it from you. I already had to fight Sunny about this and I’ll fight you too. The club can take care of itself for a while.”
He didn’t even argue with her because they’ve had this very same argument before. She didn’t understand how tightly his life was interwoven with the club. The sigh of relief slipped free before he could swallow it down and she gave him an angry look as she dug his phone out of her crochet bag and laid it on the bed next to his hand.
“Thanks Ouma.”
She gave a short nod as she got up and left the room, leaving him alone to make his phone call.
It took strength to lift the phone and swipe it open. Calling Hawk was easy, his number was at the top of the list. He waited as the phone rang, hoping his prez answered soon because he was starting to feel fucking sleepy.
A Touch Of Grey Page 27