CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
Three months later
Ariana worked in the kitchen, alongside Kendra and Sal’s wife, Martina. Perry was in the yard, playing with his new dog, who was more of a companion animal than a pet but loved to catch a Frisbee. Sal was in the dining room with Vince and her father, who had actually come out in his wheelchair, bringing his IVs and all, to join the celebration.
As she chopped up vegetables that were going out on the grill, Martina shook her head. “I hope you don’t mind, but Sal kept me informed of the situation, and I can’t believe those putos could treat your father like that. No one in the medical profession should ever want to hurt anyone else. And I think that because of their knowledge and access to the right materials, they should be prosecuted like they are armed and dangerous.”
She was a sassy woman Ariana had to admit, but in a way, she agreed with Martina. The only reason she’d held back from pressing individual charges was her memory of Kendra’s precaution to not lose sight of what was most important. Her father was relatively well. Plus, Vince was healing nicely with some physical therapy for his leg, and he’d finally gotten back on his bike for the first time two weeks ago. He was riding like a fiend now, and Ariana was relieved because Vince had been on the verge of deep depression by the time he was allowed to ride again.
Ariana, who was basting the ribs for the barbecue, fell into her own thoughts as she worked absently and watched the action around her. There were so many things to celebrate. Her father’s health—although he still suffered—might actually get him on the transplant list before it was too late. Plus, Vince’s club had put their enemies behind bars. She still didn’t know what Vince was into, and she figured it wasn’t exactly legal or he would have told her, but there hadn’t been any retaliation or incident since he’d been injured.
As for Sal and his family, his son had just scored his first A on a test, and they’d framed it for him in his room as a reminder of what he was capable of when he applied himself and fought past the dyslexia. Perry was also working through his anger at the situation with a therapist and seemed very well adjusted.
As Sal had expected, once all the evidence was presented and criminal negligence and medical abuse charges leveled against the hospital, they’d rushed to settle out of court, trying to avoid as much negative publicity as possible. They hadn’t kept their feet out of the fire, but the administrative directors had all resigned and been replaced once the eight million had been paid out.
Ariana had, at first, been overwhelmed. She had no idea what to do with that kind of money; but, over time, she’d found her way. She’d paid for school, resigned from work, and enrolled in medical school full-time. Now, she was looking at starting her internship in another six months or so, and no one looked at her without vast amounts of respect. After all, she’d been the one with her eyes wide open to the mistreatment of her father.
Several other patients and their families had come forward, too, and the class action lawsuit was about to be settled. The hospital was almost bankrupt now. Ariana had donated one million to a complete investigation and audit of the facility, uncovering a number of other problems, including employee theft of drugs for personal use and sales on the street. Another million had gone to research for her father’s condition, which was now getting national media attention. She’d replaced Vince’s bike…again. He was still upset over the loss of his last one, but this one was another upgrade, and she’d been on it with him twice now.
She’d also bought a new car and a new wardrobe—something she’d always dreamed of doing. However, that was the extent of her extravagance. She’d invested most of the rest of the money with the help of a financial advisor, and it was already growing. The rest she’d kept out in a savings account that would pay for her wedding to Vince and their honeymoon in the Bahamas. He’d asked her to marry him three weeks ago.
She also used it to pay for her own medical care, as well as that of the child on the way. Three days after Vince’s proposal, she’d realized she was late, and she’d discovered she was pregnant. It was a shock to her, and she was terrified of being a mother, especially since the example set for her was probably the poorest possible. However, she was also elated to be better than her own mother. With people like Kendra and Martina as friends, she had the support system she needed to do right by her child, and the money in the bank would assure a bright future for the kid.
She’d never been able to reconcile with her mother or sister, but she’d heard that Lorraine had finally left her husband and was seeking counseling, as well as perhaps planning to go to school for one thing or another. Ariana had hope that, one day, Lorraine would come around, and they could be real sisters. She was willing to be patient while the younger girl got herself together. However, she doubted her mother—who had fallen into a depressed funk and started drinking, according to some mutual contacts—would ever speak to any of them again.
That was alright. It made Ariana feel sorry for her mother, but it was also poetic justice since the older woman cared about no one but herself. Plus, she had family. The club was welcoming her with open arms, and Pound, Jude, and a couple of the others were starting to grow on her, like big brothers who teased and got in trouble all the time.
“Vince!” she called, breaking up some sort of hilarious conversation.
“Yes, dear?” he called back, his tone filled with joy and contentment.
It made her smile. “You should go light up the grill, and Sal can carry this out so the two of you can do your jobs before the rest of us waste away into nothing. I’m starving.”
Vince was behind her in no time, his arms circling her waist and caressing her stomach—which barely stuck out. “I know something that’ll feed your hunger,” he growled in her ear, nibbling at her lobe.
She batted him away with a smile before turning and wrapping her arms around his neck. Quietly, with a seductive smile, she said, “You aren’t pulling me away from the first party I’ve ever hosted. Save it for dessert.”
He waggled his eyebrows, kissed her soundly, and headed for the backyard. Sal came and took the platter piled high with basted meat from her, trailing after Vince. Kendra shook her head, as Sal smacked Martina’s ass on the way by. “You two make me sick!”
“Just wait. Your day will come, and then we’ll all gag over you and your lover,” Martina told her.
Ariana doubted it. Being in love was something she didn’t think she’d ever gag over. Plus, she had plans for Kendra. She and Pound were going to come face-to-face at her wedding, and it was going to be instant chemistry. As Kendra had once said, she just had a sense about these things.
THE END
Read on for your FREE bonus book – PREGNANT AT THE ALTAR
PREGNANT AT THE ALTAR: Immortal Souls MC By Claire St. Rose
HE WANTS MY BODY, MY WOMB, AND HIS RING ON MY FINGER.
Hammer is just looking for someone to nail.
That much is obvious.
But what I didn’t know is everything else he wants:
Like a wife and a baby.
I’m the newest cop on the force.
Being a female in uniform means everyone is trying to get a piece of me.
I fend them all of, no sweat...
Until Hammer.
He’s an ex-soldier, a fighter, a biker...
Bad news all around.
I know i should stay away.
But when he offers to show me how to handle my body, I can’t say no.
Needless to say, our lessons didn’t stop on wrestling mat.
He took me to his bed and taught me a few more things.
And God, I loved it.
But this is all happening too fast.
I’m a cop – the last place I belong is in a biker’s bed.
Especially one in the middle of a complex web of crime and lies.
Falling for Hammer might cost me everything.
I just hope I can pay the price.
Chapter O
ne
“Available units, respond to D and D at the Gravely Park pavilion , ” dispatch squawked over the radio.
Lily Donovan looked to her partner and training officer from the passenger seat of the police cruiser. “Should we take that?”
Hunter nodded. “Sure. We’re close. Nothing like a good ‘Drunk and Disorderly’ call to pass the time. These eleven to seven shifts suck. Anything to break the routine, huh?”
Lily grinned and pulled the mic from the holder on the dash. “Unit 3601 responding to D and D at Gravely Park.”
“Unit 3601, acknowledged. Responding to D and D at Gravely Park,” dispatch answered back.
Hunter put his foot down and turned on the lights, but kept the siren off. It was almost midnight, and despite it being a Saturday night, most residents would be sleeping. She may be a rookie, but Lily knew there was no point in waking everyone up for something as minor as a D and D call.
Lily watched as Hunter sped through the light traffic with skill and care, giving him quiet warnings of approaching cars. She had only been on the job for two weeks, and Sergeant Hunter Cullen, a twenty-year veteran of the Amberton City Police Department, was showing her the ropes.
Amberton, South Carolina, wasn’t a large city, but its sixty thousand residents made it large enough to have all the problems big cities did, but not so large that the police were overwhelmed. It was Lily’s home, and her family had been helping protect it as police officers for three generations.
“Unit 3601, see Joe Grimes. Medical is in transit,” the dispatcher said.
Lily frowned and looked at the radio in confusion. She picked up the mic again. “Dispatch, Unit 3601. Are there injuries?”
“Unit 3601. One injury. D and D was ejected from a concert by security. Injuries described as minor.”
“Unit 3601, acknowledged.” Lily returned the mic to the clip then grinned at Hunter. “Sounds like someone got their ass whipped.”
Hunter nodded, but his eyes were still focused on the road. Three minutes later, they were pulling into Gravely Park and made their way toward the lights and thudding country music coming from the pavilion.
As the car swung into the pavilion parking lot, the cruiser’s headlamps illuminated a group of men clustered around another man sitting on the ground. As they drew nearer Lily could tell the man on the ground was bleeding. Even at a distance, she could see several cuts on his face.
Hunter pulled the cruiser to a stop, and he and Lily stepped out of the car. Since she was still a rookie, Lily said nothing, even though she was the closer of the two officers.
“What seems to be the problem here?” Hunter asked as he stepped around the front of the cruiser, its red and blue strobe lights reflecting off the trees and pavilion.
“I wanna file assault charges again’ this asshole!” the man on the ground snarled, his voice slurred, and the edges of his words rounded off.
“You Joe Grimes?” Lily asked him.
“Hammer,” Hunter said, recognizing the tall, broad-shouldered man standing over the drunk.
The man wearing a green nylon jacket with Security written in bold yellow letters on the back took a couple of steps away from the crowd and extended his hand to Hunter.
“What’s the story?” Hunter asked as he took Hammer’s hand.
“He’s drunk and belligerent. We asked him to leave, and he got nasty. When we tried to escort him out, he decided he wanted to rumble.” Hammer reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a knife in a plastic sandwich bag. “This is his.”
Hunter took the bag and looked at the man on the ground. “This yours?”
“Not mine! Never saw it before! He’s lyin’!”
Hunter looked back at Hammer with questioning eyes. “He pulled it on me. That’s how he ended up with the bloody face,” Hammer explained.
“You touch it?” Hunter asked.
“No.”
“He’s lyin’! I never seen that before in my life!” the D and D protested again.
Hunter ignored him and continued his line of questioning with Hammer. “Any witnesses?”
Hammer motioned to another man wearing a security jacket, who came over to them. “This is David Brennan, part of my team.” Hammer jerked his head toward the officers. “Tell them what happened.”
Lily looked David over. David was tall, like Hammer, but where Hammer filled out his jacket with deliciously broad shoulders and a trim waist, David was just big and going soft with age.
Men hadn’t really registered on her radar of late—she’d always chosen a career over her love life—but this security guard was one hell of an Adonis. Even if the half-light, Lily could see Hammer’s chiseled, movie star jawline, smoldering dark eyes, and very kissable lips. With the cruiser’s lights flashing off of him, he looked like he could be in a Chippendale lineup… something she wouldn’t mind seeing.
She had to inwardly berate herself for letting her mind wander into fantasy Land while on the job.
“This asshole was being loud and disruptive. I asked him to quiet down, and he told me to go fuck myself. I called Hammer over, and we asked him to leave, then when he wouldn’t cooperate, we stopped asking. We were muscling him out when he jerked away and pulled the knife.” David grinned. “Not the smartest thing he ever did. Hammer took the knife away from him and body-slammed his ass.” David looked back at the man still sitting on the ground. “Stupid fuck.”
Hunter looked at the drunken perp. “Let me see your ID.”
“Fuck you! I’m not showing you shit!”
Hunter reached into his back pocket, pulled out his leather gloves, and began to put them on. Lily took the hint and followed suit.
“Get up,” Hunter ordered as he and Lily reached down and began to haul the man up by his arms.
The man seemed to comply as he allowed them to lift him up, but as soon as he was on his feet, he gave Lily a hard shove and jerked his arm free from Hunter’s grip at the same time. With Hammer, Hunter, and the cruiser blocking three of the drunk’s four escape routes, the man turned toward Lily. She was still a little stunned from his push, but she tried to block him to prevent him from escaping. The man put his shoulder down and slammed into her, knocking her to the ground as he rushed past.
But the man didn’t have a chance. Hammer sprang into action, slamming him into the side of the cruiser. He bent him over the trunk with one hand twisting the drunk’s left arm back at a painful looking angle, while Hammer’s other hand held the guy’s head flat against the metal.
Hunter was there in an instant, with Lily scrambling to her feet and joining them a moment later.
The drunk cried out in pain. “You fuck ! I’m gonna kick—” His threat turned into another cry of pain as Hammer put more pressure on his arm.
The security guard muscled his wrists together so Hunter could slap some cuffs on him.
“You have anything sharp in your pockets?” Hunter asked.
“Ow! Ow! Ow!” the man cried, struggling against the handcuffs. “Fuck you! I’m suin’ for police brutality!”
“I’ll ask again, is there anything sharp in your pockets?”
“Fuck off!”
“Check him,” Hunter ordered. Lily quickly patted him down.
“He’s clean.”
Lily and Hunter hauled the man despite his struggles and stuffed him in the back of the cruiser. As soon as they shut the door again, the man leaned over and began kicking it from the inside.
“Thanks,” Hunter told Hammer with a grin. “I didn’t feel like chasing that turkey down.”
“You’re welcome.” Hammer turned his attention to Lily. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she growled. She was mortified about getting knocked down during her first on the job altercation, and in front of civilians too.
Hammer grinned, picking up on her embarrassment. “Don’t worry about it. It happens.”
“You seem to know how to handle yourself,” she threw back.
“Been doing Ju
jitsu for more than twenty years. Between that and the army…” He shrugged and gave her a sideways smile.
“Yeah, well, thanks,” Lily said.
Hammer snickered at the tightness of her voice. She was going to break her teeth with her jaws clenched so tight. “Don’t let it get to you. You wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve been knocked on my ass. Especially when I’ve been caught off guard.” He made an obvious point of looking at her buttocks. “Of course, my ass isn’t nearly as nice looking as yours.”
DADDY AT THE ALTAR: Iron Claws MC Page 24