Ignite

by L. Wilder

  “Hey! What are you doing here?” I asked. The scent of his cologne swirled around me as my eyes roamed over his body. Damn, he looked good. His hair was brushed back, and he was wearing his black DC’s leather jacket with faded jeans and boots.

  “The guys wanted to make sure y’all were staying out of trouble,” he said nodding his head over to Bishop, Bobby, and Renegade. They were all making their way over to our table. Courtney’s face lit up the minute she saw Bobby coming towards her. He couldn’t have timed that any better.

  “No trouble. We’ve been good,” I told him smiling. I was glad he was there. I liked spending time with the girls, but having him there made the night even better.

  I was surprised when Elvis Presley’s song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, started playing. I’d always had a thing for Elvis, and that song was one of my favorites. Goliath took my hand and led me out onto the dance floor. His arms slipped around my waist, and he pulled me close against his chest. He held me tight as I rested my head on his shoulder listening to the words of the song. I smiled to myself thinking it was the perfect song for us. It was like no one else was in the room as we swayed back and forth to the music. He was the only thing that mattered to me at that moment. I didn’t want to let go of him when the song ended, but it was time to head back over to the group.

  I smiled when I noticed each of the men standing beside their women, staking their claim. Courtney may not have had a DC jacket yet, but it was obvious that she was Bobby’s girl. No doubt about it. We spent another hour talking and playing pool before Bishop told Tessa it was time to go. It was time for them to go relieve the babysitter.

  “I think we better get going, too,” I told Goliath. “I’m sure Melinda is ready for us to get back.”

  “Ready when you are.” Truthfully, I was just ready to have Goliath to myself. I’d had a great time with the girls, but now I just wanted some time alone with him.

  I told the girls goodbye and followed Goliath out to his bike. It was really cold outside, but I didn’t mind. I wanted to ride with him on his bike. I needed to be close to him. He took off his jacket and helped me put it on.

  “It’s freezing out here, babe. This is gonna be a fast trip, so get on and hold on tight.”

  A thrill shot through me as I got on behind him. I slipped my arms around his waist and tried to prepare myself for the bitter cold. It had been such a great night. I couldn’t remember a time when I had been so happy. Unfortunately, that was all about to change.

  Chapter 20

  Goliath

  It was amazing how much could change in one night, one moment. You think everything is going your way, and you’re oblivious to the darkness that lurks around the corner. Then, in an instant, life comes crashing down on you, and you know you will never be the same. Memories of my father’s death kept coming back to me as I stood in the hospital waiting room. I sat with Lily watching the people I loved the most try to put on a brave face as they waited to hear the news - good or bad.

  Earlier, the nurse came to ask Lily all these absurd questions, and I lost it. We didn’t have time for that shit. I wanted to know how he was, and the fucking paperwork could wait. I knew getting angry with the nurse wouldn’t help, but I couldn’t think straight. I was worried about him, and I couldn’t stop thinking that it was my fault. If I’d been there instead of Courtney, it never would’ve happened.

  Lily had had to work at the bar that night, and it was Courtney’s turn to babysit. She loved babysitting JW and added herself to the calendar every chance she got. Lily said she’d even brought all these Baby Einstein videos for JW to watch. No idea what those are, but Lily seemed pretty excited about it. Courtney planned to watch JW at Lily’s until it was time for him to go to bed, and then she was going to bring him over to the club. Melinda would take over, so Lily wouldn’t have to worry about driving home. I had to work late in the garage, so I thought it was a good plan. I was wrong. So fucking wrong.

  Lily was heartbroken. She’d been crying hysterically since we found out about the wreck. We weren’t exactly sure what happened, but it looked like Courtney had hit a deer on the way to the clubhouse. It totaled her car. It flipped into a ravine, and it took the fire department using the Jaws of Life to get them out of the car. One of the men told me that he was shocked to find them still alive. Courtney and JW were rushed to the hospital, and we were waiting to hear how they were.

  I looked over at Bobby, and my chest tightened as I saw the expression on his face. My brother was having a hard time, and I couldn’t say I blamed him. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if it was Lily in the operating room. I watched the color in his face drain away when one of the doctors came out to talk to him earlier. He’d told Bobby that she had a great deal of internal bleeding and needed emergency surgery. It would be several hours before we knew anything.

  Lily jumped out of my arms and rushed to the doorway when one of the doctors walked in.

  “Are you John Warren’s mother?” he asked.

  “I’m his guardian. How is he?” she asked brushing the tears from her cheeks.

  “He’s going to be okay. He has a broken arm and a few scratches, but he’s going to be just fine. He’s a very lucky little boy.”

  Lily turned to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She rested her forehead against my chest and whispered, “Thank God. I thought I lost him.”

  “Can we see him?” I asked the doctor.

  “Yes, I’ll show you back to his room. I want to keep him under observation, so we’ll keep him here overnight.”

  “Thank you, Doc,” I told him as we followed him down the hall. I looked back to my brothers and hoped that we’d hear something about Courtney soon. “Let me know if you hear anything,” I called back. Several of them replied that they would, and I prayed that it would be good news. I really liked Courtney, and I would hate for Bobby to lose her.

  A nurse was holding JW when we walked into his room. As soon as he saw Lily, he reached out his arms for her. He had a little blue cast on his left arm, and a few monitors were attached to his chest. Lily ran over to him and took him into her arms. She started kissing his little head and whispered “I’m so sorry” over and over.

  “Your son is a tough little guy,” the nurse told Lily. “He’s been such a trooper through everything.”

  “Thank you for taking such good care of him. I was out of my mind with worry,” Lily explained.

  “You’ll need to take him to an orthopedic doctor in a few weeks to have the cast removed. Otherwise, he’s just fine. I’ll give you some time alone with him. Just buzz the nurses’ station if you need anything.”

  “Okay. Thank you,” I told her. I walked over to them and gave JW a kiss on his forehead. “You had us worried, Little Man.” He laid his head on Lily’s shoulder, and his eyes started to close. He was exhausted.

  “He’s okay,” Lily said looking over to me.

  “Yeah, he’s okay. Why don’t you lay down with him for a little while? He’s wiped.”

  “I thought I lost him,” she said with tears streaming down her face.

  I lifted my hand to her face and told her, “But you didn’t. He’s fine.” She nodded, and I said, “Now, lay down and get some rest. You both could use it.”

  “What about Courtney? Do you think she’ll be okay?” she asked.

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine. They’ll call me when they hear something. Now, get some rest.”

  Lily and JW had been sleeping for about an hour when I received my first text from Bishop.

  Bishop

  Out of surgery. Taking her to ICU.

  Me:

  Okay. Keep us posted.

  JW woke up the next morning having a screaming fit. He did not like that damn cast, and he was bound and determined to get it off. Lily tried to calm him down, but nothing she was doing was working, so I walked over and lifted him out of her arms. I released the monitor from his chest and started walking him down the hall. He quickly became i
nterested in all the people walking around and totally forgot about his cast. I stopped by the nurses’ station to let them know what was going on. Lily was following close behind, so I decided to go by the waiting room to check on the guys.

  Bishop and Tessa were sitting with Bobby, and I could tell he hadn’t gotten any sleep. The man looked like shit. “How’s she doing?” I asked.

  “They won’t let me see her,” Bobby said frantically. “Why won’t they let me see her?”

  Bishop looked up to me and shook his head. Damn. It’d been over eight hours. I didn’t have a good feeling about it.

  “I’m sorry, man. Surely they’ll let you back there soon. We’re praying for her,” I told him. Lily walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tightly. He didn’t even move. He was lost in his own thoughts, and it was hard to watch.

  A police officer walked into the waiting room and headed straight for Bishop. Bishop nodded his head and followed him out into the hall. I decided to follow them in case Bishop needed me.

  “It wasn’t a deer,” the police officer told him.

  “So what was it?” Bishop asked.

  “There were no deer tracks, but we did find several motorcycle tracks. It looks like someone ran her off the road. It wasn’t an accident.”

  “What the fuck?” I said.

  “Has your club had any threats lately?” the officer asked.

  I knew Bishop wouldn’t say anything about the Black Diamonds. He looked over to me, and I already knew what he was thinking. Those guys would be dealt with, and soon.

  “Nope. Not sure what’s going on, but I’ll find out,” Bishop said firmly.

  “If you do hear something, let us know.” He shook Bishop’s hand and left.

  “Let’s keep this between you and me for now. Crack Nut doesn’t need to worry about this shit right now,” Bishop told me.

  “Agreed.” I had a bad feeling. We both returned to the waiting room. Bobby never even looked up. It was time to get JW back to his room. The nurses were going to wonder where we went.

  “Lily, we need to get JW something to eat. Bishop, let us know if anything changes.”

  As soon as we started down the hall, Lily asked, “What was that all about?”

  “The wreck wasn’t an accident. I’ll tell you more about it later,” I told her as I followed her back to JW’s room. I accidently walked right into her when she stopped frozen in the doorway. I could hear the fear in her voice when she said, “No! You can’t be here!”

  I held JW firmly against my chest as I nudged her to the side and made my way into the room. Maverick was sitting on the small hospital bed shaking his head from side to side. I was surprised by the lack of anger in his face. He didn’t look like a man that was ready for a fight. Instead, he looked like someone who had just had their world turned upside down.

  “Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on,” Maverick told her.

  Chapter 21

  Lily

  “Someone needs to start talking,” Maverick said sounding frustrated.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I got a call from this hospital saying that my son was being treated here. They said my name was on his birth records. My son? What the hell are they talking about?” he asked.

  “You didn’t know?” Goliath asked him.

  “I have no idea what the hell they’re talking about. Is that him? Is that really my son?” he asked.

  “What do you mean you didn’t know? You threw Hailey out on the streets as soon as you found out she was pregnant!” I shouted.

  “Never knew. I honestly never knew,” he said looking devastated. “I loved her. I really did, but she was so messed up, Lily. She was always fucked up on something. When she started stealing from the club, she didn’t leave me any choice. I had to break it off with her.”

  “She was on the drugs because of you! You got her hooked on them!” I told him. I was getting angrier by the minute, but there was something about him. I didn’t want to believe him, but I knew he was telling the truth.

  “Lily, you have to hear him out,” Goliath told me. I could tell he believed him, too.

  “I don’t have to do a damn thing! She needed him, and he was too much of an asshole to help her.”

  “I didn’t know. I would’ve tried to make it work. Get her some help. Something. I wouldn’t leave my kid like that,” he explained.

  “We’re going to need some time to sort through all this. We’ve all had a long night, and JW needs to get some rest,” Goliath told Maverick.

  “I can’t believe I have a son.” A sad look crossed his face as he got up and walked over to Goliath. I couldn’t get over how much he looked like JW. There was no question that he was the father. I’d never seen green eyes like that. Maverick stared at JW for a moment and said, “He looks so much like her.” He looked down to the ground and shook his head in disbelief. He wrote his number down and handed it to Goliath. “I’ll give you some time, but I’m not leaving town without my boy.”

  No, I wouldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let him take JW from me. There had to be some way out of it. I took a deep breath and tried to think rationally. If Maverick was telling the truth, then he had every right to take John Warren. I knew that, but I didn’t know how to convince myself to let him go. I shouldn’t have wanted to keep him from his father, but deep down, I didn’t care. I couldn’t lose him. I wouldn’t let him go.

  “Lily?’ Goliath asked pulling me from my thoughts.

  “He can’t have him, Goliath,” I said firmly. “I don’t care what he says! He’s not taking him from me!”

  “We need to hear him out,” he said calmly.

  “No, we do not! I’m not letting him take John Warren away from me.”

  “Hear me out,” Goliath said as he took my hand and led me over to the small sofa. After laying John Warren down in his crib, he came back and sat down next to me. He took my hand in his and said, “I had Bobby look into him a few days ago.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “There’s nothing. He’s never been in any trouble, and his club is a lot like ours. I think your sister may have been lying about him.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

  “I wasn’t sure about anything yet. I told Bobby to keep looking. I was hoping that he would find something that would prove your sister was right about him. There just isn’t anything.”

  “So, all that stuff he said was true?” I asked.

  “There’s no way we’ll ever know the whole story, but I think he’s telling the truth, Lily.” Everything Hailey had ever told me was a lie. She had been so strung out, she didn’t care who she hurt. I felt my chest tighten at the thought of losing JW. I had grown to love him like he was my own. I couldn’t imagine him being taken from me.

  “What am I going to do?” I asked.

  “I’ll do what I can to buy us some time, and I’ll see what else I can find out about him. Once we have all the facts, we’ll go from there.”

  It was hard to even take a breath. I couldn’t believe it was happening. “I don’t know if I can do this. I love him, Goliath. He’s all I have left of Hailey,” I told him curling up into his arms. I wanted him to take it all away, to stop the inevitable, but I knew he couldn’t make that happen.

  “I love him too, Lil’. We’ll figure this out,” Goliath said holding me close while I cried in his arms.

  Goliath’s phone beeped several times, but he didn’t move. His arms stayed wrapped around me, his warmth and strength helping me hold on. Finally I said, “You better check that. It might be about Courtney.”

  He looked down at his phone and said, “I need to get down there.”

  “What’s going on? Is she okay?” I didn’t think my heart could take much more.

  “It’s not good. She isn’t waking up. She’s in a coma. I need to go down and check on Bobby. I’ll be back as quick as I can.” He gave me a quick kiss on the lips an
d headed down the hall. I got up from the sofa and walked over to JW. He was sleeping soundly, totally unaware of the chaos going on around him. I lightly ran my fingers over his sweet head and tried to fight back the tears. I needed to be strong for him. Whatever happened, I would always be there for him. Always.

  Chapter 22

  Goliath

  When I walked in, Bobby was pacing back and forth across the waiting room floor. His fists were clenched at his sides, and it looked like he was just about to lose it. I knew he was hurting, so I decided to leave him be. He had to come to terms with this on his own. I walked over to Bishop and took a seat beside him.

  “He’s having a hard time,” Bishop said tilting his head over in Bobby’s direction.

  “Why won’t they let him see her?” I asked.

  “He told them he was her fiancé, but they aren’t letting anyone back while she’s in the ICU. Hopefully they will move her to a regular room soon.”

  “Good. I don’t think he’s going to be able to wait much longer,” I said. Bishop shook his head. We both knew that Bobby was pretty level headed, but he had his breaking point. We all did.

  “Maverick showed up today,” I said looking over to Bishop.

  “What the fuck? What happened?” Bishop asked.

  “The hospital called him. His name was listed on JW’s birth records. He must have flown here last night. He was waiting for us when we got back to the room earlier,” I explained.

  “He cause trouble?”

  After I told him everything Maverick had said, Bishop replied, “You believe him?”