by Evelyn Glass
Emma’s eyes were open, and he could see her chest rising and falling with her breaths, but she wasn’t seeing whatever was in front of her. He moved her shirt, looking for the entrance wound. Left side, low down; she might be okay. She might make it through. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911. It was something that he’d never thought he’d do. The Titans took care of their own. They had club doctors and even a surgeon who could help remove the occasional bullet and stitch up plenty of wounds. But this was more than Doc could handle. She would almost certainly need surgery.
He glanced at Connell, looking for the approval of his old friend. Connell nodded — another thing that Dean didn’t expect. The agreement that this was beyond what the club could handle. Beyond what they could do on their own.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered to Emma, and her gaze turned toward him. Not entirely focused, but something closer. “You’re going to be okay.”
“Hurts,” she whispered. “Hurts so much.”
“I know,” he replied, leaning over to press a light kiss against her lips. “I know it does. But you’re tough, right? You’re my tough girl. We’re going to get through this.”
“Promise?” Her hand closed on his, and she squeezed it tighter than he expected.
“Promise,” he said and kissed her again.
Someone grabbed a tarp, and they made a litter to carry Emma down to the main entrance. There were more bodies along the way, and he expected that someone would have to explain this. Connell followed them, carrying Mia in his arms. When the ambulance came, the paramedics gave Emma a quick field assessment. They didn’t look panicked at what they saw, but they started moving more quickly, grabbing items from the inside of the ambulance and running IVs, packing wounds, and more that he couldn’t follow.
“Sir,” one of the paramedics said to Dean. “Are you her husband?”
“No,” Dean said, and then immediately regretted it when the paramedic shook his head.
“We need to go now,” he said. “We’ll take her to Mercy. You’ll be able to inquire about her status there.” The doors slammed shut, and the ambulance sped off before Dean could manage to intimidate them into giving him more information or letting him into the ambulance with her. Connell went to pass Mia to Dean but then looked down at Dean’s shirt — which was the first time Dean realized that he was entirely covered with blood. He looked up at Connell helplessly, and Connell sighed.
“Hey there, Mia,” Connell said, his big rumbly voice somehow softened enough to keep him from intimidating the hell out of the girl. “Your—” he choked off the word before he said, “father,” and continued. “Your Uncle Dean needs to go look after your teacher for a few minutes, okay? I’m gonna get you to your ma, and we’ll get you cleaned up and tucked into bed. Alright? And Uncle Dean will be along soon.”
Mia looked between the two men for a minute, then wrapped her arms around Dean’s waist. When Dean dropped to his knees, Mia shifted her hold to his neck.
“Hi there, little girl,” he said, the same greeting he’d given the child for years now, and for the first time wishing he dared to give her more of a pet name. But he’d have to talk to Abbey long before he gave himself permission to call the child something that indicated — well, that he was more than just an uncle.
“I love you, Uncle Dean,” she said, and suddenly he didn’t care what he was called, just as long as he was part of this girl’s life until the day he died.
“I love you back,” he replied, squeezing her hard before he moved to his motorcycle, mounted up, and sped off into the distance.
###
It occurred to Dean that arriving at the hospital covered in blood and filth might not be a good idea, regardless of how very much he needed to be as close to Emma as possible. He’d seen enough gut wounds in his life to be fairly certain they’d take her straight to surgery, to make sure that any major bleeds were repaired. If she were lucky enough that nothing had been seriously injured, and she didn’t go septic, he thought she had a good chance of being okay, but gut wounds were tricky and unpleasant. She’d probably be in several surgeries over the next few days, depending on the damage.
He stopped at his apartment, tossed off his dirty clothes and had a shower until the water ran clear off his hands, before redressing in clean jeans and a button-down shirt that covered most his tattoos. Combing his wet hair back, it was surprising how quickly he transformed from a motorcycle club leader to a buttoned-up businessman. He still knew how to stand and look like a model minority. He hated it but if it got him what he needed, then so be it.
He ignored the bike for once and got into his Grand Sport. He wasn’t planning on leaving the hospital until Emma was discharged with him, and there was no way he’d be able to take her home on his bike. There was no way she’d be able to handle the bumps and turns after abdominal surgery. He didn’t allow himself to consider what would happen if she didn’t come through surgery. Her bleeding hadn’t been extreme, but bleeding wounds could be delicate. Anything could happen.
He pushed hard and shoved the images out of his mind. He forced himself to think about Emma, whole and healed, and in his arms. That was a better thing to imagine.
Before he turned the key in the ignition, he called Abbey. Connell had already reached out to her, explaining what had happened, and that he was bringing Mia back. That they would need to call the police and the DA, but that the worst danger had passed. Connell had been in communication with Marv from the Scorpions as well. They were “keeping an eye” on the ring leaders of this whole goddamn mess until the cops could be brought up to speed. Marv had assured Connell, who had then assured Abbey, that there weren’t enough bought cops in town that the charges would finally stick.
Sam’s death would finally, after all of these years, be avenged. He wasn’t so macho that he had to pretend he didn’t dash away a few tears at that thought. Samara Jenner had been the first woman he’d ever loved. She’d made him want to be a better man. They’d both been wrong about what he needed to do to make that happen, but hey, what did a couple of eighteen-year-old kids know about life and behavior? Not fucking enough, was the point. They could’ve grown up together, and maybe they would’ve grown together, or maybe they would’ve grown apart and just had a baby together, but the truth now was that the relationship between them was crystallized, calm, settled — a memory of his past.
He turned the key in the ignition and drove his classic car towards the woman he had fallen in love with over the last few days. He found a spot outside of the emergency room, assuming that was the best way to find out what was going on. It took twenty minutes of charming nurses and security guards, but he eventually got the name of a surgeon and a promise that someone would let him know what was going on when she was out of surgery. After all, they didn’t have any information on her next of kin or her family, and it’s not like he knew who to contact, outside of Cassidy, and he didn’t have Cassidy’s phone number. Magically.
In the movies, people got a nice cut scene while surgery passed. In real life, people had to wait through every long minute, staring at the digital surgery board to see when their loved one’s code had moved out of the operating theater into recovery. After an indeterminate stretch of time, a tall black woman wearing scrubs and a cap appeared and called out Emma’s number. Dean stood, and the woman gestured him to a small alcove. Nothing like those hospital shows on TV, he thought to himself as he followed her.
“Everything went very well,” she said as he stepped inside the small room. “She may need one or two more procedures over the next few days, and we will be watching very closely for sepsis. There was some damage, but nothing that will likely affect her quality of life. She’s a very lucky woman.”
Dean felt himself release a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.
The woman looked down at his hands and seemed to note the bracelets circling his wrists, and the dark tattoos that marked him as a member of the Night Titans. He couldn’t cover all of them, n
ot without a head to toe suit. “GSWs of course need to be reported to the police, so expect a detective to come by her room at some point. But I’ll show you back to recovery if you like.”
“I like,” Dean said. He had to wipe moisture away from his eyes again, and he didn’t bother trying to hide it from the doctor. Not for a moment.
Emma was in bed, her eyes drowsily opening and closing. She focused on the door when it opened, and a slow smile spread across her face.
“Hi,” she said, drawing out the vowel in the word and carefully stretching a hand towards Dean. “I hurt.”
“You said,” he replied. “They had to do some work to fix you up, I hear.”
“Yeah,” she said back. “Said I’m gonna be okay, though. So, you’re not rid of me yet. Hope that’s okay with you.”
He settled into a chair by the bed and took her hand tight in his. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, that’s just fine with me.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Emma
Emma still winced a little bit when she stood up too fast, but other than that, she had no real reminders of the gunshot wound that had marked the end of her adventure with Soren Jay. At least, not when she was dressed. When she was naked, an impressive scar spread out over the hip where his gun had fired. In the end, she’d lost the ovary on that side, but she’d avoided sepsis, and her doctor assured her that there was no reason she wouldn’t be able to have children someday… if she wanted to. When she looked at Dean, late at night, sometimes she thought she might want to, but when she took Mia’s hand, she thought that maybe her family was already complete.
“Ready to go, kiddo?” she asked, and Mia gave her a solemn nod. She shouldered her purse while Mia tossed on her backpack, and they walked out to Emma’s small subcompact. Emma was dropping Mia off at Abbey’s before she and Dean went out for dinner.
Mia had started calling Dean “Daddy” a few weeks after the incident, without anyone really explaining the details of the relationship. Emma had watched Dean’s eyes well up with tears, and to her pride, he hadn’t tried to hide the groundswell of emotion from his daughter. Now, Mia spent time with both her father and the woman who had done the lion’s share of raising her. Emma was still something of an enigma in their lives. So much was in flux, she didn’t want to demand that they understand how she fit in right now as well. Besides, she was completely content with how things were playing out with her and Dean. Maybe a little way down the road, they’d formalize things. For now, everything was fine.
She saw Mia into Abbey’s apartment, and then drove to Dean’s to change out of her dowdy school wear into something a little more fun for a night out. A loose, jersey skirt and a tunic top that flowed over her curves and in a bright blue color that made her skin shine seemed absolutely perfect. Dean appeared in the bathroom door as she was putting her finishing touches on her makeup.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said and gestured at the loose curls of her hair. “Looks like we’re taking the Grand Sport tonight, huh?”
“Boy, you know how much I love your car,” she replied with a wink, and Dean laughed.
“Yeah, that’s fair.” He stepped in closer, pressing his lips to the back of her neck. “You know, we still haven’t had sex in that car.”
“I thought we were going out to dinner tonight.” She laughed, tilting her head to give him better access. He hummed against her skin, and a flurry of desire ran through her fast and hard.
“We are,” he said. “But I could still watch you put your feet up on the dash and fuck yourself until you scream. I’d even let you bring that pretty little blue vibe you bought last time we were downtown.”
Emma felt her cheeks heat up. She hadn’t realized that he’d seen the small bullet vibrator in her underwear drawer. “You don’t mind—”
He shook his head, his teeth nipping gently at her skin. “Anything that makes you feel good… I’m a fan.”
“Then take me out,” she said, turning to wrap her arms around his neck. “And I’ll show you just how loud I can scream.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
His lips came down on hers, and she kissed him back, deep and strong. She’d never wanted anything more than to repeat that kiss every day for the rest of her life.
THE END
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Books by Evelyn Glass
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HER BUYER: Paulito Angels MC
HE BOUGHT MY BODY. HE CLAIMED MY HEART.
But there can be no happy ending with a monster like him.
I woke up, half-naked, in the worst place I’d ever been:
On an auction stage, on sale to a faceless crowd of hungry men.
And they were hungry for ME.
Stripped down and cuffed tight, there’s nowhere for me to go.
But then HE barges in.
The man I’ve been hunting for years.
Every time I thought I had him locked away for good, he finds a way to slip out.
He’s a ghost, a tease, a menace.
And now, he’s about to be my buyer.
I should hate him, shouldn’t I?
The criminal who claims he owns me now.
And I do hate him – mostly.
But that’s not the whole truth.
Because my brain wants to be free.
But my body wants to stay chained to his bed forever.
HIS BABY’S KEEPER: Desert Marauders MC
I’LL KILL ANYONE WHO LAYS A FINGER ON MY DAUGHTER.
Someone hurt my baby girl.
And I’ll tear down heaven and earth to find out who it was.
But I need someone to watch Ella while I’m on the warpath.
And the sexy social worker fits the bill nicely.
Mona thought she was knocking on my door for a simple welfare check.
But when she stepped inside, she stepped into my world.
And the rules are a lot different here.
Because I won’t be content just to watch her care for my daughter.
Not until I have a taste of her for myself.
She can try and resist me with every excuse in the book.
I’m too rough.
Too brutal.
Too close to the edge of the law.
She may be right.
But none of that’s going to stop me.
I’m coming for what’s mine.
And I won’t leave until I’ve had her mouth.
Claimed her body.
And put a baby in her belly.
DIRTY DADDY: Night Titans MC
THE DIRTY DADDY WANTS TO MAKE ME HIS FILTHY LITTLE PET.
“Single dad.” Sounds safe, right?
If you believe that, you’ve never met Dean Patterson.
I was helpless to stop his enemies from taking his little girl.
And I’ll be helpless to stop him from taking me – over, and over, and over again.
I was just a daycare nanny.
What was I supposed to do?
His enemies came for his little girl with guns, with knives, with violence in their eyes.
I did my best to protect her.
But it wasn’t enough.
They left, with Dean’s daughter in tow.
And now, Dean is going to make me pay.
The thing is, the punishment he has in mind is a little different than I expected.
He isn’t going to hurt me. Not like that.
Instead, he’s going to bend me over and show me who I belong to now.
He’s going to take my body as the price for my mistake.
And I’m going to love every second of it.
At least, that’s what he whispers in my ear.
That’s what makes my legs shake and my heart quiver.
Because when the bad boy comes for you, one thing is for sure:
>
You better get ready to come for the bad boy.
SAMSON’S BABY: A Bad Boy Hitman Romance
SAMSON WON’T RELENT UNTIL I GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTS: A BABY.
He owned me from the very beginning.
With his eyes, his lips, his brutal hands.
I couldn’t say no.
And I didn’t want to.
What I wanted was more of him, all of him.
And he made sure I got it.
But I didn’t know back then who he was.
Or rather, WHAT he was.
Samson wasn’t just a random man.
He was a cold-blooded killer.
And somehow, he’s the only thing keeping me alive.