by Lilly Atlas
Fuck that. Ensuring her safety was all that mattered. He struggled against strong hands that held him to the gurney.
“Hey, brother. Calm the fuck down. These guys are working to keep your ass on this earth another day. Cut them some slack.” Jester’s hulking form filled Hook’s field of vision.
“Marcie?”
“She’s all right, brother. Look to your left.”
With great effort, Hook turned his head. Marcie lay on a gurney about ten feet away, a mask on her face as well. Their gazes locked and tears streamed from her beautiful green eyes. Damn she was gorgeous. Soot covered nearly every inch of her, except for two tracks of creamy skin trailing from her eyes.
“That’s some girl you got there. She saved your dumb ass all by herself,” Jester said.
He had no idea what the hell had happened, but there would be time to fill in the details later. Now, he’d let the paramedics work on him. Hell, he’d let them do whatever the fuck they needed to do to him. Marcie was alive and safe. He’d be able to hold her soon. That was all that mattered.
“Sir, you have a few extensive burns on your legs. We’re going to give you some pain medicine now so it will have kicked in by the time we get you to the hospital. It will probably knock you out,” the paramedic said.
That was fine. Marcie was safe. Nothing else was important. It wasn’t long before the pain eased and darkness took him under yet again.
The next thing Hook knew, he was lying on crisp white sheets, in a sterile white room. Fogginess rimmed the edges of his consciousness, but he was alert enough to seek out Marcie. Sure enough, she sat sprawled in a high back, vinyl chair next to his hospital bed. Someone had given her a pair of green hospital scrubs and at some point, she’d showered, because the thick grime no longer covered her beautiful face.
Dark circles rimmed her eyes causing Hook’s stomach to clench. They were due in part to the exhaustion and stress of the last few hours, but they’d been evident during the party as well. Owing to the fact that she’d been up all night stressing about their relationship instead of sleeping.
He took a deep breath through his nose, inhaling the oxygen provided by the hospital and couldn’t hold back a wince. Damn, his chest felt like he’d gone three rounds with someone Jester’s size and lost, badly. “Marcie?” Yikes, the hoarse rasp of his voice sounded like something out of a horror movie.
She lurched and her eyes flew open. “Hook!” With a wince of her own, she leaned over the bed. “Are you in pain? Do you need me to call the nurse? Are you thirsty? What can I do for you?”
“Whoa, baby, calm down.” Her rapid-fire babbling had to be born of nerves and stress. “I’m okay. Now that I’m looking at you, I’m fine.”
Tears filled her eyes and she clung to his hand. “Hook, God, it was so horrible. I was sure—” She shook her head. “I love you, Hook. I’m sorry. I’m screwing this up so bad. I just couldn’t wait another to second to tell you. Today was too close. To think I almost lost you without telling you.” A choked sob exploded from her and she shook as tears spilled down her face.
Her tears and anguish slayed him. In this moment, he wanted nothing more than to hold his woman in his arms and ease her mind. “Climb into bed with me.”
With a hiccup, she shook her head. “I can’t. You have some burns on your arms and legs that the doctor bandaged. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You in this bed with me is the only thing that will make me feel better. I promise.” He scooted over, masking a grimace of pain. No way could she stay in that damn chair. His woman’s body against his was exactly the medicine he needed.
Moving gingerly, she climbed into the bed and settled against him, one arm across his stomach and her head on his shoulder.
With the head of the bed elevated, he was able to look down at her sad emerald eyes. “You were right, you know, Marcie.”
A frown appeared. “Not that I don’t love to hear that, but what was I right about?”
“You’re so fucking strong and independent. And you can handle some serious shit without anyone’s help. Jesus, Marcie, Jester told me you were the one to get me out of there. You saved my fucking life, babe. And by the way, I’m going to need those details.”
A small sniff rose from her and she shook her head against his chest. “We’d both be dead if Striker and Jester hadn’t found us at the end. And I realized something myself. I’m tired of doing everything alone. I use my independence to shield myself, but I want a partner. Someone to take care of me and someone for me to take care of.”
Her words released a tension in him he hadn’t realized had been building since their fight. “Any idea who you want to fill that position?”
She chuckled. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted to take that job.”
“Thank fuck.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. It ended far before he was ready, but neither of their breathing was completely back to normal and they needed air before long. “I love you, Marcie. And I promise I won’t walk in front of you, but stand beside you for the rest of your life.”
“Hook…” Her voice was thick with emotion and love darkened her irises to a forest green.
“Christ, babe, don’t look at me like that. We need to find a way to get me out of here as fast as possible because I need inside you. And soon.”
“Sorry, buddy,” she said. “Doc wants to keep you overnight.”
“Fuck. Well then, I guess that gives you plenty of time to fill in the blanks and tell me what the fuck happened tonight.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Tanner went crazy. That’s what happened.” Some of the all-consuming fear finally left her. Hook was alive, awake, and aside from a few scars that would linger on his legs, expected to make a full recovery.
And he loved her.
“He started spraying bullets around the backyard and took some poor club girl hostage. Striker kept me safe, but when I smelled smoke, I knew you were in danger.” Tears threatened to fall again, but she managed to hold them at bay this time. “Um, Striker distracted him while I snuck into the house. After that, I missed everything that went down in the backyard, but from what I understand, Striker goaded him until he was so riled he lost his focus. That gave your friends Jester and Gumby enough time to take him down. From what they told me, the cops showed up then and took custody of Tanner.”
Hook tightened his grip around her and dropped a kiss on the top of her heard. “What happened inside?”
“The door to your office was tied shut with a rope from the doorknob to the stair rail. It took me forever to get it to budge. God, Hook, I was terrified. I could feel the heat, see and smell the smoke. I knew you were in there but I couldn’t get to you. It was so awful.”
There went the ability to hold back the tears. They poured from her eyes, soaking Hook’s hospital gown. “Shh, baby, it’s over. I’m fine. Because of you. Because of how fucking fierce and brave you are.”
His words registered, but now that she’d opened the floodgates, the story tumbled out between sobs. “Finally, I moved the chair and opened the door. It was hot. So hot. I couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. The only thing I could do was crawl around on the floor, so that’s what I did. Eventually I bumped into you and I dragged you out of the room. The goal was to get you out the front door, but I didn’t make it. Striker and Jester rescued us.”
Hook’s hold on her tightened to the point of uncomfortable, but she didn’t say anything. Nothing was more important than being close to him in this moment. “Babe, I know I said you were strong, and fierce, and so fucking brave, but if you ever put yourself in danger like that again I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”
One eyebrow rise and she glanced up at him. “Oh really? What are you going to do about it?”
“You think I’m joking? You could have been killed, Marcie. I promise you, if you ever do something that foolish again, I’ll tie you to my bed and fuck you so hard you won’t be able to leave for a week.”
&nb
sp; “Hmmm, maybe you shouldn’t wait until the next time I put myself in danger to dole out that punishment.”
“You think this is funny, woman?”
He sounded truly upset so she stopped teasing him. “No, Hook. I don’t, but your life was in danger. I love you. I had no choice but to try to save you. Your house was burning all around you—oh my God! Your house! You worked so hard on it. There was so much damage.”
He’d purchased that house when it was in ruins and spent years rehabbing it. Her heart hurt to think of all his labor wiped out in one evening by her crazy ex.
“You think I give a fuck about the house? Seriously?”
“But your blood, sweat, and tears are in that house.”
“Yeah and your blood was almost in that house. Burn the fucking thing to the ground for all I care. I’m not sure I could live there again knowing you came so close to dying.”
“I’m sorry I brought this horror into your life.” Guilt was heavy in her stomach.
“Woman, are you trying to piss me off?”
His outraged tone only served to make her laugh. “You really do love me, don’t you?”
“Yes, I fucking love you,” he said in the same livid voice. “What the hell do I have to do to prove that to you?”
She rose on her elbow and kissed him for all she was worth. “Get better very fast so you can dish out my punishment.”
He growled against her lips. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I love you too, TJ.”
“Damn straight, you do,” he said before he captured her lips in another sizzling kiss.
She’d thought giving her heart to Hook meant giving up her independence and autonomy. She couldn’t have been more wrong. It meant gaining a partner, a lover, a champion.
And that was everything.
Dr. Lila Emerson is finally free of the shadow of her politically connected family, with her new job in a small town Emergency Room. But her new peace is shattered when she encounters the dangerous, but compelling Striker. He’s everything she should stay away from, but all she craves. And since he keeps turning up in her ER, he’s hard to avoid.
As Vice President of No Prisoners outlaw motorcycle club, Striker is no stranger to violence. But when it touches the pretty doctor he wants in his bed, he’ll do anything to keep her safe. When Striker and Lila are thrust together, sparks fly and passions ignite. Before long they find themselves entangled in a relationship neither saw coming.
The MC can and will eliminate any threat against Lila, but what if they—and the man she’s falling for—are the reason she’s in danger?
Chapter One
The doors to Desert Community Hospital slid open with a whoosh. It was a sound Dr. Lila Emerson heard countless times each shift, so she didn’t bother to look up, focusing instead on completing a written proposal for the concussion and sports safety program she hoped to institute at the local high school. Another forty-five minutes and she would have it completed, and be on her way home to the bottle of Cabernet and warm bath that promised to soothe her tired body after a hectic week. She couldn’t wait.
“Stitch.” Jester’s booming voice bellowed through the lobby. “We need you, girl! Gumby’s face is all busted up.”
Lila groaned. Again? Perhaps the man needed a new nickname. Gumby didn’t seem fitting, considering the number of times his body cracked.
Members of the No Prisoners motorcycle club had burst into the lobby of the emergency room. She could always tell the moment they came through the doors, even without the inevitable we’re here announcement made by Jester. There was a change in the energy of the room: a charge of fear and distrust from some, a nervous respect from others, and a buzz of sexual energy from all the testosterone they seemed to emit. There was a strong possibility she was the only one who noticed that last point.
Jester led the pack of two leather-clad, boot-wearing men as they tromped through the waiting room, and up to the admissions desk. Silence descended as the patients awaiting treatment gaped at the intimidating duo. Jester was a mountain of a man, topping out at no less than six foot five inches, and probably weighed close to three hundred pounds of solid muscle. He had the body type of a serious weight lifter, and could have been one, for all she knew about him. Both arms boasted full sleeves of tattoos, and additional ink peeked out from the collar of his T-shirt. Jester’s dark brown hair was long, past his shoulders, and thick, though usually contained in a ponytail at the base of his neck. He was a formidable figure, and not someone she’d want to meet in a back alley at night, despite his apparent jovial demeanor.
He reached the admissions desk, and braced his meaty hands on the counter. The action placed him directly above poor Anna, the middle aged receptionist who worked the night shift. She had to tilt her head way back to meet Jester’s fierce gaze.
“Um, if you wouldn’t mind filling out these papers.” Anna’s voice shook as she fumbled with the clipboard that contained the intake paperwork. “Then please have a seat, and we will call you back soon. There are only a few patients ahead of you, so the wait shouldn’t be more than an hour.”
“That’s not gonna work for us. We’ll just head back to an empty room, and Stitch can meet us in there.”
Jester was the first to call her Stitch, after a number of club members had required stitches following a particularly brutal bar brawl one night a few months ago. The moniker stuck, and spread throughout the town.
The No Prisoners. Their name came from the phrase take no prisoners, an expression the club was rumored to live by. Lila’s patients loved to pass along town gossip, and she was regaled with numerous grandiose stories about the club’s penchant for making their enemies disappear. Typically, she took what patients told and believed about half of it, but these rumors she didn’t doubt. Each club member she’d met was able to laugh and joke with her, but there was always a deadly undercurrent that couldn’t be ignored. They all carried weapons, and she’d often wondered how they got them past the security guard, but she wasn’t about to ask. No point in getting on their bad side.
Lila rolled her eyes, and stood, intending to intervene on Anna’s behalf, when her gaze landed on the man rounding out the group. Striker shook hands with the night security guard as he came through the double doors. In its typical fashion, her heart rate kicked up a notch at the sight of the No Prisoners’ vice president.
Her eyes widened as she watched Striker pass what looked like money to the portly guard who glanced around before sliding his hand into his back pocket. Well that explained how they got their arsenal in the building, and why they were never asked to leave, no matter how many patients complained of being uncomfortable by their presence.
If Webster’s had a definition for sexy bad boy there would be a picture of Striker. He stood around six-foot-two, with muscles galore and dark, almost black hair that was short and a bit unruly. Combined with a strong jaw, piercing blue eyes, and leather, he made for one mouthwatering package.
“Ah, there’s no guarantee that, um, Dr. Emerson will be the one to see you.” Anna’s face was flushed, her voice wavered, and her eyes shone with a glimmer of unshed tears. Jester still hovered over her, a scowl on his face.
Lila sighed. Her schedule had been crazy this week and she’d had to squeeze in work on the proposal anywhere she could. It was just about finished, and she had planned on it being done by the time this shift was over. So much for that.
She moved toward the reception area to rescue Anna before the unassuming woman broke down under Jester’s glower. “Anna, it’s okay.” Lila put a hand on the older woman’s shoulder. “There’s no one else in line to check in. Why don’t you run and grab a cup of coffee from the break room, and I’ll get these gentlemen’s information and get them settled.”
The look of relief on Anna’s face was almost comical, and she scurried away the second the offer was out of Lila’s mouth. The club members were imposing for sure, but in all the times they’d been into the ER, Lila could be honest in sayi
ng they never actually caused any trouble. They just always looked like they were on the verge of it. Still, the patients in the waiting room stared at the floor and out the windows, anywhere but at the hulking men in leather and chains. Most of the staff reacted the same way, and Lila realized, aside from the worthless security guard, she was alone in the shared admissions and charting area.
She shifted her attention to the three men standing by the desk. Jester wore an ear-to-ear grin on his face, like flustering the receptionist had been the highlight of his evening. Gumby, the injured party, stood next to him and held a blood soaked rag under a rapidly swelling eye. Striker leaned against the wall off to the side, arms crossed, face unreadable, and Lila forced her attention away from him.
“Just head on back to room four,” she instructed. It was best to get them taken care of quickly. Tension would leave the ER once they were back outside on their motorcycles. Plus, she’d be able to go home as soon as she treated Gumby. “You know the way. I have to talk to the nurse for a minute and we’ll be right in. Try not to scare away too much of our business on your way back there.”
“Aww, Stitch, Gumby’s face doesn’t look that bad,” Jester said.
“I was talking to you,” she shot back with a smile.
Jester laughed, threw an arm around Gumby’s shoulders, and steered him in the direction Lila had indicated. Striker lingered at the admissions desk. When she met his gaze, one corner of his mouth lifted in the arrogant grin she had come to expect from him. Her breath caught in her throat and she forgot what she was supposed to be doing. She barely remembered her own name when he looked at her like that, and lately the heated gazes seemed to be coming more frequently.
Part of Lila, the part that had moved across the country in hope of having the freedom to live her life her way, told her she loved the attention. She was free to make her own decisions for the first time in her life. Taking this job in a small town hospital where she could really affect the lives of individuals in her community was the first step in exerting her autonomy. The next step would be finding a man to spend that life with.