by Jordan Marie
“A pity, Tiny spoke highly of you. I was going to add you to my stable. Can’t stand a mouth like that though. Of course, if you survive I could cut your tongue out and still use you. Hmmm…” The pig seemed to truly be considering this.
“I’m going to meet up with the others. Take care of the whores and meet us at the docks.”
“Might be more powerful if Nicole here is a gift,” Irish suggests cryptically, and I don’t know what this gift is, but I’m thinking it’s not good.
“True, but think how much fun it’ll be to deliver both. Just do your job and be quick about it.”
“You got it.” With that, the other guy leaves out the way he came. Irish walks around in front of us and I want to kill him. He seems so calm, so detached, while Dani lays there bleeding out. How could I have ever thought he was a good guy? “Aw Nic girl, don’t look at me like that. This is just business. You just picked the wrong dick to hang onto. I was actually planning on giving you a go, but I’m sick of Dragon’s leftovers. So you pretty much sealed your own fate.”
“I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last man on earth.”
“Don’t make me prove you a liar girl. We both know I can. I’m tempted actually, but I don’t have the time and unlike Dragon, I like to enjoy my women,” he says walking closer to me.
He grabs my hair and pulls me away from Dani. She’s not talking at all now and she looks like she’s passed out. At least I hope that’s what is going on. I feel the panic begin to overwhelm me. I try to strike out at him, hit him, claw him—do anything really—but, he takes the butt of his gun and slams it into the side of my face.
He probably didn’t use full strength, because it doesn’t knock me out, but I am literally seeing stars. I fall back to the ground looking up at Irish, or rather a couple of him. My vision is blurry and he swims in front of me. I register he’s aiming his gun at me and I realize it’s over. I’m half laying on Dani and she didn’t even move, so I figure I’ve already lost her. I close my eyes and picture Dragon’s face one more time. An image of the way he looked before I fell asleep last night comes to mind. Exactly how he looked when he told me I had him. I don’t know what comes after this world, but I pray whatever it is I’ll find Dragon in it.
“Nic, baby! Mama, where are you?” I hear Dragon call out in the distance.
I want to speak up, but I can’t. I figure I’m dreaming, but I shake my head to try and figure out exactly what is going on.
“Fuck!” This comes from Irish. He sounds panicked, so maybe I’m not dreaming. Irish starts to back away towards the rock where Dani and I first hid. I try and steady myself and lurch up to stand, but sway dangerously—almost falling back down. At least my vision seems to be clearing a little.
“Dragon,” I call out, or whisper, I can’t be sure, so I try again. “Dragon!” Shit, was that any louder?
I hear Dragon running towards us now. I look back at Irish and he’s still pointing the gun. I know instantly what he has planned. Dragon makes it into my vision before I run towards him, trying to shield him.
22
Dragon
My world stops.
It fucking stops.
I see Nicole falling towards me and she’s covered in blood. She doesn’t have a shirt on, there are scratches all over her body and her face is red and swollen. She’s saying my name, but it’s garbled and I try to catch her before she falls. She’s in my arms, but before my heart can calm....
Two shots, two fucking shots, as an explosion of gunfire rings out, as if in slow motion. Bang...bang...and with each horrendous noise my woman’s body jerks. I scream out in agony because it feels as if my fucking heart is being ripped from my chest.
I hear more gun shots but they are coming from behind me. My men are here, but I can’t feel relief. I fall to the ground holding my woman. I look up to see Irish, my fucking brother, holding the gun that just shot Nicole. He’s on his knees now, bleeding himself, since one of Crusher’s shots hit him in the arm. Bull has him down and slams his fist into the side of his head.
I look back at Nicole afraid to move. I can feel the blood on my hands where I’m holding her. I lean back to look at her face and her blue eyes are watching me. They’re dazed and dilated, but she’s staring at me with a smile. She has a fucking smile on her lips. I bring my hand up and hold the side of her face. My hands are shaking so hard that it takes all my will to control them enough to hold her. The blood instantly smears on her hair and I hate it. It looks wrong. An obscenity on the only beautiful thing I’ve ever known.
“I knew you’d come,” she whispers weakly, and it’s all I can do to keep from screaming out at the pain gathering inside of me.
“I’m here Mama. You have to hold on for me,” I say, petting her hair gently. I look over at Crusher. “Get the ATV here, now! Use the two-way and have Poncho meet us at the bottom.”
“Dragon... I love you.”
“Mama, stop that shit. You’re going to be fine. Just hold on and I’ll have you fixed up in no time.”
“Love you...”
“If you do, then you promise me you’ll fight to stay with me. Do you hear me Nicole? You fight that shit and hold on. You got me?”
She grimaces and it guts me all over again to know she’s hurting. I wish I could take it away. I wish I could take her place.
“I… don’t think… I…”
“Fuck that shit! You listen to me, Mama. I told you that you were mine. You aren’t getting away this easily. You asked for me and you got me. Now you have to stick around for the ride. Promise me Mama, we got a fucking life together to live. If you love me, you don’t give up on that.”
“Okay, Dragon,” she says, and I reach down and kiss her on the forehead.
“Shit, hurry!” I look up at Bull and the pity in his eyes almost does me in. Nicole’s head falls to the side at a weird angle. Her eyes are closed and for a second my heart stops. She’s slipping away from me. Tears fall from my own eyes and I’ve never fucking cried in my life. Before Nicole, I had nothing I really gave a fuck about, and if she’s gone I don’t want to keep going either. She made the world bearable. I didn’t know how damn miserable I was until she came into my life.
“Oh God, Mama, don’t leave me. Don’t leave me here without you,” I say into her ear, holding her closer.
I hear Crusher and he somehow has both of the ATV’s up here. I don’t fucking know how he did it, but I’m damn glad. Somehow Frog and I make it to the bottom of the hill. Crusher took a separate vehicle and collected Dani. I couldn’t worry about any of that. Nicole is still breathing, but there is so much blood. I used my shirt to hold pressure on her wound, but it was soaked by the time we made it to the bottom. When we got there, Doc took over and I’m not sure what he did, but somehow he slowed the bleeding down.
He puts a portable oxygen mask on her to help her breathing, but my heart won’t stop jumping. I watch as Doc works on her and she looks so pale and lifeless. Her words replay in my head.
I love you Dragon. I love you Dragon.
It’s like some fucked up song I have to keep listening to. I can’t turn it off. I’m holding her hand and kissing the top of her head. My coat is covering her as best it can, while still allowing Poncho room to work. There’s so much blood, on her, me and Poncho.
I’m losing her. I had her and I didn’t take care of her. I didn’t keep her safe. She was precious and I let her be torn away from me. I should have known there were traitors in my club and I should have protected her more.
The ambulance pulls up and the medics come over to put her on the gurney. They put her in the ambulance and I’m just about to get in when the monitor they’ve hooked her up to flat lines.
It fucking flat lines.
I try to get into the ambulance and my men grab me to hold me back. The medics are working furiously on her and one is holding paddles above her heart.
“Mama, you hold the fuck on! You promised me! Don’t you leave me woman or I swear to fuck
ing Christ, I will find a way to follow you and drag your fucking ass back here! Nicole!!!”
My body is shaking, I know I’m crying and I don’t give one good fuck. If that makes me a pussy to my men, then so be it. I don’t even fucking want them around right now. It’s because of my motherfucking club, that my woman...
Jesus Christ, she can’t die.
I reach up and grab my head, pulling my neck down so I’m staring at the ground and the tears fall and hit my muddy boots. How the fuck did this happen? How did I not know Irish was involved? How could I trust him with my woman?
23
Dragon
We made it to St. Lutheran’s Hospital and have been here for three-fucking-hours. Three hours of the most perverse hell I have ever been in. Crusher, Gunner, Freak and Striker are all here and have been with me the whole time. Bull has just made it in. He delivered Irish to the shed, leaving Frog and Nailer to watch over him.
I can’t deal with that motherfucker yet, but I will soon enough.
Skull has even been here. He didn’t stay long, but he wanted to give his respects and to tell me he and his club was there for me if I needed them. I didn’t talk much, and I didn’t want him here. He understood and I think the fucker might. He even shared about losing a woman he loved once…
Fuck… love…
My woman was barely hanging onto life when we got her to the hospital. I lied and told them I was her fiancé and only living relative to give them permission to do emergency surgery. They rolled her away from me and I haven’t seen her since. If she died...
Fuck, I can’t even think that word.
“Mr. West?” A doctor comes out into the waiting area, looking around.
I stand up immediately, my damn legs feeling like rubber. I hear my brothers all come to stand behind me. I’m not sure how I feel about that right now.
Can I trust them? Are there more traitors like Irish?
I can’t let my mind go there, not right now. My focus has to be on Nicole.
“I’m Dra... Mr. West,” I answer.
“Mr. West your fiancé is still holding on. The next forty-eight hours are critical. She went into shock and she’s lost a lot of blood. A weaker person wouldn’t have survived. She was shot twice. The one to her side hip will cause her some discomfort from here out, but all things considered, not much else. The real damage came from the shot she received in her kidney. The organ was hit and with the amount of blood loss and the trajectory of the bullet, the damage was massive. The kidney was a total loss.”
I want to sink to my knees, but I don’t. I wait for more from him, and try to concentrate on the fact that my woman is still holding on.
“Will she...” I clear my throat. “Will she live?”
“She has a good chance, yes. As I said, the next forty-eight hours are critical. We’ll monitor her and watch her closely. She’ll be getting plasma and fluids through the night. Her vitals are weak but steady.”
“I want to see her.”
“She’s in intensive care. I’m sorry, but we only allow certain visiting hours on that floor.”
“Listen Doctor, I can appreciate rules, but that is my woman lying in there by herself. You told me the next forty-eight hours are critical and there is no way in hell that I am not going to be by her side every damn one of those hours. She’s my woman and no one will keep me from her. Are we clear?”
The doctor swallows nervously. His eyes move over the men behind me and finally his gaze comes back to me.
“I will not allow any disruption. The first commotion, I will have security escort you out and bar you from the premises.”
“Fair enough.”
Like fuck he would.
He nods and reluctantly adds, with his back to me, “Follow me.”
She looks so weak lying in the bed. Her skin is pale and washed out. She blends in with the stark white of the hospital sheets. I sit in the chair beside her and immediately wrap my hand around hers.
I have always enjoyed the differences of our color when we are together. The deep contrast is like something we share, polar opposites attracting and clinging tight. Tonight her color is way too pale. She’s still beautiful—the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen—but, she is cold to the touch.
I bring my hand up and shakily touch her hair. Someone has obviously cleaned her hair and body. Even so, the horrible sight of her blood is engrained so deeply in my brain that I can still see it.
“I’m here Mama. I told you, you got me now. I’ll always be here for you. You just got to live up to your end of the deal woman and wake up. I need you Mama. I fucking need you,” I whisper close to her ear.
“I need you, Mama.” I repeat that on and off willing her to listen. I need her to know it, because I know if she hears me, she will do whatever she has to do, to come back to me. Eventually, I lay my forehead down on our hands and just soak in being close to her.
24
Nicole
I feel so cold and it’s dark. I can’t seem to pull myself out of wherever I am. My body feels like dead weight. Did I fall into a hole? Everything just seems so hazy and I can’t grasp anything around me. I hear him though, in the background, I hear Dragon telling me he needs me and I panic.
What could be wrong?
I doubt Dragon has ever admitted to anyone he needs them. My lips feel so dry and I lick them to try and speak.
“Dragon?” I croak, sounding like a damn frog. I don’t know what’s wrong with my voice, but my whole body feels weird.
“Nicole?” Dragon answers, and in a voice I had never heard from him before.
“I need you, too…” I try to tell him, because I can feel the darkness begin to pull me back under.
When I come back through, I manage to open my eyes this time. My head feels like it has been hit over and over by a sledgehammer, and my body feels just as bad. I look around the dark room and see Dragon lying asleep in the chair beside my bed.
“Dragon?”
His body jerks awake instantly.
“Mama,” he says, as his mouth comes down and he kisses my forehead gently.
“Thirsty...” I can only manage to get the one word out, my voice is so dry and hoarse. He immediately reaches over onto a table and gets me a drink from a glass there. It seems to take all my energy just to suck out of the straw.
“What happened?”
“Don’t you remember, Mama?”
“No, but I feel like I’ve been run over by a Mack Truck. Was I in an accident?”
His big hand comes down and caresses the side of my face. His eyes are so deep and intense I can’t look away, and there is moisture there too. I feel like I am missing something big here.
“Something like that, but you’re going to be okay Mama and that’s all that matters.”
“You look tired.”
“Yeah well, when my woman gets shot, I tend to not get any sleep.”
“Shot…” I whisper and then it slowly comes back to me. “Oh God, Dragon, Irish...”
“Shh… it’s all okay now, Mama. But, when the police ask you questions, I need you to tell them you don’t know who kidnapped you. That you have no idea who they are and you’ve never seen them before. Can you do that for me?”
“Dragon...”
“I need this, Mama.”
“Dragon... Dani?”
“She’s fine, Nicole. She’s already been released. She’s at the club where we can watch over her.”
“She’s released? How long? How long have I been here?” I ask, feeling unease move through me.
“A week.”
“A week?” I whisper.
“You developed an infection and were in a coma for a while, but you kept fighting and holding on. That’s all that matters. Jesus, Mama, I’m so glad you’ve come back to me.”
I give him a weak smile, feeling something close to happiness spread through me.
He cares.
25
Nicole
“Well! I see y
our fiancé has decided to wake up and join us Mr. West,” an older nurse says, walking into the room. I look over at Dragon and mouth, “Fiancé?” I don’t say the word out loud, but I can feel my heart kick up in speed at the words.
He grins big and that close-to-happiness feeling I had earlier, explodes beyond measure.
“We were beginning to wonder about you, young lady,” the nurse chides.
“Sorry,” I answer, tightening my hand around Dragon’s.
“Do you need anything?”
“A bath?” I really want one, I felt horribly grungy.
“We can’t do that right now, but we’ll see about getting you cleaned up in a bit. There are some detectives wanting to speak with you. I’m supposed to call them when you are able to talk.”
“She’s just…”
I pull on Dragon’s hand to stop him from going on.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“I want a doctor checking her out first.”
The nurse looks back at Dragon with a frown, but nods her head in agreement.
“Mama....,” Dragon starts, but I interrupt him.
“It’ll be fine, Dragon. The sooner we get rid of them the better. Shit! What happened to the clothes I was wearing?” I ask in a panic, as I remember more of what had transpired.
“There wasn’t much left of them, the doctors cut them up and the police took it with them for processing.”
“Fuck! Dragon we have to...”
“Calm down Nic, you can’t get upset and besides we had a cleaner get rid of any...”