Chas jumped in the vehicle, and they took off after Ian. The roads were slippery, and Ian drove down the windy road like a maniac.
“Shoot the fuckin’ tires,” Axe told Chas.
“No way. I can’t risk the bastard crashing with Addie in the car.”
Twisting around the curves, they descended further down the mountain. Axe, hands gripping the steering wheel, slowed down as their vehicle approached a hairpin curve. The red brake lights from Ian’s SUV reflected in the snow as he also slowed down.
“What the fuck?” Jax said as he pointed at the vehicle in front of them.
To Chas’s horror, he saw the SUV’s passenger door open and Addie rolling out of it, hitting a snowdrift. The moment he saw Addie jump out, Chas yelled, “Get closer! I’m taking this motherfucker out.”
Axe gunned the Land Rover, sliding as it inched closer to Ian. Hanging out the window, Chas aimed his gun at the speeding car and fired, blowing out the passenger’s rear tire. Ian continued, driving faster, slipping and sliding on the icy road. Taking a sharp curve too fast, the SUV spun out of control and crashed through the guardrails then careened over the edge of the road. It bounced and banged over one thousand feet until the battered car came to its final resting place at the bottom of the mountain.
Before the SUV started its deadly descent, Chas had already run back to where Addie flew out. He found her pillowed in the snowdrift with her eyes closed.
Rubbing his hand over her cheek, he screamed, “Addie!”
No answer. She lay motionless in the snow, her golden red hair vibrant against the whiteness. Chas peppered her face with kisses while he twirled strands of her wet hair around his fingers. “Addie, please look at me. Can you hear me, precious? Don’t fuckin’ die on me. Addie.” His voice cracked.
Axe pulled the Land Rover by the side of the road, and Jax opened the door before the car stopped. He jumped out and helped Chas put Addie in the back seat. Chas sat in the back, Addie’s head in his lap. As he closed the door, he said through gritted teeth, “Fucking floor it to Pinewood Hospital.” His pallid face was taut, his misty eyes fixed on the purple stains scattered across Addie’s face—against her chalky skin, they were grotesque. The rage he had pushed down when he first had seen her battered face erupted, and he pounded his fist repeatedly on the SUV’s window while they raced to the hospital.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chas paced back and forth in the emergency room’s waiting area at the hospital. Axe sat wide-legged in one of the straight-backed chairs, staring at the TV on top of a high shelf. Jax sat with his elbows on his knees, his hands pressed together, fingertips touching. The strong scent of disinfectant and latex permeated the small waiting room. A few other people waited, scattered around the area, their faces pinched with concern. Cheap benign prints of mountains and lakes dotted the mauve walls.
When the double doors clanged open, all eyes watched as a tall, lean man in his early forties entered the area sporting a long, white coat. Wire-rimmed glasses rested on his angular nose, which he kept pushing up as he ambled further into the waiting room.
“Is anyone here for Addie O’Leary?” he asked in a loud voice.
Chas said, “I am.”
With an outstretched hand, the man said, “Hello. I’m Dr. Hendren. I’m the physician on duty today.”
Chas shook the doctor’s hand. “How’s my woman?”
“Are you her husband?”
Chas nodded. “Is Addie gonna be okay?”
Axe and Jax walked near to where Chas and the doctor talked, keeping their distance out of respect.
Dr. Hendren pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Your wife suffered a bad fall, but she was lucky to have hit the snowdrift. It also protected her from the rocks. She has cerebral edema.”
“What the fuck is that?” Chas asked.
A slight smile played on the doctor’s lips. “Basically, it is a closed head injury causing swelling of the brain.”
Chas’s face blanched as blood rushed to his head. “That sounds serious.” His mouth was dry, like it was full of cotton balls.
In a less clinical voice, Dr. Hendren said, “It can be, but I’m reducing the swelling by providing oxygen through a respirator to make sure the blood has enough of it. Your wife’s also being given medications through an IV to make sure her blood pressure doesn’t drop too low. The next few days are critical. We’ll see how she responds.”
As he listened to the doctor’s assessment of his precious woman, his stomach knotted. “And if she doesn’t then what?”
“I’ll have to perform a ventriculostomy.”
Exasperation covered Chas’s face as he viewed the doctor. “In plain English, okay, doc?”
With a small nod, the doctor said, “A small hole is cut into the skull and I drain out the excess fluid. What I’m doing now is less invasive, so I’m hoping it will work and you can bring your wife home in about a week.”
“And the baby?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Chas noticed Axe and Jax exchanging surprised looks. He ignored them and focused on the doctor.
“The baby is fine.”
Chas exhaled a long breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “When can I see her?”
“She’s been moved to a room in ICU. It’s on the third floor—room number three eighteen. You can go see her now, but she is heavily sedated. We’re trying to bring the swelling down.”
Chas looked at his two friends. They came up and gave him a bear hug.
“She’ll be fine, brother. She’s gotta be for your kid, you know?” Jax said in a low voice.
Axe nodded. “She’s tough, bro. Go to her.”
Chas lifted his chin, then strode over to the elevators.
When he entered her darkened room, the blue and red lights from the various machines hooked up to his precious woman cast an eerie glow around her. Electronic beeps stabbed his foggy mind while the machine pumping mechanical air into Addie’s lungs grated on his nerves like sharp pieces of glass. After opening the blinds slightly, his heart splintered when he saw Addie—she had the pallor of a corpse.
Chas rushed over to her. As he stared at the tubes in her nose and mouth, he swept his hand over her forehead then brought his fingers down and stroked her cheeks. He bent down and kissed her cheek tenderly. Seeing Addie connected to the respirator, heart monitor, and IVs, he regretted like hell he didn’t have the satisfaction of killing Ian slowly. If Ian were there, Chas would string him up and peel off his skin little by little, showing him the same amount of mercy Ian showed Addie and her unborn child. The only thing Chas could hold onto was the fact that the asshole knew he was going to die when his car flew off the cliff. It offered Chas a small bit of satisfaction.
Grasping Addie’s cool hand, Chas said, “I’m so sorry I failed you, babe. It was my job to protect you. You’re my woman, and I fuckin’ failed you and our baby you’re carrying.” Chas stared down at Addie’s closed eyes, watching the machine breathe for her. A large lump formed in his throat as heaviness settled in his chest. “I love you so much, precious. You can’t leave me ’cause I can’t live without you. You gotta get better for me and Jack. We need you in our lives. Fuck, I love you.” Wiping the wetness from his eyes, Chas brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
With his foot, he dragged the chair behind him closer to the hospital bed. He sat down, laid his head on Addie’s hand, then placed his arm over her stomach.
The rattle of a cart coming into the room startled Chas, and he looked up to meet the nurse’s soft eyes. She smiled at him. “If you want to stay overnight, you can.”
“Yeah, I want to.”
“I’ll bring a couple of pillows and blankets for you. It can get pretty cold around here at night.” She checked the numbers on the various monitors, making notations on her clipboard. “There are two guys waiting out in the hall. I think they’re here for you.”
“Thanks. I’ll be right back.”
Chas found Jax a
nd Axe leaning against the wall outside the room. Axe stared at his phone, and Jax looked straight ahead.
“Hey,” Chas greeted them.
“How is she?” they asked in unison.
“Not sure. She’s hooked up to all kinds of shit. It’s fuckin’ freaking me out.” Chas turned away.
Each of his brothers placed a hand on his shoulders. “This fuckin’ sucks. Stay strong, bro ’cause she needs your strength,” Jax said.
Chas nodded then turned back to them. “I’m gonna stay here for the night. You guys can go. Thanks for your help.”
They nodded then sauntered down the hall toward the elevators. Chas called his mom and asked if Jack could spend the night with them. He told her Addie had a bad fall, but the doctor was hopeful she’d be okay.
After he hung up, he went back into Addie’s room and took his seat next to her. Trying desperately to tune out the machines surrounding his woman, he replayed the happy times they shared in his mind and continued to remind himself of all the wonderful times yet to come.
* * *
On the third day of Addie’s hospital stay, Chas looked at Jax as he came into the room and put his arm around Chas. Scooting a chair next to him, Jax said, “Dude, you look like hell. Why don’t you get outta here for a while? Go shower and—”
“I’m not fucking moving. She’s been like this since we brought her in. Why the fuck doesn’t she wake up?” Chas’s voice hitched and he looked away from Jax.
“She’ll be fine. The doctor said this is normal and she’s doing great. Her brain needs this down time for some medical reason. It’s like her body knows how the fuck to heal itself. You gotta be ready for her when she snaps out.”
Chas continued to stare at the tubes breathing air into Addie’s lungs. “I can’t go. I can’t leave her.”
“I know this is hard, and Addie needs you, but Jack needs you, too,” Jax said in a low voice.
Chas jerked his head toward Jax and glared.
“You can give me the mind-your-fucking-business stare all you want, but you know I’m right. You fought hard for him, and he needs some time with you.” Jax rubbed his hands on his denim-clad thighs. “I know this is hard for you, and you want to be by her side, but she’s not the only one in your life, bro. You’ve lost some perspective here, and I’m just reining you in. I’d want you to do that to me if I were in your situation.”
They sat there in silence, the whirr of the respirator filling the room. Chas’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I haven’t seen Jack in three days, and that’s not cool. Fuck. I was so obsessed with talking to Addie and willing her to open her eyes that I completely forgot about the days and how all this must be for Jack. Man, I’m torn. I don’t wanna leave her ’cause I don’t want her to be alone when she wakes up. But I have to be there for Jack. Fuck.” He rubbed his hands over his three-day beard. He knew he looked like shit, and he probably stank worse than a skunk. Fuck! Why won’t she wake up?
“Cherri and Cara have offered to take turns sitting with Addie until you come back, and Axe and I are here for you. Fuck, the whole brotherhood will take turns watching your woman. You need to spend some time with your son.”
The generosity of the MC family’s offer touched Chas and reminded him why he would die for the brotherhood. He would never be alone because the Insurgents were his family and cared about him as he cared about them.
Nodding, he leaned over, brushed his lips over Addie’s cool forehead and walked out. In the hallway, Cherri leaned against the wall, her white-blonde hair surrounding her face like a halo. In two strides, he was next to her.
“Thanks for doing this.”
“No need to thank me. If anything changes, I’ll let you know. Go get some rest and hang out with Jack.” Her blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
With a heavy heart, Chas walked down the hall. As the elevator door closed, he squeezed his eyes shut and prayed Addie would be given back to him and Jack so their life together could begin again.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Five days later
Where the hell am I? What are all those beeps? Why can’t I move? Addie tried to discern the shapes in the low-lit room as her eyes adjusted to the dimness. Surveying the place, she saw the closed blinds, the IVs, and some sort of machine rhythmically moving up and down. Bringing her free hand to her face, she felt the thick plastic tubes in her mouth and nose. She tried to move her other hand, but something heavy was on it. Trying to push whatever it was away, her free palm touched a soft, silky texture. Running her fingers through the object, she realized it was someone’s head on her hand. She tried to sit up, but her body ached too much, and she didn’t have the strength.
Caressing the head again, it stirred under her touch.
“Addie?” a gravelly voice said.
As hard as she tried, no sound came out of her—only small moans.
A figure bolted straight up and bent over her so she could see more clearly. A rush of joy jumped from her aching head to her toes as Chas came into view. Blinking rapidly, she grabbed for his hand and squeezed it in hers.
“Addie, you’re awake. Can you hear me? Just squeeze my hand once if you can.”
She squeezed his hand.
“Oh, precious, you don’t know how long I waited for you to wake up. Can you hear and understand me okay?”
One more squeeze.
“Fuck, this is awesome!” When he brought her hand to his lips, he kissed it repeatedly, a few wet drops falling on it.
Addie wished she could talk so she could find out what was going on. The last thing she remembered was being petrified in a car with Ian driving like a madman. She’d been sure they were going to careen off the mountain, and she was so scared for her unborn baby. Oh, shit! The baby. Her insides froze, and an icy fear slowly climbed up her spine. Is our baby still in me? Damn, I wish I could talk!
Chas continued to press the nurse’s button. When the nurse came in, she looked at Chas while she turned off the call light.
“Do you need something?” she asked.
Pointing at Addie, Chas said, “She’s awake. Get the doctor in here.”
The nurse looked at Addie and smiled. “All right. This is wonderful. I’ll put a call in to Dr. Hendren.” She hurried out of the room.
Chas bent over Addie. “Fuck, precious. I was so worried about you. I didn’t think you’d ever recover. You just lay there day after day with your eyes closed and this machine,” he gestured to the tubes connected to the respirator, “breathing for you. I was so scared, babe.”
So, I’m on a respirator. No wonder my throat is sore and feels like it’s full of cobwebs.
“You being so sick and just lying there was the worst. Now you’re awake, and it’s gonna go up from here. You’re just gonna get better and stronger every day.” Chas lowered his face and kissed the top of her head. “I love you, precious, and I want you to be a part of mine and Jack’s life. And Jack is thrilled to have a sibling coming.” He looked into her glistening eyes. “I’m thrilled about the baby, too,” he said in a low voice.
When he mentioned the baby, her eyes widened and she looked down toward her stomach. Chas nodded. “Yeah, the baby’s good.”
As two tears trickled from the corner of her eyes, Chas’s calloused thumb wiped them away. Even though her throat felt like sandpaper and her whole body ached—even her hair—her heart soared as happiness exploded inside her.
Chas whispered in her ear, “You don’t need to worry about Ian. He had an accident and slipped off the mountain. You’re free of him, precious.”
Addie was no longer in pain; rather, she was on a cloud above her bruised body, soaring high. Joy cradled her and carried her to a new life, a new future. She saw her parents’ smiling faces as they embraced her, their white light pulling her in like a beacon of hope.
“You’ve found your place, honey,” her father said.
“You done good, Lizzie.” Her mother stroked her face as she pulled away into the light.
“We’ll always be with you, but you have a new, wonderful journey ahead of you.” Her father also blended into the light until she could no longer see her parents, only a bright ball floating higher and higher until it was no more.
“Addie? Addie, can you hear me. Fuck, what’s wrong?”
She opened her eyes and blinked rapidly as if to tell Chas that everything was fantastic, and she couldn’t wait to heal so they could start their life.
“Fuck, babe. You scared the shit outta me. You were out of it for a couple of minutes. Must be the narcs they’re giving you for the pain.” He brushed a few strands of hair off her face. “When you get better and stronger, we gotta whole lot of fucking we have to catch up on.” He winked at her.
Addie’s heart soared. How I wish I could tell him what I feel. I love him so much. I love Jack, and I can’t wait to be a total part of Chas’s life. She squeezed his hand and brought it up to her heart, holding it there as she gazed intently into his black eyes.
“Are you telling me you love me?” His breathing became heavier.
One squeeze.
Grinning, he placed his arm around her waist, and in that moment, she realized Chas was hers. After all this time, she’d finally found a home.
Chapter Forty
One month later
“It’s now been confirmed that some of the guys from the defunct Kilson charter have joined with the Deadly Riders. Dustin and Shack are in that group, so we gotta keep our eyes on the club, ’cause those two sonsofbitches can’t be trusted. I know we haven’t heard the last of them, and they’re gonna be involved in all kinds of shit that can fly back in the Insurgents’ faces.”
“Are the Deadly Demons still honoring our truce?” Jax asked.
“As far as we can tell. With those assholes, we can never be sure of what they’re doing behind the scenes,” Hawk said.
“I don’t trust ’em for a minute. If shit starts to happen with the Deadly Riders, you can bet the Demons aren’t far behind,” Throttle added as he reclined back in his chair.
Chas's Fervor: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 3) Page 35