I grab my phone out of my pocket and tap on Nico’s name. My screen pulled up his name and started dialing the number. He answered after two rings.
“Trig, what’s up brother?” he asks on the other end.
“Hey man, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to research recent attacks on humans and what new clubs have come into our territory.”
“Anything specific on the attacks?” I hear him typing on the keyboard. This man already knows I want this info yesterday.
“Attacks on women, leaving claw marks on the chest or abdomen area. Search the French Quarter parameters. I want to know what we are dealing with.”
“What are we dealing with?” Nico sounds concerned.
“I’m hoping just a random attack that we can take care of but I want to be positive about that. Can you put this on top of your list with the cameras?”
“Yeah, brother. How’s your woman?”
“Not sure yet. I’ll know more when she’s awake.”
“Let me know, k?”
“Yep.” I hang up the phone and contemplate what to do next. Then it dawns on me. There is one thing I could do, it’s against everything we believe in but if it’s the only way to get information then it needs to be done. I sit down next to Eve on the bed, grab her hand again and close my hands and bow my head.
I hope this works.
Eve
The pain. Holy fuck this hurts. Why? Why do I hurt so bad? And where the fuck am I? It looks like a cemetery but which one. That’s when I look at the gravestones.
Edward Bodreaux
June 26, 1965- May 17, 1990
Lisa Bodreaux
December 12 1969- May 17, 1990
Mom. Dad. My heart sinks. I never knew them, they died right after I was born but I always felt like they were watching over me. My auntie raised me until she died of pancreatic cancer when I was 16. I have been on my own since then. I don’t understand though, why am I here?
I look around the grave yard and it’s dark. I can barely see anything and the fog doesn’t help matters any. I touch their crypts one more time before I start looking around.
“Hello? Is anyone here? I need help” That’s when I hear a voice that I recognize but it’s unfamiliar at the same time.
“Eve.” It’s almost like a whisper. “Eve I need to know what happened to you?”
“Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself.” I grab the closet thing I could find, I small branch from a tree and hold it like a baseball bat.
“Eve, you were attacked tonight. This is nothing more than a dream, but I’m not a dream. You know me. You’re safe with me. But I need to know who it was that attacked you so I can return the favor.” Whoever this was sounded sinister with that statement, almost vengeful. How am I supposed to trust someone that won’t even show me his face?
“Come out first. I want to see your face.” I say ready to swing my branch at anything that moved.
“Follow my voice, Eve. Come to my voice.” It says. Sorry, I’m not doing that. I’m not going to be getting myself killed like those dumb bitches in the movies.
“How do I know you won’t hurt me?” I nervously say.
“I can’t hurt you here.” It responds immediately.
“Am I dead?”
“No, my baby, you’re not dead, just asleep. Put the branch down and follow my voice.”
It was like I couldn’t control my actions at this point. I put the branch down and slowly started walking to where the voice was coming from. What walks out from behind the headstone of a grave, made me scream. It was a dog, a huge fucking dog.
“Don’t be afraid, Eve.” He says as he walks to me. He’s beautiful and majestic. He has blue-gray fur from what I can see and his eyes. I know those eyes, they are almost a blue white. Where do I know those eyes from?
He’s right in front of me, bowing his head waiting for me to touch him. As soon as I do, the trust was almost immediate. I did know this dog, but from where?
I can hear him talking but his lips aren’t moving. He’s speaking to me telepathically. What the fuck?
“Who and what are you?” I demand. Someone is going to give me some fucking answers.
“Tell me, Eve. Who attacked you tonight?” he asked again.
“I don’t know, it happened so fast.” I say without even thinking.
“I need you to think hard, Eve. I need to know.” He kept insisting. “Was there anything about him that was distinctive? His voice? Tattoos? Facial features?
I close my eyes to think back on my moments prior to being attacked. I clear my head and let it flood back to me. “His voice. He kept asking me ‘where is he.’”
“Who is ‘he’, Eve. Think. Do you know who he is talking about”
“No. He kept saying I knew who he was talking about but every time I said I don’t know, he would hit me.”
“What else do you remember, Eve?”
“Growling.” I quietly say. As I remember that there is growling, I don’t remember seeing any type of dog. So where did the growling come from? “Now you answer a question for me. How can I trust you?”
“You already know the answer to that question. I have been with you, thought about you, protected you. I have tried to sit back and keep myself hidden, but I know I can no longer do that. There are things in this world, Eve, that you don’t quite understand yet. That is all about to change. When you wake up, you will see me. Do not over think it. I will no longer allow anything to harm you. Do you understand?” The dog is looking at me with compassion and love in his eyes. He comes up to me and sits at my feet, waiting for me to pet him and acknowledge that I understand what he telling me. I kneel down so that we are at the same level and put my hand on his blue-gray fur.
“It’s time to go, Eve. I need you to wake up for me.” I hear in my mind
“What if I can’t? What if I’m too scared to wake up?” I say terrified that I may not be the same.
“I will not allow it to happen. You have me now, tomorrow, next month, next year and many years to come. You will not walk alone again.”
“What about Alec?” Holy shit this is the first time that I have even thought about my son. What kind of mother am I that I would forget about my own son?
“On my life, Eve, nothing will ever happen to him. I will protect him and love him as mine own. Now wake up”
The world around me started to melt like a Van Gogh painting. The dog runs off into the graveyard and eventually melts with the rest of my surroundings. I can hear beeping and what sounds like an oxygen tank pumping air. I can feel myself being pulled back to my body. Whether I like it or not, I have to face the reality I wish I could hide from.
I feel a strong, warm grip on my hand and I can feel my eyes trying to open. I let out a soft moan as I try to wake up from my drug induced sleep.
“Eve,” I know that voice.
Trigger
“Eve,” I say as she is waking up. Thank God, she had me scared there for a minute. I didn’t think she would actually make her way back to me. She looks at me but not in the way of recognition, more of trying to figure out what just happened. Letting her see me was not supposed to happen until later, much later. I need to know what happened and I can’t do that just sitting here in the hospital.
“Wh-what happened?” Eve gargles. I can see her licking her lips so I get up and get a glass of water for her. Once I hand her the water, I buzz for a nurse. I can still see the look of confusion on her face so I explain to her that she is in the hospital and that she was attacked. As soon as I said that, it was like a flood of a thousand memories hit her all at one.
“Alec! Where’s Alec?” Eve panics. She tries getting out of bed but the IVs are keeping her from getting far. I rush over to her and try to calm her down.
“Shhh, my baby. Alec is fine. He’s at the club house giving the guys a run for their money. You need to lay back down.” I insist.
“No,” she demands, “I need to see my son.”
�
��Baby, you need to stay calm.” I reassure her. I look in her eyes, I know she will recognize them as soon as the fog will clear and it needs to happen now before the nurse comes in here and tries to knock her out again. “Look at me, love.” She looks into my eyes and I see them light up with recognition and fear. Fuck, this may have been a bad idea.
“You. You’re a…” she trails off and covers her mouth to prevent a scream from escaping.
I nod my head. I know what I am but I don’t need her to say it out loud. “We will talk about it as soon as we are out of here, but I need you to stay calm. The faster we get out of here, the faster I can explain everything to you. Yeah?”
Eve nods her head. I can tell there are fifty thousand questions running through that girl’s mind but I can’t answer them here. It’s too dangerous. Humans have heard stories of us so we don’t exactly have a good reputation to live by.
“Well, Miss Evelyn. How are we feeling? I’m Miss Leslie. I’m your nurse until we can get ya out of here.” A nurse says as she pushes open the room door. She’s a little shorter that Eve with jet back hair and tan skin. She’s skinny like most of the girls are here in Louisiana, no meat on her bones. That’s what attracted me to Eve, she looked like a healthy woman who feels comfortable in her skin. I move across the room so that the nurse can take her vitals. ‘
“My head hurts and my chest burns.” Eve responds following closely what the nurse is doing.
“Ok Suga, let me go get the doctor for ya. I think he’s either wanting to send you home tonight or tomorrow morning. If ya need anything, just hit your red button and I’ll be here.” The nurse says as she finished writing on a notepad.
“Sounds good.” Eve smiles at her. Even with everything she has been through, she can still fake it til she makes it. I return to my chair and look at Eve. I can tell she wants to ask questions but she won’t say anything. The last thing I want her to feel is fear. We sit in silence until the doctor arrives.
“Alright Ms. Bordeaux.” Well isn’t he a happy little fucker. This isn’t the same doctor that pulled me and Malik aside. I would rather deal with him than this guy. “Miss Leslie told me you are complaining of your head and your chest. I can give you something for both. You’re scans after surgery look good.” The doctor looks at me and crosses the room. “Now, are you feeling dizzy or have any blurry vision?”
“Not really.” Eve is looking at him like he needs to hurry the hell up. I’m growing impatient with this guy. I just want to take my girl home to rest.
“Wonderful. With the injuries you sustained, I would like for you to stay here for at least a week, just so we can monitor you. We had to go in and drain some fluid around the brain and the injuries to your chest and stomach need to be monitored.” The doctor explains.
“I don’t think so.” I challenge him. I know damn well whatever attacked her a couple days ago, is not finished with her. She’s better protected at the clubhouse then the rent-a-cops they have here.
“It’s not an option, son.” The doctor counters. “These injuries…”
“Can be monitored by the doc we have on our staff. She has more protection with me and my brothers than she does here.” I argue. I stand up from the chair I’m sitting in and make my stance next to Eve. There ain’t no way in hell she’s staying here a week.
The doctor looks to me and then back at Eve. Eve doesn’t look like she feels up too much of a fight, so the doctor caves. “Fine, I will need the name and number of the doctor you plan to use and if she does show any signs of her condition worsening, then I expect you to bring her back.” The doctor explains. He brushes past me to the door and before he makes his exit he turns to say, “She will stay one more night. I already don’t feel comfortable letting her leave so soon after she sustained these injuries. So that is my stipulation.”
“Fine,” I reply.
“Who will be taking her home?”
“Me.” I answer. Both Eve and the doctor look at me. Eve has a smirk on her face and the doctor looks shocked. “I will be home with her.”
“Wait, how long have I been here?” Eve questions, she looks confused. “What day is it?”
“It’s Saturday night, babe. You’ve been here for almost two days.” I answer her while brushing her hair out of her face.
“And you are?” The doctor inquires as he steps towards me.
“Her ol’ man.” I stand up to meet him. It’s like a Mexican standoff in this room. I’m not quite sure what this guy’s fucking problem is but if he asks another stupid question like that, he’ll be eating his next meal through a straw.
“Wonderful.” The doctor says sarcastically. If Eve wasn’t in that hospital bed right now, I would have already thrown this man out the fucking window. It is all I can do just to keep everything at bay that is building up inside of me.
As the doctor leaves the room, I make my way back over to Eve’s side, I sit down on the bed and grab her hand. Eve struggles to sit up in the bed. I’m not sure what the side effects are if a human gets scratched by one of us, but I am putting on the top of my priority list to find the fuck out. I help her sit up and make sure she is comfortable. She is having difficulty breathing, like she just ran ten miles, which makes my concern for her greater.
“Let me see her! Fuck, I have ten god damn minutes!” I here screaming coming from the hall. Fuck me! I look over at Eve and she has a smirk on her face. She knows who is here and even though it may be funny to her, Bridget’s attitude isn’t something I want to deal with right now. I stand up from the chair and open the room door to find Bridget in a screaming match with not just the nurses but security as well. Like I said, fuck me.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry but like I told you before visiting hours are almost over. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.” A nurse says with a heightened voice.
I storm down the hall to the nurse’s station where there is already an audience around Bridget. “Look, he can vouch for me!” Bridget yells at one of the security officers that has a hold of her arm. The nurse hangs her head in defeat. I can only imagine how many times the nurse had to tell my sister the same thing over and over.
“Bridget! Enough!” I roar. Everyone around her stops talking. I make my way into the crowd that has surrounded my sister. “You are not supposed to be here, you know that.”
“She’s my friend too, Trigger. Remember?” Bridget questions me.
“Yeah, I do. And right now, she doesn’t need you raising hell. She’s resting and we are going home.” I say sternly.
“Not until I see Eve!” She’s upset and I don’t blame her. But the last thing we need is her getting arrested because she’s causing a scene here. I stare down my sister, knowing she won’t let this go anytime soon.
“I’m going to tell Eve good night and then you and I are going home. End of story.” I growl.
“You’re not my father, Anthony.” The moment she said that regret crossed her face. Our father died years ago protecting us and not once have we said a bad word about him. Once he died, I became the man of the family. It was my responsibility to take care of my mom and sister. “Tony, I’m sorry. I…” Bridget looks as if she’s about to cry.
“Wait here.” I grit through my teeth. “I’ll be back.”
I’m fuming with Bridget. She never knows when to shut the fuck up. I make my way out of the circle and back down to Eve’s room. Once I’m at her door, I take a deep breath before I go in. I don’t want her to see me pissed. I open the door and find her watching Criminal Minds. She turns her head and looks at me. Her face drops, I guess I’m not that good at hiding my emotions. Fuck it.
“Everything okay?” Eve asks. I walk over to her bed and grab her hand.
“Yeah, babe. I’m going to take Bridget home. I’ll be back in the morning to get ya.”
“Bring Bridget. Please.” She looks at me with desperation in her eyes. I don’t have time to question so I just nod my head. Three chimes come over a loud speaker and then a male voice.
; “Attention; Visiting hours are now over. Again, visiting hours are now over.”
“I have to go babe. You rest, ya here?” She nods her head and I bend down to give her a kiss on her forehead. I hear her take a deep breath. She doesn’t let it out until I release the kiss. I turn to leave and look back giving her a nod. I open the door and there is my sister standing there waiting for me. I close Eve’s door quietly.
“I thought I told you to wait for me down the hall.” I question.
“Yeah, well you were taking too long.” Bridget snaps back. I grab her arm and lead her out of the area of the hospital that Eve is being held at. Once we are out of the hospital, she yanks her arm out of my grasp. She storms off to her car. I know she’s pissed, we all are. But that doesn’t give her the right to come in there acting the way she does.
“Bridget,” I yell after her. I catch up to her and turn her to face me. “I don’t know exactly what you are thinking, but you need to get your head out of your fucking ass. You caused a scene in there and for what, because you didn’t get your way? You’re fucking twenty-seven years old.”
“And how about how you treated me in there, like I’m your property?” She snaps at me.
“You are. Until you are married, you are my responsibility. The club’s responsibility. Do you understand me? All it takes is one of your little fuck ups to turn into chaos. I won’t deal with it, Bridget. Get ahold of yourself. And do it fast.”
“Or what?” Bridget challenges.
“You’ll be placed on lockdown until you can control yourself.” I turn and walk away, making my way to my bike.
“You can’t do that. Anthony, you wouldn’t do that!” She yells to me.
“Watch me.” I yell over my shoulder ending the argument. Once I’m at my bike, I make the decision that I need to get away for a couple hours. A night ride should do me some good. I climb one, crank her up, and out of the parking lot within a few minutes. This day can go to hell for all I care.
I’m on the road for about a couple hours. My mind can’t get away from the fact that Eve was attacked on our turf. There are so many things that need to be explained, first being to Eve about what I am. She figured that out too quick and it took me off guard when she questioned it.
Trigger's Salvation: Hellfire Dogs MC #1 (Hellfire Dogs MC Series) Page 6