by Jani Kay
“She’s bleeding. Lots of bleeding.” Sylvia sounded as if she were about to lose it.
“What? Where?” I shouted. Had she been in an accident?
“The . . . the baby. I think . . . she’s going to lose the baby.”
“God. No!” I shouted, rooted to the spot. It was as if the breath had been sucked out of my body and I couldn’t breathe.
“What hospital? Tell me. I’m coming, now.”
She gave me the details, slowly so that I could register them, her voice thick with tears. “I’m so sorry, Ryder. I only found out today that she was pregnant.”
Stunned, I couldn’t utter a word. It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.
Could life be so cruel? So fragile?
It was breaking my fucking heart.
“Ryder?” Sylvia’s voice cracked. “Jade’s been calling for you.”
It took me a moment to get myself together enough to grab my leather jacket and keys. I stormed out, slamming the door behind me so hard that it rattled the doorframe.
Chapter Thirty-Three — Ryder
The bike roared under my ass. Screaming down the road, I made my way to the nearest highway, accelerating through the gears as fast as I could.
My Princess is fucking bleeding and I’m not there. How the fuck did this happen?
Merging with the traffic on the highway, I noticed a group of motorcycles ahead of me. Great. It was the L.A. Demon fuckers I had managed to avoid successfully up to this point. Christ. Was this my unlucky day or what? Any kind of drama with our rival biker gang right now was the last fucking thing I needed.
What was I to do? If I caught up to them—as was most likely at the speed I was traveling—they’d see me. I couldn’t know how they’d react. But most probably, they’d be after me, and there were four of them, so it could be real nasty if they succeeded.
An image of Jade, my Princess, bleeding and calling my name, flashed through my mind. Fuck this. I had no choice. I had to take my chances.
My baby could be dying. My woman could be dying. I had to get there. Fast.
I went for it. Full throttle. I'd never pushed my Harley that hard. I leaned forward to decrease the wind resistance, pushing the bike and myself to the extreme. I had to fly past those fuckers before they could even catch on that I was the one overtaking them.
As I gained on them, weaving through the traffic, adrenaline spiked through my bloodstream and my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I was going forty miles per hour over the speed limit, racing like a madman. The wind whipped my face, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered more than getting to Jade.
When I was only a short distance behind the L.A. Demon bikers, I opened my metal horse up to capacity. If I were ever going to die on my Harley, there was a good chance of it being tonight. The motherfuckers were riding abreast of one another, taking up all four lanes as if they owned the fucking road.
Part of me wanted to squeeze my eyes shut, closing out the world. Another part of me loved living on the edge, challenging my manhood and my machine to the limit. It was time to do the latter and let the chips fall where they may. If Jade and my baby were going to die, I wanted to die too. There was no fucking way in hell I could live without her.
Going for the widest gap between two of the bikers, I went to the far left and squeezed between them, accelerating full throttle until my bike redlined. It was now or never.
It took them completely by surprise; they never saw me coming and now I was riding right alongside them. The ugly fucker to my right whipped his head in my direction, his eyes widening as he recognized me. He shouted something, but I couldn’t hear him.
My trusty bike didn’t let me down. She roared past them, leaving a trail of smoke as she burned rubber. For an instant I nearly lost control, feeling the wheels slip beneath me.
My life flashed past me, all thirty-three years in a matter of seconds. I didn’t like a lot of what I saw, which only accentuated how meeting Jade had changed my life for the better. I'd become a good man, in spite of what had happened to me. I couldn’t lose Jade. Fuck no!
An immense calmness came over me. Righting the beast as best I could, I was back in control. I’d get through this. Jade would get through this. That was all that counted.
Glancing into the rearview mirror, I saw the L.A. Demon fuckers give chase. They’d probably figured that they outnumbered me four to one and that this was as good a time as any to finally take me out. They’d accelerated and were hot on my tail.
But I felt invincible, stronger than ever, and confident that I could get away through sheer determination and skill. I understood the pack mentality, and I knew I could outsmart them. I waited until two large trucks who were virtually driving side by side were perfectly lined up before I held my breath and squeezed through between them, a hair’s breadth between my bike and the trucks. One wrong move and I was dead.
It felt like the longest moment in my life, but finally I burst forth ahead of the trucks as they braked in their panic, trying to avoid a collision. The L.A. Demon bikers were right behind the trucks—they’d have to bring their A games if they didn’t want to slide in underneath the wheels and have their heads severed. Tough shit.
Nothing could stop me now. Not even Satan himself.
Adrenaline was pumping through me, every nerve ending more alert than I’d ever been. But it wasn’t over. Above me I heard the sound of a chopper, low enough to cause a wind force to knock me off my bike. Fucking cops.
Didn’t they know this was a matter of life and death? That I wasn’t going to slow down? I gritted my teeth, ducking so they couldn’t see my face. I pulled my T-shirt up over my nose just to make sure. Luckily Ratbag was a genius at making false plates, so I knew they wouldn’t be able to trace my identity through those. Now all I had to do was lose the fuckers.
Easier said than done. It would slow me down; cost me precious time. That was the last thing I wanted, but getting stopped and possibly locked up was a worse alternative. I jerked the bike as I approached the next off-ramp, making my way to the denser parts of the city where I was hoping to lose the bastards in the dark.
Over the years I’d learned a trick or two. I ducked into a tunnel, knowing they’d expect me to come out the other side, especially at the speed I was going. I twisted the handlebars, smoke billowing up around me as I did a one-eighty degree turnaround. I had the element of surprise up my sleeve. I had to get them off my back before they called in reinforcements.
My blood froze in my veins. A truck was coming straight for me. Blinded by its headlights, I had seconds to respond. I leaned to the left, my body virtually scraping the ground and I kicked the bike into a higher gear. I closed my eyes, waiting . . . waiting for the impact. Waiting for the metal beast to slide out from under me, and my body to smash into the fender of the truck, crushing me to oblivion.
My head felt as if it could burst. This was it. I was going to die.
At least I fucking tried.
Chapter Thirty-Four — Jade
Everything around me was white. Even the tunnel with the bright light.
“Ryder,” I screamed, but the word didn’t leave my throat.
He stood at the end of the tunnel, holding out his hand.
Ryder was calling me.
“Jade, come to me. Come, my love. I have found a place where we can be together. Forever.”
Dressed in black, he was all I focused on.
Blood dripped from his head.
Red.
I wanted to take his hand. Be with him.
“I'm coming. Wait for me.”
I ran through the tunnel, toward Ryder.
We’ll be together at last.
Here nobody can tear us apart.
The white light faded to black.
I sank deeper and deeper into nothingness, my body heavy and weighted down.
No floating for me.
Chapter Thirty-Five — Ryder
Staggering into the emergency ward, I asked wh
ere Jade Summers was. I’d barely fucking made it alive. Somehow, through sheer luck and determination, I didn’t fly into the truck. Miraculously I’d skidded past it, just in the nick of time, and went roaring out of the tunnel seconds later.
Shaking, I still wasn’t sure I understood how I’d done it. My guardian angels must’ve lost their shit, because it was as close a call as I’d ever survived.
I must have looked so bad, all pale and shook up, that at first the E.R. staff though something was wrong with me. It took repeating myself several times to get them to understand that I was okay and that I was here for Jade.
The nurse led me through to a sterile-looking room with a few plastic chairs and a vending machine. Because Jade was still in surgery, I had to wait there. My gaze fell on a stylish blonde woman sitting on a worn-out sofa, rubbing her temples. She looked so much like Jade, just a more mature version, that I had no doubt that she was Sylvia Summers. She looked up as I approached and gave me a sad smile.
“Ryder. You came.” A barely there smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, as if she was relieved that I was here. How did she know what I looked like? A pang went through my heart as I remembered that Jade had taken a picture of me on her phone just yesterday. If only we could go back to that moment now . . .
“Hello, Sylvia.” I took her hand and held it for a minute, looking into pools of blue, swimming in tears. They were just like Jade’s. “How is Jade? I came as soon as I could.”
She slowly shook her head. “I haven’t had any news yet. Why don’t they come and tell me what’s going on? It’s driving me crazy.” Her knuckles turned white as she squeezed my hand.
“Do you know what happened? What caused it?” I raised an eyebrow, wanting answers so I was prepared when I got to see Jade.
A shadow passed over Sylvia’s eyes before she cast them downward, avoiding my intense gaze. “She had a . . . fight.” She wiped her forehead with the back of her palm. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she continued. “With Harrison. She told him she was . . . having your baby. He didn’t take it well.”
“Christ. He caused this?” I was struggling to keep my voice down. Sure, the cop had it in for me, but to go for Jade? How could he?
She wiped her red nose and nodded, watching my face. “I’m afraid they had . . . an argument. I didn’t even know she was pregnant—” Sylvia sounded tired and distressed. Something told me she really wanted this baby to survive against the odds. I knew how Jade’s family felt about bikers, so it surprised the fuck out of me. Yet she wasn’t alarmed by my appearance or hostile like I’d expected her to be.
“Jade told me that you asked her to marry you. I wish I could congratulate you under happier circumstances. Oh, Ryder, I'm so worried—”
I held both of her trembling hands in mine, rubbing her knuckles with my thumbs, trying to replace the icy coldness in hers with some of my body heat. She smiled at me through her tears and my heart went out to her. I pulled her into a hug and she rested her forehead on my shoulder. I rubbed her back as she let quiet sobs rip through her.
“It's going to be okay,” I said, not sure why in fuck I’d say something like that when my own heart was gripped by an iron fist that squeezed the fuck out of it. Scared couldn’t begin to cover how I felt in that moment.
How I miss Marianne. She would know the right things to say. Sylvia reminded me so much of her that it shook something inside me that I'd thought I'd forgotten.
After a while she settled down and her breathing calmed too. “Thank you,” she whispered as she pulled away to blow her nose. A lump in my throat prevented me from speaking, so I just nodded and got up to give her space. I paced the room, a caged lion, wringing my hands together. If I got hold of fucking Summers now, I'd make him pay for the pain he had caused Jade. And Peanut. It didn’t matter that he was her brother—he’d caused her harm. In my book, that was just not done. Fuck, I’d never do that to my brothers at the club.
A man came through the doors. My hopes of it being a doctor were smashed when I noticed he was wearing an expensive suit. He brushed past me and went straight to Sylvia. He knelt down in front of her, a stern expression on his face, taking both her hands into his and kissing them.
“What happened? I’m confused. You said Jade was bleeding and she may lose the baby? What baby? I didn’t even know our baby was pregnant. Who’s the fucker that got her knocked up?” His voice was hard, anger and concern mixed into it.
I stepped forward. “That would be me. Jade is having my baby. If she doesn’t lose it, thanks to your son.”
I thought he’d get whiplash the way his head jerked up and he stared at me. It was as if he hadn’t seen me there at all and was noticing me for the first time. He stood up, glowering at me. “And who the fuck are you?” he spat out, the disdain clear on his face.
Sylvia pushed to her feet and placed a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. “Owen, this is Ryder, honey. Jade’s boyfriend.”
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he stared me down. “Boyfriend? You have got to be kidding me. My daughter would never . . . never associate with—”
“Someone like me? Is that what you think? You’re wrong. Jade is my woman. And we made a baby. We are together. A family.”
“Over my dead fucking body.” The voice behind me was filled with hatred. Harrison Summers. The fucker had the audacity to show up here.
I swung around, ready to take a punch at him if he moved an inch closer.
Owen held up his hands. “Boys. Hang on—this is not the time for this conversation. Let’s first find out what’s happening with Jade. Right now that’s the most important thing.”
“Let’s hope nature takes its course and rids Jade of the bastard child,” Harrison sneered, glaring at me, “before I kill you.”
I lost it. Completely. Fuck, if I was going down, I was taking him out too. I stormed down on him, my shoulder knocking him over. He lay on the ground, staring up at me with so much hatred. I knew he’d kill me if he could.
“Ryder, no!” Sylvia screamed just as I was about to punch him. It caught me off-guard. Summers kicked my knee and brought me to the ground too. Stars whirled around my head as he punched me on the jaw. Vaguely aware of someone standing over us, I jabbed Summers in the ribs.
“Hey. Knock it off. This is a goddamn hospital.” A woman roared. Both our heads jerked up. A portly woman dressed in scrubs, her hands on her hips, glared down at us as if we were naughty kids fighting in a playground.
Rubbing at my jaw, I got up off the floor. “Do you have any news about Jade?” I asked, hoping to God she’d take me to see my woman. “I‘m the father —”
“Ryder?” she asked, her surprise evident in her expression. Why the fuck did people always react like that?
“Yes. Her boyfriend,” I said, ensuring Jade’s family heard me loud and clear. No way in hell was I backing down now.
“Come with me,” she said, her face deadpan. “She’s calling for you.”
“Wait. What about us? We’re her parents. How is she?” the old man called out. The nurse turned to him. “She’s still in shock. She asked that only Ryder be admitted to see her when he arrived. Nobody else.” She didn’t apologize or even look sorry when Sylvia burst in to tears.
I glared at Harrison as I followed the nurse through the double doors. He was seething with anger, his fists clamped, clenching his teeth.
Through gritted teeth, I warned him. “You’d better be praying that Jade and the baby are okay, otherwise I’m ripping you apart with my bare hands.”
Deep lines etched the old man’s face as he stepped between his son and me.
Harrison snarled, contempt on his face, his large frame shaking as his mother held on to him to restrain him. Her eyes were wide and frightened.
This was war.
Neither one of us was going to back down.
Chapter Thirty-Six — Ryder
My heart squeezed with an ache I’d never felt in my adult life. Lyin
g against the white linen, Jade looked paler than ever. She was hooked up to all kinds of bags filled with fluids hanging around her bed. Jade looked like an angel, her hair spread out around her face, giving her an ethereal presence. I didn’t remember the beds being this big when Cobra was in hospital.
Thank God she was alive and breathing. I rushed to her side, eager to touch her, ensuring she was real. I brushed a strand of blond curls from her face before leaning down and whispering her name. “Princess. My angel. I'm here.”
Her eyes fluttered open—wide, round, quickly filling with tears, which spilt over the brim and ran down her cheeks. “The baby—Peanut—she’s . . . gone.”
Jesus Christ. Peanut. No!
A lump in my throat made me swallow hard. “She . . . she’s gone?” Realization dawned that Peanut had been a girl. My baby girl was gone. How was it possible? Only this morning I’d kissed Jade’s belly before leaving and Peanut had been fine. How the fuck did this happen?
I grabbed both Jade’s hands and squeezed hard. “It's okay, Princess, it's okay,” I soothed. My heart ripped to shreds as I tried to reassure her. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I didn’t give a fuck.
I shrugged off my jacket and kicked off my boots and climbed onto the bed. I pulled Jade into my arms and just held her. Our tears melted into one another’s as I kissed her cheeks and her eyelids, wanting so badly to take her pain away. But nothing I could do could bring Peanut back. It was so final.
“Ryder, I . . . I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, her anguish wracking her whole body.
“Hush, my angel, hush. It's not your fault.” My hands were on either side of her face, and I stared into her eyes and deep into her soul. Peanut was gone, but we still had one another. There was something to be grateful for in spite of this tragedy. Life had taught me that no matter how bad things got, there was always an upside.
I kissed her lips, gently, tasting the salt of our mingled tears. If anything, I loved her even more. Tucking her under my arm, her head on my chest, I let her cry, kissing her hair and rubbing her back. It was cathartic; we needed to mourn our loss together before we could face the world again.