by Eve R. Hart
Other brothers started coming in about that point. Cami ran right over to Laurel and wrapped her in a tight hug. I was glad she wasn’t alone.
Over the next hour, we didn’t learn much. Mouse came into the room looking more shaken than I’d ever seen him before. Tripp had been outside when it happened and looked much the same. One of the prospects was pronounced dead at the scene and the other didn’t even make it to the hospital. Dade arrived in critical condition. As far as we knew, he was in surgery, fighting for his life just like Blade was.
“He saved my fucking life,” Mouse said to no one in particular. “It should have been me. Fuck.”
“Go get some air, brother. Don’t think about that shit now. He’s gonna make it,” I said placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“You didn’t see him,” he whispered.
I sent a chin lift to Lake and he made his way like he knew what I needed right away. Then all but forced Mouse to take a walk outside with him.
Alone, at least partially, I let out a heavy sigh. We were scattered all over the waiting room and the hall. Some of the brothers were down in the cafeteria trying to find some coffee and drinks for everyone.
I felt her delicate hand on my back the moment her sweet scent hit my nose.
“Hey,” she said softly then wrapped me up in her arms.
It was everything I needed at the moment and yet, I felt I didn’t deserve it at all.
“Lost at least two people tonight. Might lose two more.”
I wasn’t sure why I had the need to say it out loud. I had a feeling that she already knew this.
“I know,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry.”
I may have been a selfish bastard right then, but I didn’t give a damn as I pulled her body tighter into me and buried my face in her neck. I felt a sense of strength as her scent filled my nose. And when her thumb gently brushed back and forth against the back of my neck, there was a calm that settled all the way into my bones.
“It could have been you,” I breathed out against her neck.
That house had been rigged. She could have been in it when shit went down. What if she hadn’t escaped on her own? What if we had been there to rescue her? She would have been trapped in a cage and blown to bits. Or crushed by the crumbling house.
“It could have been you,” she said and then held me tighter.
Well, that was very true too.
I didn’t want to think about it but it was like I couldn’t shut the thoughts down once they were there.
My fingers threaded through her hair and I held her so tightly against me that I was afraid I might crush her. I didn’t want to let her go. Not now. Not ever.
“I thought about you,” she admitted and I closed my eyes because it hurt so bad. “There were so many things I would have done differently. I’m sorry.”
It tore my heart open to think about everything that she went through.
It killed me to know that I had failed at finding her.
And it gutted my soul to realize that I had been so stupid all along. I was a fool, but it wasn’t because I was in love with a woman that was toying with me. I was a fucking idiot because it took all of this for me to see just how wrong I’d been all along.
While I should have just been grateful that she was here, in my arms and holding me tightly, I couldn’t help but feel a jab of hatred towards myself. And I couldn’t blame her for having the same.
I pulled her head back so I could look into her eyes. I wasn’t surprised to find them shining with pools of wetness.
My forehead fell against hers.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” I said looking into her eyes. “I wanted you the moment I saw you. And I was such a fucking dumbass that I didn’t let you know that every single fucking day. I will never let you down again. Please. Please, let me back in again.”
It might not have been fair to beg her like that. Especially when I knew she was on the fence between hating me and needing me. I wasn’t going to give up. Ever. Fighting hadn’t gotten us anywhere good. So I chose to fight for her in a different way. I dropped everything and let her in. Let her see that I wasn’t playing around. Let her see just how weak I was for her.
My emotions might have been running a little high but everything I said was true. I meant it from the deepest part of my soul and I hoped she could see that.
I kissed her then. Because I needed her to feel how deeply I cared about her. Right there. In a room full of family and strangers. I didn’t give a fuck who saw. She was mine, dammit, and I needed her to see that I wanted the world to know.
It didn’t last long, just enough to remind her what it felt like.
She looked dazed for a second then shook her head.
She heard me. I knew she had but I could tell that she needed to step back and process it all. So I didn’t push anymore for right now. She didn’t pull away from me, so I took that as a good sign.
“What can I do?” she asked and then looked around at each one of my brothers.
“Just being here for us is everything.” I stood tall and tucked her into my side. “I’ll tell you a secret. It’s the heart of the women that really help us all get through times like this.”
“That is… a little bit cheesy for big, biker guys.”
“Yeah, well,” I said shaking my head and holding back a chuckle. It just didn’t seem right given the situation around us. “That’s why it’s a secret.”
I cut her off from anything else she might have said by asking if she was feeling okay and told her that if she needed to go back to the compound then I’d make it happen. I wasn’t all that happy that she was here. Not because I didn’t want her to be, but because she’d been through so much and needed time to heal. But there she was, keeping Cami calm and asking if anyone needed anything.
“I need to know who this guy is,” I said in a low tone to Iron once we had a semi-private moment alone. “I need to fucking find him.”
“I know. And I need you calm right now. I got info but this is not the place. Too many ears and eyes,” he replied back, his eyes skirting around the top edges of the room where the security cameras were set up.
He was right. There was too much around. Too many people. And though we didn’t know if the cameras picked up sound, it was still dumb to even risk it.
He looked torn. I could tell that he wanted to stay here and wait to hear something on Blade and Dade but at the same time, we needed to get this fucker.
“A little longer,” he said because he knew I got what he meant.
A little later, Blade was out of surgery and was in recovery. His left arm, leg, and pelvis had been crushed. He was being held together by a bunch of pins now. He had a small fracture on his cheek. And there was swelling around his spine. Which had us all really worried. The doctor said they wouldn’t know the extent of the damage until the swelling went down. He was still out and they weren’t sure when he’d wake up.
But the thing that got to us the most was that his heart had stopped twice while he was on the table.
He was alive and that was the thing we needed to focus on. Even if it was hard not to see the whole picture.
The room was quiet for a long time after that.
Mouse and Laurel looked the worst of all of us.
Mouse, I understood. I was sure he was blaming himself for everything that happened to Blade. But in my mind, Blade made his choice. He chose to put someone before himself. It was admirable and I had even more respect for the guy now.
Laurel, though, I couldn’t tell what was going through her mind. I wanted to ask her, but as she sat there tucked away in the corner, I could tell that she’d gone into her head. It would take a lot to pull her out right now. I wanted to, I did, but I was at a loss as to how.
Maybe she just needed to rest.
I needed to get her back to the compound.
“Hey,” I said softly after I walked over to her.
Her eyes blinked and her body jerked a
bit.
“Hey,” she replied, jumping to her feet. “What do you need?”
Damn. That got my heart. Here I was coming to check on her and the first thing she thought was about what I needed.
“To know that you’re okay.”
She gave me a tight smile but didn’t answer.
“Get her back to the compound,” Iron said walking over. “Brand is taking Cami now. Get some shut-eye. I’ll head back after I hear about Dade and then I’ll call Church.”
“You sure?” I asked because I felt like shit taking off in the middle of everything.
“Yeah. I’m sending Mouse on too.”
He patted me on the back then walked off.
“Ready to go?” I asked.
She nodded and tucked herself into my side as we walked out of the hospital. She didn’t fight it or ask to stay which told me that she must have really been feeling tired. Or maybe she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold herself together much longer. Knowing her, she wouldn’t let herself break down in front of everyone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
B-ry
I hesitated at her door. I didn’t want to assume she wanted me in there but fuck, did I hope she’d invite me in. Not that I had any intentions of doing anything other than sleeping. I had to recharge fast because there was a lot of shit to take care of.
She stood there for a long moment just outside the threshold to her room. Her eyes darted over everything as if she needed to see that it was all real. I stood right behind her, ready to give her anything that she might have needed.
She took in a deep breath, then reached for my hand as she stepped inside.
We shed our clothes silently, until I was left in nothing but my boxer-briefs and she was down to her shirt and panties. She climbed under the comforter and I did the same.
I didn’t make a move to crowd her. I needed to know that she wanted it before I touched her.
She curled up with her back to me and I tried not to take it personally but something about it hurt a little.
The room was silent for a long time with nothing but the sound of our breaths filling the air. There was only a foot of space separating us but it felt like an ocean.
It started quietly, her body shook as she tried to hold back the tears. Then the sharp inhale rang out and was followed by the saddest, most heartbreaking wail.
“Shhhh,” I said calmly as I curled myself around her. “I’ve got you.”
“I’m sorry,” she said and I didn’t have the first clue why she was apologizing. She didn’t have a fucking thing to be sorry for. If anyone should have been saying those words, it should have been me.
“No, baby, there’s no reason for you to be sorry.”
“Yes,” she sobbed out. “Yes, there is. This is all my fault. If I just wasn’t so stupid. I put so many people’s lives in jeopardy. Two people are dead, Bryan. Dead because I was stupid.”
“That’s not on you,” I said almost defensively because she had to see that none of this was her fault.
“But it is. I made the choice to walk home that night. I knew I shouldn’t have gone out that night. I just knew it. But Cami called me and sounded like she wanted me there and well… maybe I was a bit desperate to see you, too. And look where that got me, got your friends. Or members. Brothers? I don’t know what you call them.”
“No,” I whispered into her ear. I didn’t bother to set her straight on that last part, it wasn’t what was important right now. “How could you have known?”
“But I did. I knew that I shouldn’t have gone. I knew that I should have walked back to the bar and told them I didn’t really have a ride. I was too hurt and too ashamed. Because of that, people are dead.”
It was clear that no matter what I said she wouldn’t see it any other way.
“He has been watching for months. He knew… he knew things. He knew that you came to my place. He knew about my sister. He knew that you never brought me around the club.”
I held her tighter as she cried harder.
“He knew that everyone watched out for Cami and Gwen. And he knew that no one was watching me. He said he took me because he thought it would hurt you, but really, he took me because I was easy to grab.”
“Laurel,” I whispered feeling my own tears begin to fill my eyes.
“Why did you have to do it? Why did you have to come into my life?”
I knew it wasn’t a question she expected an answer to.
Too bad for her, I was going to let her have it.
“Because, I felt something that day even if I couldn’t see it. Because you got to me like no one ever fucking has before. There are a million fucking things I would go back and do differently. But kissing you that day will never be one of them.”
“I hate you,” she said softly though I knew she didn’t really mean it.
“You hate the things I’ve done, but you don’t hate me,” I said calmly. “And I don’t blame you. I don’t deserve your heart or forgiveness and I know that. But you can’t sit there and lie to me like that. You think this is on you? Well, it’s fucking not.”
“Don’t.”
“What? You get to take on everything and I don’t get to feel like shit for what I did that night?”
“Bryan,” she whispered softly.
“Fuck if I can ever forget that I let you walk away that night. I did that. So if this is on anyone, it’s on me.”
“How did we get here?”
“I don’t fucking know.”
At this point, I was a little irritated. Not at her, necessarily. I just couldn’t believe everything that happened. I couldn’t believe that two people were dead and there were two more that might not pull through. I hated that she’d been taken and locked in a cage. And I really couldn’t fucking wait another second to get my hands on this fucker.
“This blame game isn’t getting us anywhere,” she said a few moments later.
“Then stop,” I answered in a low tone.
“You need to sleep. I’m sure there is stuff you have to take care of soon.”
“Yeah,” I replied but refused to let her go.
I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t.
My mind raced with all the things I was going to do to this guy when I got the chance.
I was pretty sure she didn’t sleep either but we passed the time in silence.
My phone chimed with a text and I knew it was go time.
Sure enough, as I unlocked my phone, I saw it was Iron letting me know he was headed back.
“Don’t say anything,” she said like she knew I was trying to think of the best way to slip out of here. “I get it, I guess. Just go take care of what you need to.”
“I’m not done with you,” I said and then placed a light kiss the side of her head. “Don’t think that just because I haven’t said anything means that I have nothing to say.”
She let out a sigh and rolled onto her back as I slipped out of the bed and got dressed.
“I don’t want to fight,” she said in a resigned kind of sigh. “I just want to be there for you and… them, right now.”
“And I love you for that,” I replied pinning her with my eyes.
My lips met hers briefly, and I was a little surprised when she didn’t pull away from me.
“Thank you,” I said then headed for the door.
I grabbed a cup of coffee in the kitchen then headed to the second floor.
Mouse came walking up the stairs, stack of mail in one hand while he shoved something into his back pocket with the other. He looked up at me surprised for a split second before he unlocked the office door. I watched as he tossed the mail on the desk then closed the door, checking the handle to make sure it was locked.
“You ready for this?” I asked. I really wanted to ask him if he was doing okay but I knew better right now. We both needed our heads clear for what was to come.
“Yeah,” he said with a nod.
We were all waiting outside the meeting room when Iron
and Mason showed up.
He didn’t waste any time getting started.
“Dade made it out of surgery but he is still in critical condition. They aren’t letting anyone see him right now. I’ve called his sister and she is catching the first flight in from Texas. I’ll send someone to get her once she lands.”
With that out of the way, he started in on the other stuff.
“Okay, we’ve figured out about half of everything Laurel told us. This guy, Steve Hughes was the son of Dennis Hughes, also known as Mercer, who used to belong to the Moon Hill chapter. The guy was booted when he started roughing up some of the club girls. Then the club found out he killed his own daughter. Needless to say, Diesel took care of him. My guess is that the son is looking for revenge. He used to belong to The Devil’s Kings.”
Why did everything have to go back to that?
“He was the one that ran Ethel off the road before shit went down. I’m only guessing here, but I think Steve joined The Devil’s Kings because he knew Savage was coming after us. And since that didn’t work out so well, he’s found another way.”
“So he took Laurel to hurt us for killing his pops?” I asked just to make sure we were all on the same page.
“Yep,” Iron said with a nod. “That’s my guess anyway. And his plan was for you to come running in to save her. He probably had the house rigged all this time. We should have been more cautious.”
“So is he working for someone else now or on his own?” Fitz asked.
“Laurel said she heard someone else. She mentioned that he had an accent but couldn’t say what kind. By their conversations, Laurel thinks this guy was a boss type. Cable?”
“Yeah,” he said standing. “Steve and his mom moved around a lot after Mercer… went missing. She died four years ago. Looks like she stumbled down the stairs and broke her neck. Toxicology report says she had both drugs and alcohol in her system. After that, he shuffled around until he landed down here.”
“What happened after The Devil’s went down?” Brand asked.
“He moved to Charlotte. He moved from job to job. The last one he had was working as a janitor for a building that holds a lot of different offices. Mostly, investment firms. I couldn’t find anything there but didn’t really think I would. Then it’s like he just vanished. Nothing. Until he rented that house about four months ago. But that’s all I was able to find.”