by L. Wilder
“Thank you,” Kate replied. “I hope she does, too.”
When I walked out, Robyn was waiting for me at the front desk and immediately pointed at the clock, letting me know that our shift was finally over. Relieved, I grabbed my things and followed her out to the car. On our way home, I asked, “Are we stopping for takeout or calling something in for delivery?”
“Actually, neither for me.” She shrugged innocently. “I have a date tonight.”
“A date? With who?”
“I’d rather not say. I don’t want to jinx it.”
“Jinx it? Seriously?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you all about him once I see how things are gonna work out.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
With a smirk, she replied, “I know you will.”
When we got back to the apartment, she rushed off to take a shower, and a half an hour later she came out looking like a million bucks in her skinny jeans and black halter top. She stood in front of me as she asked, “How do I look?”
“Incredible, as always.”
“Thanks. I better get going. I don’t want to be late.” As she started for the door, I noticed that she was carrying a small duffle bag, so I asked, “What’s that for?”
With a coy, little smirk, she replied, “Oh, you know. In case things turn interesting during dinner.”
“Okay.” I rolled my eyes and said, “Have fun and be careful.”
“Will do. I’ll call you if I’m going to be late.”
As soon as she was gone, I changed into my pajamas, made myself a bowl of cereal, and plopped down on the sofa. Hoping to just relax and watch TV, I reached for the remote and started flipping through the channels. Just when I thought I’d found the perfect movie, there was a knock at my door. I assumed Robyn must’ve forgotten something, but when I got up and opened it, I was shocked to see that it was one of the guys from the club. I’d met him the night of the bachelorette party, but it took me a minute to remember his name.
“Uh … Hey. Riggs, right?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
I glanced around, looking for any sign of the others. “You looking for Robyn or something?”
“No.” With a serious tone, he replied, “Actually, I came here looking for you.”
“Me? Why?”
“Something’s come up, and I need you to come with me.”
I’d only met Riggs the one time, and while he’d seemed like a fairly decent guy, I knew nothing about him. I certainly didn’t know him well enough to just leave with him without a really good reason. Feeling a little wary, I took a step back as I asked, “And why would I do that?”
“I can’t explain that now, Kenadee. I just need you to get your shit and come with me.”
Startled by his tone, I reached for the door and slammed it shut. Unfortunately, he stuck his boot in the doorway and prevented it from latching. “You’ve got two seconds to move your fucking foot, or I’m going to call the police!”
“Look, I’m not trying to scare you, Kenadee. You’ve gotta listen to me,” he pleaded. “I’m here about Blaze.”
I’d never heard that name before, so I asked, “Who’s Blaze?”
“It’s Sawyer.”
“Sawyer?” I leaned forward, peeking through the crack of the door, and asked, “What are you talking about?”
“He’s hurt, Kenadee. He needs your help.”
When I saw the worried look in his eyes, there was no denying that he was telling the truth. When I thought about him being hurt, hurt bad enough for one of his brothers to come ask for my help, every muscle in my body fell limp. “Oh God.”
He eased the door open as he said, “Look, I know this comes as a shock and all that, but he’s in pretty bad shape and—”
“If he’s hurt so bad, why doesn’t he just go to the hospital?”
“There’s no time to explain, Kenadee, but I wouldn’t have come here if I had some other choice.” I could hear the desperation in his voice as he pleaded, “I need you to come with me before it’s too late.”
“But …”
“You’ve gotta trust me here. Just go change. We don’t have much time.”
I stood there staring at him for a moment, and I found myself thinking back on the time I’d spent with Sawyer—that first night at the diner, our ride on the bike, being in his arms as we danced at the bar, and the way he’d made me feel when we’d made love. Maybe I was just being hopeful, but I’d felt a connection with him, a connection beyond anything I’d ever felt before, and I couldn’t turn my back on him, even if he’d already turned his on me. Even though I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I looked up at him and said, “Okay.”
He waited as I went to my room and changed. Once I was done, a thought crossed my mind, and as I came back out to the living room, I asked, “What about Robyn? I need to tell her—”
“I’ll take care of Robyn. Let’s go.”
For some crazy reason, I trusted him and followed him out the door, locking it behind me. Once we were downstairs, we ran over to his truck. I was a nervous wreck and couldn’t even think straight as I watched him climb in next to me and start the engine. My hands were trembling as we pulled away from my apartment, and as we drove further away, an uneasy feeling washed over me. I couldn’t help but wonder why Sawyer hadn’t just gone to the hospital if he was hurt—why he needed me to help him. It just didn’t make sense, but then again, lately nothing about him seemed to make sense. I hoped seeing him might give me some of the answers I’d been looking for.
Riggs pulled up to a large metal gate, and after he gave a quick hand signal to one of the guards, he drove around to the back of the building, parking next to a row of motorcycles.
As we got out of the truck, I asked, “Where are we?”
“The clubhouse.” I looked up at the old cobblestone building, and even in the dark, I could still see that it was massive, taking up almost a full block. There was very little light coming from the windows, giving the walkway an ominous feel as I followed him towards a back door. “Keep your head low and talk to no one.”
Suddenly feeling even more anxious, I replied, “Um … Okay.”
As soon as he opened the large wooden door, I could hear men’s voices in the distance, but Riggs moved too quickly for me to see where they were coming from. His boots thumped against the concrete floors as he led me down a long, corridor, and I had to hurry to keep up with him. I glanced around as we passed one room after another, only catching small glimpses here and there when he suddenly stopped at the end of the hall. My stomach twisted into a knot as he placed a hand on the doorknob.
Before he opened it, he said, “Don’t freak out.”
“Oh my God. You did not just say that, Riggs!” I scolded. “You do not tell a woman not to freak out, especially when you don’t want her to freak out … Oh, just forget it. Just open the damn door.”
He shrugged as he eased the door open, and my mouth dropped in complete and utter shock. I stood there frozen in disbelief as I stared at the make-shift hospital room. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d seen crazy things in my life but standing there watching a man frantically try to perform surgery in the middle of a biker clubhouse was a new one for me. I was trained for situations like this, but it was hard to take it all in. I finally turned to Riggs and asked, “Who’s he?”
“That’s Mack. The club’s doc. He’s kind of got his hands full right now.”
“I see that.”
He motioned me forward. “Sawyer’s over here in one of the side rooms.”
I nodded as he led me over to a side door in the corner, and just before we entered, I noticed two gurneys off to the side with blood stained sheets covering them. I’d been in enough morgues to know a dead body when I saw one, so I turned to Riggs and asked, “Who is that?”
“No one. Just keep walking.” He motioned for me to go inside, then followed behind me. When I found Sawyer lying on a gurney, the first thin
g I noticed was the blood. Damn. It was everywhere—his skin, his clothes, the sheets, even the walls. As I stepped closer, I noticed a large piece of metal protruding from his chest and a seeping laceration on his lower thigh. I looked over to Riggs and asked, “Oh my God! What happened?”
Sawyer’s eyes shot open, and when he saw me standing there, a strange expression washed over him. After several seconds, he turned to Riggs and asked, “What the hell is she doing here?”
Stunned by his reaction, I muttered, “Um …”
Riggs tried to stay calm as he said, “Easy there, brother.”
“Answer the goddamn question, Riggs!” he snarled, like a mad dog. “Why the fuck did you bring her here?”
“I really don’t need this shit, not after the day I’ve had,” I snapped. As I turned to leave, I said, “Have a nice life, Sawyer, and good luck with that big chunk of metal that’s stuck in your chest.”
Blaze
When Gus called for the lockdown, I didn’t have much time to get things in order. I knew the routine. Take care of the family, then tend to the garage. Once I had Kevin and my folks packed, I brought them over to the clubhouse and made sure they were settled in. They’d been there enough to know their way around, so I knew they’d be okay while I took care of things at the garage. Since we’d be shut down indefinitely, I needed to close out all the orders we’d completed over the past week. I’d also have to make arrangements for the two orders we weren’t able to finish, but we had plenty of connections. It didn’t take long to get everything covered, especially with Murphy there to give me a hand. After we had everything sorted, we started locking everything down, securing every window and door from front to back. I’d just closed the final pulldown gate, when I heard a strange click, one that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand tall—like someone had just walked across my fucking grave. Knowing something was about to go down, I took a step back, and an explosion sent Murphy and I sailing backwards, with debris and fire coming right towards us.
When my brothers got us back to the med room, I quickly realized it wasn’t just the garage that had been hit. I couldn’t believe my fucking ears when Moose told us about the diner. A fucking drive-by in the middle of the day when we had surveillance at every corner just didn’t make fucking sense, but as I watched Mack work frantically to save Runt’s life, I couldn’t help but accept it. Since I wasn’t as bad off as the others, I was taken to a room off to myself to wait until Mack could get to me. They’d given me some painkillers and I was doing alright until Riggs brought Kenadee here. As soon as I saw her beautiful face standing there in the corner, I saw red, and when I realized that the man I trusted most was responsible for her being there, I wanted to ring his fucking neck. “What the fuck were you thinking bringing her here?”
“I thought she could help.”
“We don’t need her help!”
Riggs glanced out in the hall as he said, “I think you might be wrong there, brother. We’ve already lost Runt and Lowball. I’d say we need her help more than you think.”
“We lost Runt and Lowball?”
“Yeah, Mack did what he could, man.” Riggs leaned towards me as he said, “But Runt was DOA, and Lowball was just too far gone. There was nothing he could do, and it’s fucking with his head. He’s doing what he can to save Gauge now, but it’s touch and go. Then, there’s you, and we’ve got Murphy in the other room. He’s not too bad off … just a couple of burns on his hand, a few cuts and bruises, but it’s still too fucking much for Mack to handle on his own. We need her help, brother.”
I looked over to Kenadee standing in the corner with an angry scowl as she listened to our conversation, and I could only imagine what she must be thinking. I knew she’d seen shit like this before. Hell, she’d been working in the trauma center for years, but this was different. In here, her life was on the line. I had no way of knowing what these motherfuckers were going to pull next, none of us did, and looking at Kenadee made my stomach twist into knots. While I didn’t know exactly what, I knew in my gut she meant something to me, and I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her. “And if she gets hurt in all this?”
“I won’t let that happen. You’ve got my word,” he promised.
“Give us a minute.”
He nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. After several seconds passed, she finally looked over to me. She was trying to hide it, but I could see the hurt in her eyes as she said, “So, I guess you were right about it being bad timing.”
Damn.
She had me by the balls, so I had no other choice but to come clean. “I fucked up. I should’ve called a hundred times, but too many things were going on … and I wasn’t sure how all this was going to play out.”
“What is all this exactly?” she pushed.
I knew she would have questions, questions that I couldn’t answer, but I’d have to find a way to set her mind at ease. I grimaced as I replied, “Can’t really talk about it.”
She rolled her eyes. “I seem to be getting a lot of that.”
“I’m sorry about earlier. It’s not that I …”
“Don’t. I get it,” she told me as she walked over and started to examine my wound. Fuck. She looked just as beautiful as I remembered. I could smell a hint of her perfume, and it was fucking with my head. As she glanced down at the gash in my thigh, she asked, “Should I even bother asking how this happened?”
“An explosion at the garage.” She sighed as she turned her attention back to my chest, and when she started pressing down on the wound, I groaned, “Damn, woman.”
“Yeah. It looks pretty bad.”
“Hurts like a bitch,” I groaned
She quickly withdrew her hand. “I’m not sure I can do this. It’s in there pretty deep. You’ve lost a lot of blood, and there might be muscle damage and—”
“Just do what you gotta do, Kenadee. I trust you.”
“I don’t think you get what I’m saying,” she argued. “I’m not a doctor, Sawyer. I just don’t have the experience to handle this kind of thing.”
She was starting to freak out, so I shouted, “Riggs!”
When he stuck his head through the door, I said, “I know he’s got his hands full, but see if Mack can tell her what to do about this shit.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He motioned for her to follow. “Come with me, Kenadee.”
With a groan, she followed him out of the room, and twenty minutes later, they both returned with their hands full of medical supplies. Kenadee put on a brave face as she came over to me with what looked to be an IV. “I’m going to give you something to put you out. It won’t be like general anesthesia that you’d get at the hospital. It’s pretty strong, so I won’t be—”
Knowing it’s what Mack had given her, I urged her on, “It’s fine. Just do it.”
“Oh, okay.”
I felt her hands trembling just as she was about to prick me. “Kenadee?”
“Yeah?”
“You remember that morning when I took you on your first ride on the bike and how nervous you were?”
She started to smile. “I do.”
“And, when I kissed you … do you remember how you forgot about how nervous you were?”
She started to smile. “Um-hmm.”
“Well, I’d kiss you now, but …”
“Thanks, but I think I can manage,” she told me as she quickly inserted the needle into my vein. “See. I managed just fine.”
“There’s my wildcat.” I smiled.
Riggs peered over her shoulder and said, “Good job. Now, if you can just get that big piece of shrapnel out of his chest without letting him bleed to death or causing him permanent damage, we’ll be set.”
“Gee thanks, Riggs.” She shook her head. “Maybe it would be best if you just stopped talking.”
“Yeah. I can do that.”
“Thank you.” Kenadee looked down at me and said, “Are you sure about this?”
The pain meds doc had given me were wearing off, and my entire body was on fire. At that point, I was desperate for it to stop, so I replied, “Absolutely.”
She took a needle and as she stuck it into my IV, she said, “Okay. Here goes nothing. I’m going to give you this shot, and in a few minutes …”
Within seconds, my eyelids grew heavy, and it became difficult to understand what she was saying. And then, everything went dark.
I had no idea how long I’d been out when I started to come back around, but it took me some time to pull my wits back together. The room was spinning, and my head throbbed like I’d been hit by a fucking truck. I tried to open my eyes, but everything was blurry. I heard someone calling out my name, over and over. I wanted to respond, but my mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Eventually, the haze started to clear, and I was able to force myself to wake up. It seemed like it had only been a few seconds, but when I opened my eyes, I found Kenadee hovering over me with tears in her eyes. “Sawyer! Thank God.”
I swallowed, and my voice was low as I replied, “Hey.”
She ran her palm across my forehead, and as she moved it down to my cheek, I found myself leaning into the coolness of her hand. As she wiped the tears from her face, she looked at me and said, “I can’t believe you’re finally awake.”
My throat burned as I told her, “Hey … don’t cry. I’m alright.”
“Don’t try to talk. Try to take a sip of this,” she ordered as she offered me a drink of water. “I’ll let Mack know you’re awake.”
I nodded and watched as she slipped out the door, and a short time later, Mack came in. He looked like death warmed over as he walked over to me and asked, “How ya feeling, brother?”
“Been better.” Knowing they were probably wondering how I was doing, I asked, “My folks know I’m alright?”
“They do. I just had words with Dan.” I winced when he started to peel back my bandage, and as he examined my wound, he announced, “Looks like your girl did a damn good job. Don’t know what we would’ve done without her tonight.”