by C. M. Marin
“Hey, Erin. How are you doing?” I ask her, smiling to try to put her at ease.
From what I know of her, Erin is quite a timid person. And I’m sure that being around these guys doesn’t exactly help her. With their leather, big muscles and tattoos, they can be very intimidating when you don’t know them.
“I’m doing great, but what about you?”
“I’m ready to get out of here. Did you come here to give me the wonderful news?” I shoot her a hopeful look―that probably borders on pitiful―as she approaches my bed.
The grimace forming on her face says it all, but she speaks anyway. “I only came to change your dressing, sorry. But Doctor Emerson said he’ll come by later to check on you. It might still be your lucky day.”
“It’s too soon,” Liam decides, shaking his head.
“Yeah,” Jayce agrees.
“Neither of you is a doctor,” I state flatly as though they didn’t know that.
Looking briefly to the guys, Erin asks them, “Can we have some privacy?” I don’t doubt she’d love for them to take the hint every time she enters the room instead of forcing her to ask them the same thing over and over again. “I promise it won’t take long,” she adds in a rush.
She’s already noticed how reluctant my bodyguards are to lose sight of me, even for the shortest moment.
“Do you have a boyfriend, Erin?” Ben asks her for God knows what reason, not making any move to comply to her request and leave his chair.
Taken aback by his question, Erin blinks twice at him before she stutters, “No. No, I don’t.”
After humming a disappointed sound, he goes on, still not moving a muscle, “But when you had one, did you ever bite his dick?”
“Oh my God, Ben!” I hiss, but I can’t hold back the small smile that escapes me. “You should go see a shrink. That girl traumatized you.”
“Just don’t pay attention to him, beautiful,” Liam steps in and address Erin, whose face has turned into a deep shade of red. “He just doesn’t have a clue as to how he should act in society. No filters, nothing.”
He flashes her a wink before making his way to the door, and the flushed skin of her cheeks darkens even more. And it has nothing to do with inappropriate questions this time. I’ve caught her glancing at Liam a few times over the past week, and if I didn’t think it would make her even more uncomfortable, I would have warned her. I mean, if the gleam of interest I’ve seen in her eyes hasn’t been made up by my bored mind, I should definitely warn her. Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother. But he’s twenty-seven and club whores and one-night-stands are all he’s ever known.
“Okay, get out,” I tell Ben. “You’ll all still have plenty of time to come back and stalk me in five minutes.”
“Will do, love,” Ben promises while finally deciding to push up to his feet. “Still plenty of things to tell you.”
As he joins Liam and the two of them follow Jayce out the door, I hear my brother say, “I don’t even know if you banged the dick-biting chick.”
Ben snorts, and I doubt Erin’s face could redden more, especially when he speaks. “Was too afraid her pussy would bite, too.”
I stifle another laugh while Liam doesn’t temper his.
Hearing that sound again is heartwarming. He’s been a glum, guilty, exhausted mess since I was shot, so seeing him loosen up enough to laugh at Ben’s comments relaxes me as well.
Once they’ve disappeared behind the door, I slide the sheets down and lift my gown up, and Erin starts working, her fingers carefully fumbling with my dressing.
“So, how’s your internship going?” I ask her.
“Good. Really good, actually. Doctor Emerson told me he doesn’t see the difference between me and any other nurse, so I’m really happy. I’m still nervous about my last exams, but they’re the final step. If I pass, I’ll finally be able to start working. I can’t wait to work for actual money,” she smiles.
“Oh, I totally get that. Do you live on campus in Phoenix?”
That’s where she studies.
She shakes her head. “I share an apartment with three friends. It’s been two years now, and even if we get along, I’m eager to have my own place now.”
Nodding, I agree. “There’s nothing like having your own place. I was really lucky to have my own place all through college. My brother wouldn’t have felt at peace with me living with strangers, so I never envisioned having roommates. And honestly, it’s really nice having your own space, especially after living with your brother for years, who has a bunch of brothers of his own coming in and out at all times.”
“You all seem to be really close, though. I’m not sure any of them out there have slept much over the past week.”
“We are,” I admit, thinking about the guys who are my brothers just as much as Liam. “They are loud and big, and I love the peacefulness of my apartment, but I love all of them. They’re my family. I know many people think that I ended up in this hospital because of them and the life they’ve chosen, but I don’t see it that way. There’s nothing that could make me want to trade my family.”
“It must be nice to feel that way toward so many people,” she says thoughtfully. “Okay, all done,” she adds as she readjusts my gown and lifts the sheets back up to cover my belly. “It seems to be healing nicely.”
“Perfect. I really hope I can leave tomorrow,” I sigh.
“Not exactly fun to be on the other side, is it?” she grimaces. “When do you think you’ll be able to start working?”
“Hopefully in a couple of weeks? Next week would be awesome, but I think I’m dreaming out loud,” I smile.
“Well, whenever that is, I’m glad I’ll get to work with you. The other nurses are nice, but most of them are older,” she smiles on a murmur even though we’re alone.
“And some act like they own the place,” I add.
Her smile gets broader at my comment. “I didn’t want to say, but yeah. Have you met them already? I mean, before you came in here as a patient?”
“No, but I know how small towns work. Even though the hospital is outside of town, things aren’t different here. I bet most of the nurses and doctors started their careers here and intend to finish it here. There must not be much of a turnover, so the nurses must know each other well and are used to working together. No doubt they consider these walls theirs,” I grin.
“It feels that way, at least. But I admit that they’re also good teachers. I’m learning a lot here. Just for that I’m glad I chose Twican.”
“Why Twican, by the way?”
“I wanted to do my last internship in a small hospital to see the differences from bigger ones and make up my mind more easily on where I’ll apply after graduation. But I couldn’t afford to rent another place since I’m still paying for the one in Phoenix, and my parents live about thirty miles away. So, I looked for an internship around my hometown, so I could stay at my parents’, and here I am.”
I nod. “I think you made a good choice, but I’m not objective since I’ve always loved it here. And who knows, maybe some old nurse is about to retire, and they’ll offer you the job.”
“Maybe, but not if I keep talking, so I better get back to work,” she smiles. “I’ll send your brother and your friends back in here.”
“Go ahead. Thanks, Erin.”
She turns on her heels and leaves the room, letting me have another glimpse at the hallway full of Chasers, all here to protect me. There are no reasons for them to stay since I was nothing more than collateral damage, but no one wants to listen to me when I tell them to go back home.
“Hey, baby sis. All good?”
As he walks straight back to me and pulls a chair closer to the bed to sit beside me, I answer him, “Yes, so you should go to the club and get some proper rest.”
The bags under his eyes are getting larger and darker by the day.
“Not happening. Stop asking,” he growls.
“Ben will be back with coffees and some cake
or something,” Jayce says.
He’s also back in my room―since I’m not alone. I don’t even spare him a glance. It’s a miracle that my fight against a roll of my eyes is a success.
“He said that you need to eat, but I’m pretty sure you’re just an excuse to get some more cake.”
This time, I look past Liam’s head to see Nate winking at me. Camryn is here, too, pressed close to his side as he has an arm lazily dropped around her shoulders.
“No doubt about that,” I agree with his opinion before addressing Cam. “Weekend?”
“Thank God, yes. I don’t know what got into them all week, but they were over-excited. It must be because it was the first week after Christmas holidays.”
Camryn is a teacher, and I must say, better her than me. I love kids, but I swear she looks drained coming back from work sometimes.
“What about you? When are you getting out of this place?”
“Hopefully soon. I feel just fine.”
“It’s too soon,” Liam counters again.
After a really brief moment, during which my brain seems to understand something, my eyes narrow on my brother as I point an accusing finger in his direction. “Are you forcing Doctor Emerson to keep me here longer? I really hope not. I want to go home. I’m a nurse, so I know how to change my dressing and when to take my medicine. I think it’s bad enough to have spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve in here. I want to leave this place.”
“But if you hadn’t we wouldn’t have gotten to try that killer gingerbread. Delicious,” Ben states as he strolls into the room carrying a tray full of drinks and cakes.
He sets the tray on the small table against the wall as I say, “I’ll bring you some if they make them again once I’ve started working.”
“I love you,” he retorts with a hand going up to cover his heart in a dramatic way.
“As for you,” I turn my attention back to Liam. “You will be welcome to come stalk me at my place anytime you want,” I swear, hoping this will get him off my back.
A clear snort comes from the wall beside the door. “You’re not going back to your place when you leave here,” Jayce states flatly.
Looking straight at him with the most intense glare possible, I tell him, “I’m going wherever I want to go when I leave here.”
Even from here, I can see his jaw ticking angrily underneath his skin as his hard eyes bore into mine. But he keeps to himself everything he’s clearly dying to say.
“Alex,” Liam speaks at some point, cutting off Jayce and my stare-down. “Sorry baby sis, but there’s no way I can let you go back to your apartment alone. Not right now anyway.”
“Why?” I ask like this makes no sense at all. “I was collateral damage, Liam. I’m not in danger, you know that.”
“First of all, you’ll still be recovering when you leave here, and I want an eye on you until you’ve fully recovered. And besides, the Spiders will pay for what they did to you, and they won’t take it all in without a fight. You’ll be safer at the club. We’re all staying there until further notice anyway.”
Shit. If they put a lockdown in place, I don’t have the tiniest chance of convincing him to let me go home.
Annoyance has me sighing again when an idea pops up in my brain. “Okay, then I’ll come to the club without making a fuss if you stop putting pressure on Doctor Emerson to keep me here longer.”
“I’m not pressuring that damn doc,” he says, and my eyes narrow again. “Promise, Alex, I’m not.”
Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, another idea flashes through my brain. “Then pressure him to let me leave, and I’ll come back to the club without making a fuss.”
“You’ll leave the hospital when he says it’s safe for you to leave.”
My glare is sharp when it darts to Jayce, who has apparently decided to only say things that piss me off. But my angry gaze rips itself away from him when Ben speaks.
“You’ll be happy to hear―well, some of you will―that I saw the doc on my way back here. Said he’ll let us have our little snack and come check on you in a while. Also said there’s a good chance you can get the fuck out of this shithole tomorrow morning, love.”
Oh, sweet news.
“Why didn’t you say that first?”
He shrugs. “Your little banter sounded fun.”
I roll my eyes before a triumphant smirk finds a spot on my lips as I glance proudly at Jayce.
Feeling childish, so what? He pisses the hell out of me acting all mama bear as he seems to be forgetting that he threw me out of his life a year and a half ago.
“You still come back to the club,” he shoots back.
“Okay, what about we drink these coffees before they get cold?” Cam suggests while sending a chastising look to her brother.
Her brother. Even months after finding this out, it’s still a hard one to believe.
“Hey, this was becoming entertaining,” Ben makes a show of whining, alluding to Jayce and my little exchange.
Doing my best to let go of the irritation that seems to become normal when I interact with Jayce, I stretch an arm toward Ben. “Give me some cake. At least that’s something I can still do without checking it out with my oppressive caretakers.”
I might end up needing a gastric band if I have to stay here a few more weeks and Ben keeps feeding me, but hell, it’s not like I have to watch my weight for anyone but me anyway.
Chapter 8
Jayce
“Who the fuck else would it be!” Cody’s furious fist slams loudly on the table. “From the moment we entered that bar, I felt something was off with that Bison guy. He had vice in his eyes, just like Rod. I say they’re cowards. They want to avenge their president and members but don’t have enough balls to do it openly.”
For the first time since Alex got shot, we’re back in the meeting room at the club. We’ve spent the past half hour going over every possibility as to who was in the car that day. But we’re wasting our time. The Spiders were.
“They’re afraid of retaliation,” Ben agrees implicitly with Cody. “They’re too weak right now, and they know it. They lost the guys who guided them for years. The ones they trusted―for some fucked-up reason, if you ask me. And even though Rod brought in a bunch of new members, Bison doesn’t know whether he can trust them. Those guys aren’t worth much more than total strangers, and he knows that. He wouldn’t know who’s loyal to him if he had to face a war.”
Never a truer word was spoken. Thank fuck.
Bison tried to convince us there’s no beef on his side when it comes to us, but we all know it’s bullshit. Like Cody said, who else would it be? We’ve never had issues with any other club, for God’s sake. We’ve always done our shit and stayed clear of anybody else’s. And that has always worked just fine. As for our issues with Rod, they started the day that fucker killed my family almost eighteen months ago. Don’t get me wrong, we were never damn best friends, but we never minded each other’s business and that was it. And then, a fucking week after that meeting with those bastards, someone starts shooting at us in the middle of the fucking street? Yeah, they sure have nothing to do with it. Fuck this. I’m not going to waste hours discussing this shit to know that Rod’s men are out for revenge.
We were blind thinking that every Spider left alive would vanish into thin air, abandoning their own clubhouse for the town to raze. They didn’t, and we should have known they wouldn’t. They have no intention of fleeing town with their tails between their legs, and no intention of backing away from their disgusting business. The reason it took them so much time to reach out to us and set up that useless meeting is because they were busy getting Rod’s clients to trust them. Their priority was to ensure their sources of golden income wouldn’t turn their backs on them, they knew they’d come for us sooner or later. And we should have seen it coming. We should have protected our own better. I should have protected Alex. She wouldn’t have taken a bullet if we had.
And now I al
so can’t help wondering whether the outcome of that meeting brought them to react with such violence.
“What do you think, Jayce?”
Just like everyone else’s, Nate’s eyes are on me. I’ve kept quiet since the meeting started forty-five minutes ago, listening to my brothers going over our ongoing shipments and new orders for fifteen minutes before quickly moving to the Spiders. I kept my mouth shut because I still think that my brothers doubt my capacity to be objective when it comes to that club. And if I’m right, I don’t know why they even bother asking for my opinion.
“The Spiders are responsible for the shooting,” I state, not elaborating on why I don’t doubt that for a second because there’s just no use. “There’s just one problem. Once again, we can’t do shit because we have not one damn bit of proof.”
What footages Blane got from stores cameras wasn’t of any fucking help. A black SUV with tainted windows and a covered license plate barreling through the street, a gloved hand shooting a string of bullets, and the car disappearing only five seconds later. That’s it. Just nothing. Fuckers can roll up in our town, attack us, hurt one of us, and walk away fucking freely. It makes my skin burn with such rage that all I can do to keep myself in check is imagine cracking their thick skulls with the gun they shot Alex with. But it’s just a matter of time. They’ll die, they can count on that. They’ll die painfully. They should have thought a little longer before deciding to come for us, because all they earned is that I’ll make them suffer twice as much as I would have made Rod suffer if I had gotten the time. These fuckers aren’t men. They’re useless pieces of scum too scared to be men and own their decisions. Instead, they hide.
But not for much longer.
“Hate to say this, but that’s exactly how it’s gonna be until we can prove they were in that car,” Liam seethes.