by Aaron Riley
Owen had so many barriers up. How could I break through? He brought out his clipboard and began flipping through the papers. “I have the results from the tests and it all looks normal.”
“Does that mean I can go home today?”
“Not yet. We still need to get you walking around and eating solid foods.”
I sat up in bed. “Well what are we waiting for, Doc? Let's go take a romantic stroll on the beach.” Owen took my arm and helped me off the bed. My knees were no longer wobbly and my legs felt stronger. I took a couple steps forward and already felt better.
“Good job. Now let's go out into the hallway.”
I nodded and walked slowly. Even though my legs felt one-hundred percent, I didn't want Owen to leave my side. I pretended I could barely walk. We reached the hallway and a few of the Devil's Hellions MC were waiting outside.
“Look! The man can walk,” Big Mike announced, slow clapping.
I nodded and bowed. “Yes, and for my next trick I'll turn water into beer.”
Emily approached Owen and walked next to us. “Can Ares come home tonight, Doc?”
“Not yet,” Owen replied, focusing on keeping me upright. “He still needs to rest a bit more.”
Emily walked in front of us and stopped us in our tracks. “Come on, Doc. He seems perfectly fine. Let me take him home and I'll look after him.”
“I'm sorry but he's staying here,” Owen said with a sense of finality. Emily could steamroll over most men but Owen wasn't like most men. He could hold his own.
We made a lap around the hospital and returned to my room. Even though I faked needing help for most of the walk, I was completely out of breath when we got back. “Thanks for the exercise, Owen. Maybe when I get out of here, you can train me personally.”
He tried not to respond but a tiny smile formed at the corner of his mouth. I was getting through that tough exterior of his. It wouldn't be much longer until he was bent over a desk as I pounded into him.
“I don't think that would be appropriate, Mr. King.”
“Well then if we can't exercise together, how about a drink?”
Owen looked me directly in the eyes. He was scared of something but I couldn't put my finger on it. “I'm sorry, but I don't date patients.” That was a bullshit excuse if I've ever heard one.
I grabbed his hand before he could leave. That same electric shock zapped me. The hairs on my arms stood on end. “I won't be your patient for long. Come on...one drink, what's the harm?”
The doctor hesitated. “I can't.” He left quickly and I was all alone with my thoughts.
I was in and out of sleep. Nightmares of getting stabbed kept me awake at night. The memory of blood pooling around my body was constantly hounding me. I almost died. But I survived, like I always did. It would take a lot more than a broken bottle to take out Ares King.
Chapter Six
Owen
What was happening to me? I almost said yes to a date with an criminal. The man came into the ER with stab wounds for god's sakes. He was not the right guy for me. My prince would come one day and sweep me off my feet. Or at least that's what the movies told me. I doubted I would ever meet him. I made my choice a long time ago—I'd rather be a doctor than someone's husband.
Nurse Fiona found me in George's room while I checked on his hip. “Dr. Holmes, I can't seem to find anymore Codeine.”
“There's no more in the drug cabinet?
“I checked. We're all out,” the nurse replied.
I sighed and shrugged. “I'll go get more then.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“I'll check in on you again, George,” I said, winking at him.
He smacked his lips.“I'll be waiting patiently for your return.”
I laughed and left the room. I actually liked helping older people. They were harmless. Not like it was with Ares. I could see the hunger in his eyes. He wanted me—badly. Did I have that same desire?
I went down the elevator and to the locked pharmacy. Only doctors had a key ever since a patient stole a ton of painkillers and OD'd in the hospital. The resulting lawsuit made the board change the way drugs were stored and now nurses bugged me every time we ran out of something.
I pulled out my keychain with a million keys on it. The one for the pharmacy had a little purple sticker on it to identify it from the others. I opened the locked cage and entered the dark room. My hand felt around for the light switch and flipped it. Rows of shelves were lined up containing every drug known to man. I went to the aisle of painkillers that were locked again in another steel cage. For some reason the bright minds upstairs thought it would be genius to have them behind bars twice with the same key. If somebody could get through the first lock, they could easily get through the second. I opened it and grabbed a few bottles of Codeine.
“Nice night for drugs,” a dark voice announced from behind me. My heart spiked and I dropped all the bottles of Codeine to the floor. I turned my head to find Dr. Green looming.
“You scared the crap out of me,” I yelled at her.
The doctor grinned. “I didn't mean to.” He bent down and began collecting the fallen drugs.
How could I escape this encounter unscathed? “What are you doing in here?” I asked, waiting nervously for her to hand over the bottles to me. My heart was pounding in my throat.
Dr. Green stood up and shuffled the bottles around in his hands. “Same thing you are Owen—needed to get some drugs.”
I snatched the Codeine from his hands. “Well next time please don't sneak up on me.”
Green put his arms up to both sides of my head, keeping me in place. Her bad perfume made me nauseous. Her eyes blankly stared into mine. “We'd be really good together, Owen.”
“I already told you that I wasn't interested. I'm gay. Now let me go.” I tried to escape past her arms but she knocked me back against the shelf. My pulse was pounding in my ears now. How was I going to get out of this?
“I love it when you play hard to get. Your not like most men, Owen. Most men would already have their pants unzipped and ready to go. But you keep yours cards close to the vest, not allowing anyone in.” Her hand brushed against the side of my face and my stomach overturned. If I had eaten anything, I would've definitely thrown up. “It's time you finally give me what I deserve.”
Oh fuck! I needed to do something right now before it was too late. Green was about to find out she messed with the wrong guy. I didn't mind hitting a woman. I raised my fist to her stomach as hard and fast as I could. Doctor Green's face twisted green as she doubled over with her hands over her belly.
I ran to the door and realized that it was locked. Did he lock it? I pulled my keys out searched for the purple sticker.
“You're not going to get away from me!” she yelled from far away. Her voice sent shivers down my spine. The keys shook in my hands as I tried to find the right one. Come on! Where is it? I could hear the doctor running towards me. I found the purple key and shoved it in the lock. The door clicked open...but it was too late.
Green came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders to keep me from going. I wanted to smack her right in the face but I feared a lawsuit. Nobody would side with a man who is obviously stronger.
A voice behind Dr. Green boomed. “Get your fucking hands off him.” It wasn't a request but an order. Dr. Green let me go. Ares stood in the doorway, barely able to hold himself up. What was he doing down here?
“You better turn around and forget you saw any of this,” Doctor Green hissed.
“Are you okay, Doctor Holmes?” Ares asked me, ignoring the threat.
I nodded. “I can take care of myself.”
Green stormed past both of us. Ares collapsed onto his knees.
“Oh my god, are you all right?” The side of Ares's hospital gown was stained with blood. I lifted it up to find his stitches ripped open. He should have never gotten out of bed.
Ares's face was pale. “I'm fine, just a little woozy.”
&nb
sp; “Here, let me help you up.” I put his arm around my shoulder and used all my strength to get Ares to his feet. We stumbled to the elevator. Dr. Green had gone too far. I was seconds away from pounding her in the face. Thankfully Ares was there to stop things from going any further.
“Thank you for coming for me,” I whispered to him, pushing the button for the fifth floor.
Ares waved it off like it was nothing. “You would have done the same for me.”
I let out a laugh that instantly made me feel better. All the tension in my body finally released. What was I going to do about Doctor Green? Should I file a formal complaint with the hospital? Go to the police? My head was swimming with too much. I needed to focus on getting Ares fixed up.
The elevator dinged open and I called out, “Nurse! Little help here.”
Nurse Fiona ran to the other side of Ares and took some of the weight off me. “What happened Dr. Holmes?”
Should I tell her everything? No not yet. I needed to think it through first. “Ares tore some stitches while walking around.” Ares nodded and backed up my story.
We helped him back to his room and set him on the hospital bed. Ares rolled around and groaned in pain. For being such a tough guy, he was acting like such a baby. Fiona left us alone and I began closing his wounds back up.
“You know, you don't have to act hurt to gain sympathy from me.”
Ares grinned and stopped groaning. “It was worth a shot.”
“I hope you know this doesn't mean I'll go on a date with you, Ares.”
Ares scoffed. “Way to bring a guy down after he just became a hero.”
I flushed and smiled. “Definitely not a hero. I had things under control. I can easily handle a scrawny woman.” I sewed the last of his wounds and cleaned him up. “That should do it. Good as new.”
Ares lifted his arm up and rolled his shoulder. “Thanks, Doc. I feel better already.”
Ares reached out and held my hand. His eyes were intense and unwavering. “Let me know if you need my help with her. I'll testify to what I saw.”
“I really appreciate you looking out for me. The good news is that you should be able to go home tomorrow morning.”
Ares smiled and still held my hand. I liked the way he gently ran his fingers in my palm. “It's about time. If I have to eat one more pudding cup, I'm going to bounce off the walls.”
“I'll make sure the nurse brings you a few to take home.” I winked.
This man was bringing emotions out of me I hadn't felt in ages. I tried to shake off that feeling because I knew he wasn't the right guy for me. He might be off-the-charts hot but he'd end up in prison or dead eventually just like every other member of a motorcycle club. I didn't want that life for me.
Chapter Seven
Ares
They finally released me from the hospital after too many very long days. My side was still incredibly sore—especially after that knock-out punch. Nurse Fiona pushed me down into a wheelchair.
“This isn't really necessary, Nurse. I can walk out on my own.”
“Sorry darling, hospital rules.”
I didn't feel like arguing anymore. I let Nurse Fiona push me to the elevator and the doors closed in front of us.
“Still wished we could've finished that sponge bath.”
“Maybe next time,” Nurse Fiona replied, her hand rubbing my shoulder. She slipped me a scrap of paper with her number scratched on it.
I had hoped to say goodbye to Owen but he was nowhere to be found. One of the nurses told me he was operating on a patient. Always saving lives. I said a silent goodbye as Fiona pushed me outside. The fresh air reinvigorated me.
Dagger was standing outside in front of a nondescript white van. “They finally let you out of this prison, Ares?”
“Only because they were sick of giving me baths.” I used my arms to lift myself out of the wheelchair and to my feet. Standing on my own two legs felt good even though they worked like Jell-O. Dagger helped me into the van and I looked out at the entrance one last time, hoping to see Owen running out to me.
Why did this guy have such a hold on me?
So big deal, he doesn't want me. There's a million other men I can bed.
“Ares, are you even listening?” Dagger's voice brought me out of my daydream.
I shook my head of the cobwebs. “Sorry, what were you saying?”
“I was saying that Emily told me you could stay at the clubhouse until you're fully recovered.”
“That will help a lot right now.” The last thing I wanted was to go back to my broken down apartment.
I looked outside to see the Devil's Hellions MC coming into view. It was just an abandoned warehouse that was taken over and turned into our clubhouse. Dozens of Harley's were lined up in a row and bikers with leather cuts walked around holding beers.
I was finally home.
Dagger took my arm and helped me out. “Don't get any ideas, Ares. I'm not going to be your nurse.”
“Damn, I was hoping to get a sponge bath from you.”
Dagger laughed and slapped me on the back. “It's good to have you back, Ares.”
I released a heavy breath and looked up at the Devil's Hellions sign. I never wanted to be stabbed again. “It's good to be back.”
Dagger opened the door and waiting inside was the entire MC and all my friends. A banner waved above that stated: Welcome Home Ares. Black balloons and streamers decorated every possible inch of the clubhouse. The bar was fully stocked with booze and tons of people around.
Everyone started clapping and cheering. I waved my hands to get them all to stop. It felt like I was a war hero coming home. “Please everyone. I didn't do anything. Being stupid and getting stabbed in the back shouldn't warrant this.”
Emily came through the crowd and kissed me on the cheek. “We're just glad to have you back home, hun.”
“Thank you, Emily.”
“I went over to your place and got some clean clothes for you. I put everything in the spare bedroom upstairs. If you need anything, just ask.”
I gave her a big hug. “Thank you again.”
Big Mike came rushing over to me, juggling two pints of beer. The light brew spilled over the top and dripped all over his feet. “I bet you've missed this,” he said, handing me a glass.
“You have no idea, Mike.” I took a sip and let the beer run down my throat. “Damn that tastes good.”
Pain came over and cornered me. “Welcome back, Ares.” He gave me a quick hug and patted me on the back.
“Thank you, Prez.”
“Come into the meeting room. We need to talk about something.”
Pain led me through the crowd until we were behind closed doors. Our little meeting room was just a wood table with a bunch of seats surrounding it. Someday we'd get a nice spider carved into it. I waited for Pain to start talking. What could he possibly want to talk about right when I got back?
“I know what you're feeling, Ares.”
He does?
Pain sat down at the head of the table where the President belonged. He motioned for me to sit down next to him. I'd never sat in the Vice President spot before. It felt good. Someday, King. Pain continued, “Many members have gone through this before. That boiling emotion you feel inside.”
Was he talking about Owen?
Pain pulled out a small box with a bow on top. “I know you feel that need for vengeance but we couldn't wait.”
I looked up at him confused. Then it all connected. He's talking about the guy from the bar—the one that stabbed me. I opened the box and found an index and middle finger placed neatly on a bed of velvet. The ends were covered in dry blood. It looked like they had been snipped them off with garden shears—probably while he was still alive.
“Thank you for this, Pain.” I closed the box and set it down. Ever since I met Owen, I had totally forgotten about the need for revenge. I hadn't thought about the man who stabbed me once since I woke up in the hospital.
“That
motherfucker won't be roaming the streets any longer. Don't worry we made him pay.”
I hugged Pain again. He was like a father to me. I never wanted to disappoint him.
Pain lit up. “We have one more surprise for you.”
“Seriously, you guys didn't have to go through all this.”
“We need this more than you do, Ares. We thought we almost lost you in the operating room. Emily sobbed the entire time.”