by Lexie Davis
“Come on.” She pulled back and brushed her finger along his lower lip. “You promised me some cuddling.”
“You’re sitting on my half-hard dick and you want to cuddle.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why do women always do that?”
“You promised before anything else happened between us.” She stood. “I can’t help it you get hard so easily.”
“Your pussy was grinding against my cock. If I didn’t get hard, check for a pulse.”
She grabbed the cinnamon sides she ordered with the pizza and took it to the living room. “All I hear is whining.”
They shared their dessert and watched a movie together. She nearly climbed in his lap when scary stuff happened on screen. Ryker teased her, but she didn’t care. Eventually, she ended up in his lap with her blanket covering them both. He laughed and kissed the side of her head.
“You’re hiding more than you’re actually paying attention to the movie.”
“I’m going to have nightmares.”
He smoothed his hands along her ass. “We could have skipped the movie and went to naked cuddles instead.”
“Fat chance.” She looped her arms around his neck. “I need the regular kind today.”
He rubbed her back, not saying another word. She had to admit, it did feel good being close to him. After all the shit going on in their lives, she missed the closeness. The way he stroked his fingers along her back absently or how his arms wrapped around her, protecting her and comforting her. She fell in love with him over and over again.
“You make me feel better without doing a thing.” She kissed his cheek. “I like that.”
He titled his head so he could lay it against hers. “I don’t like to see you upset. I know your job means a lot to you. I hate that you lost it, but if you’ve found a better one, that’s fucking great.”
She gripped his chin and kissed him. “I love you. I don’t know if I say it enough or if you even believe me when I do say it. Sometimes my feelings overwhelm me and I just have to tell you. I want you to know.”
“You tell me all the time and I like it.” He slipped his hands underneath her shirt. “I do believe you. Especially when you leave notes on the brownies saying you’ll cut me if I eat them, then declare your love for me.”
She smiled. “You read that, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you eat all the brownies?”
“Nope.”
“My goals were accomplished.” She stood and carried the food to the kitchen. She packed up the left over pizza and put it in the fridge. When she turned around, he stared at her. “Come on. I need a cock to ride.”
He laughed. “You do, huh?”
She nodded. The best part was that he didn’t question her. The tough, macho motorcycle man stood, clicked the TV off, and followed her down the hall like a good husband should.
Chapter Seven
Ryker knew the trip to Mississippi would be an interesting one. He’d sent Mad Dog and Rooster with a few other members to scope out the place. They’d reported that the guy was a fucking psycho. He, Superman, and Vampire left together and for the most part, the trip was uneventful. They stopped to fill up their tanks and grab a bite to eat at a local dive in the middle of nowhere Alabama. Once they were seated, he pulled out his phone and read all his missed messages. Ella had called his phone twice and left a voicemail. She’d also texted him three times.
He read her texts and called her back.
“Did you get my messages?”
“Yes and no. This is the first time we’ve pulled over.” He ordered a burger and fries with a soft drink. “What is the emergency?”
“Nothing short of me getting the job!” She squealed and he pulled the phone from his ear. Vampire and Superman stared at him. “I don’t start until after orientation and that’s scheduled the week you’re going to Maine with my dad. They really liked me though. I got a tour of the facility and got to see the Emergency Department in its full glory.”
“That’s great, babe.”
“And I got to assist with a trauma. I mean, nothing crazy. I just held the door, for EMS, but still. I felt like I belonged there. I wanted to jump in.”
He smiled. “You do belong there. I’m happy for you.”
“Come back home soon so we can celebrate.”
“I will.” The waitress brought his food and he grabbed the ketchup bottle. “Hopefully, it won’t take long. Just a few days.”
“Please stay out of trouble.”
“Trouble is my middle name, sweetheart.”
“You know what I mean.” She paused a moment. “I love you. Whatever you’re doing, be safe. I really don’t want another trauma to deal with regarding you.”
He laughed when she gave him the name of the hospital that hired her. She instructed him to go there if anything bad happened and then he hung up. Hopefully, nothing bad would happen on his crew’s end. He couldn’t exactly say the same for the other dickwads trying to pull a Razor on the club.
“Mad Dog said that they had some kind of rally last night. They’re trying to recruit more members under the Roaming Devils’ name, but people are resisting.” Superman bit into his burger. “That’s good news at least. Maybe this thing will be short lived.”
“Oh, he’s not going to leave without a fight.” Vampire sipped his drink. I don’t fucking know how he even met Razor. When did he find time to enlist a new protégé?”
“When he was fucking with my life?” Ryker dipped his fries in the ketchup. “The easiest answer is elimination.”
“But that’s not the easiest task,” Superman countered.
“No. The easiest task is to get rid of Rat and let things self-destroy.” Ryker wasn’t really looking forward to facing this guy. The club wanted to be free from the destructive bullshit that had been going on for years. Using the club for his own agenda was not going to continue.
Superman’s phone rang and he answered it. Vampire glanced over at Ryker. “So what was Ella squealing about?”
He dipped his fries in the ketchup. “Why are you so concerned with my wife?”
“I’m not.” Vampire leaned back in his chair. Ryker studied him, wondering when his best friend started liking his wife.
“You’re asking about her.”
“You’re my friend.”
Ryker arched an eyebrow. “She lost her job. Then she went for an interview today at a different hospital, a better position, really, and got it.”
Vampire licked his lips. “That’s good, right?”
“Great.” Ryker pushed his plate away. “How’s your new chick?”
“She wants to meet my friends.” Vampire pursed his lips.
“Since you don’t have any, I’m assuming that means me and Ella.”
“Fuck you.”
“No thanks.” Ryker laughed. “We’re buying a house. Ella’s got it all picked out. Five fucking bedrooms. I’m sure we’ll have a housewarming party. Bring her to that.”
“I don’t know. Hell, that means we’re in a relationship, right?” Vampire rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t think I’ve ever introduced anyone to my friends or family.”
Ryker grinned. “You’re growing up.”
“Fuck you.”
“Again, no thanks.”
“We got a problem,” Superman commented. He pulled out his wallet and left enough money for their food, and then motioned for them to leave. Once they were outside, Superman stood next to his bike. “Mad Dog said that another biker crew came by last night and got into it with Rat. They think Rat represents the Roaming Devils and now they have a beef with us, when it was technically with them. Long story short, they started a fucking war. They’re fighting now and from what Mad Dog reported, losing. They want to wipe out the Roaming Devils MC.”
“Fuck.” Ryker started his bike. It was nearly an hour before they got to Mississippi and when they finally did get there, the war was in full effect. Anyone with a Roaming Devils’ cut had a huge target on their
back. Ryker had never seen anything like it. Archaic fighting in the fucking streets. No cops around. From what Superman said, the cops were in the pockets of one or both of the clubs. They had four blocks to fight it out and the last bloody man standing won.
“Do we join in?” Mad Dog asked. They were a block from the action and none of them had their cuts on.
“We’d have to pick a side first,” Rooster commented. “I’m definitely not on the side of some punk named Rat and we don’t fucking know the others who want to exterminate the rodents running the fake Roaming Devils MC.”
“I think we hang back and see how it plays out,” Ryker commented.
He hadn’t so much as said that before someone spotted them. Before any of them could move, the burly guy on the bike lifted a gun and pointed. Then he pulled the trigger.
****
Ella’s phone rang on the table in front of her. She paused in filling out a loan application and glanced at the readout. She didn’t know the number, but it said Mississippi as the location. Sighing, she figured it was either the police station or the hospital.
“Hello?”
“Is this Ella Dennison?”
That was the first time anyone had called her by her married name. She didn’t know what to think about it.
“Yes, it is.”
“This is Dr. Kliner with North Mississippi Medical Center. Your husband Ryker is in my Emergency Room. He has suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. I have repeatedly tried to treat him, but he’s refusing care, saying that you, his wife, would want him transported to Atlanta.”
“He’s an idiot.” She stood with the phone to her ear. “I’m an Emergency Room physician. We live in Atlanta. How bad is it?”
“He’s stable, but he needs surgery. He’s refusing. Wants to be transported.”
Going across an entire state isn’t going to work via Life Flight. She was going to have to drive to wherever he was.
“Has he been given some type of anesthesia?”
“Yes. EMS did the honors when they brought him in. None of his friends agreed to sign the documents. They all told me to call you.”
“Then I’m giving you consent to do the surgery.” Ella shook her head. He had to be so damn stubborn. “But you are completely within your right as the treating physician to classify him as an unconscious trauma patient. No informed consent needed. You’re the doctor and he’s in your care. Get him up to the OR.”
“I planned to do that but his friends are scary-looking and I don’t really want any trouble.”
She did give the lady that. They were scary-looking. Especially when they all got together. Ella grabbed her keys and purse.
“I’ll be there soon. Your OR staff can call this number to update me on his progress.”
After she hung up, she typed the hospital into the GPS system and backed out of her parking spot. A gunshot wound. To the chest. What the hell was he doing in Mississippi?
The four-hour drive in the middle of the night was not how she planned to spend her weekend. Once she finally got to the hospital, she entered the front and dialed Vampire’s number.
“Hey, Ella.”
“Where are you?”
“OR waiting.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She hung up and followed the directions leading to the OR waiting area. Once she found the floor she needed, she went to the elevator. Afterward, she found her way to the waiting room and then waited for the men to tell her what happened.
“What happened?” Ella asked.
“Wrong place, wrong time.” Vampire rubbed a hand over his face. “He was mistaken for someone else.”
“How the fuck does he get mistaken for someone else in another state?”
The men sat there quietly while she shook her head at them. She went to the counter and asked for an update. The lady informed her that he was in recovery and they’d notify them as soon as he had a room.
“Who shot him?”
“That’s complicated.” Vampire huffed a breath. “It really was a mistake. They got the guy, if that counts for anything. Police interviewed us and the paramedics took Ryker on to the hospital. I knew he’d throw a fit about being here without you so we came. He was batshit crazy in the ER.”
“He couldn’t have been too batshit crazy with a gunshot wound to the chest.”
“Uh, it was more the shoulder.”
“Shoulder?”
“Yeah. Like here.” Vampire pressed his finger against the area right beneath her collar bone. “He went down on the pavement. We had to lift his bike off him to get him out. I don’t think he broke anything though. The doctors didn’t say he broke anything.”
Ella shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
By the time they finally got him to a room, Ella had worn the soles off her shoes. She walked with the men down the hallways to find the patient room number they gave her. Once they found it, the orderlies were in the process of putting Ryker in the room.
“Hey.” She walked over to the bed. “How do you feel?”
He groaned. “Like I’ve been shot.”
She let them get him set up in the room before asking to speak with the hospitalist taking care of him. He pulled up the images they took and she looked at the documents they had for his case. The bullet didn’t nick any arteries or put gaping holes in his organs. The location was probably the best it could be and the surgery was mainly to remove the bullet and fragments. It didn’t shatter or hit bone.
“Great. Thanks.” Ella walked back to his room and rubbed his leg. “When you’re less loopy, we’re going to have a long talk.”
“Where’s the fucking button for my medicine?”
She shook her head as she moved closer. She kissed his forehead and took a deep breath. “You’d better be thankful I work in the high stress ER.”
“They were supposed to transfer me.”
“They aren’t going to fly you to Atlanta. The system takes you to the closest trauma centers available. Not preference.”
“I’m not staying here. As soon as I can walk, I’m out of here.”
“I don’t think so.”
Vampire snickered. “I’m glad he’s your problem now. He’s been this way since he got shot. They sedated him in the ambulance.”
“I hate hospitals.”
“Yet you married a fucking doctor.”
Ryker tried to flip Vampire off but raised his pointer finger instead.
“Try again,” Vampire commented.
“Fuck you.”
Ella chuckled. He always went against the rules. She wasn’t looking forward to dealing with that again.
Ryker closed his eyes. “Your bedside manner is pretty good.”
“Thank you,” Vampire commented.
“Go away.”
Ella brushed his hair from his face. “Try to get some sleep instead of fighting with your friends.”
“I don’t want sleep. I’ve been asleep for two—”
“Five.”
“—five, fucking hours.” Ryker groaned. “Damn this fucking hurts. It burns.”
Ella pressed the nurse call button. When they answered, she told them to bring him more pain medicine.
“I don’t want pain medicine. I’ve been clean.”
“They didn’t give you a narcotic or opioid. I told them not to when I talked to the ER, and I also checked when I read your file moments ago.”
She forgot to mention it to the doctor initially and thought about it while she was driving down the highway. She called them to tell them, and upon review, they didn’t use any medicine that would provoke a relapse.
“You can take pain medicine. You just have to be careful about which medicine.” Ella smiled when the nurse came in the room.
“What medicine is that?” Ryker asked.
“Tramadol,” the nurse responded. “It will make you feel so much better.”
“He cannot have a narcotic.” Ella rubbed her forehead.
; The nurse stared at her. “It’s one of the medicines prescribed by the doctor.”
“He’s a recovering cocaine addict. I know Tramadol is less likely to provoke a relapse, but it would be best to use non-narcotics completely.”
The nurse frowned. “Are you his wife?”
“She’s my fucking doctor.” Ryker cringed. “Fuck, I can’t move my arm.”
“I’ll have to ask the doctor on his file.”
“Tell him I want to speak with him as well.” Ella shook her head. “I know better than anyone here that doctors really don’t know how to treat pain of addicts, but it really needs to be written in your chart.”
“Go get them, tiger.” Vampire laughed.
Ella glanced up. “Why are you in such a friendly mood? I thought you couldn’t stand me?”
“He’s got a girlfriend.” Ryker groaned. “Wants us to meet her.”
“She wants to meet my friends.”
“I invited them to our housewarming party.” Ryker cringed as sweat dotted his forehead. “I feel like I’m going to vomit.”
Ella told Superman to get a bucket from the nurse, but it was too late. She raised his head up so he didn’t strain his shoulder, but he’d made a mess before she could control it. His blood pressure increased on the monitor and she looked at the readout, comparing it to when he first entered the room. His temperature had increased too, which explained the sweating.
“Ah, dude.” Superman held the pail out, covering his face.
“Okay, everyone out.” Ella took the pail. “Go to a hotel for the night. I’ll call you in the morning.”
She ushered them out of the room and walked over to Ryker. Instead of saying anything, she undid the hospital gown he wore and slipped it over his arm carefully.
“This is worse than the stabbing.” He groaned. “I hurt really bad.”
“I know. I’m going to figure something out.” It sucked not having any pull with the hospital. Maybe she did need to consider transferring him back to Atlanta.