“It sounded pretty good to me, sugar.” She loved me. Holy shit, she loved me.
Sirens sounded in the distance, snapping me out of my stupor. “Let’s get this shirt on you so you can go for a ride in the ambulance.”
Her eyes snapped open, and a goofy grin spread across her lips. “That sounds like fun. Do you think they’ll let you lay down with me in the abulancey?”
I chuckled and slipped the shirt over her head. “Feeling a little woozy?”
She nodded her head and grimaced. “Just a bit.”
I put her arms into the holes and pulled the shirt over her body. “I should be able to ride with you in the ambulance, but I don’t think I’ll be able to lay down with you.”
She leaned forward and rested her head on my shoulder. “Major bummer,” she mumbled.
A loud knock sounded on the door, and I hollered that we were in the bedroom.
The EMT’s worked on Nikki first. They loaded her onto the stretcher, and asked her fifty questions, and then rolled her out of the room. The police had called for a second ambulance when they saw that Richard was injured too, and they showed up as Nikki was being wheeled out.
They were working on Richard when the cop pulled me out of the room and asked for a quick rundown of what had occurred. It was obvious to see what had happened, but I understood they needed to get facts straight.
I managed to jump in the back of the ambulance before they closed the doors. “Pipe,” Nikki gasped. “I was afraid you were going to have to stay.”
I probably should have, but I didn’t want to leave Nikki. “I’ll never leave you, sugar.”
Nikki babbled the whole way on the short ride to the hospital even though her eyes were closed the whole time. She insisted she wasn't tired, but the light hurt her eyes. The EMT said that was common with concussions and reassured me that it was a good sign that she was coherent and talking.
By the time we were in a room, and a doctor had looked her over, Nikki was fading fast.
“Are you sure I can sleep? I always thought you’re not supposed to sleep when you have a concussion,” she mumbled.
I pulled a chair up to her bed and threaded my fingers through hers. “That’s why they got you hooked up like a car battery right now. They’re monitoring everything, so if you do fall asleep, they can still check on you.”
She closed her eyes and smiled. “Did you really say you loved me before, or did I imagine that?”
I sat back and squeezed her hand. “I said it then, and I’ll say it again. I love you, sugar.”
She sighed and opened her eyes. “Would you still love me if I said I never want to step foot in that duplex again?”
I laughed and stroked the back of her hand with my thumb. “I’m pretty sure that’s reasonable.”
“Can we move back to Weston? I love Kales Corners, Alice, and Bos, but I miss Weston.”
“Sugar, maybe you should try to get some sleep, and we can talk about this in the morning.”
She shook her head and tried to sit up. I put a hand on her arm, and leaned forward, holding her down.
“Nikki, calm down.”
“I am calm. I just need to know that we’re moving back to Weston. That’s what Karmen was talking about when she said I needed to just talk to you. I wanted to move back before this whole mess. I saw how you were in Weston, and how much the club means to you. I didn’t want to be the reason why you weren’t there.”
I reached up and brushed her hair from her eyes. “I want the club, but I want you too.”
“And you can have both in Weston. I like my job at the diner, but I loved my job at the nursing home. I miss home.”
“I should probably tell you that Wrecker told me I had to be back in Weston in eight days, and I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to get you back there with me.”
She smiled and laid back down. “Dodged a bullet with that one, didn’t you?”
I sat back and smirked. “You have no idea, sugar. Nickel told me I had to make you think it was your idea to move.”
Her eyes bugged out. “Karmen told me the same thing when we were dancing around each other. Told me I had to call the shots but make you think that you were.”
“And you think you did that?”
She closed her eyes. “You did fall in love with me the first time I smiled at you, so you tell me?” She sighed deeply and nestled into her pillow. “I’m gonna sleep now. Promise you won’t leave?”
I squeezed her hand and shifted my chair closer to her bed. “I’ll never leave you, Nikki.”
*
Chapter 34
Nikki
Seven Days Later
“Holy crap. This place is huge.”
I set the box of dishes on the counter and looked at Alice who was carrying a pile of blankets in her arms. “You couldn’t carry anything heavier?” I laughed.
She tossed them on the couch that was in the middle of the living room and shook her head. “Someone had to take them. No reason why that someone shouldn’t have been me.”
Karmen walked through the front door with a pillow under one arm and a bottle of water in the other. “Nickel has banished me from carrying anything. He said I’m just supposed to direct.” She plopped down on the sofa and kicked her feet up. “I still can’t believe your luck with getting this house. It’s a mile from the clubhouse, and the rent is dirt cheap.”
Alice sat down and put her arm around Karmen’s shoulders. “And there’s an extra bedroom for the weekends I decide I want to party with the Fallen Lords.”
“I see you’ve forgotten last time when you were a walking zombie the day after.”
Alice scoffed. “It really wasn’t that bad. Besides, I don’t know when my next weekend off is going to be since a waitress quit on us with no notice.”
I rolled my eyes and started unpacking dishes. “I told Bos that I would stay on until he found someone else, but he insisted that you guys would be fine.”
“He feels guilty about Richard.”
“What? Why on Earth would he feel guilty about that?”
“Because he said he would have done something about him years ago, but everyone just swept it under the rug.”
“The whack job is the only one responsible for his actions,” Karmen pointed out. “Thankfully, Pipe was there, otherwise, who knows what would have happened. I’m three months pregnant and so not up to looking for a new best friend.”
I grabbed a stack of plates and put them in the cabinet. “I’m so glad you’re worried about my well-being, Karmen. I’m sure it would have been a chore to find a new best friend.”
“You have no idea,” she sighed.
“Are Cora and Wren coming over?” Alice asked.
“Cora texted that she was on the way over, but not Wren. Something about she knocked, but Wren didn’t answer,” Karmen answered.
“I hope everything is okay with Wren. I really liked hanging out with her,” I mused.
“She had to be fine. I told Cora that Wren is officially part of the Girl Gang so she can’t keep skipping out on meetings anymore.”
“Wait,” I turned around and looked at Karmen. “What meetings?”
“The one we’re having right now.”
Alice looked at me and tilted her head. “Does that make me a Girl Gang Nomad because I live an hour away.”
Karmen squealed. “Oh, my God, it totally does! You’re the first Girl Gang Nomad!”
“What the hell is all the screaming about in here?” Pipe asked. He was carrying three boxes in his arms, and Nickel was behind him carrying the same.
“Just Girl Gang stuff.”
Nickel rolled his eyes and set the boxes next to the couch. “You’re a nut, woman. You think since I’m part of an MC you need to have your own group too?” he chuckled.
Karmen shrugged. “Hey, I can have a little fun too.”
“Is that what they’re calling crazy these days, fun?” Pipe asked. Karmen threw a pillow at him, and he cau
ght it mid-air. “Nice try, darlin’.”
She flipped him off and crossed her arms over her chest. “Be thankful I’m pregnant, or I’d totally take you down right now, dick.”
Alice and Karmen high-fived and tossed another pillow at Pipe. This one hit him squarely in the back, because he was headed straight for me and didn’t stop ‘til he wrapped me in his arms. “Your girls are crazy, sugar.”
“Yeah, they are,” I agreed. I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked around our house. “I still can’t believe we got this place.”
“Perfect timing, sugar.”
I leaned back and looked up at him. “I guess you’re right. When we first met, we didn’t have the timing thing right, but now we got it just right.”
He pressed a kiss to my lips and smiled. “All it took was for me to pull my head out of my ass and realize what was right in front of me. I love you, Nikki.”
“I love you too, Pipe, because you are the only person I know who can make me swoon by talking about pulling their head out of their ass.”
“What can I say, you bring it out of me, sugar.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed.
It may have taken moving to a new town and running from the man I loved, but it all worked out in the end.
Pipe loved me, and that was all I could ask for.
*
Chapter 35
Maniac
I pounded on the door again, but she didn’t answer. Normally by the third time I knocked, she threw open the door and asked me what the hell I wanted.
Something wasn’t right.
“Wren, open the goddamn door,” I hollered.
Brinks peeked his head out of his room and smirked. “Trouble in paradise?” he asked.
“Something isn’t right, man.” I tried turning the doorknob, but she had it locked.
“You break down that door, you know Wrecker is going to string you up by your nuts,” Brinks reminded me.
I pounded on the door. I waited ten seconds and looked at Brinks.
Fuck it.
Wrecker could make me pay for the damn door, I didn’t give a fuck.
I stepped back and powered into the door. My shoulder made contact and busted through. “Wren,” I called when I didn’t see her on the bed.
The water in the tub was running, and I was going to look like a complete ass if she was just taking a bath and didn’t hear me.
“Wren,” I called again.
She should have heard me though. Hell, everyone in the clubhouse probably heard me.
I cautiously moved to the open bathroom door and called her name again.
I made it to the door and went numb. Everything went silent as I watched Wren float in the water.
Water tinted pink from the blood seeping from her wrists.
The End
Coming Soon:
Black Belt Knockout, book 4 in the Powerhouse M.A. series.
January 2018
Maniac, book 3 in the Fallen Lords MC series.
March 2018
About the Author
Winter Travers is a devoted wife, mother, and aunt turned author who was born and raised in Wisconsin. After a brief stint in South Carolina following her heart to chase the man who is now her hubby, they retreated back up North to the changing seasons, and to the place they now call home.
Winter spends her days writing happily ever after’s, and her nights zipping around on her forklift at work. She also has an addiction to anything MC related, her dog Thunder, and Mexican food! (Tamales!)
Winter loves to stay connected with her readers. Don’t hesitate to reach out and contact her.
www.facebook.com/wintertravers
Twitter: @WinterTravers
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Dive into the First Chapter of Loving Lo
Loving Lo
Devil’s Knights Series
Book 1
Winter Travers
Chapter 1
Meg
How did just stopping quickly to get dog food and shampoo turn into an overflowing basket and a surplus pack of paper towels?
“Put the paper towels down and back away slowly,” I mumbled to myself as I walked past a display of air fresheners and wondered if I needed any.
“Oh dear. Oh, my. I… Ah… Oh, my.”
I tore my thoughts away from air fresheners and looked down the aisle to an elderly woman who was leaning against the shelf, fanning herself. “Are you ok, ma‘am?”
“Oh dear. I just… I just got a little… dizzy.” I looked at the woman and saw her hands shaking as she brushed her white hair out of her face. The woman had on denim capris and a white button down short sleeve shirt and surprisingly three-inch wedge heels.
“Ok, well, why don’t we try to find you a place to sit down until you get your bearings?” I shifted the basket and paper towels under one arm to help her to the bench that I had seen by the shoe rack two aisles over. “Are you here with anyone?” I asked, as I guided her down the aisle.
“Oh no. I’m here by myself. I just needed a few things.”
“I only needed two things, and now my basket is overflowing, and I still haven’t gotten the things I came in for.”
The woman plopped down on the bench chuckling, shaking her head. “Tell me about it. Happens to me every time too.”
“Is there something I can do for you? Has this happened to you before?” She was looking rather pale.
“Unfortunately, yes. I ran out of the house today without eating breakfast. I’m diabetic. I should know by now that I can’t do that.” My mom was also diabetic, so I knew exactly what the woman was talking about. Luckily, I also knew what to do to help.
“Just sit right here, and I’ll be right back. Is there someone you want to call to give you a ride home? Driving right now probably isn’t the best idea.” I set the basket and towels on the floor, keeping my wallet in my hand.
“I suppose I should call my son. He should be able to give me a ride,” the woman said as she dug her phone out of her purse.
I left the woman to her phone call and headed to the candy aisle that I had been trying to ignore. I grabbed a bag of licorice, chips, and a diet soda and went to the checkout. The dollar store didn’t offer a healthy selection, but this would do in a pinch. The woman just needed to get her blood sugars back up.
I grabbed my things after paying and headed back to the bench. I ripped open the bag and handed it to the woman. “Oh dear, you didn’t have to buy that. I could have given you money.”
“Don’t worry about it. I hope if this happened to my mom there would be someone to help her if I wasn’t around.”
“Well, that’s awfully sweet of you. My names Ethel Birch by the way.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ethel. I’m Meg Grain. I also got you some chips and soda.” I popped opened the soda and handed it to Ethel.
“Oh, thank you, honey. My son is on the way here, should be only five minutes. You can get going if you want to, you don’t need to sit with an old woman,” Ethel said as she ate a piece of candy and took a slug of soda.
“No problem. The only plans I had today was to take a nap before work tonight. Delaying my plans by ten minutes won’t be a problem.”
“Well, in that case, you can help me eat this licorice. It’s my favorite, but I shouldn’t eat this all by myself. Where do you work at?” Ethel asked as she offered the bag to me.
“The factory right outside of town. I work in the warehouse, second shift.” I grabbed a piece and sat down on the floor. If I was going to wait for Ethel’s son to show up, might as well be comfortable while I waited for him.
“Really? Never would have thought that. Figured you would have said a nurse or something like that. Seems like you would have to be tough to work in a warehouse, sounds like a man’s job.”
I laughed. “Honestly, Ethel that is not the first time I have heard that, and it probably wo
n't be the last. You need a certain attitude to deal with those truckers walking through the door. I have an awesome co-worker, so he helps out when truckers have a problem with a woman loading their truck.”
“Sounds like you give them hell. My Tim was a trucker before he passed. I know exactly what you are talking about.” Ethel took another drink of her soda and set it on the bench next to her.
“Feeling better?”
“Surprisingly, yes. It’s a wonder what a little candy can do. How much do I owe you?” Ethel asked as she reached for her purse by her feet.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad that I was here to help.”
“Mom! Where are you?” Someone yelled from the front of the store.
“Oh good, Lo’s here. You’ll have to meet him.” Ethel cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled to him she was in the back.
I started getting up off the floor and remembered I wasn’t exactly as flexible as I use to be while struggling to get up.
“Ma, you ok?” I was halfway to standing with my butt in the air when his voice made me pause.
It sounded like the man was gurgling broken glass when he spoke. Raspy and so sexy. Those three words he spoke sent shocks to my core. Lord knows the last time I felt anything in my core.
“Yes, I’m fine. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning and started to get dizzy when Meg here was nice enough to help me out until you could get here.” Ethel turned to me. “Lo, this is Meg, Meg this is Lo.”
Oh, lord.
I couldn’t talk. The man standing in front of me was… oh, lord. I couldn’t even think of a word to describe him.
I looked him up and down, and I’m sure my mouth was hanging wide open. I took in his scuffed up motorcycle boots and faded, stained ripped jeans that hugged his thighs and made me want to ask the man to spin so I could see what those jeans were doing for his ass. I moved my eyes up to his t-shirt that was tight around his shoulders and chest and showed he worked out.
Pipe (Fallen Lords MC Book 2) Page 19