“Sorry,” we say simultaneously, easing up a bit.
“Hunter outta surgery?”
I wish he could open his beautiful dark green eyes. They’re completely swollen shut though. He needs surgery on the bones around one, and the other one just needs time to recover.
“Not yet.”
“Is he gonna make it?” he rasps with choked emotion.
“That kid doesn’t give up that easily,” Jenna assures him.
“They were gonna kill him,” Cody whispers. “I don’t know how he lived through that.”
“He lived through it. And he’s still fighting, Cody. He’ll keep fighting,” I assure him with a firm squeeze of his hand. “Do you know who did this to you guys?”
I don’t want to push, but if I can get Garrett a name, it could speed this process along.
“No,” he grunts. But the way he does, tells me he’s not being truthful.
“That’s okay.”
“Where’s Garrett?”
“He’s still out looking for Joyce,” I lie.
“I can’t believe she took off again,” he huffs and then grimaces in pain.
“She’s done this before?” Jenna asks.
“A few years ago. She was gone about three months. Alyssa and Hunter stayed with us. The three of us took care of each other. My mom was completely checked out and Joyce had a drug problem. She got clean when she came back though. I thought she was better.”
“They’ll find her,” I say softly as he starts to drift off again.
“Love you, Em,” he whispers.
“I love you too,” I mutter into the back of his hand.
“This is so fucked. What the hell is going on?” Jenna grinds out.
“I don’t know.”
I can’t make sense of anything that’s happened. I don’t really know anything. Garrett didn’t explain what happened. Clyde filled me in with what he knows and that’s not much either. The kids were found in some creepy sex dungeon. That information does nothing to set my mind at ease. If anything, it’s made my mind spin all kinds of horrible scenarios.
“Emily, Hunter’s out of surgery and awake,” Karen calls from the doorway.
“Go,” Jenna says with a wave of her hand.
I kiss Cody’s buzzed hair before racing from the room.
“He’ll be pretty tired, but I wanted you to have the chance to see him. Two floors up. Just look for the signs pointing to surgery and recovery.”
I nod, saying, “Thanks,” quickly and hurry away.
I run up a few flights of stairs and down a corridor before I can hear Hunter screaming. I sprint faster in his direction before bursting into the recovery area. When my eyes land on the sight in front of me, I almost crumble.
Hunter’s unrecognizable. It’s only his voice that lets me know I’m looking at him. He’s shouting and fighting against two large orderlies trying to get his arms in restraints.
“Stop!” I yell at them, yanking on one of the guy’s shoulders.
“Em?” Hunter asks in a panicked voice, unable to see me through his swollen eyes just like Cody.
“Hunter, you’ve gotta calm down. You just came out of your second surgery. Please, just calm down,” I plead with him.
He stops fighting instantly.
“And you two,” I direct my words at the men holding Hunter down, “let him go. He doesn’t need to be tied down.”
They make no move to obey me when a nurse races in the room with a syringe.
“Don’t you dare,” I seethe at the woman. “He’s fine now. He was scared and alone. Look, he’s not fighting. Untie him!”
She studies me for a moment before nodding at the men and they start untying Hunter.
“He didn’t leave me a choice. He needs to remain still and calm or I will sedate him,” she threatens before leaving.
Once Hunter’s restraints are removed, I push my way past the hulking man closest to me and bury my face in Hunter’s neck, holding him as best I can.
“Are they dead? Em, please tell me they’re not dead,” he whimpers.
“They’re not dead. They’re downstairs in their own rooms waiting for you,” I soothe into his skin.
With my words, all of the tension melts away and then he’s silently sobbing.
“Shhh,” I quiet him, sitting up to rub his blood-matted hair.
I keep stroking him until he starts breathing normally and his tears stop.
“Where’s my mom?” he croaks.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. We can’t find her,” I answer honestly.
He snorts, wincing in pain as he does.
“Do you know where we might find her?”
“No. If she’s gone, she’s gone. You won’t find her,” he growls in disgust.
I nod, but he can’t see me so that feels pretty stupid.
“Well, I’m here if you’d like me to stay with you,” I offer, kissing his hair.
He nods minutely before asking, “Who’s with Alyssa and Cody?”
“Clyde’s with Alyssa right now and I left Cody with Jenna.”
“Where’re Garrett and Jordan?”
“Out looking for your mom,” I lie.
“How did we get here?”
“Garrett found you guys.”
“Then they’re not out lookin’ for my mom,” he retorts knowingly.
I don’t respond. I won’t lie to him again. It’s one thing to protect him; it’s another to belittle him.
We sit in silence until the surgeon comes in and explains Hunter’s surgery to me. Both his liver and his spleen were ruptured. Like Cody, most of his ribs are broken along with his nose and he has orbital fractures of both eyes. He’s a mess. He’s lucky to be alive. The surgeon said it twice. I didn’t need him to say it once to know that fact.
“Can you put him in the room with his sister?” I ask the nurse when she says it’s time to move Hunter.
She hasn’t been happy with me since I stopped her from sedating Hunter. I don’t care.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she mutters in an annoyed tone.
A few minutes later, she comes in to explain to me that they—whoever they are—would rather keep them separate. I lose it.
“I don’t care what you’d rather do. These kids have lived through a nightmare! I won’t stand here and allow you to keep them apart for any reason unless it’s for their health. I know that’s not why you’re doing this. You’re probably doin’ it because I embarrassed you by not allowing you to sedate Hunter. And I’m not sorry for that. He didn’t need to be sedated. He needed to be comforted. Try doing your job next time, instead of pushing drugs.
“If you won’t put them in a room together, I’ll go to hospital administration. Alyssa’s room is set up for two patients. There’s nothing stopping you from putting them together. I’ll fight tooth and nail. I can be very persistent. Don’t test me, lady. I’m hanging on by a thread here. You don’t wanna see me when I lose it. It’s not pretty.”
Hunter’s quiet chuckles bring me out of my ranting haze. I laugh right along with him. It hurts, but it feels good too.
“Is there a problem?” Hunter’s surgeon, Dr. Roberts asks.
He’s an attractive man about my age with sandy hair and kind blue eyes. He’s no Garrett Sharp though.
“Yes,” I say at the same time the nurse huffs, “No.”
“I asked if Hunter could be roomed with his sister. And Nurse Ratched here is giving me a hard time about it. That’s not necessary after what we’ve all been through.”
A tiny smirk crested his lips when I called her Nurse Ratched. I’m not usually this rude or combative, but I’m at my limit and apparently, when I get to this point, I get a little mean.
“I think we can accommodate that request,” Dr. Roberts assures me.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll take him down and get things set up,” he says, dismissing the nurse. “Sorry about Carrie. She’s a little sensitive.”
I nod in agre
ement as he starts to wheel Hunter’s bed toward the elevator.
“I’ve been to your shop a few times,” Dr. Roberts says casually as the elevator closes. “Your pumpkin bread is pretty amazing.”
“It’s a town favorite.”
“It seems you are too,” he flirts.
“She’s taken, Doc,” Hunter cuts in.
“I’m not surprised by that.”
Slightly uncomfortable tension fills the space making me relieved when we reach our floor.
“Can I go see Cody before you take me to my room?” Hunter asks.
“Sure,” Dr. Roberts replies nicely, the tension gone.
Karen holds the door open and I walk through. Jenna leaps to her feet covering her mouth with both hands at the sight of Hunter. Tears stream down her face as sobs wrack her thin frame. I swallow a thick lump in my throat and go to Cody’s bedside.
“Cody, sweetheart,” I whisper into his ear. “I need you to wake up. You have a visitor.”
“Who?” he rasps.
“Hey, man,” Hunter says with emotion as Dr. Roberts and Karen position his bed next to Cody’s.
“Hunter! Are you okay?”
“Pretty fucked up, but I’ll live,” he assures his friend.
Jenna and I wrap our arms around each other as Cody and Hunter reach out for a weak, blind fist bump.
“Can we have a minute alone?” Cody asks quietly.
“Of course,” I answer immediately.
“Not too long. You both need your rest. Just press your call button when you’re ready,” Karen adds before we leave them alone.
Both boys are silent as we leave the room. Karen and Dr. Roberts go to the nurses’ station while Jenna and I hover near Cody’s door.
“He looks awful. I thought Cody looked bad…Em…” Jenna whimpers as I pull her into my arms and allow myself to shed the tears I’ve been holding back since seeing Hunter.
After a long while, we lean against the wall and hold hands, wiping our tears.
“They’re alive, Jenna. It could’ve been so much worse. I keep telling myself that so I can make it through right now.”
“It could’ve been worse,” she repeats, calming herself down.
“I did my best Jenna impression upstairs with a cranky nurse and got Hunter roomed with Alyssa.”
“Did you punch her in the face and cuss her out?”
“I called her Nurse Ratched.”
Jenna and I both snort at that before she says, “I’ll stay with Hunter and Alyssa tonight. I know they’ll be together, but I’d like to stay with them.”
“Don’t you have class tomorrow?”
“Fuck class,” she scoffs.
“Right,” I reply with a grin.
I know I’m not planning on leaving this hospital until Cody’s released. There’s no way I’m letting him stay in here alone. Arlene and Beverly can handle my shop with ease and they’ll gladly do it.
Now that we’re out of the woods with the kids, I can’t stop thinking about Garrett.
I hope he’s okay.
I hope he’s found the monsters responsible for this.
I hope he’s making them pay.
I thought I didn’t care about his past. But I know now that’s not the case. I’m glad he has his past to draw from right now. I’m glad he’s the man that he is now and remembers who he was. Because this situation calls for the man Garrett Sharp used to be.
And I know without a doubt, I love both sides of him.
“They told us the girl dressed like Catwoman was a party favor,” Dave Bushing slurs, spitting a mouthful of blood.
Jordan just knocked out the fucker’s teeth with a ball-peen hammer. It was gruesome and well deserved. Jordan had a grin on his lips for every crack, teaching me a lot about my woman’s best friend.
It didn’t take long to find Dave, Paul, Andrew and Gary. Four businessmen from out of town that were at the Donovan place for a bit of fun last night. They paid to be at a sex party. Apparently, they believed Alyssa was part of their deviant spoils. They thought fucking wrong.
Brandon sold out these four douche bags after twenty minutes with me. We’re in the basement of an old slaughterhouse—very appropriate—that’s the home to Mayhem. No one can hear the screams because there’s nothing near this building for miles.
It smells like blood, filth, mold, smoke and death down here. I find it cleansing.
Jordan, Devlin and I make a good team. We’ve been taking turns on these four for hours. Bleeding information from them…literally.
“Who told you she was a party favor?” Jordan snarls.
“Everyone was sayin’ it. But it probably was the guy who provided the entertainment. I don’t know his name. I fuckin’ swear I don’t. I didn’t even see the guy!” Dave blathers in a panic as Jordan pounds his ribs with a crowbar.
“And who used the pipe on the boys?” Devlin growls, yanking Dave’s head up.
He’s hanging by his wrists from chains attached to a support beam on the ceiling, his toes just dragging the ground.
“Paul and Gary,” he wheezes.
“And where were you while that happened?”
“Holdin’ one of ’em,” he whispers.
We already know the whole story. Gary was the first of the group to spend time with us, and he squealed every detail. The main floors of the house hosted the seemingly innocuous high school Halloween party. Meanwhile, the basement was a sex party. It turns out Brandon’s teenage brother, Mike, double booked with Brandon so they decided to have both parties.
A monumentally stupid idea.
The parties stayed separate for all of about half an hour from what we can gather. The douche bag crew heard a girl dressed like Catwoman was a special treat for them. They found Alyssa on her own leaving a bathroom, dragged her downstairs and whipped her. The plan was a gangbang after that.
Hunter walked in on the scene and went ape shit, but the four of them were too much for him to fight against. Cody came in and found them beating the shit out of Hunter and Alyssa suspended, screaming in anguish. Cody and Hunter became these motherfuckers’ entertainment for the better part of thirty minutes.
Alyssa had passed out when they finished the beatings. They dragged the three of them into that closet to hide their bodies. They left them there to die according to Paul. He thought Hunter was dead and Cody wasn’t far behind. Apparently, they considered overdosing Alyssa with a speedball, but they weren’t sure they could pull it off. She was blindfolded and gagged while they whipped her so they didn’t think she’d be able to identify them.
Every time one of these motherfuckers recounts the events that took place, I become more bloodthirsty. It’s time to make some decisions.
A few of Devlin’s guys drag Dave to the meat locker where we’re storing them. They each hang on a meat hook waiting to discover their fate.
“How’re we finishing this off?” Devlin asks, wiping blood from his hands.
“Those four are dead. What about Donovan? He’s a loose end that’s a little harder to tie up,” Jordan says, peeling his blood-soaked shirt over his head.
“We’ll let him go. I don’t think he’ll be an issue. I’d like to find out who’s movin’ flesh in the county before we send him on his merry way,” Devlin responds with a sinister grin.
Brandon doesn’t know we’ve got the four royally fucked businessmen. He’s been kept upstairs in the clubhouse with a few chaperones under the guise that we’re trying to decide what to do with him.
We climb concrete stairs until we enter the main part of the building. The walls are covered in wood paneling with bike memorabilia and Mayhem insignia. There’s a large bar along with a few stripper poles. It’s what you expect from an MC complete with overly used leather couches and pool tables.
Brandon’s sitting with two of Devlin’s guys, slinging back shots while he laughs his ass off. I see red, but restrain myself from causing problems. I lean against the end of the bar, arms across my chest as Devlin and
Jordan approach the group.
“Havin’ a good time?” Devlin asks, leaning into Brandon’s beaten face.
I didn’t do enough damage if he can still laugh and drink.
“Yeah,” he answers meekly as Jordan drags a fresh shirt over his head that the bartender tossed him.
“Where’d you get the entertainment for your party last night?” Devlin asks nonchalantly, tipping back a shot and offering another to Brandon.
“I figured you already knew that. They’re my dad’s girls,” he scoffs.
Devlin and Jordan share a look before casting the same one at me. This is an interesting development.
“Was your dad at the party last night?” Jordan questions, throwing two shots down his throat.
“No. Why would he be?”
“Just wonderin’ how the hookers got there.”
“Someone else in the operation brought ’em. I’m not sure who. I was…busy when they showed up,” he responds with an uncomfortable shift.
“Do you know how to keep your mouth shut, Brandon?” Devlin’s tone is menacing as he crowds further into the pussy’s face.
“Yes,” he whispers.
“Good. I don’t think I have to tell you what happens to people that piss me off. But here’s a quick warning. If you write down what happened, you lose your hands. If you make a call, you lose your ears. And if you talk about it, I’ll take your fuckin’ tongue and ram it up your ass.”
The idiot who shoved a gun in my face this afternoon is now nothing but a sniveling child. He’s scared out of his mind. I don’t think he’ll utter a word about today. If he does, what Devlin just described will be light compared to what actually happens to him.
“My guys’ll get you home now,” Devlin grunts, slamming a glass of whiskey.
“I’m really fuckin’ sorry those kids got hurt. I didn’t know,” Brandon apologizes and I believe him. He’s an idiot, but he’s telling the truth. “You’re not gonna go after my brother are you?”
“I don’t hurt kids. Learn a lesson from this shit. Somethin’ else like this happens and I’m holdin’ you responsible,” Devlin says coolly.
Brandon nods and climbs to his feet to be ushered away by three of Devlin’s crew. He averts his eyes when he passes me. Good fucking idea because I’m itching to beat his head in again. Lucky for him I’ve got four other people to take my aggression out on.
Mugs of Love Page 25