Turning my back on the man, showing him complete disrespect, I continue to follow Malice down the hall until we get to a door that’s locked. He unlocks it and leads me down a set of stairs. When we get to the bottom, I hear the man talking to someone. He’s boasting about the gash he was gonna fuck until he got interrupted. A red haze fills my vision as I push past Malice to get to the dead fucker.
“Yeah, I bet she’d of been a real nice fuck,” Rancid says, a sinister smile on his face as I walk in the room. “Her pussy probably tight as fuck and sweet as hell. I know she’s nothin’ more than a whore for that pussy club the Wild Kings. I would’ve shown her a real man. Still will once Slash and Skull get me outta here.”
“Is that how you think this is gonna play out?” I question, my voice filling with venom.
“I know it is. You’re too much of a bitch to start a war over a piece of gash.”
“That gash as you call her is my fuckin’ ol’ lady. Where I come from, we respect our women and don’t pimp them the fuck out or let another touch what is ours,” I ground out, stepping even closer to the asshole.
For the first time, Rancid looks as if he’s terrified. His face goes pale while his body begins to tremble. The sound of more men enter the room as I stare into the man’s eyes. His fear fuels the rage running through my veins. It’s the same fear I watched fill my ol’ lady’s eyes when this man began his attack on her. The sight doesn’t fill me with happiness like it normally would. This time my woman is the one hurt so there’s no happiness to be felt.
“Slash, you’re gonna let this man come in here and beat the shit outta me? Over a piece of gash?” Rancid pleads with his President.
“Rancid, you’ve been goin’ rogue for a long time now. I’ve saved your ass for years now. In reality, I should’ve cut you loose or put you to ground myself. Instead, I thought I saw somethin’ redeemin’ in you. Now, you’ve hurt the ol’ lady of a club Skull does business with and has a friendly relationship. You’ve fucked that all up. For what? Pussy? You had that all night last night and could get it again this mornin’. I watched the video and Dozer has my blessin’ to do as he wishes to you now,” Slash informs him, hanging his head down for a split second. “You’ve been more like my brother than my true blood. I can’t save you this time.”
Slash leaves the room as I begin to beat the fuck outta Rancid. He grunts, groans, and tries to flinch away from me. Nothing is going to save him from the beatdown I give him before finally putting a bullet in his head. The only reason I’m not using all the tools here is because my woman had to feel his fists and feet tearing her body apart. That’s the same treatment he’ll be getting from me. I only hope he feels it a million times worse than Summer. Though I’m not sure that’s possible.
When my body is covered in sweat, blood coats my skin, and I’m weak from the exertion I’ve put forth to beat the fuck out of Rancid, I finally step back. Blaze hands me a gun as I walk up and hold Rancid’s head up to look me in the eyes. He’s going to know it’s me and no one else who killed him and sent him straight to hell. The only place he belongs.
“I’ll see you in hell, motherfucker,” I ground out before putting the gun to his head and pulling the trigger.
Blaze takes the gun from my hand as I step back. Rancid slumps forward, only hanging by the chains holding him up. Still, the burning rage flows through my body because Summer is in the hospital and we don’t know what’s going to happen with our baby. That’s not something I want to tell her if we happen to lose him or her. It will kill both of us and while I know my woman is strong, that might be too much for her. I’ll be by her side no matter what, but there’s only so much I can do to help her heal from pain like that.
“Get cleaned up and get back to your ol’ lady,” Blaze orders me. “We’ll talk in a little while.”
“No. You guys head out. I’m not goin’ anywhere until Summer leaves the hospital. I’d be by your side, but I’m not leavin’ my woman behind. Especially when we’re not in friendly territory,” I inform him, looking at Skull as I say the last part.
Blaze nods his head as I make my way to the room Summer and I shared here. After stripping out of my clothes, I wander out back with my soiled pile. I toss them in the bottom of the fire pit before placing logs on top of them. KO joins me as I light the bitch on fire to burn any evidence of taking Rancid’s life. Nothing will come back to me in this.
“Go get your shower. I’ll make sure this is dealt with. No one but me will make sure nothin’ is left,” he assures me. “Summer needs you and you need to get back to her side.”
Nodding my thanks, I make my way back into the room. Getting in the shower, I don’t bother waiting for the water to heat up. I’m numb and only care about getting back to my woman. So, I quickly wash up and get out. Drying off, I put fresh clothes on. Once I’m dressed and everything is back in my pockets, I pack up our belongings so I can head back to the hospital. No one attempts to stop me as I leave this damn clubhouse behind.
5
Summer
BEEPING ALERTS ME as I begin to wake up. I try to reach out to shut the alarm off but can’t move my arm. Panic immediately fills me while the loud, obnoxious beeping comes at me faster. It’s hurting my head more than it already hurts.
“Summer, baby, you need to calm down,” Dozer’s voice washes over me, immediately making me feel safe and warm.
“D-Dozer, I hurt,” I groan out, my throat hurting worse than the rest of my body almost.
“I know, baby. I’ll get the nurse in here to give you some more medicine,” he tells me.
When I think he’s going to leave my side, I try to hang on to him with a firmer grip. Dozer leans over my side and places a kiss against my forehead while assuring me he’s not going anywhere. It feels as if I’ve been run over multiple times across my entire body. Dozer’s kiss, while sweet and assuring, makes the pain in my head radiate even more through my skull and down into my jaw.
It’s not long before a nurse rushes into my room and I’m pulled back down into the abyss where I feel no pain and see nothing but Dozer’s face in my mind. He’s so sweet and loving, attentive when we’re in the same place. I’m still not sure if he’s the man I can be with any longer though. I want to settle down and have a family of my own. Dozer is a Nomad for a reason and that doesn’t involve settling in one place for the rest of his life. He’s meant for bigger things and traveling across the world. To go wherever he’s needed and help other chapters of the Wild Kings.
Waking up again, the steady beeping sound lets me know I’m still in the hospital. I’m not sure why I’m here or what happened to me. Trying to open my eyes, I find that I can this time. Not much, but at least enough to make out the blurry images of Dozer sitting next to me and someone else standing in the room. My heart rate spikes as I don’t know who else is with me. Dozer is sleeping with his head on the edge of the bed and I don’t want to wake him up.
My eyes slowly begin to focus. Standing at the end of my bed, against the wall, is a man from the club we were at. I believe his name is Skull, the President. I’m not comfortable with him being in here, but I know he’s not the man who hurt me. Suddenly I’m filled with images of what happened at his clubhouse. Eating breakfast and then a man assaulting me. He took me to some small shed outside and tried to rape me. Thankfully things didn’t get that far before he took off and left me there to die.
“Summer, how are you feelin’?” Skull asks, keeping his voice low so he doesn’t wake my man.
“Not good,” I respond with my throat still bothering me as it’s dry.
Skull walks over and places a cup of water next to me. He turns the straw toward me so I can sip the water. The coolness of it refreshes me and helps take the pain away. Pulling the cup away, he sets it on the rolling stand and steps back. At the same time, Dozer wakes up and squeezes my hand.
Turning my attention toward him, I take in his appearance. There’s more than a five o’clock shadow covering the lower hal
f of his face while his eyes are dull and purple circles fill his skin under his eyes. Dozer’s clothes are rumpled and wrinkled as he leans forward and kisses the back of my hand.
“Do you need me to get the nurse?” he asks me, his voice low and gentle.
“No. I’d just like to be alone now,” I answer him, turning my head to face the wall in front of me. “You should be with Blaze. Please, just leave me alone.”
“I’m not leavin’ your side, Summer,” he states, his tone hardening and confused.
“Yes, you are. You’re a Nomad, Dozer. It’s what you do. I’ll heal and make my way back to Clifton Falls. That’s how this works between us,” I respond, keeping all emotion out of my voice.
“Things have changed,” he tells me, getting me to look at him again.
“Nothing has changed. Blaze needs you by his side and I need to think about things,” I tell him, knowing Skull is leaving the room.
“Think about what?” he demands.
“I don’t know if this is what I want anymore. I want to settle down and have a family. You don’t want that, and I don’t blame you for it. It’s just time to go our separate ways. I love you, Dozer, enough to let you go and not make you do something you don’t want to do,” I say, not looking him in the eyes.
“Who says I don’t want that?” he growls, releasing my hand from his own.
“If you weren’t a Nomad, I might think you did. We’ve been doing this for years and you’ve never once mentioned the need to settle down or have a family. That’s how I know you don’t want that,” I answer him honestly.
“Summer, I’m ready to get off the road. I’ll settle down with one chapter of the club and we’ll build a life. Any life you want to have,” he says, picking my hand back up. “I’ll call Grim right now and find out which club I can go to.”
“It’s not enough,” I try again to make him understand. “You’re going to end up resenting me and I don’t want to see that happen.”
“Summer, you’re pregnant,” he deadpans. “I didn’t want to tell you because we still don’t know if the baby will survive your injuries. But, you need to know.”
Tears fill my eyes as I look at him. This can’t be happening. Not now. I will not be that girl. The one who traps a man into being with her and giving up everything he loves because of a baby. I fully believe that’s what my mother did to my father for some reason and I don’t want to be like her in that regard.
“Dozer, a baby doesn’t mean you have to change your entire life. You love being a Nomad and not being rooted in one place all the time. You’d grow bored. Our child and I would be the ones to suffer when you left us to get that feeling of being on the open road and freedom again,” I try again to make him see my point.
“No, I won’t.”
“You don’t know that,” I state, turning away from him.
“You don’t either. I’ve been wantin’ to settle down for a while. You travel with your job to other clubs, so I haven’t pressed the issue. Now, that’s changed, and we can talk about settlin’ down in one spot,” he tells me, taking his seat as the door to my room opens.
A nurse walks in with a smile on her face. Her eyes never once stray toward Dozer as she asks me questions and checks my vitals. Eventually a doctor comes in to go over everything with me.
“Summer, it’s good to see you awake. You’ve been here for over a week now. The swelling has gone down some, but it will still take time to go away completely. You have a broken arm and leg. We had to do surgery to repair them. Everything else is bruising and cuts on your body. We were worried about the head trauma. Do you remember what happened to you?” he asks me.
“Yes, I do,” I answer, keeping my attention on him and not Dozer. “Can you tell me about the baby, please?”
“You’re almost two months pregnant. Did you know?”
“No, I didn’t. Is the baby okay?” I ask him again.
“There are no signs of a miscarriage at this point in time. I’d like to keep you on bed rest because of the chance of a miscarriage. The longer we can do that, the higher the chance you won’t lose the baby. If you’d like, we can get an ultrasound machine in here to see what’s going on,” the doctor tells me.
“I’d like that, please,” I respond, my throat still bothering me a little bit.
The doctor nods his head, makes some notes on my chart, and then leaves the room. Dozer is still by my side and I’m refusing to look at him. I don’t know what to do or think right now. Other than I won’t be the one to keep him locked in one place for the rest of his life. It’s not him and that’s the man I fell in love with so long ago.
My hospital room has been filled with silence. Dozer is giving me time to do whatever I have to while the TV remains on quietly in the background. I’m not sure what’s on as I keep my gaze locked on the ceiling above my bed. This way I don’t have to look at Dozer or try to talk to him. He’s not exactly making any attempt to talk to me either. Right now, we’re simply waiting here for the ultrasound machine to be brought in so we can see our baby.
When the nurse brings in a tray of clear liquids, the door opens again to reveal a machine being wheeled in. My food is set to the side as the technician brings the machine to my bedside. She explains what’s going to happen as she pulls the blankets down and pushes my gown up. A wand looking thing is pulled from the cart and a condom placed over top of it. Gel or something is put on the condom-covered wand.
“The fuck you gonna do with that?” Dozer questions the technician.
“Because we believe she’s only eight weeks pregnant, we use an internal ultrasound,” she explains calmly to Dozer.
He nods his head as he stands up to look over my body at the screen where our baby will soon be pictured. I want to reach out to him, but now is not the time. Not when my head is so confused, and I don’t know what’s going on in my mind. Dozer can say one thing all he wants. At the end of the day, he’s spent his life as a Nomad. He’s never had the need or want to settle down for longer than it takes to complete a job. Then it’s off to the next clubhouse and the next job needing the help of the Nomads.
A steady heartbeat fills the air around us. Tears fill my eyes. Hearing the heartbeat fills me with excitement and hope blossoms; spreading through my body that our baby is strong enough to survive what happened. Turning my attention toward Dozer, I see the glossy look to his own eyes as we listen to it. He pulls his phone out and presses a few buttons. However, there’s something I also hear in the background that I’m not sure of what it is. It’s faint and barely noticeable since the technician doesn’t say a word about it. Maybe I’m being paranoid or just overthinking things.
Suddenly the sound of the heartbeat disappears. Replaced is a grainy image on the small screen. It doesn’t look like much right now, but I can make out a head. However, there’s not one baby, I see two. Maybe my eyes are more damaged then we first thought. My eyesight has to be playing tricks on me right now. Twins don’t run in my family and I’m not sure they do in Dozer’s either. He’s never mentioned them before now.
“There’s two in there,” Dozer suddenly says, his voice hoarse and filled with shock.
“Yes, there is,” the technician responds. “Summer, you’re measuring at ten weeks. And things look very good considering why you’re here. I will pass this on to the doctors so they can make future arrangements as to how they want you to proceed for now.”
“T-T-Thank you,” I stutter out.
She presses some buttons before handing us the pictures. I’ve always dreamed of holding these small pieces of paper in my hands and never dreamed I’d actually be doing it with Dozer being my man. Now, everything has changed and we both have some decisions to make regarding our future. Whether we stay together or drift apart. Whatever the case may be, I’ll never keep his children from him. Dozer will be a great dad and his children deserve to have him in their lives.
As the technician leaves the room, Dozer carefully pulls me into his arms. He kiss
es me, being careful to not damage my lips any more than they already are.
“I love you, Summer. And we’re goin’ to make this work. You’ll see,” he assures me after pulling back from my lips. “Thank you for givin’ us this miraculous gift.”
Nodding my head, I let the tears fall down my face. I don’t want to let Dozer go. I’ve loved him for so long. He supports me and lets me live my life the way I want to. I trust him enough to be on the road for such long stretches without me by his side. He won’t cheat on me or let the sluts at other clubs get near his body. We respect one another and he’s always the man who has held my heart in his hands. There will never be another for me.
“Don’t cry, baby. We’ll figure things out. I’ll call Grim before you get out of here and we’ll see what’s goin’ to happen. I’m ready to settle down in one place and you’ll see that,” he says, kissing me once more. “I won’t regret you, leave you, or come to resent you or our children.”
I can’t say a word in response. There’s nothing to say right now. Only time will tell how things will play out between Dozer and me. For now, the only thing I have to worry about is healing and making sure nothing more happens to our children. I’ll protect them with everything I have in me. I already love them so much and it will only continue to grow as my pregnancy progresses.
Dozer holds me in his arms for what seems like hours. When he pulls back, the cart is placed in front of me so I can finally eat my lunch. It’s not much, but I need the nutrients to feed the babies. So, I’ll eat it, even if it hurts to sit up at all. Dozer keeps a watchful eye on me as I finish everything on the tray before pushing it to the side.
The rest of the day, we sit with one another. There’re no interruptions except for the nurses coming to check on me. I take my medicine when I need and spend time on and off sleeping. This is what my body needs right now and I’m not going to fight it as I would normally do. Dozer doesn’t leave my side at all as we simply spend our time together. He’s there when I wake up and holding my hand when I fall asleep to whatever movie is playing on TV. Maybe we can make it work.
Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition Page 59