by Ryan Michele
The blood had dried around the glass, my jeans going into the wound from the force. Everything inside of me wanted to remove it, pull it out of my body because it was foreign, but my gut told me to leave it alone. Even though it hurt like mad, the blood around it was keeping it from oozing, therefore it was protected. If I took the bottle out, it would be an open wound again, and I’d have to find ways to staunch the flow.
Bottle in the leg it was.
The other one looked good. Sore, but good.
Checking out the top of my arm where the blood was, that wound had a small trickle of blood coming out of the side, the rest dried up. To the right of me was a baby tree that wasn’t too far off the ground.
With the bottle in my leg, I couldn’t move it much, but I scooted my ass over to the tree and leaned against it. Plucking a few of the leaves, I took the bottom part of my t-shirt and tore a strip of fabric. Doing this made the cut bleed more, but it was a necessary evil.
Using my teeth and other hand, I pressed the leaves to the wound, then tied it off with the fabric.
Resting my head back, I inhaled deeply. It all raced back to me in a flash. Memory after memory assaulting me all at the same time, playing on a vicious reel.
Sophia.
The warehouse.
The needle.
Shooting the barrels.
Falling.
Moving.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
No fire or billowing smoke could be seen, but there was a haze over everything, like the fire had been put out and this was the smolder.
My stomach growled, but I ignored it. My energy was zapped from the small movements.
I tried to keep my eyes open. Tried to gain more strength.
It wasn’t there. It had disappeared.
My eyes fluttered shut.
18
Crow
The firemen forced us to back up. By forced, I mean had the cops come and say we’d be arrested if we didn’t move back. Since I couldn’t leave my woman, I moved back. Rhys next to me and my brothers around.
Phoenix went to the house to check to see if Rylynn was there just to make sure. She wasn’t. But I felt it in my soul. She was here.
I’d watched the water knock down the flames.
I’d watched the firefighters try to go inside.
I’d watched the police canvass the area.
I’d watched my brothers do the same.
I’d watched as the building got smaller and smaller.
I’d watched as the walls fell inside the building.
I’d watched as the glass shattered to the ground.
I’d watched as the love of my life died in a fire.
I didn’t protect her. Just like my father. I could’ve protected him, and he’d be alive. Fuck.
Reaching in I pulled out my knife.
Inside I wanted to be with her. Wanted to be next to her. Didn’t want her to die alone.
Inside I was dead without her.
A hard punch came to my cheek. I didn’t expect it and my head flew to the side, the knife flying out of my hand and to the ground. Brewer picked it up as I looked to my side.
Rhys glared at me. “We didn’t go through all this shit for you to do somethin’ stupid. Get it. More than you know. Fuckin’ kills. But doin’ that shit doesn’t help your kids.”
I was broken.
Never in my life had that happened.
But whatever this was, would never be fixed. Ever.
19
Rylynn
The sounds of birds chirping woke me. They sounded so damn happy, and I wanted to shoot each and every one of them. Unfortunately, I had no idea how many bullets were inside the gun, and wasting them on the birds was stupid.
Darkness was falling or rising, I couldn’t tell. How long had I been here? How long had I been sleeping? According to my arms and legs tingling, I was guessing awhile.
Somehow, I needed to get out of the woods and find help. Where was Crow? I knew he’d been texted from my phone, but he hadn’t found me. Surely he’d come looking out here? Right?
I hadn’t even heard any motorcycles, but maybe he came while I was sleeping. It wasn’t worth the energy to think about. I was the one here, and I was the who needed to get myself out.
My leg with the bottle in it hurt. Horribly. It made me think keeping it inside my body was a bad idea. Grabbing the knife, I cut my jeans around the wound. It was an angry red, purple, puffed out with blisters mess.
Shit. It must be infected. Again, how long was I out?
My stomach didn’t growl this time. Instead, there was a pain so sharp it knocked the breath out of me. Fuck. What was this now. Hunger pains?
If I were Katniss from The Hunger Games I’d be able to find food and water with a smile to the cameras. I chuckled to myself. “You’re a nut, Rylynn.” I must be delirious from pain and infection. Yes, I had absolutely lost my fucking mind.
Looking to the leaves, there was a small drop of wetness on them. “Beggars can’t be choosers, Rylynn.” It hurt like hell, but I moved enough to get to the leaves. Lifting it carefully, the water droplet rolled off it to the ground.
My throat burned wanting that drop so damn badly. Hell, needing it so I could get stronger.
This time I opened my mouth below the leaf before I touched it. The drop fell inside, and I thought I’d feel relief.
Instead, the desert my mouth had become actually hurt with that drop.
I was dehydrated. Fuck. Taking all the droplets I could get from the leaves, I laid back against the tree.
There was no way to figure out how long I’d been here. Judging from my throat and stomach, a couple of days.
It was time to fight the pain and figure out how to get out of this nightmare.
20
Crow
Staring. That was all I’d been doing since my brothers made me come back from the warehouse. Two days since she’d been lost. Two days where each second ticked by draining the life out of me.
Her smell was everywhere in this house. Her purse on the counter along with her keys.
A coffee cup with her lip print on it.
This place where I wanted us to build a life, a family. It had memories in it. Good. Then my father’s death and now this.
I hadn’t left for a day and a half, staying next to the building hoping she would walk right out. No one had heard anything from her only telling me she really was in that fire. She would’ve come home by now.
The firefighters said it would take time until the smoldering went down before they could sift through the rubble.
Sift through.
Like they were on some fucking treasure hunt instead of looking for the woman I loved.
A knock came to the door. “In,” I said. It wasn’t loud, but whoever was there came in.
“Hey,” Wrong Way greeted, holding a laptop.
There was no happiness, and my mouth stayed shut. “Look,” he said, sitting next to me at the table and opening the machine.
“Is this really something I need to see?” There was nothing I gave a shit about except Rylynn. Thank Christ Goldi had Van and Sophia had Greer. Loved my kids, but I didn’t know if I would be the best father right now.
“Yeah. It is.”
He pulled up the screen, my eyes widening. He pointed, an image of Rylynn coming up. “Look. She got out of the fire.”
It was a flash of tape. Rylynn with her back to the door, gun up. The assholes we found at the scene behind her, their guns up and ready to shoot my woman. Her profile was set in stone as she fired off the gun then jumped off to the side as the entire place exploded.
I jumped up from the chair, it crashing to the floor. “She’s there somewhere.” I’d felt her there while I sat waiting for the flames to disappear. She was all around me. That was why I’d thought she was in the fire. Fuck!
Grabbing my cut, I grabbed my phone. “Call everyone and get them to comb every fucking inch as far out as possible. She’s out there.”
Dialing, it was answered on the second ring. “Yeah.”
“She got out of the building. Saw it myself. She’s out there somewhere. Meet me now.”
“Fuck!” Rhys called out then disconnected.
She was there, and I was going to fucking find her. I’m gonna find you, Pixie. Swear it.
21
Rylynn
Somehow, I got myself to stand. It took me so many tries and a nap. How long that nap was, I had no idea, and there were a few of them in between. Getting to my feet though, took everything. So much so, I swore I’d fallen asleep standing against the tree. Even just for a moment. A snooze then back to it.
You can do this. You have to do this. Shake off all the pain and move, woman!
The first step was the hardest, my foot crunching on the fallen leaves. The second step was worse because I had to drag the leg with the bottle in it. Each movement of that leg was complete misery. Agony.
Push it!
Noises.
I heard them.
Faint, but they were there.
Voices calling my name. Please don’t let this be a hallucination. Please make them be real.
“H…” My voice was croaky, my throat burning from the lack of water. I tried clearing my throat. “Here!” It was supposed to come out like a yell, but it wasn’t. More like a whisper. I had no voice. Shit.
Trying again and again all the while trying to walk and stay upright, my voice got a little louder but it was raspy. The ones calling mine got closer.
“Rylynn!”
“Here.” Fuck. That was weak. “Here!” I sounded like a frog who ate sandpaper.
“Rylynn!”
“Here!”
My name kept getting closer and closer. I knew that voice. I loved that voice. Please, God, let that voice be real.
One more step, my cries muffled and there he was. My beautiful, strong, amazing man. “Jesus fuck!” he bellowed, coming up and wrapping himself around me.
I loved it. Loved him. But I hurt. “Please,” I croaked out as he pulled back and looked at me. Pointing down to my leg, “Hurt.”
“Fuck me.” Somehow, he picked me up all the while yelling, “Found her! Call 9-1-1!”
We came out of the clearing, and all hell broke loose. Rebellion and Sumner all came running up, including my mom and the other ol’ ladies from Sumner. When did they get here? While I was happy to see them, I needed to get to the doctor. Now.
I was safe now. Every bit of fight inside of me wound up tight, but it was no match for the pain and dehydration because I passed out in Crow’s arms.
22
Crow
She’s here.
She’s alive.
She’s here.
She’s alive.
The chant wasn’t sinking in as the adrenaline pumped through my veins.
Holding her hand in the ambulance, the EMTs kept grabbing it to put in a line or do this and that. Then I’d touch her hair or shoulder. I didn’t give a shit as long as I was touching her, seeing her, feeling her. Knowing that she was real and not burned inside that damn building.
Rylynn was very dehydrated, the EMTs saying it was from lack of water, of course, and her injuries. She unfortunately had a few. There was a wound on her arm covered by a leaf. Then there was a damn glass bottle inside of her fucking leg. The EMTs didn’t touch it. They checked it, but left the object alone, saying it would be best for the ER doctors to remove it.
The ride felt like years but was short. We pulled up, stopped, and the EMTs jumped out of the back and pulled Rylynn out as she was strapped onto a gurney. Motorcycles were all behind the ambulance making their own parking spaces. I hopped down and kept Rylynn in my sights, my fingers itching to touch her again.
Jogging to Rylynn, I grabbed her hand giving it a squeeze. She didn’t squeeze back. Through the ER doors, a painfully thin woman with her palm up stood there warding me off. I could break the woman in two, and I wasn’t in the mood to be fucked with.
“Ah!” she said loudly, getting my attention when I started barreling around her. “If I have to sedate you myself I will, and I know where we keep the good stuff. No one goes back there.” The woman pointed to the silver doors that were swinging shut, taking Rylynn further and further away from me. “We need information. That’s what you’re gonna do right now.”
She had years of practice dealing with people in a crisis, that much was obvious. Her head moved around me, and I could feel my brothers and their women at my back.
“As for all of you, take a seat in the waiting room. Do not come back here!” She barked out the last which was pretty fucking bold for the woman. “Come!” she ordered me, and as much as I didn’t want to, I did knowing the doctors were what was best for Rylynn. The urge to run to her though, was a hard one to squelch. There was also the feeling that the nurse would turn into Annie from Misery and tie me to a fucking bed.
The woman led me to a desk where I had to answer a shit load of questions that I didn’t give two shits about. When I asked her if I could see Ry, she gave me a look. One that said, I know you’re a big, bad biker, but I’ll take you on look.
With her being a fucking psycho and threatening to sedate me, I wasn’t taking the chance of that or getting thrown out by security.
“I hate this fuckin’ place,” I ground out, entering the waiting room where Rebellion and Sumner Ravage were gathered up. It was great having my family here, but the smells and sounds of this place sucked. I’d never get used to bleach and pine. Never get used to all the fucking white everywhere. Never get used to the fucking waiting to make sure someone I cared about was okay.
“Anything?” Rhys said, his wife Tanner holding his hand as they approached. Tanner had tear tracks running down her face as she gripped Rhys’ forearm with her other hand, holding on for dear life.
I shook my head. “Nothing new. The cut with the bottle is infected, saw it in the ambulance. It looked very, very angry. Know she’s dehydrated from both the injuries and lack of water. When they lifted her shirt to check her out, there were bruises everywhere.” It was something, but it was nothing at the same time.
“Did she tell you anything that happened?” Rhys asked, and I wished there was a different answer.
My head shook. “No. She didn’t wake up, but it was almost like she knew I was there so she was able to give up the fight and let someone else carry the load.” I didn’t intend to say so damn much, but it just came pouring out. Fuck, I wanted to hold her.
Rhys surprised the fuck out of me by gripping the back of my neck and pulling me close, nose to nose. His eyes burned with something. Then he said, “You did good, boy. Proud of you.”
Emotions hit me from everywhere all circling around like a cyclone. The only thing I could do was nod. What he just gave me was enormous. So fucking huge. He was not a man to express things, but fuck when he did, the punch was harder than the physical one.
My cell rang breaking the moment, and I took a step back pulling out my phone. There was so much going on, who the hell was trying to get a hold of me?
The display said Greer Calling.
“My son,” I told Rhys, taking another step back as he nodded to me. “Yeah.”
“Hey, Dad. Have you seen Mom?”
“No. Look, son. I don’t have time right now. Rylynn is in the emergency room.”
He was quiet and I said, “Greer?”
“Is she okay?” he asked, and it sounded as though each of those words were painful.
“We don’t know yet.” As much as I hated to say it, it was there. She wasn’t awake.
He sighed. “Sorry.”
“I’ve gotta go.”
“Okay, if you hear from Mom can you tell her to call me? She’s not picking up her phone, and Lucia wants to go to her dad’s.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah and just take her there. Sure your mom wouldn’t care.”
“Thanks.” He disconnected.
Bear came
up to me. “Van’s askin’ questions, and Goldi’s answerin’ ‘em like she does. You want her to know anything?”
“No.” It was automatic and fierce. “Let’s see what we’re dealin’ with here.”
His hand came to my shoulder giving it a squeeze. It was reassuring, but I was still bone scared that something was going to take Rylynn away from me. Again.
23
Rhys
My baby girl was back there with a fucking bottle sticking out of her leg. Controlling myself was difficult. Part of me wanted so badly to rip everything up in this damn waiting room and throw it out the window. It wouldn’t help, but at least I’d be doing something instead of standing here waiting to hear about my girl.
When she was born, I swore to myself I’d do everything within my power to keep her safe. She had strict rules growing up, and we kept her close to us all the time. My kids and Tanner were my world. Nothing touched them. I’d made sure of that for so many years. Now this.
Being a man was one thing. Being a father was another.
There was something about having baby girls that changed a man. It was as if the fierce tiger inside grew three times its size ready to pounce on anything that even touched what was yours the wrong way.
That was what I wanted to do right now. Find out who the fuck did this and tear them limb from limb.
Those two days we lost her would never leave me. It was a fear that I’d never experienced before. It was almost paralyzing, making my feet stick to the ground or else I’d fly. No father should ever feel that.
Pain wasn’t the word. Agony. Praying that you’d switch places with her in order for her to come back. Making as many bargains with whoever was upstairs for her to come back to us. I’d run through them all. Do anything for my baby girl to be safe.