“Boomer’s dead,” Shade said. “As well as the men who were helping him. Destroyer is coming to get Boomer’s body.”
I felt my heart stop a moment. “The President of the Mayhem Riders? Why is he coming?”
“Boomer was his nephew.”
I felt the world tilt and I fell out of the chair. Shade was quick to help me up, concern in his gaze as he looked down at me.
“Darby, what’s wrong?”
“Will he want vengeance? For your club killing his nephew?” I glanced at Renegade. “Will he try to hurt Renegade?”
“No. He was going to deal with Boomer himself, but he understood when we explained what happened. The club is safe, Darby. So is your family, including Renegade.”
I nodded and sat down again.
“I’ll get her something to eat,” Nikki said.
“I’ll come with you.” Shade squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll be back.”
I didn’t acknowledge them as they left the room. A few minutes later, I wished they’d stayed. The room spiraled into chaos as sirens went off and I nearly lost Renegade yet again. The doctors wheeled him out of the room for more testing once he had a heartbeat again. I only wanted the nightmare to be over. I didn’t realize just how long it would drag on.
Chapter Eleven
Darby
Three Months Later
I stared at Dr. Chansy, thinking I must have misheard him. “Do what?”
“You’re pregnant, Darby. About three months I’d say.” He paused. “The medication the neurologist prescribed for your seizures isn’t safe to take right now. You’ll need to make another appointment with him, but for now, I need you to stop taking that medication.”
I placed a hand over my belly. I’d been losing weight and felt sick all the time, unable to hold anything down. I’d thought it was stress at first, then wondered if I’d picked up a bug at the hospital, so I came to see the doctor, not wanting to take a chance on giving something to Renegade.
“You need to take better care of yourself. I know you’re worried about Renegade, but you have two kids now who need you.” He looked over my file. “If the seizures come back, there are alternatives while you’re pregnant, but I’m hoping the neurologist will agree to keep you unmedicated during the pregnancy. It would be better for the baby.”
Renegade had been placed in a coma once it was discovered that he’d had swelling on his brain. The doctors had asked those present during the altercation exactly what had happened, making them walk through it step by step. After Renegade was shot, he’d fallen and hit his head on the floor of the warehouse. It had caused brain trauma that had gone unnoticed since they’d been more focused on the hole in his body.
The swelling had receded and the doctors had tried to wake him, but it hadn’t worked. He still slept, in a coma, no matter what anyone tried. He was breathing on his own and the doctors didn’t have a clue why he wouldn’t wake up. It was freaking me out and stressing me more than just a little. Poor Fawn didn’t understand. She tried so hard to wake him up, and it scared her when he wouldn’t.
I still went to the hospital every day, but the club refused to let me stay there all the time. The police had been something of a pain that first week, until Nikki talked to them. Whatever she said, it must have been enough to make them look elsewhere and clear Renegade of any wrongdoing. Fawn and I had done our best to turn Renegade’s house into a home, hoping he’d get to see it soon. Cinder had given me money to buy whatever we needed or wanted, and he arranged for groceries to be delivered each week. The men of the Devil’s Boneyard had been beyond kind to us, and I’d gotten to know each of them a little over the last few months.
“Darby, I don’t know why Renegade won’t wake up, but when he does, he’ll be upset if you haven’t taken care of yourself. You’ve lost a considerable amount of weight. It’s not good for you or the baby you carry.”
“I know. I’ll do better about eating. It’s just hard to keep stuff down.” And I’d definitely call the neurologist who had managed to squeeze me in when he’d had a cancellation two months ago.
He nodded. “Morning sickness. Try some gingersnaps or drink a little ginger ale. It might settle your stomach. Not in large quantities, though. That would only make you feel worse. I’ll call in a prescription for prenatal vitamins.”
I thanked him and went out to the waiting room. Dixon had come with me and guided me out to the truck. Renegade’s truck. Someone had brought it to the house after he’d been shot. It didn’t feel right riding around in it without him, but I knew Dixon had been right when he’d said that Renegade would be pissed if I rode on the back of anyone else’s bike. And now that I knew I was pregnant, I had a feeling I’d be riding in the truck until the baby was born and a few months old.
“Can you take me to the hospital?” I asked. “I have some news I need to share with Renegade.”
“Sure.” Dixon cast me a worried glance, but drove straight to the hospital. I was grateful he didn’t push for answers. What I needed to say was between me and the man I loved. It wasn’t right to tell anyone before him, even if he couldn’t hear me. The doctor insisted he could, but wouldn’t he have woken if he knew I was there pleading with him to open his eyes?
When we arrived, I went up to Renegade’s room and shut the door.
He looked the same as he always did. I’d learned to trim his beard and kept it neat so he wouldn’t look like a wild man when he woke up. His hair was growing out, but I couldn’t do much about that. I reached out for his hand, running my fingers over the back of his, feeling the crisp hair tickle my fingertips.
His hand twitched and the breath in my lungs froze. He’d not done that since the time he’d woken before the coma. My gaze shot to his face, but he seemed to still be asleep. I stroked his hand again and gasped as I saw the bedding start to tent. I glanced around, making sure we were alone, and lifted the covers and his gown. His cock was fully erect, something that hadn’t happened since he’d been shot. I knew men didn’t always think with the head on their shoulders, but it had to be a good sign, didn’t it? If he was responding to my touch in that way, then he had to wake up soon.
“Stop staring at it and give it a lick,” said a voice raspy from lack of use.
I dropped the bedding and looked at his face again. His eyes were open and he had a slight smirk on his face.
“Slater!” I wanted to fling myself into his arms, but I didn’t want to hurt him. His wound had healed completely, but being in a hospital bed for three months had weakened him.
“No kiss for your man?” he asked.
I paused. “Did you seriously just ask me to lick your cock? You’ve been in a coma for three damn months and those are the first words I hear from you?”
He chuckled and reached out to take my hand. “Missed you.”
“I’ve been here every day.” I drank him in, so thankful he was talking to me. “I need to let them know you’re awake.”
“In a minute. First I need your lips on mine.”
I leaned down and kissed him softly. “I love you, Slater. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Love you too, angel. I’m sorry it took me so long to come back to you. Three months? Is that what you said?”
I nodded.
“Nik and Bane?” he asked.
“Nikki is fine. She’s healed, physically. Emotionally…” I bit my lip. “She and Bane were starting a relationship. He didn’t make it. I think Shade feels guilty for his part in things, and Ashes blames himself since Karley is the one who turned traitor. He checks on Nikki all the time, makes sure she eats.”
He frowned. “Karley turned on us?”
“It seems she had a drug problem no one knew about. Ashes was able to drag it out of her. She’d heard the party would have drugs, so she approached Boomer. In exchange for supplying her with enough drugs to last her a few weeks, she told him the plan to infiltrate the party and take him down. Even gave him the names of the men who would be there.”
Dixon had told me about it one of the times he’d come to check on me. I’d wondered what happened to the woman, but I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know. I had no doubt the club had punished her harshly, regardless of her being related to a patched member. What she’d done had gotten a man killed, and had seriously injured Nikki. I couldn’t even imagine doing something like that, turning my back on people who had loved and supported me.
I reached over and pressed the call button.
“May I help you?” asked the nurse on the other end.
“He’s awake.”
In less than a minute, several nurses had filed into the room and the doctor shortly followed. They checked his vitals, looked at the machines, and asked him a million questions. Through it all, he held my hand, refusing to let go. The doctor wanted to keep him a few more days for observation, but just knowing he was awake would be enough to give me peace of mind.
“I need to call Cinder,” I said.
“Not yet. I just want some time with you.”
I leaned down and kissed him again. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Renegade caressed my cheek. The tender way he looked at me made me feel warm all over. I’d worried I’d never see his brown eyes ever again. He pulled me down for another kiss, then another. Soon he was tugging my lower lip with his teeth and I opened, letting him kiss me the way he wanted. As much as I’d missed him, I was thankful I’d managed to help keep his teeth clean the last few months. Not that even three-month-long morning breath would have kept me from kissing him.
“I’m pregnant,” I said. “Three months according to Dr. Chansy.”
He smiled and tightened his hold on my hand. “So Fawn is getting a little brother or sister. Does she know?”
“No. I came to tell you first. I just left Dr. Chansy’s office. I’d been feeling bad for a while now and I worried I’d get you sick during one of my visits to the hospital. It didn’t seem right to tell anyone before you knew.”
“Where’s Fawn?” he asked.
“At home. Dixon drove me to the doctor and then here so Charming offered to stay with her. Dixon’s down the hall in the waiting room. He’s good about giving us space when I come visit every day.”
Renegade scooted over in the bed and patted the mattress. I slipped off my shoes and crawled onto the bed next to him, careful not to jostle him too much. His arms curled around me and for the first time since he’d been shot, a feeling of peace filled me. We lay there long enough Dixon came to investigate. His eyes went wide when he saw Renegade was awake.
“You were just going to keep this to yourself?” he asked me.
“I wanted some alone time with my woman,” Renegade said.
Dixon pulled out his phone and I heard him telling someone that the club needed to come to the hospital. He hung up, not giving them any details, and I had a feeling Cinder would chew his ass out later for worrying everyone. For all they knew, Renegade had died. It was a dick move, but Dixon was a big boy and could handle the fallout.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Fawn got a chance to hug her daddy and talk to him. Her voice had grown stronger over the last few months, and while she still didn’t talk as much as other kids, I was just thankful to hear her voice. The club was thrilled to have Renegade back, and gave him hell about taking so long to wake up. Eventually, he fell asleep, his arm still curled around me. He’d refused to let me leave the bed unless it was to use the restroom, then go right back to him.
Nikki promised to stay at the house with Fawn until Renegade was released from the hospital, and Dixon would return with an overnight bag for me. So I stayed in bed with Renegade, enjoying the fact he was holding me, something I’d thought I’d never feel again. The rest of the day and night passed with us dozing here and there, and me telling him everything he’d missed when he was in a coma.
It took two days for the doctor to release Renegade from the hospital, but he didn’t get to go home. He’d grown so weak from lying in the bed for three months that he had to go to physical therapy. Even though the nurses had made sure his muscles didn’t atrophy, he was too weak to walk on his own. The facility seemed nice, and he had a private room, but it had a very cold feel to it. There were no cheerful colors. Everything was utilitarian, the walls a stark white, and the furniture a plain brown. I hated it on sight and I knew he did too.
“I have to be with Fawn as much as possible,” I told him, “but I’ll come sit with you every day.”
He shook his head. “Stay home with our daughter. I’m going to bust my ass to walk again, and I don’t want you seeing me like this.”
“But, Slater…”
He kissed me to shut me up. “Three weeks. In three weeks I’m coming home and I’m going to fuck you so hard, give you so many orgasms you’ll be blissed out for days.”
“Shh!” I glanced around, hoping no one had heard him.
He winked at me, then ordered me to leave. I hated walking out, but if that’s what he wanted, I’d do it. He did permit Dixon to come visit, and I sent pictures Fawn drew and other things that might make his stay more comfortable. When Renegade wasn’t looking, Dixon would take a few pictures and send them to me. I’d gotten a cell phone in the last month, courtesy of Cinder and Scratch. They’d insisted with all my trips to the hospital. I’d held out as long as I could, not wanting anyone to spend money on me. In the end, I’d seen the wisdom in it, even if I couldn’t have the phone on in the ICU area of the hospital.
Over the next few days, he sent pictures of Renegade drenched in sweat as he trained himself to walk again, a look of anger and determination on his handsome face. As the weeks passed, I received more pictures, my sexy biker looking more and more like the man he’d been before the incident. According to Dixon, he’d been lifting weights when he wasn’t working with his physical therapist. My man was on a mission to come home to us, and it seemed nothing would stand in his way.
While Renegade worked on getting better, Fawn and I made a few plans of our own. Since her daddy had been in the hospital, in a coma, for our first Christmas together, we decided to have Christmas when he came home. Dixon had bought us a tree and a few boxes of ornaments. I’d never taken it down, not having the time or energy, and now I was thankful it was still up. We shopped and bought Renegade a few things, wrapped them and placed them under the tree.
I hadn’t been in much of a mood to celebrate on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, but Nikki and the club had ensured Fawn had a good time. Each and every patched member and Prospect had bought her a gift, and Meg had somehow talked Cinder into dressing like Santa at the club’s Christmas party, which Fawn had loved. She’d never had a chance to sit on Santa’s lap before, and even though she knew it was Cinder, it had still been a thrill for her.
I hated that Renegade had missed all of it, but I knew people had taken pictures. In fact, there was a stack of prints in a kitchen drawer. Nikki had gotten a bunch together and placed them there, knowing I would eventually want to see them. As part of the preparation for Renegade coming home, I bought a few frames and set out pictures of Fawn, and one of the two of us together. Now that he would be here with us, we could take a family picture, assuming I could convince him to do it. Dixon had to sneak the pictures he took because Renegade threatened to geld him each time he pulled up the camera app on his phone.
“Not much longer,” I murmured as I looked around the house. Soon, our little family would be whole again.
Epilogue
Renegade
Two weeks and five days of physical therapy. That’s how long it had taken for me to walk on my own without assistance from even so much as a cane, and to gain back some of my muscle. The first time I’d looked in the mirror after waking up, I’d known that I didn’t want Darby to remember me like that. I’d worked hard, pushed through the pain, and now I’d get to see my family. Kiss my woman, hug my daughter. Fuck. It would be great to be home again.
Dixon was in the truck at the curb
, having offered to pick me up. I dumped my duffle into the back seat and climbed in. I’d no sooner buckled than he pulled away and started down the highway toward the compound. He’d mentioned something about a club party, but I’d had him ask the guys to hold off. I wanted a few days with Darby and Fawn, just the three of us, before I was swarmed with everyone else. I’d even asked Nikki to give me a bit of space for at least the first forty-eight hours I was home. She’d understood, but I’d heard the disappointment in her voice.
When we pulled into the driveway, I bailed out of the truck, not even stopping to tell Dixon bye, and I rushed into the house. I froze in the living room doorway when I saw a Christmas tree lit up and standing in the corner. It had hit me hard when I’d realized I’d missed their first Christmas here. I didn’t know if Darby and Fawn had presents that morning or not. It was something I’d have to fix, and quickly. They deserved the best, and I intended to give it to them.
“Daddy!” Fawn saw me and flew across the room toward me, tackling my legs and holding on tight.
Tears burned my throat, not that I’d ever admit it. I scooped up Fawn, holding her close and breathing in her sweet scent.
“Hey, baby girl. I missed you.”
“Missed you too,” she said.
“Where’s your momma?”
“Room.”
I took that to mean the bedroom and set Fawn down. I pointed to the TV and told her to finish her movie while I went to check on Darby. Walking down the hall, there was a tightening in my gut. What would I find when I entered the bedroom? Did she even still sleep in there? I’d been gone so long, and so much had changed. We’d barely been together when I’d been shot. What if she hadn’t felt comfortable remaining in our room while I was in the hospital? I’d noticed the difference in the house, and I loved that she’d made it into a home. The fact she’d made the place her own, and the way she’d stuck by my side, made a warmth spread through me. I only wished I’d been here to help.
Darby was humming in the bathroom, so I quietly closed the door and toed off my boots. Padding across the floor as silently as I could, I leaned around the bathroom door to watch her. She was in the process of straightening her hair, leaving it in a long, silky curtain down her back. Her eyes were smoky from some sort of makeup, and she looked so damn good. She leaned in closer to the mirror and I couldn’t resist another moment.
Renegade (Devil’s Boneyard MC 6) Page 12