Dice (Blackwings MC: Croftridge #3)

Chapter 5 – Daphne

5

DAPHNE

W hen I woke from my nap, it took me a few moments to remember where I was and why. Everything hurt, and I couldn’t decide if it would be better to get up and take some pain medicine or stay perfectly still and hope it would pass. After a few minutes, I knew I needed to get up, but I was struggling to make myself do it.

Diablo jumped off the bed and went over to the door where he used his body to repeatedly bump against it. “Diablo,” I whispered harshly. “Stop that.” But my normally well-behaved dog didn’t obey me and continued what he was doing.

Moments later, someone knocked on the door. “Daphne, it’s Dice. Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” I croaked and cleared my throat. “You can come in.”

He opened the door and looked down at Diablo before entering the room. “Does he need to go outside?”

“Actually, he probably does.” I pushed myself up to a sitting position and grimaced in pain. “But that’s not why he was pushing against the door. Can you hand me my pain medicine?”

Dice picked up the bottle from the dresser across the room and brought it to me. “He was trying to get someone’s attention because you’re in pain,” he said knowingly. “You should have text me.”

“I would have if I couldn’t get up and get it myself. I was still working on that, but Diablo was being impatient.”

“Where’s his leash? I’ll take him out for you.”

“It’s in the blue bag, but you don’t need it. He won’t go far.”

“Okay, we’ll be right back,” he said and opened the door. “Come on, Diablo, let’s go.”

Diablo dutifully followed Dice out of the room. I swallowed my pain pill and forced myself to get up and use the bathroom. When I was finished, I washed my hands and glanced in the mirror, painfully gasping when I saw my face. The minor redness and inflammation from earlier had darkened with significant swelling while I was sleeping. In short, it looked awful.

Sighing, I got back into bed and tried to make myself comfortable. At least I didn’t have to go to work for a few days. Even if I felt like it, there was no way I could meet new clients looking like I’d gone a few rounds with a professional fighter.

Dice and Diablo returned a few minutes later. “You were right. He did his business and came right back to me. I didn’t even have to call him.”

“He’s a good boy,” I said proudly.

“He really is,” Dice agreed. “Do you need me to get you anything?”

“Could you get me a bag of ice? I just caught a glimpse of my face, and this is not okay.”

“Sure,” he said and returned with a bag of frozen peas.

“Thank you.” I put the bag of peas on my face and sighed. “That actually feels good.”

“You should probably ice it for fifteen to twenty minutes every hour while you’re awake,” he suggested.

“With my dad being who he is, I know all about icing wounds. I can’t believe I forgot.”

“It’s understandable, given the circumstances.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Well, I’ll let you get some rest.”

I’m not sure why, but I didn’t want him to leave. “You don’t have to go,” I blurted. “Unless you want to.”

He smiled softly and walked over to sit in the chair in the corner of the room. “I can stay for a bit.”

“Was there a lot of damage at Irene’s house?”

“It wasn’t too bad. The front door needed to be rehung, and the back door needed to be replaced. Other than that, I believe the rest of it was cosmetic.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried about it,” I admitted.

“I can’t speak for your other clients, but I can assure you that Irene was more concerned about you than her house.”

“She’s been great to work with. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her.”

“You didn’t know her before?”

“Before what?”

“Before you started working with her.”

“No,” I said slowly. “Why would I?”

“Because your dad and Buck are regular customers of hers. Well, they were when her diner was in Cedar Valley.”

“Oh. I knew they went to a diner several times a week, but I didn’t realize it was Irene’s place. I never went with them, so I had no idea. It’s a small world.”

“You’re right about that.”

“We’ve only talked about me. Tell me something about you,” I said.

“What do you want to know?”

“Is Dice your real name?”

“Dice is my road name. My legal name is Grady. Grady Fox.”

“Can I ask how you got your road name?”

He chuckled. “Years ago, when I was a prospect, I was helping Ember get the food ready for a cookout. She asked me to chop the onions for the hot dogs. Normally, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but after chopping enough onions for thirty to forty hot dogs, I looked like I’d been crying for days. My eyes were red and swollen for hours. I spent the rest of the day assuring everyone I was okay, but they didn’t believe me. It got to the point where Phoenix had to make an announcement. And I’ve been Dice ever since.”

I laughed, and once again groaned in pain. “Oh, that’s funny, and I really want to laugh more.”

“Did they X-ray your ribs at the hospital?”

“Yeah, they did. It’s just bruising, which they said could hurt just as bad, if not worse, than a break.” I pulled up my shirt to show him. “But it will heal faster than broken ribs, so there’s that.”

“Holy shit, Daphne!” he said and got up to take a closer look. “That looks …”

“Awful,” I finished for him. “I’ve always bruised easily, so it’s definitely going to get worse.”

“Is it like that on both sides?”

“I think so,” I said and carefully turned on my side. “It feels like it is.”

“Fucking hell, woman. I’m going to get you another ice pack.”

“Thank you.”

I waited until he came back to reposition myself. I smiled when he handed me another bag of frozen peas. “Do you guys have an affinity for peas? I’ve never known anyone to have more than one bag on hand.”

He laughed. “We don’t actually eat them. We always keep a couple of bags on hand because they make the best ice packs.”

“Sounds like you guys are prone to accidents.”

“Not exactly. We have a small gym with a boxing ring. A lot of the guys, and some of the girls, like to spar. Sometimes accidents happen,” he explained.

“You guys own a gym, too?”

“No, we have a gym here at the clubhouse. The Devil Springs chapter owns a gym. They own a lot of rental houses, too. Which is something we’ve been casually talking about getting into for years. Maybe you could help us with that endeavor.”

“If you’re serious, I’d be happy to help. If you have the money to invest, it’s a great time to purchase rental properties. A lot of people are choosing to rent instead of buy, which hasn’t been exactly great for me.”

“I’ll mention that to Phoenix. I’m sure he’ll want to set up a time to talk to you.”

“If he has any free time over the next few days, I’ll be happy to talk to him while I’m here.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“It’s no trouble. Really, he’d be doing me a favor. I’m not used to having nothing to do. I’ll probably be bored out of my mind by tomorrow afternoon.”

Before he could reply, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Ember pushed the door open and stepped inside. “We’re about to get set up for movie night. Do you feel up to joining us?”

“I think so, but I might fall asleep before the end of the movie.”

“That’s fine. We can wake you when it’s over.”

“Is it okay if Diablo comes with me?”

“Of course. He’s welcome anywhere in the clubhouse. Do you need help getting from here to there?”

“I’ll help her,” Dice said.

“Great! Make yourself comfortable wherever you like. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Dice helped me out to the common room where I got situated on the same couch I was using when my dad and Buck stopped by. Once I was propped up with a pillow and covered with a blanket, Diablo curled up at the end of the couch by my feet.

Ember walked over to stand beside me. “Everyone, this is Daphne and Diablo. Daphne, this is Reese, Annabelle, Harper, Keegan, Macy, Gabby, and Evie. Irene’s on her way.”

I smiled and raised my hand to wiggle my fingers. “It’s nice to meet you all. Thanks for letting me join you.”

“We’re happy to have you, though I wish it was under different circumstances,” Annabelle said.

I glanced between her and Ember, causing them both to smile. “She’s my mom,” Ember said.

“Oh, good. I thought something was wrong with my vision for a second.”

“My daughter and my sister look like us, too, but they’re not here tonight. The younger ones don’t think it’s cool to hang out with us.”

“Hey, now,” Gabby said in mock offense.

Ember waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, stop. You’ve always fallen into both groups.” She turned her attention back to me. “Gabby is Keegan’s sister. She’s the oldest of the younger bunch and the youngest of the older group.”

“I’m several years older than the oldest of the younger ones, so I tend to gravitate to this group,” Gabby said.

The front door opened, and Irene walked in carrying a large bag in each hand. She looked around the room until her eyes landed on me. “Oh, honey,” she said and placed the bags on a table before walking over to me. “I’m so sorry. How are you feeling?”

“I’m a little sore, but I’m okay right now. I’m sorry about the damage to your house.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. From what I was told, you did what you had to do to protect yourself, and did a damn fine job of it, too.” She smiled kindly and gently patted my arm. “Are you hungry? I brought burgers and fries.”

“I could eat,” I said and repositioned myself on the sofa. “I’ve been hearing about your food for years, but I had no idea it was your food.”

Irene chuckled. “Yes, Byte told me you’re Walter’s daughter. I can’t believe none of us put that together before now.”

“Well, Dad’s not the best with details, and neither is Uncle Buck.”

Irene whirled around. “Hold on. Are they brothers?”

“Oh, no. Not biologically, but they might as well be. They’ve been best friends since before I was born.”

When she handed me a to-go box, I inhaled deeply and immediately regretted it when a pain shot through my torso. “Oh,” I groaned. “It smells delicious, but I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Are your ribs broken?” Gabby asked.

“They said they weren’t, but it sure feels like it.”

“If you’re still experiencing a lot of pain in a few days, give me a call, and we can get another X-ray to make sure they didn’t miss anything.”

“Gabby’s a nurse practitioner,” Irene explained. “She works at Patch’s office.”

“Patch is a club member and a physician,” Keegan added. “We know him as Patch, but he’s also Dr. Vaughn.”

“Oh, thank you,” I said sincerely. “I’ve never had an injury of this magnitude, so I’m not sure if the pain is normal.”

“The first few days can be rough,” Gabby said. “But things should start improving by the third or fourth day.”

“Thank you,” I said and picked up my burger. Once again, I took a bite of food and grimaced.

“What’s wrong?” Irene asked.

I pointed to my lip while I quickly chewed the bite of burger and swallowed. “I keep forgetting about my lip. Dice gave me some numbing gel to use. It’s in the room I’m staying in, on the nightstand. Would one of you mind grabbing it for me?”

“I’ll get it,” Harper said and returned moments later with the tube.

“Thank you. This stuff is amazing.”

“Gabby, aren’t you the one who gave Dice that gel?” Macy asked.

Gabby grinned. “I am. He came over for dinner the day he dropped that wrench on his face and couldn’t eat anything.”

“I’m glad you did. It’s really helped me,” I told her and proceeded to enjoy my burger and fries.

“Are we actually going to watch a movie or just spend the whole time talking like we usually do?” Reese asked.

“We’ve been trying to watch the same movie for several months now,” Annabelle said.

“I’ve already seen it,” Harper said, and shrugged. “I wanted to watch it and got tired of waiting. It was good, so I don’t mind watching it again.”

“Let’s watch the movie,” Irene said. “A few hours of our chattering will be too much for Daphne.”

With that, everyone got comfortable while Ember dimmed the lights, and a large screen descended from the ceiling.

“You guys take movie night seriously,” I said.

“My son is a professional MMA fighter,” Annabelle said. “We installed the screen so we could watch his matches at the clubhouse.”

“My dad and Uncle Buck were professional boxers. I wonder if they know each other.”

“It’s possible. He lives in California, but everyone in the fighting community seems to know each other. His name is Nathan Davis.”

“Your son is Nathan ‘Night Night’ Davis?” I almost shouted.

She smiled proudly. “Yes, he is. I take it you’ve heard of him.”

“Yes, I have. He’s one of my favorites. He’s always so polite and professional. I can’t wait to tell my dad and Uncle Buck.”

“I’ll make sure we let you know the next time he’s in town so you can meet him.”

“That sounds great.”

“All right,” Irene said and clapped her hands together. “Let’s get this show on the road. I’m an old lady with an early bedtime.”

Evie laughed. “Neither of those things is true.”

“Okay, here we go,” Ember said and started the movie.

I lasted about thirty minutes before I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, I vaguely remembered Dice carrying me to bed and tucking me in.