Chapter Twenty-Two
Mitchell
“We can’t have this many people in here,” a nurse says from the door.
King is sitting at home with our women and children, but everyone else is here, waiting to hear from Ollie.
“Do you know who I am?” I ask the woman.
“I do not,” she says snidely. “And it doesn’t matter. The rules are no more than two visitors at a time. There are eight of you in here.”
“My name is Ryan Mitchell,” I tell her. “Go and give that name to your boss. Then, tell him that if we’re bothered again in the next hour, his biggest contributor will take his money elsewhere.”
I won’t actually do that. The hospital needs those funds if they plan to continue treating patients that don’t have healthcare.
But they don’t need to know that.
The nurse’s face pales for a moment before her mouth tightens into a thin line. “I’ll be right back,” she says stiffly, turning on her heel and walking away with hurried steps.
Venom lets out a low whistle. “Mitchell throwing his weight around. Never thought I’d see the day.”
“I’m not in the mood, Venom,” I reply, running a hand through my hair. “If she doesn’t come back with a better attitude, I might lose it.”
“She’ll come back with her tail between her legs,” Reynolds says, leaning casually against the wall. “Trust me, hospitals love their money more than their rules.”
Steel smirks, but his eyes remain on the door, tension clear in his stance. “Let’s hope she doesn’t push it. I’m not sure this room could handle a Mitchell meltdown.”
“And we don’t have another fight scheduled until next weekend,” Ghost adds.
Before anyone can respond, the door opens again, and the nurse steps back inside. This time, her expression is strained but polite. “Mr. Mitchell, I’ve spoken with my supervisor. We’ll make an exception for now, but I must ask that you keep things quiet and orderly.”
“Thank you,” I say, keeping my tone civil. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
She nods curtly and leaves the room without another word. As the door clicks shut, Venom chuckles under his breath. “And that, my friends, is how you scare the hell out of someone with just a name.”
“It’s not about scaring anyone,” I say, my voice low. “It’s about making sure Ollie feels safe and secure while he tells us what’s going on.”
We all glance at the boy as he sits on Evie’s other side.
“Is she going to be okay?” he asks, looking down at my woman.
“They’re waking her up tomorrow,” I tell him. “She just needed to rest while her body did most of the healing.”
“She was so nice to me while we were under there,” he says, a little wobble in his voice. “I know she was scared, but she was trying to be brave for me. She helped me even though I’m the man, and I should have been the one helping her.”
“None of that,” I tell him. “You were there for her just as much as she was there for you. Do you honestly think she would have held on as long as she did if it weren’t for you? You don’t have to be brave to be a hero, sweetheart.”
Ollie’s lip trembles as he nods, his small hand gripping Evie’s. He moves his shoulder to adjust his casted arm as he wipes his fallen tears. Blaze steps forward, crouching to meet Ollie’s eye level. His usual smirk is gone, replaced by a rare look of sincerity.
“Little one, don’t you dare think for a second you didn’t do enough. You were everything she needed. Even if it was to keep you from being more scared than you were. If she didn’t have you to fight for down there, she might have given in.”
Ollie sniffs, swiping at his nose with the back of his hand. “But she’s still not awake. What if she doesn’t wake up?”
“She will,” I tell him, my voice firm, even though I feel the weight of those words settle on my chest. “She’s not in the type of coma where we have to wait for her to wake up. The doctors gave her medicine to make her sleep. When she wakes up tomorrow, she’s going to remember that she wasn’t alone down there. She’ll know you were with her every step of the way.”
Steel clears his throat, his voice unusually soft. “You’re part of this family now, boy. That means you don’t carry this weight alone. We’re all here for you just as much as we are her.”
Ollie blinks, his face crumpling for a moment before he, once again, wipes his eyes. “I just want her to wake up.”
“And she will,” I promise him again. “And when she does, she’s going to want to see that brave boy who stayed strong for her.”
Ollie’s shoulders sag as he leans back against the chair, the exhaustion finally catching up with him. “I’m tired,” he mumbles, his voice barely audible.
“You can’t sleep yet, sweetheart,” Blaze says. “First, we need you to tell us why you came to the clubhouse with a face full of bruises.”
Sighing, Ollie lowers his head as he speaks.
“I’ve been seeing this guy... a Daddy,” he says quietly. “He said he wanted a Baby. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to explain what that means.”
“No need, sweetheart,” Ghost says. “We all know what being a Baby means. Please, continue.”
“Okay,” he says. “Anyway, we’ve been seeing each other for about a month now. He says he wanted me to be a Baby, but every time I tried, I did something that made him mad.”
“Like what?” Steel asks, his fist nearly white with how hard he’s clinching them.
“Uhm. Well. He doesn’t like it when I cry,” he whispers. “Or when I want a bottle. And he especially doesn’t like it when I don’t talk. The day that I came to the clubhouse was the first time he hit me.”
Ollie adjusts himself so that he’s facing everyone, but he still looks down at his lap.
“He asked me what I wanted for dinner,” he continues. “I was fully regressed, so I didn’t answer. I never do. When I’m regressed, it’s like I forget how to use my voice. My mind was screaming that I only wanted a bottle. But when I didn’t voice the answer, he got really angry and started to yell. I could feel myself leaving Baby headspace. I just didn’t feel safe enough to be there.”
“Drink this,” Blaze says, handing him a small cup of water.
We wait for Ollie to take a drink.
“Thanks,” he whispers.
“What happened next?” Reynolds asks.
“Well, Baby Ollie was tucked back away, and I stood up and looked up at him. I smiled, hoping it would help his anger go away. Then I said that I would eat whatever he wanted. That’s when he lost it. He was so angry that I was no longer in Baby headspace. He said I wasn’t allowed to leave it without his permission. Then he said since I was a man that I could be treated like one. He drew his fist back and punched me really hard.”
The bruises on his face are still dark and nasty against his pale skin.
“He left right after and I knew that I had to leave before he came back,” he says. “I was coming to ask Knox if I could stay with him and Taylor for a few days.”
“His name,” Steel says quietly, the rage clear in his eyes even if his voice didn’t give any away.
“Steve Harvey,” Ollie whispers. “He’s my boss.”
“Isn’t Steve Harvey the owner of Starlight Inn?” I ask.
“I’m his secretary,” Ollie says.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Ghost says. “Reynolds, I want you to take Ollie to King’s place with the rest of the family. You’re to stay there, Ollie, until it’s safe to leave. It shouldn’t be but another day.”
“Then, you’ll be coming home with me and Knox,” Taylor says. “I’m so sorry, honey. I should have had you come stay with us a long time ago.”
“I didn’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re never a bother.”
“Go with Reynolds,” Blaze says softly, though his tense body is anything but soft. “You’ll be safe at King’s. And I’ll bet he has all sorts of fun things to do in his bunker. Be a good boy, alright?”
“What are you going to do?” he asks.
“You don’t need to worry about that, boy,” Steel tells him. “As of right now, you just focus on getting better. We’ll see you later.”
Nodding, he follows Reynolds out of the room.
“Can Knox get us this fuckers address?” Blaze answers.
“He’s already on it,” Taylor answers, looking down at his phone. “Got it. King says that he moved everyone back to the house and out of his torture hole if we want to use it to play.”
“Perfect,” Steel says. “Let’s go hunting, brothers.”
Blaze and Taylor follow him from the room.
“I’m going to go grab something to eat,” Ghost says. “I’ll bring you back something.”
“No, thanks,” I mutter, grabbing Evie’s hand in my own. “I’m not hungry.”
“Don’t give a fuck,” he says. “You’re eating. Be back in twenty.”
Bossy fucker.