Tex’s Angel (Savage Legion MC #11)

Chapter 28

Tex

O ur club has the best medics in the tri-county area. Right now two of them are working on the woman I love. I’ve seen Rage save people I didn’t think could be saved. He’s the best paramedic I’ve ever seen, everybody says so. His sidekick is a newly patched brother by the name of Ghost. He’s seen more on the battlefield than most, as has Rage.

I pace from a safe distance, biting my nails like a man about to lose his fucking mind. Being a cop in Texas, I’ve seen a lot of motor vehicle accidents and homicides. I know what a body looks like when it’s been pushed to the edge of life.

I don’t know the full extent of what that fucking whack job did to her, but her hair has been hacked up and the nails, she normally keeps meticulously manicured, have been crudely cut off, probably with those scissors she somehow managed to take from him.

It takes both of them to carefully turn her over and cut her clothing open. When I see the puncture mark, I marvel that such a small thing can be so lethal. It’s going to come down to how deep the puncture is, if it hit organs, or opened an artery. I know basic first aid, but the medics are worlds more competent than I ever could ever be. I just keep watching and pacing.

Rigs’ voice penetrates my anxious guarding. “I’m talking to you, Tex.”

Without glancing away from Clara, I tell him, “Sorry, brother. Things are a little tense for me right now.”

His hand comes out to rest on my shoulder. “I’m well aware of that, but there are some things you need to know. Siege called this one in. Clara’s gonna need medical treatment at the nearest trauma center. There’s no explaining her condition away. One look at her and the hospital’s gonna call the cops themselves. We’ll look suspicious by not reporting it first.”

“That makes sense,” I tell him, knowing full where this is going.

“That means the cops are gonna want to talk to you. You need to pull your head together and explain to them that you’re a former cop and have been working with the Las Salinas PD trying to figure out who’s stalking your woman. It’s on record that you reported her missing, and we barely got here in time to save her life. Make it clear that you were forced to draw down on that bastard because he was on top of her trying his best to kill her. Make sure they understand you didn’t have a choice.”

I nod numbly, still watching the medics work on Clara. “Do y’all honestly think y’all need to coach a cop on how to talk to other cops?”

“Look brother, your woman is possibly bleeding out down there. You’re not thinking like a cop but as her partner. That’s how it should be, but I’m just telling you what you need to do, so just push back whatever you’re feeling, and fall apart later. You feel me?”

Before I can answer, he lowers his voice to a whisper, “Shit. That was fast. Heads up, brother, we’ve got company.”

He goes straight over to stand by Siege while he fills them in. Me? I just kneel down pull out the weapon I used to kill Daniel Davis and put it on the ground in front of me. I put my hands on my head and wait for them to approach me. I’m almost a hundred percent certain that I’m gonna get arrested while they figure out what happened here because that’s how these situations usually work. At least Clara is getting medical attention so that’s one thing off my mind.

At some point while they’re putting Clara on the backboard, she wakes up. Her head moves back and forth like she’s in pain and then she opens her eyes and stares right at me. While they’re strapping her legs down, she reaches out to me. I start to get up and go to her, but a hand lands on my shoulder, shoving me back down. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a uniform and the basketweave design on the officer’s holster.

“You Wyatt Jones?” he asks in a gravelly voice.

“Yes, sir,” I respond as my chest aches for Clara. She’s no longer reaching for me because Rage has her arms at her sides while he finishes strapping her onto the backboard.

“My name is Officer Coombs. You the one who shot the perp?”

“Yes, sir. He was attacking my woman.”

“Your club president said it was a matter of life and death. Is that true?”

“Yes, sir. Looks like I got here right on time,” I say as Rage starts talking to one of the paramedics who’ve just arrived.

Officer Coombs’ radio crackles with static as he calls his dispatcher to report that one of his cars is going to escort the ambulance to the trauma center and another is going to take me to the police station.

This situation is aggravating as fuck because I’m in another county where no one knows me from Adam, and I’m no longer employed by the training academy. It hits home how much cops rely upon the kind of professional courtesy I’m clearly not gonna get tonight.

It just about kills me when they load Clara up into the ambulance and I can’t go with her to the hospital. But I’m not quite stupid enough to think that I can kill a man, admit to it to the cops, and they’ll just let me go on my merry way.

They’re just about to take me to their squad car when their supervisor comes across the radio, telling them to escort me to the hospital and have the ER docs give me the once over to make sure I’m not injured. He says Las Salinas PD are sending an officer to collaborate on the case and told Officer Coombs to be on the lookout for him.

Despite the severity of the situation, a ghost of a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. I’m clearly not injured so that’s a very old school way of cutting me some slack. I realize at that moment that I still have friends in the precinct. I can’t help but wonder what made them change their mind, but when I turn around, I see that Officer Ryan from Las Salinas PD has put in an appearance. Siege jerks his chin at the officer who acknowledges the gesture.

“You’re out of your jurisdiction, Ryan,” Officer Coombs grumbles.

“I’m here because our bosses decided our two departments were going to collaborate. This case crosses county lines.”

Coombs shrugs. “Whatever. As long as it doesn’t create more paperwork for me, I’m down with it.”

Officer Ryan smothers back a smile. “It’s not like the old days, when departments were territorial and engaged in a lot of infighting over controlling high profile crime scenes.”

Coombs shoots back. “I wouldn’t call this a particularly high-profile case. The perp’s an ex-con with an axe to grind with the schoolteacher who helped put him behind bars according to the shooter’s club president.”

“Yeah, this case has a lot of moving pieces.”

“Oh yeah? Tell me what you know.” Coombs demands.

They continue talking about the perp as we walk to the patrol car. Coombs frisks me and finds my back up gun. He doesn’t seem surprised. He hands it off to his partner, who puts it in an evidence bag and tags it. Neither of them bother to cuff me because they’re preoccupied with Officer Ryan bringing Coombs up to speed on the case. They decide that Ryan will ride with us to the hospital and his partner will follow. They continue talking about the case and ask me the occasional question. For some reason they’re both fascinated with the behavior that landed the perp in jail the first time.

I know for them this is business as usual, but I really want to lock them both in the trunk so I can stay glued to Clara. The only thing stopping me is knowing fellow cops can get pissy when you ditch them. Also, Clara is gonna be with be with the trauma team for at least a couple of hours and will need surgery as well, so they wouldn’t let me near her. I find myself wishing real life were more like cop shows where the officers just cut the suspect loose, until they gather enough evidence to secure an arrest warrant.

***

There’s usually a law enforcement officer attached to most level one trauma centers in California, and St. Augustine Memorial Hospital is no different. After the triage nurse gets finished making me the lowest priority of the night, we’re shown into the tiny office the social workers sometimes use to interview the families of trauma patients. I start at the beginning and tell them every detail I can remember that might have a bearing on the case. Ryan clarifies the part about our club not being a one percent club, which makes the rest of the conversation go along smoother.

They give me a few sheets of blank paper and ask for a written statement about what went down tonight and ask about forty more questions, then they reluctantly cut me loose. Apparently, my story is matching up with other eyewitnesses from the scene and also with what Officer Ryan knows about the stalking. It appears that my worry about being hauled into the local PD was a bit premature. As the two cops are leaving, Siege and Rigs show up.

I jerk my chin at Officer Coombs and his colleague, and my club brothers head in my direction. “Can y’all believe they didn’t haul me in for questioning?”

Siege shoots Rigs a strange look before responding, “Yeah, actually I can believe that. Rigs and I woke up everyone we knew who might swing this situation in your favor tonight. I informed Officer Ryan the moment you called me. Smoke contacted the officer in charge of Scott County Sheriff’s Department. He gave Smoke an earful for waking him up but caught on to what Smoke was telling him PDQ. He wasn’t interested in catching bad publicity and maybe a court case, for arresting a man for protecting his woman from a cold-blooded killer, that their correctional system had deemed rehabilitated.”

Rigs speaks up. “The deal was if there was no indication of foul play, they’d release you on your own recognizance.”

“Thanks for that, brother. The last thing I want is to be sitting in an interrogation room for hours while Clara’s fighting for her life.”

As the night wears on, more of my club brothers show up. Wade is one of the first to arrive and takes the liberty of calling Clara’s parents. Given the strained relationship between Clara and her parents I’m not sure that’s the wisest of decisions. But they need to know.

They eventually turn up. Mr. Hathaway is wearing a suit. My gut feeling tells me he likely wears a suit normally for his job. He’s polite as we fill him in on what’s been happening. Siege and Rigs answer most of his questions because I can’t concentrate enough to deal with them right now. All I can think about is Clara, whether she’s in pain, and if she’s gonna be okay.

We skip over the part about how I blew her stalker’s brains out, because that’s a bit much to dump on these poor people who never even knew she was being stalked by the same asshole who caused them so much trouble when she was in college.

Mrs. Hathaway seems desperate for everything to be some kind of misunderstanding. Once she finds out who her daughter’s stalker is, the color drains from her face. The older woman seems skittish and anxious by nature. After meeting her, I can almost understand why she wants everyone to forgive and forget when it comes to the affair, she’s clearly the type of person who hates conflict.

No one comes out to speak with us and we keep asking questions, but no one seems to know anything. I’m fixing to tear some people a new asshole when Rage comes walking through the door.

Siege motions him over. “Thank God you’re here. Clara’s parents are worried about her. Can you give them a little information on her initial injuries?”

“Sure,” Rage says. Then says quietly to me, “There’s something I need to tell you, we’ll talk later.”

Once Clara’s parents realize he’s the paramedic who saved her life, they’re all over him with questions about the nature and extent of her injuries.

I keep my ears open, because although I saw it all, I didn’t really understand what I was seeing. I wonder what it is that Rage wants to talk to me about, I’m guessing he might be wanting to give me a head’s up about the severity of her injuries. Something that he wouldn’t tell her parents, wanting to leave that for the doctors.

When Evan and Levi arrive, my son comes over to me, and I wrap him up in a hug. He whispers, “She’s gonna be okay, right Dad? She’s not gonna die or nothing?”

I try to lighten my voice to take the edge off the fear I hear in his voice. “The medical staff better hope my Clara makes it. If not, they’re gonna have one angry Texan on their hands.”

My son chokes out a laugh, but her parents give me the side-eye, like they’re trying to gauge how serious I am about tearing up the place if she doesn’t make it. Rage, who has established a bit of rapport with them, leans forward and says something that causes their expressions to clear.

I don’t know why I’m even surprised when Clara’s sister and her ex-husband come strolling through the door. The mere sight of them here immediately gets my hackles up. I want to tear them both new assholes, but now isn’t the time or the place.

Wade is on his feet instantly though. “Turn your asses around and go back the way you came. Ain’t nobody’s wants you here.”

Mrs. Hathaway speaks up, her tone indignant, “Gina and Chris have just as much right to be here as all these strangers.”

Chris gives her a firm nod. “I’m her husband. They’ll need me to consent to surgery at the very least.”

Wade opens his mouth, but I beat him to it. “She’s legally separated, and the divorce almost finalized, so y’all don’t come waltzing in here after everything you’ve done pretending like anything y’all say matters.”

Clara’s sister scowls at me. “How do you know all that. You’re just her neighbor.”

I turn on Gina and let her have it too. “It’s none of your business what I know or how I came about the information. The only thing that matters is that I’m speaking the truth.”

“It doesn’t matter that Chris isn’t her husband anymore. You’re nothing to her, so what you have to say doesn’t matter either.” The smugness in her voice irritates me, so I open my mouth to tell her off as well, but Levi beats me to it.

“Clara belongs to us, and we belong to her. She told me all about how you slept with her husband. I ain’t never heard of someone sleeping with their sister’s husband before. Whoever raised you clearly didn’t teach you right from wrong.”

Mrs. Hathaway gasps. “That’s none of your business, young man.”

“It sure as hell is my business. Clara’s my friend. I love her and won’t stand for anyone hurting her or disrespecting her.”

“I agree with my son,” I tell her. Other members of my club quietly murmur their approval.

Turning to look at the interlopers, I tell them, “Y’all can stay only because physically kicking your asses out would cause a commotion. Go sit on the other side of the room and mind your mouths. And don’t think for a single second that y’all are gonna push your way in to see Clara. Dealing with you two is the last thing she needs right now.”

Mrs. Hathaway glances anxiously from one to another of us before lowering her voice. “We are Clara’s parents, we’ll be deciding who gets to visit with her not some hoodlum biker.”

“Lady, I’m fixin’ to put the breaks on making nice with y’all. If y’all think for one second I won’t pitch a fit in this hospital to make sure Clara gets treated right, you better think again.”

Mr. Hathaway speaks up. “That won’t be necessary. I happen to agree that this situation has gone on long enough.” Barely sparing a glance at the couple making trouble, he hisses, “Clara’s gentleman friend is correct. It’s inappropriate for her cheating husband and the sister who betrayed her to home in on her when she’s hospitalized. I want you both to leave this minute or I’ll have security throw you out.”

Her sister immediately starts whining, “But I love Clara. You know that I do.”

His tone turns bitter. “That may be, but the fact remains that you love yourself more. The boy is right. We’ve failed to teach you right from wrong and that ends now.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” he says sternly. “Go home, or I’m cutting you off.”

Wade chimes in, “I assume that will a problem for you, since I’m pursuing joint custody, which I’m told likely means no child support.”

Chris turns and walks out the door, with her clamoring behind him. I was about to thank her father for ensuring Clara didn’t have to deal with the extra burden of making nice with people who had imploded her life, but the doctor finally comes out to talk to us.

Her parents stepped forward, as do I.

Looking from one to the other of us, he asks, “My name is Dr. Ramirez. Are you here for Clara Collins?”

Her father responds, “Yes, we’re her parents.”

I ask, “What can you tell us about her condition?”

“She’s stable. Her injuries were significant, and she lost a lot of blood.”

Her mother asks, “What kind of injuries are we talking about?”

“She’s had a blunt force trauma to the back of her head and has a mild traumatic brain injury. She has two fractured ribs, and she has multiple contusions. The puncture wound in the lower right quadrant of her back damaged one of her kidneys, which resulted in one of them being removed. There are a few other findings we need to talk to Mrs. Collins about, but she’s stabilized.”

My blood runs cold when I hear everything she’s endured physically. If I could kill that asshole all over again, I would in a heartbeat.

Levi asks in a scared voice, “Is she going to be alright?”

“Currently her prognosis is good. She’ll need to stay in the hospital for a few weeks, but there’s nothing to suggest she won’t make a full physical recovery.”

By the time he leaves, we’re all quietly contemplating his report. I break the silence by saying what everyone else is thinking. “Recovery from a situation like this isn’t gonna be easy for Clara. We’ll need to make sure we’re there for her every step of the way.”

Levi perks up. “She can stay with us. We’ll take good care of her and make sure she’s never lonely while she recovers.”

Mrs. Hathaway interjects anxiously, “Of course she’ll be staying with her parents.”

“Are these the same parents she’s been low contact with because they wanted her to pretend like her sister wasn’t having an ongoing affair with her husband? The parents that she didn’t trust enough to even tell she was being stalked?”

Wade puts in his own two cents’ worth, “We can all offer to take care of her but at the end of the day, it’ll have to be Clara’s choice.”

I agree, “Pressuring her will only add stumbling blocks to her recovery and none of us want that.”

Mrs. Hathaway states quietly, “But she’s our daughter.”

Mr. Hathaway turns to his wife. “Maybe it’s time for us look into family counseling. We can’t keep putting our own worries and anxieties above what’s right for our daughters. It’s left one unable to trust us, and the other feeling like she can say and do anything under the sun, and we’ll be afraid of rocking the boat to do anything about it.”

As the night turns into day, my club brothers drift away, Rage takes me to one side, he looks so concerned I’m almost afraid of what he’s gonna tell me.

“What is it, brother?” I ask.

My club brother lets out a long breath, “You know I’d never breach patient confidentiality,” he starts.

I nod.

“This kind of affects you too,” he looks at me and shoves his long hair behind his ears.

“I was in the trauma room when they were stabilizing her and doing all the tests. I happened to hear something. As I’m not officially working tonight and Clara wasn’t my patient, just a woman I helped until the paramedics arrived, it’s not like I’m breaching anything.”

Yeah right. I’m pretty sure patient confidentiality doesn’t work like that, but I’m curious, “Go on,” I say.