Chapter Five
A nthony was back at the hospital, and once again there was no change in his woman. Daisy lay on the bed, lifeless, the machines beeping, driving him crazy with the sound. Anthony got to his feet and started to pace the room. It wasn’t a large room, but nicely sized, and there were no neighbors. Daisy was alone.
He stopped at the foot of the bed, reached out, and gripped the top.
“I fucked up, Daisy. There’s nothing else to say about it. You told me something seemed off.” Anthony sighed. “You always did. I just thought you were defending the club, but you weren’t, were you? You knew.” He gritted his teeth. “And I didn’t listen.”
For answers, the machine beeped. That was all.
“I miss you so damn much. I can’t stop seeing the knife, and Daniella. I thought she was long gone. I don’t know. It went wrong.” He shook his head. “But I can’t seem to figure out where I miscalculated.”
He moved from the foot of the bed, up toward her. Anthony wanted to touch her, pull her into his arms, kiss her. He didn’t want to hurt her.
He instead reached out and stroked some of her hair back, not that it was in the way. “You’ve got to wake up, baby,” he said. “You know, to keep me on the straight and narrow, and keep me company. You know how lonely I get.” He laughed. “Do you remember our first date?” He smiled. “Yeah, you would remember our first official date. The one where you finally decided to reveal to Tabitha that we might start dating. We’d been dating a lot longer than that.”
He moved the chair closer to her bed and looked at her. Sliding his under hers, he held onto her hand.
“I’m going to be here for you. I’m not leaving. Not now, not ever. So, you might as well stop trying to get away from me, baby, it’s just you and me, and I’m going to tell you a little story while you’re sleeping. Hopefully, what they say is true and this will make you fall in love with me all over again.”
He cleared his throat.
“I feel like I should begin like all fairy tales, but you know, I don’t like to be predictable, so I’m just going to say when two kids were young and in nursery, something happened.”
Even as he told the story, he could still see her. Soiled clothes, tears, stains, her hair not quite so neat, as if it had been pulled into a ponytail without being brushed.
“I knew I was different before I met you. I could talk, but I never wanted to. Miles and Tabitha were always different. So were Rachel and Markus. Every kid, the Skulls and civilian, were normal, all needing to make friends and be with each other. I didn’t need any of that. I didn’t want any of it.” He stroked his thumb across her palm. “And then, I looked across the classroom and saw you. To me, you were perfect. You looked so nervous, and you shook just a little. You didn’t want to be there, and I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to go to you, but I couldn’t stop staring at you. I didn’t want to.”
He stopped.
“And then Tabitha went to you, and you and she were hugging and you were best friends. I wanted that. I wanted you to be my friend. One of the days, you had a book on your lap and were running your finger across the words, reading. I came and sat with you. Do you remember that? I asked you to read to me. I could already read, but I wanted you to. You read it to me, and your voice was so soothing, so calm, and you had the sweetest reading voice.” He felt tears spring to his eyes.
“For a long time, I would be close to you. If I heard any of the other kids trying to bully you, I’d take care of it. It was why you were left alone, Daisy. I was never going to allow anyone to hurt you, not ever.”
He licked his lips.
“Spending time with you was all I ever wanted. You once asked me if I was in love with Tabitha and I laughed at you. I don’t love Tabitha. She’s a friend, one of us, but she is not you. No, I was never in love with her, I was ... jealous of her. I see that now. She got to be with you when I could not. She got to stay over and be there when you needed her, and I wasn’t there. I hated that. I wanted to be the one you needed all the time.”
He didn’t let go of her hand. Instead, he reached out and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I don’t like this.” He took a deep breath. “I never considered you being taken from me. You can’t go.”
He looked toward her, hoping he could convince her to wake up and get the hell out of this coma.
Nothing. She had lost a lot of blood.
He’d seen the knife sink into her flesh, and the moment it had happened, he knew it would change everything.
Anthony gritted his teeth. “I better tell you another secret. I stopped Edward Gretch from asking you out. Along with Sean Wallace and Andrew Puck,” he said. “I overheard them. Not all at once, but through high school. They wanted to ask you to the dance, and they were nervous. You always thought you were this ugly duckling, but you’re not. You were always beautiful, Daisy. You always were, and you’re only getting more beautiful.”
He took another deep breath. “I threatened to kill them. I told them if they asked you out, they wouldn’t make it to the date. I didn’t want to share you. I didn’t want to risk you never wanting me, so I had to get rid of them. Do you hate me?”
Nothing.
Silence.
“Please, Daisy, come back to me.”
****
“P lease, Daisy, come back to me.”
Daisy heard the sound, and she glanced behind and saw no one.
Holding onto the railing, she looked out toward the beach, in awe of the beauty. But part of her knew this wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real, because when people went to the beach, there was always someone there, and she was all alone.
Something bad had happened. She could feel it, but at the same time, she couldn’t. The sun felt nice ... or did it?
She shook her head and let go of the railing. As soon as she did, it was like she was transported somewhere else, a distant memory perhaps. She came to, looked over at Anthony, and she knew this memory. They were alone in his bedroom. He had talked her out of going to college for the day. His father was gone, as were his mother and siblings. No one needed any help and Tabitha was, well ... being Tabitha.
“What are you doing?” Daisy asked.
Anthony did something she had never seen him do before. He shoved out his chest and began strutting up and down the length of the bedroom.
Daisy burst out laughing. It was just the two of them. No pressures of club life.
A memory that hadn’t seemed important at the time.
“Stop it, stop it,” Daisy said, laughing.
Anthony swung his head back, and it was so funny, because she could never imagine him being so playful.
He turned toward her, and she let out a little scream as he suddenly charged toward the bed and bounced on it. She lay underneath him, but she didn’t want to fight him. They were both completely naked. With all the crap going on with the Monster Dogs MC, they didn’t always get this time with each other.
She was always worried about her friend. Tabitha was going through the motions, and she was also at times a bitch about it. Tabitha hadn’t reacted well since having a baby, and the club not quite so accepting of Nathan. Daisy had told her it might take some time, but the truth was, the club knew there were doubts about Nathan’s parentage. She didn’t know why it mattered. She didn’t have Skulls’ blood running through her veins. She was an outsider. Adopted into the club. She didn’t have any real place to anyone. So, the way people were reacting was a little sad.
Of course, Angel had been the one to fix it. Angel was always the one to fix everything.
“Do you want me to stop?” Anthony asked, pulling her attention back to him. He took possession of her lips, but he didn’t do so for long. He bit down on her lower lip, making her gasp.
She didn’t want him to stop. “No,” she said.
“Then maybe I should do this,” he said, and kissed her neck.
She closed her eyes as he continued to kiss her. He hit that spot right at her pulse, where she was so sensitive. His hands didn’t move from either side of her head, as he kissed down her chest.
“Or maybe I should do this?” he asked, and she cried out as he took one of her nipples into his mouth.
He wasn’t too hard, but gave just the right amount of pressure to make her ache for more. She didn’t want him to stop, even for a second.
Anthony released her nipple, giving the tip a kiss, and then sliding his tongue around the hardened bud.
He suddenly moved, gliding his tongue between the valley of her breasts, and then he took another nipple into his mouth, sucking it hard.
She cried out his name and felt the heat between her thighs. It was like he was sending her higher and higher, until he stopped. Only, Anthony was on a journey, and he began to move down her body, opening her legs. This time, his hands did move from either side of her head, but he did so to slide under her ass. This always made her nervous, and she couldn’t help but cover her pussy.
Anthony, like always, tutted, and nudged her hands out of the way. “You know what I want, Daisy.”
She sighed and moved her hands up over her head and out of his way.
“That’s right. You’re so good to me.”
Daisy laughed, but it didn’t last for long as she suddenly moaned. The feel of his tongue between her legs was better than she remembered. The pleasure was intense.
“You taste so fucking good,” he said.
He teased across her clit, and then he used his teeth to take her clit into his mouth and gnawed down on it just a little. The hard spike of pleasure and pain seemed to meld together in a way that stole her breath completely. She was so lost.
He growled against her pussy and then shocked her as he moved down, plunging his tongue inside her. She moaned his name, the sound echoing off the walls. Anthony had always told her he wanted to hear her scream his name, and now he got his wish.
He was giving her a combination of pleasure and pain. She didn’t want him to stop, it felt so good.
There was no stopping him, and he quickly pulled away, moving up her body. She was hungry for her orgasm, but Anthony had other plans as he slid deep inside her. She gasped as he filled her up.
They had been each other’s firsts, and Daisy knew there would never be anyone else like Anthony.
“I want us to come together,” he said.
He took hold of her hands, locking their fingers tight. Their first time had been incredible and embarrassing, fast and yet slow. It was everything she could have wanted. There had been pain, but Anthony had held her throughout. He had always been there for her, loving her. And she loved him.
He kissed her again, and she felt him thrusting in and out of her, filling her.
This was real to her. This is what she wanted more than anything. Anthony made love to her, drawing her pleasure higher and higher, and when it came to the point where he wouldn’t be able to stop, he started teasing her clit.
He let her hand go, reached between their bodies, and started to tease her pussy, flicking her clit, bringing her closer to the peak.
“Please, Daisy, come back to me.”
There was that sound again, and then all too soon, Daisy was back at the beach. She remembered that day well. They spent the whole day making love, just being with each other, away from everyone and everything. They had made a mistake that day, though, because they hadn’t used condoms every time.
It took a month and a couple of tests to confirm that she was not pregnant.
****
“W hat the ever-loving fuck did you do?”
Anthony looked up as Tabitha, after two days, finally turned up. He was in the chair, once again beside Daisy’s bed, and there was still no change.
Tabitha looked angry as fuck, and hot on her heels was Simon, of course. This meant there was a chance Devil and Lexie were in town, or some of the Chaos crew were. He didn’t give a fuck.
Anthony ignored her and continued holding Daisy’s hand. He had been talking to her about one of his favorite memories, the time when everyone had been so focused on the shit going down. He and Daisy had stolen a day where they could be together. They had made love, and just had fun. For a short time, they had forgotten about their friend’s pain, or the shit the club was dealing with. They just had each other.
“Are you even fucking listening to me?” Tabitha asked.
He turned to look at her. “What do you want?” he asked.
She stormed over to him, looked at Daisy, and then slapped him hard across the face. Simon didn’t react, but as she went for a second go, Anthony had no choice but to stop her. He grabbed her hand, and then he stood. He had to let go of Daisy’s hand.
Tabitha let out a cry.
Simon stepped closer.
“I suggest you stay where you are right now,” Anthony said. “I will not hurt your woman, but she must keep herself calm.”
“Calm? Look at her. Look at Daisy. Look what you did.”
“First of all, this is none of your business,” Anthony said. “Second, I’ve been looking at her for the last two days, and you finally decide to turn up now.”
Tabitha glared at him. “I’m in Piston County—”
“I don’t give a fuck where you are. You and I both know if you were in this position, Daisy would be there. Shit, Daisy would be there for you if you needed a sounding board, and ice cream.” He glanced back at Daisy. “You don’t get to know why she is here.”
“You took on the Monster Dogs. How could you have been so fucking stupid?” Tabitha growled at him.
He glared at her. “I suggest you be careful.”
“Or what, you’re going to put me in the hospital? I thought you loved Daisy. I thought you would do anything—”
Anthony reacted and wrapped his fingers around Tabitha’s throat. Simon went to take a step toward him and held his hand up.
“Don’t you ever fucking question how I feel for that woman, do you understand me? Right now, you should be grateful for Daisy, because if you were not her best friend, you would be dead, and so would your husband. I wouldn’t give a fuck about leaving your kids without parents. Daisy is everything to me, and you are nothing. You left the club, Tabitha. You made your choices, and you do not get to come in here and throw accusations around. You left her, remember. You followed your heart, and you didn’t look back. Daisy was nothing more than an afterthought.”
“What is going on here?” Whizz asked, stepping into the room.
Anthony had the urge to tighten his hand around Tabitha’s throat. It would be easy to do, and then if Daisy was ... gone, someone would be there for her.
Stop it.
Daisy would not forgive you.
She is not dead.
She is going to kick your fucking ass.
Let her friend go.
Tabitha didn’t move, she didn’t even wriggle. Anthony let go of her throat, and without another word turned to his woman, his soul mate.
“I’ll be outside.”
He went and took his position outside, leaning up against the wall. It was already morning, and Whizz was back.
Lacey came out of the room. Anthony didn’t even see her step inside. He didn’t look toward her, and instead continued to stare straight ahead, until the chair beside him was moved.
“How are you?” Lacey asked.
He turned his head and looked at the woman with the ever-changing hair. This time, it was a deep red and black. He knew Daisy loved how she did her hair, because when she moved her head, the color looked different.
“I’m sorry,” Anthony said.
“I don’t need you to apologize to me about what happened. I know Daisy, and she was there by your side. She would do anything for you.”
“She told me it was a bad idea,” Anthony said. “She ... always knew when things were bad ideas.” He pressed his fingers to his eyes.
“Yeah, well, I think you need to get yourself together, because when Daisy wakes up and the Skulls are suddenly at war with Chaos Bleeds, she is going to have a whole lot of questions.”
“I never meant for her to get hurt,” Anthony said.
“I know,” Lacey said.
“I would never hurt her.”
“We both know that, but Whizz just ... he can’t stand that he can’t help her. It has been a long time since he felt this helpless. We both wanted children, but I don’t think we thought about the cost of actually having them,” Lacey said. “We always want the best for them, but the biggest problem is what they want for themselves. Daisy wants to be with the club, and at times she wants to prove her place.”
Anthony knew that being adopted into the club, she always felt her place was not permanent. Now, it was, he would make sure of it.
No one knew he and Daisy were married. Like Simon and Tabitha, he and Daisy had married in secret. It was one of those in-the-heat-of-the-moment visits. He had taken her to Vegas with him. After a meeting with Ned Walker, they had walked past one of those chapels, and Anthony had gotten down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Just like his father had married his mother in Vegas, it was where he was going to be with Daisy.
Most of their relationship had been their little secret, with everything going on in the club. He had taken Daisy’s ring before she got to the hospital and placed it on the chain he wore around his neck.
Many years ago, as a birthday present, Daisy had presented him with a cross. She knew he wasn’t deeply religious, but Daisy had her beliefs. She wanted him to wear it so God would keep him safe for her. This was where he had kept his wedding band.
Taking off the chain, he slid the rings off and put his in place, then held Daisy’s out to Lacey.
“Will you put this on her finger for me?” he said.
Lacey gasped. “You’re married?”
“Yes, and today ... is our one-year anniversary.”
It was why he had laughed at her question. He and Daisy had been married. Even when he considered joining the Nomad chapter, they had been married. They were each other’s soul mate, but sometimes people needed space.
He had come to realize that Daisy didn’t need space. She had been jealous of her best friend, and there was absolutely no reason to be.