Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
River
A fter managing to get Adelaide somewhat calm, Joey took off, promising her that he would come back the moment she needed him to. She’d cried as he walked to his bike. It tore me apart to see her want him with her so badly, but I pushed it down. She needed him. He could help her in ways that I couldn’t.
Because he taught her how to breathe.
If it hadn’t been for Joey, I wouldn’t have Adelaide now.
I slowly eased Adelaide’s Nissan Rogue onto the familiar gravel lot of the Sons of Death. I brought the SUV to a stop, looking over at Adelaide, who was passed out in the passenger seat of the car as I turned the key in the ignition. Blowing out a soft breath, I looked forward when I noticed someone step out of the clubhouse, my eyes meeting Jesup’s through the windshield.
He looked like shit, to put it lightly. He had a lot sitting on his shoulders now that he had to cover for Tristan. On top of that, he was living with the fear that he may be burying the man he’d known his entire life.
I knew that shit wasn’t easy.
I slid out of the SUV, quietly shutting the driver’s side door behind me. Jesup walked over to me, his hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his jeans. “The doctor said that I can choose to keep him on life support, or I can just go ahead and pull the plug.” He blew out a harsh breath. “I can’t make that kind of decision for a guy I’ve known for my entire life, River.” He nodded his head toward the SUV. “I figured I would let Adelaide make that decision.”
I nodded in understanding, even though I didn’t like the idea at all. He was putting more pressure on her shoulders. She was dealing with enough shit as it was. Even unconscious, Tristan was fucking her up.
I walked around to her side of the vehicle and gently opened her door, catching her before she fell out. Her eyes snapped open, and they locked onto my face. Then, she slowly took in her surroundings, her expression falling again, but this time, no tears escaped.
She was living for me and holding Joey with her. I knew she would show no weakness here, and she was clinging onto everything she could to keep up a brave, strong front.
It was one of the things that I loved about her. When the world was an absolute shit place for her, she still remained strong.
“Let me out,” she whispered.
Nodding, I stepped back, moving around to the back seat to grab Axel. As soon as I lifted his car seat out, Adelaide was next to me. “Give him to me,” she quietly ordered.
I took one look at her face and nodded again, realizing that she was going to use Axel to try to keep herself held together. I handed her the car seat and watched her as she walked off into the clubhouse, striding past Tank and Dameon with just a nod of her head.
She was on the very edge of that cliff, looking down into the dark abyss. I just hoped that I would be enough to keep her from tipping completely over the edge.
My heart squeezed in my chest for her.
I pulled out my phone, shooting a text to Joey, ignoring Jesup, who was watching me. I didn’t answer to him anymore, and he knew better than to overstep the boundaries that I had set.
River:
Made it.
“A kid?” Jesup asked as I locked my phone, giving him my attention again.
I shrugged. “Red didn’t want his kid, and the mom passed away in childbirth. Adelaide agreed to take care of him and adopt him before I could even form a proper response in my head, so here we are.” I turned and reached into the backseat to grab our duffel bag and the diaper bag.
“You know, I never imagined you as a domesticated kind of man,” Jesup admitted as we walked toward the clubhouse, Sam and Vern following closely behind us. “Never would have pictured you doing half the shit you’ve done, actually.”
I snorted. Yeah, me neither, Jesup .
But I wouldn’t change my decisions.
I stepped into the clubhouse, my eyes instantly landing on Adelaide. She was sitting on the couch against the wall, Zyla sitting beside her as they talked quietly while Axel sucked on his bottle, his blue eyes running over his mother’s face.
“You two can have Adelaide’s old room in the back. Tristan wouldn’t ever let anyone else move into it,” Jesup informed me.
I nodded then strode off down the hall to drop our bags off. I pulled my phone out to read Joey’s message. When it concerned Adelaide, he was quick as fuck to respond.
Joey:
Tell her to hold me with her and to live for you.
I sighed, not bothering to respond. I was still pissed about the shit he had pulled with her, but I was forcing myself to shove it aside. It had calmed her, pretty much breathed life back into her because emotionally, she’d been dying in my arms.
I quickly walked back out into the main area, then hurried over to Adelaide. Zyla got up, letting me have her spot. As soon as I sat down, Adelaide leaned against my side for support, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pressing my lips to her forehead. Unlocking my phone, I showed her Joey’s message. She sighed softly.
“I’m sorry about what he did,” she quietly apologized. She cast her eyes down to her lap. “And I’m sorry for allowing him.”
I tucked my index finger beneath her chin and tilted her beautiful face up to mine. Leaning down, I softly slid my lips along hers. She released a quiet moan, her body leaning further into mine.
“He helps you breathe, darlin’. I might be pissed about what he did, but I can’t hate either of you for it,” I assured her. “Sometimes, you just need both of us to remind you of who you are.”
She frowned up at me. “I just need you.”
I shook my head at her. “You need him, too, darlin’, and that’s okay. He saved your life in numerous ways. I’ll never take that from you, and I’ll always fight to keep him with you.”
She sniffled then, her eyes welling up with tears before she blinked them back. “I love you,” she choked out.
I smoothed my lips over hers again. “And I love you,” I promised. “With every fucking beat of my heart.”
Jesup stepped out of the chapel and pulled his phone down from his ear. “That was Joey,” Jesup informed us. “He’s on his way over here.”
I rolled my eyes as my phone vibrated in my lap.
Joey:
I’m coming to help solve this shit. I may not like Tristan, but Adelaide deserves justice for this shit happening to him. I need to know that you’ll back me up.
River:
As long as it’s for her, I’ll back you up in basically anything.
Adelaide’s phone went off in her lap. I watched as she adjusted her legs so that they were bent, her feet on the couch. She adjusted Axel so he was settled against her thighs. Then, she grabbed her phone, unlocking the screen. I glanced over to see Joey’s name at the top of her message screen.
Brushing my lips to Adelaide’s temple, I looked up at Zyla, letting her have this moment with him. “How have you been?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “Fine, though it’s been a hell of a lot more boring around here without Adelaide to spice things up,” she teased. A small smile tilted my woman’s lips, but I knew it wasn’t because of Zyla.
She was smiling because Joey was reminding her in his own way to keep him with her while she lived for me.
Jesup snorted. “Woman, you’re enough for me to handle, and then some,” he reminded her, drawing her against his side.
“Who shot him?” Adelaide asked out of the blue as she stared down at Axel, who was laying across her lap now, his blue eyes locking on her dark ones.
“We have an inside problem,” Jesup admitted. I glared at him. Jesus Christ, that would have been nice to know before I brought my woman and my child all the fucking way down here.
“Fredrick—you should remember him Adelaide—was doing some shit on the side, and he was telling a rival crew what moves Tristan was making. Tristan confronted him about it, and Fredrick shot him, and then he took off. I found Tristan behind the clubhouse. Almost found him too late.”
I tightened my arm around Adelaide’s shoulders as she stiffened, her hands tightening around her phone. I leaned over and brushed my lips with hers. “Live for me,” I whispered. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Hold him with you,” I coaxed.
“The hospital was able to bring him back,” Jesup continued, “but he’s on life support, and they don’t think he’s ever going to come back from it. According to the doctors, he’s completely unresponsive, Adelaide.”
Axel reached up and touched Adelaide’s face, and she burst into tears. I pulled her and Axel onto my lap, holding them both to me as she cried. She wound her arms around my neck, her tears wetting my shirt. Everyone was silent as they watched the once angry, almost emotionless woman sob in my arms.
A couple of moments later, she looked up at me through red, puffy, tear-filled eyes, making my heart twist at the sight of her looking so shattered.
“I want him found, and I want him dead,” she snapped, her voice raspy.
“We’re doing what we can, Adelaide—” Jesup started.
“No,” she cut off Jesup. She looked back up at me, and I knew what she was going to say before she said it.
“You want me to do it,” I stated more than asked, but she nodded her head in response anyway. I pressed my lips to her forehead. “Anything for you, Darlin’,” I swore.
And I meant it.
If she wanted me to kill the son of a bitch who almost took Tristan out of her life, then I would.
She leaned her head back into the crook of my neck as she lifted Axel from her legs. My eyes met Jesup’s over his head.
“You realize this is our club’s problem, right? Not yours,” he reminded me, but he wasn’t rude about it. Merely stating a fact.
I shrugged. “What Adelaide wants, she gets. And be prepared because Joey will be looking for him, too,” I warned him.
He nodded once in understanding.