Chapter 7 Bear
BEAR
“Margot! Stop—let me—MARGOT!”
“Bear, you have to rest,” Diesel said.
“I’ll get Piper to tranq you,” Rock said.
“Let the man go after the hot doctor,” Toxin said, rolling his eyes.
“She’s a fucking doctor, you twit,” I growled.
Then, I drew in a deep breath as the guys held me to the bed.
“Margot! Cut this shit out!”
I wanted to explain to Margot that things weren’t bad.
That I did go to community college. That I did get a technical degree in mechanics.
That I worked a legitimate job out of a garage I set up, with the help of Diesel.
I serviced all the guys’ bikes. I serviced the town of Redding, too.
From cars and vans to tankers and Hummers.
Even ATVs and dune buggies. I did it all.
And I did it because I kept that promise to her all those years ago.
But the guys held me down and I heard her every step as she approached the front door.
“I swear to you, I’m gonna get Piper to put you out for days,” Rock grunted.
“Bear, settle the fuck down,” Brewer said.
“You’re done if you don’t,” Diesel said curtly.
And as his words hit my ears, I finally gave up.
My back fell against the bed and my head fell against the pillow.
I couldn't hear her footsteps any longer. I couldn’t smell her any longer.
Everything that had swirled in my head came to a grinding halt, and only one thing was present at the forefront of my damn mind.
Find her.
Because I was scared if I didn’t, I’d never see her again. And the thought broke my heart.
“Bear, look at me,” Diesel said.
I slowly turned my head over to meet his eyes and I saw his face twitch.
“You need to rest. You’re incredibly injured right now. You needed three units of blood, and it almost wasn’t enough,” he said.
I shook my head. “No. What I need is to go after the woman that helped sew me up. The woman I’m pretty sure I’m still in love with.”
“Wait, what?” Saint asked.
“I knew it,” Ryker murmured.
The room fell silent, except for Toxin’s murmuring.
I didn’t know what he was saying, and I didn’t fucking care.
The only thing I could do was stare Diesel down, because I knew he knew what I meant.
They all did. Well, all the old guys did, anyway.
I slowly sat myself up, listening to the dead silence in the room as my bed creaked and groaned underneath my weight.
“Let me go after her,” I said breathlessly.
And after a sigh, Grave’s hands came down onto my good arm.
“You’re gonna need a boost up,” he said.
“I got your feet,” Brewer said.
“You need some pain medication before you get to running?” Rock asked.
“Wait, we’re actually gonna let him do this? Even though he’s fucking falling apart?” Toxin asked.
And as I slowly stood up from the bed, I met Diesel’s eyes as I straightened up. Face to face. Toe to toe. Until I saw our president finally nod.
“Good luck,” he said, grinning.
I pushed past the guys, stumbling out of the room.
And as I turned the corner, a shot of pain up my back collapsed me against the wall.
I growled out. I gnashed my teeth together as I focused my destination on the front door.
Maybe Piper knew where she went. Maybe Piper could get me going on the right track. Maybe—
“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Margot asked.
Her breathless words stunned me as her arm wrapped around my waist.
“Mar—Margot?” I asked, coughing.
“The more you exert yourself, the longer it’s going to take to heal. Get your ass back in bed,” she said.
She slid my bad arm around her shoulders and I groaned. But, when I looked down, I found her gazing up at me. Her eyes were tired. The bags underneath her eyes were substantial. She slowly turned us around, facing us down the hallway as the guys slowly trickled out of my room.
“Margot,” Diesel said.
“Nice to meet ya,” Toxin murmured.
“The room’s all yours,” Ryker said.
That boy really didn’t say much at times.
“You need to get back in bed,” Margot murmured.
“Only if you stay,” I grunted.
She sighed as she shook her head.
“Bear, I can’t—”
“You stay, I rest. You don’t, I follow. Simple as that,” I said.
And after she snickered, I knew I had her cornered.
“Fine. Okay. Now, will you come on, you stubborn brute?” Margot asked.
“Lead the way, doc,” I said, grinning.
“You guys shouldn't have let him out of bed,” Margot called out.
“You try holding that sack of shit down without losing a limb,” Toxin said, chuckling.
“Holy fuck, I didn’t think you laughed, you psychopath,” I said, laughing along with him.
But the laughing soon turned into coughing.
And the coughing turned into groaning. It hurt to do just about anything, and Margot swiftly got me back into the room.
My ass hit the bed before any of the pain subsided, and she laid me down before swiveling my legs.
Down came the blanket over my body. Pillows were shoved under my head and underneath my recuperating arm.
Then, she rolled up my sleeve.
“Don’t you put me out,” I grumbled.
“Just some pain medication. If we don’t get it under control now, we won’t be able to,” Margot said.
Her eyes flickered to mine and I nodded my head.
The needle pinched my arm and the warmth of the medication flooded through my veins.
Almost instantly, my body relaxed. My head swam with nice thoughts and my body went numb to the pain coursing through it.
My lips felt loose. My body felt as if it was floating.
Margot tossed whatever she had used into the trash can, then she sighed as she eased herself back down into the chair I’d found her in.
The chair she was in when I woke up.
“Now, don’t get out of bed this time,” she said softly.
“Our last words aren’t going to be an argument again,” I said.
I lobbed my head over to her and found her brow furrowed deeply.
“I did that once, and I won’t do that again,” I said.
Her eyes danced between mine as that flush appeared on her cheeks.
And if I was a bettin’ man, which sometimes I could be, that trickle would soon make its way down her neck.
I followed the red as it dripped over her skin.
Fucking hell, I missed that reaction. She shook her head and cleared her throat, then crossed one thick leg of hers over the other.
I could have sliced the tension with an ice cold knife, it was so thick.
“Will you stay this time?” I asked.
A massive yawn fell from my lips, but I refused to give into the sleep. Not until I had a definitive answer. Not until I knew she’d be here again.
Because that was the nicest thing I’d woken up to since high school.
“Stay until you wake up again?” Margot asked.
I nodded. “Say you will, so I can finally get some damn sleep. You’re keepin’ me up, woman.”
She giggled and shook her head before I saw it nod.
“Yeah. Sure. I’ll stick around for a bit. Piper needs to get home with Rock, anyway. And someone needs to keep a monitor on your vitals through the night,” she said.
“Good enough for me,” I said, sighing.
Then, with a deep breath, I let myself fall into a peaceful slumber.
One that was filled with Margot’s voice, her sighs, her groans, and her shaking.
I dreamt of the last time we were together.
When I took her innocence as mine and proclaimed to her how much I loved her.
It was the most romantic thing I’d ever experienced.
Under the stars, with nothing but the woods and the wind shrouding us.
Her soft groans echoing in my ear. My hands sliding over every inch of her.
We were eighteen and in love, and it was the best experience of my life.
Nothing had topped it. No woman had topped her.
And I chose to keep that at the forefront of my dream.
Not the fight that ensued after.