18. Mack
18
MACK
“ H e’s likely got a concussion,” Wishbone says to Gigi, peering into my eyes with a small flashlight. “But his pupils aren’t dilated, and he’s not slurring his speech, so those are good signs.”
“Bone, I’m right fuckin’ here,” I grouse. “What’s with this ‘he’ shit?”
“Mack, be nice,” Gigi admonishes me.
“How’s your headache?” Wishbone asks, straightening.
“My head’s felt better, but I’m okay.” I’m working to keep the anger out of my voice. I’m pissed the fuck off at myself, for letting myself be ambushed like a goddamn prospect. Last thing I remember before being knocked out was some guy approaching me, saying he was from the neighborhood watch and asking me what I was doing sitting in Gigi’s yard. I got up to talk to the guy, and then some other fucker hit me from behind with something hard enough to knock me out.
My head hurts, sure. But the biggest thing wrong with me is knowing Gigi could be dead right now, and it would have been my fault. On the way to the clubhouse, I made her tell me what happened. She explained how whoever it was broke into the bus and she scared them off with her gun. I didn’t even know she had a damn gun.
I’ve been sleeping on the job, goddamnit. I could have lost her. The thought of it makes the blood turn to ice. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive myself.
Wishbone turns to Gigi now. “He’ll need to be watched for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, to make sure none of his symptoms get worse. Lots of rest, lots of water, no strenuous activity.” He smirks at me. “That means everything you think it does.”
“Noted.”
“Tylenol for the pain is okay. No alcohol. If you see anything suspicious, any changes in him that concern you, get in touch with me right away.”
“I’ll do that,” Gigi says.
“Okay. Well, I’m gonna head back home. You’ve got my number.” Wishbone claps me softly on the shoulder and yawns, testament to the fact that it’s almost three in the morning. “You listen to your nurse, you hear? I know you’re not so good at following directions, but she’s in charge for the next couple of days.”
“Not so sure about that,” I mutter. Gigi gives me a sharp look. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, I’m kidding. Thanks, Bone.”
Wishbone nods at Gigi and walks off, leaving us alone in the room. At this hour, the clubhouse is pretty much deserted. “Do you think we should call Magnus?” Gigi asks, hugging her arms to her chest.
“Nah, anything we need to tell the prez can wait until morning. You’re safe, and we’re fine here. No need to wake anyone else up out of a sound sleep.”
“I never really got a chance to ask you about what happened,” she says, biting her lip. “Why were you there instead of Reed?”
It’s the first time either of us has acknowledged that technically, we’re fighting still. But she’s at least talking to me, which I figure is a good sign.
“We got back from the run, so I called him up and relieved him,” I explained. “He needed someone to take over for a shift, anyway. And I knew you were mad at me, so I just figured I’d take the watch when you were asleep.”
Gigi looks down. “I’m sorry you got hurt,” she says softly.
“Jesus, G, don’t be sorry about that. I was supposed to be protecting you, remember? It’s my fault that asshole ever got into your bus in the first place. Thank fuck you had that gun.”
I swallow around a large lump in my throat. I want to take her in my arms. I want a lot of things right now. But I know I don’t deserve any of them.
She sighs. “I probably blew a hole in the wall of my bus.”
“No biggie. Pretty sure we can patch that up for you.”
Gigi falls silent. Her lips start to tremble. “I was afraid you were dead when I saw you lying there on the ground,” she whispers. “I was so scared…”
“Hey, it’s okay.” I take a risk and reach my arms out to her. Gigi immediately comes to me and melts into them. “Sshhh,” I say as she starts to tremble. “We’re all right. We’re both just fine, baby. We’re fine.” Absently, I reach up and stroke her hair. She sinks into my chest, her arms going around my waist. For a while, we just stay like that. And then Gigi pulls away slightly and looks at me with a tremulous half-smile.
“I like the fact that Wishbone put me in charge,” she murmurs. “Too bad you’re too sick to participate in any strenuous activity , though. That’s no fun at all.”
“Wishbone ain’t God,” I growl. “I’m up for some strenuous activity if you are.”
“I am, but I’m not about to let you do that. I plan to be a very responsible nurse to you, and make sure you’re completely well before… well, before .”
“Killjoy.” I suck in a deep breath, and then let it out. “Hey, listen. Are we gonna talk about why you were so mad at me earlier? Not that I want to, exactly, but I’d at least like to understand what I did that set you off so bad.”
That wipes the smile off her face. Damn.
“We should,” she admits. “But right now it’s so late. Let’s do it tomorrow.”
I nod, relieved. My head is still pounding like a sonofabitch. But hell, at least I get credit for being the one to bring the fight up and working toward a solution, right? Look at me, being all mature and shit.
“You wanna go back to your apartment?” I ask. “I can stay here in the main room. Sleep on one of the couches.”
“That doesn’t sound very comfortable,” she protests. “Especially since you’ve got a concussion. You should be getting a better night’s sleep than that.”
My face cracks into a yawn. “Trust me, I’m beat enough that I could sleep anywhere right now. I’ll be fine.”
“Come to the apartment and sleep, though.”
“You asking?”
“I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”
I cock my head, decide to take a chance. “If that’s the case, can the patient make a request?”
Gigi lifts a brow at me. “Depends on what it is.”
I grab her hand and pull her toward me. “Well, I was just thinkin’, if we’re gonna talk about our fight tomorrow, I’m assuming we’ll manage to kiss and make up then. So, maybe we can do the making up part now. Kinda like dessert before the meal.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.” I graze her lips with mine. Gigi kisses me back for a second, then pulls away.
“You’re not supposed to do anything strenuous!” she protests. “I’m supposed to be making sure you don’t!”
“I won’t tell anyone if you won’t,” I growl. “C’mon. You can be gentle with me.”
Gigi laughs and climbs into my lap. “This is a very bad idea.”
“Nah. It’s the best idea I’ve had in a while.”
My mouth comes down on hers. Instantly, it’s like I’ve been in the desert for days and she’s just offered me a drink. My whole body comes to life, my headache receding into the background so that I barely even feel it. All there is is the softness of her lips, the perfume of her hair, the way she wiggles in my lap against my hardening erection. Gigi is like coming home, and suddenly I’m so relieved to have her back that my throat starts to sting.
The front door flies open with a crash, startling us out of our kiss. It’s Fury. At first, his face is a mask of concern, but when he registers Gigi in my lap, his expression turns to match his name.
“What the fuck is going on here?” he shouts at me.
I wince at the volume of his voice. Gigi flies off of my lap. “Connor! Stop shouting!” she cries
“Dude, can you yell a little quieter?” I say, grimacing.
“Fuck you, Mack!” he yells even louder. “What the fuck are you doing with her?”
Gigi recovers quickly from her shock. “Stop it, I said!” she hisses at her brother. “He’s got a concussion!”
“Stop trying to protect him!” Fury shouts.
“Okay, seriously,” I mutter. “Could we do this at a lower volume, though?”
“What are you doing here, Connor?” Gigi demands, fists on her hips.
Fury looks incredulous. “Wishbone called me. Told me what happened to Mack. Jesus, excuse me for caring!” He turns to me, jabbing a fist in my face. “Are you messing with my baby sister?”
“Uh… Yeah. I am. Sorry about that.”
Fury is on the verge of exploding. “You have stepped way over the fuckin’ line, brother! If you weren’t concussed, I’d beat the living hell out of you right now! Consider this a rain check for your second concussion, you piece of shit.”
Gigi pushes between us, placing herself between Fury and me. “Shut it, you asshole. I’m a big girl. I get to make my own decisions about who I sleep with.”
“Fucking Christ, you slept with her already ?” he yells at me, making my ears ring.
I squeeze my eyes shut, resisting the urge to hold my head together with my hands. I’m exhausted. Tired of hiding, tired of fighting. Fuck it. Time to come clean.
“Yeah, we did. More than once, in fact.” I open my eyes and hold out my hands in a gesture of peace. “Look, Fury, I’m sorry. I broke your trust. I didn’t mean for this to happen between G and me. But I’m not sorry it happened. And I’m good with you wantin’ to fight me about it later. But right now, I think we got more important things on the table.”
“Yeah, like what?” he challenges, jaw set, eyes wild.
“Well, like for example, the fact that if Gigi hadn’t shot at the guy who broke into her bus tonight, she might be dead. Or at the very least, they would have taken her somewhere we might have never found her.”
That stops Fury in his tracks. “Fuck,” he curses. “That true?”
Gigi grimaces. “Yeah. I was lucky I remembered the gun in a drawer. I fired once and he fled.”
“Was it Blaze?”
“Not sure. There were two of them at least. It was dark, and one of them hit me from behind.”
“Goddamn, the run didn’t stop this shit, then. Why the fuck is this Blaze guy so fixated on Gigi?” Fury pounds his fist against a table. I try not to register the nail that goes through my head as a result. At least his anger isn’t focused on me anymore.
“G, go back to your apartment,” Fury commands. “Mack and me, we got shit to discuss.”
“The hell I will,” she says, her chin jutting.
“Gigi. It’s okay,” I say gently. “We got some club business we need to talk about. We can’t do that with you here.”
Gigi harrumphs, but for once she does as she’s told. When she’s gone, Fury pulls out a pack of smokes and fumbles in his pocket for a lighter. “Fuck. This shit can’t go unanswered.” Fury takes a deep drag of his cigarette. “We gotta talk to Magnus tomorrow about it. This is Scorpions against Bastards now. We target the Scorpions’ operations and apply pressure.”
“Agree. We make life hell for the local chapter. Make it clear it’s because of Blaze. That pussy would never dare to fuck with us without his club behind him.”
“Best case scenario, the Scorpions cut him loose. The Scorpions don’t want to risk war with our club over one piece of shit nomad’s obsession with the sister of a Bastard.” Fury looks grim. “Either way, there’s no way Blaze gets out of this alive.”
At least on this, we’re in agreement.
As for the rest, we’ll deal with it later.