Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Fury
Two weeks later
T he pain is searing through my head like a hot poker. It’s so bad, I want to rip open my own skull just to relieve it. But I can’t move. Why the fuck can’t I move? I try to open my eyes, but it feels like they’re grainy and swollen. My mouth is dry, and even when I try to lick my lips, there’s nothing much there.
“He’s waking up.” It sounds like Axel. What’s he doing here? “Brother, you had us all fucking worried,” he says, and I feel his hand on my shoulder. “Nurse,” he calls. “He’s waking up.” Waking up? Nurse? Nothing is making sense.
A gentle hand feels my forehead. “Mr. Northman, I’m a nurse. You’re in Royal London Hospital. You’ve been in the wars, and we’ve had to keep a very close eye on you,” she says gently. “Can you open your eyes for me?” I try, I really do , but they won’t budge. It’s like they’re glued shut. “Okay, can you squeeze my hand if you can hear me?” She places her cold fingers into my hand, and I squeeze. It’s not much but enough for her to feel it. Why do my arms feel so weak?
“Perfect. Well done. Don’t worry too much, things will start to make sense. I’ll grab some eye drops to see if that helps,” she says as she releases my hand.
“Fuck, man, we thought you were gonna die,” says Axel. “What the fuck happened?” Good question. “I’m gonna call Lex. Everyone will be pleased to know you’re waking up. This last fortnight took its toll on us all, especially Xanth.”
Xanth? Who the fuck is Xanth? I only know one Xanthe, and I haven’t seen her for years.
Xanthe
Relief floods me when Axel calls to tell us Fury is awake. I’ve spent the last two weeks in agony, desperate to see him, to hold him, and to tell him how much I love him. The closest I’ve gotten is when Mum visited him and placed the phone beside his ear. And we still have no answers. We don’t know where Donnie is, and even though Axel is sure he’s out of the country, he won’t risk letting me go to the hospital. And we have no idea who Fury fought, but maybe now we’ll get some answers and make them all pay.
It’s not until an hour or so later, when Mum calls, that my heart sinks again.
“He’s confused, and he still can’t open his eyes,” she tells me. “He isn’t talking, but the doctor thinks it’ll all come back to him over the next few days. He said we just need to keep talking to him and reassuring him. We won’t know the full extent of the damage until he’s fully awake and back with it.”
“Is he hopeful he’ll get all his functioning back?” Brain injuries are unpredictable, and it’s hard to know what damage is done in the early stages.
“Sweetheart, you already know the answers,” she says gently.
I nod, even though she can’t see me, and sadness fills my heart. “I know, I just want some hope.”
“The fact he’s awake is hope,” she says reassuringly.
“But the fact he hasn’t opened his eyes yet isn’t.”
“It’s been an hour,” she says with a small laugh. “Let’s give him time.”
Time. I’m so sick of people saying that word. It’s not the right time for you to leave the clubhouse. In time, he’ll be back to normal. Time is a great healer. Everyone seems to have something to say to try to reassure me.
“Can you call me if he opens his eyes?” I ask.
Fury
Two days. Two days of listening to people talk all around me. Two days of not being able to see them, and two days of not being able to ask them what the fuck is going on. I had a fight, one I can’t remember, but that’s not unusual. I am a fighter, I know that, but what’s confusing me is that I never lose.
And the second mystery is why my foster mum is here. I haven’t seen or heard from her since they sent me away, and it’s not like I’m a kid who needs parental supervision.
Axel keeps talking about Xanthe, and because of Dianna turning up, I know he means Xanthe from when I was a kid. But again, why the fuck is she around? Were they notified when I came into hospital?
And why is Axel here? Why am I in London? Where’s Ripper? Where’s Joanne?
So many questions and no way of asking.
It must be early. Axel isn’t here, as he said goodbye some hours ago. He only ever leaves at night, and apparently, he leaves a prospect outside the door, much to the nurse’s annoyance.
I take a deep breath and try to open my eyes. “Come on,” I hiss to myself. “It’s not rocket science.”
“There he is.” I relax immediately at the sound of Joanne’s voice. I feel her hand on my cheek, and then she places a light kiss on my forehead. I open my eyes, just a little at first, but enough to let a light in that sends another searing pain to my head. I hiss, and her blurry outline appears to step back. “Oh baby, are you in pain?”
I try again, this time opening them a little more. I blink a few times, and she becomes clearer. She smiles, and I use the button the nurse placed in my hand to sit the bed up some more.
Jo perches on the edge, holding my hand. “We’ve been so worried,” she whispers. “I haven’t slept since the fight.”
She’s never missed any of my fights, even when she’s had Ripper beside her. Her secret looks have always been enough to get me through. I look past her, and she must sense who I’m waiting for. She kisses my lips. “He’s not here, baby.” The fact she’s here alone confuses me. He wouldn’t let her leave the club without an escort—usually me—but as I’m laid up, surely, he would have sent a prospect at the very least.
“W-where?” I manage to croak out, frustrated I can’t speak like normal.
“He’s with Axel catching up. Listen, no one here knows about the fight yet, and I really want to keep it that way.”
“F-fight?” I repeat. “Lost?”
She frowns. “You don’t remember?” I give my head a slight shake.
The nurse comes in to check my vitals. She gives me a double take and smiles. “Well, ain’t you a sight for sore eyes?” she asks in a teasing tone. She pulls out her pocket torch and flashes it in my eyes, causing more pain. I wince, and she apologises. “It’s nice to see those baby blues.”
Jo stands. “Erm, I don’t think he can remember the fight,” she says, and the nurse looks at me.
“Can you talk?”
I frown deeper, trying to think of the word. I feel like most of my words have left me, and the ones I want to say flit in and out of my mind before I get a chance to try and say them. “Little,” I eventually say.
She gives me a reassuring smile. “It’s quite normal for speech to take a while to return. The fact you can say some words is a great sign. And I’m afraid you might find your memory is patchy.”
“Is it likely to return?” Jo asks.
“Maybe,” says the nurse. “Maybe not. What’s the last thing you remember?” she asks me.
I think hard. “Nottingham,” I reply.
Jo looks worried. “He hasn’t lived in Nottingham for months.”
The machine beside me begins to beep loudly as my heart slams harder in my chest. Months? Why the hell did I leave Nottingham? The nurse silences the machine. “I think he’s had enough visitors for today.”
“I’m his wife,” Jo snaps. “I want answers.”
Xanthe
I don’t like the new biker who’s turned up at the clubhouse faking concern for Fury. Everyone else seems to love him and can’t do enough for the guy. But there’s something shifty in his eyes, and I don’t like it.
Gemma sits beside me at the bar and follows my eyeline to Ripper. “What?” she asks.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your face is saying everything,” she states. “You don’t like him.”
“I don’t know him.”
“So, why don’t you like him?”
I smirk. She never misses a trick. “There’s something off about him,” I reply, shrugging.
“I thought the same.”
We exchange a grin. “It’s an air around him,” I say, “arrogant yet nervous. He’s hiding behind fake confidence.”
“He’s lying about something,” she adds. “He’s too shifty when he speaks, and he doesn’t quite meet Axel’s eye.”
“Have you mentioned it to anyone?” I ask.
“By anyone, you mean Axel or Fletch?” She laughs. “No.”
“Maybe you should.”
“In case you didn’t realise, they don’t listen to us. As far as they’re concerned, he’s a brother.”
“But surely your word might make them think it over, see things they might not have.”
“Are you worried he’s here to take your man back home?”
I scoff. “No. Fury wouldn’t leave without me anyway,” I say with false confidence. The truth is, not being able to see him has left me feeling a little lost. Without his reassurance, I don’t know how he feels. We were only just starting out again and then this happened. “I really want to see him,” I add. “I was thinking maybe I could go in my uniform. No one’s going to be looking at a nurse.”
She arches a brow. “Only your crazy ex who knows you work there, and he’s the reason you’re in hiding.”
“We don’t even know where he is,” I exclaim. “The guys are busy. They wouldn’t even know if we leave.”
“I will have Fletch watch you all night if I have to,” she warns. “Axel will tell you when the time is right.”
I go upstairs in a huff. It’s almost impossible to get out of here because there is always someone on the gate lately. And even when there isn’t, there are brothers hanging around, and they all know I can’t leave.
Fury
I hear Axel from outside the room berating the nurse for not calling him to tell her things had changed since he’d left. When he finally bursts in, I manage a smile, and relief floods his face. The nurse is hot on his heels, still trying to explain that she told my next of kin.
“I’m his fucking next of kin,” he barks.
“The lady who was here earlier, she said she was his wife.”
Axel’s eyes narrow and he looks at me. Before I can attempt to talk, the nurse jumps in. “He’s not managed to find his speech. These things take time.”
“Jo,” I manage to whisper.
“Jo?” he asks, and I nod. “What the hell was she doing here?” And then something passes over his face, but he doesn’t bother to explain. Instead, he turns to the nurse. “She isn’t his wife. They aren’t together. Don’t let her in here again.”
“Actually, it’s not up to you,” the nurse says, turning to look at me. “It’s up to you who visits. Can she come in here?” I nod, and she smiles smugly before leaving.
Axel glares at me. “What the fuck is going on, Fury?”
“I-I don’t . . .” I take a breath. “Memory.” I know the sentence is wrong, but the words won’t come, so Axel sits beside me in the chair.
“You can’t remember?” he asks, and I nod. “But you remember Jo isn’t yours, right? She chose him in the end.” When he sees my confusion, he sighs. “You left Nottingham to come here because everything came out, Fury. Ripper found out about the two of you.”
I close my eyes and think back to Jo and the promise she made me. “I’ll tell him, and we can be together. A family of three.” I was shocked when the pregnancy test came back positive, but I was ready to step up and own up. I hadn’t meant to start fucking around with my former president’s wife, but she was unhappy. Ripper didn’t want to have kids, and Jo found it hard. She wanted her own little family. We connected unintentionally—I was around when she needed to talk, and things progressed. I certainly didn’t mean to get her pregnant, but she was over the moon. How could I tell her it wasn’t what I wanted?
I picture Ripper leaning in close to my ear. “She got rid of it.” My frown deepens. I don’t know if that’s a real memory or a dream.
I didn’t ask Jo about the baby, but it’s only just come back to me, and I feel that tightening in my chest again. The machine beside me bleeps, and Axel rolls his eyes before turning the sound off. “Relax. It’s gonna be a lot to process, but we don’t need little miss nurse bitch turning up to kick me out.”
The door opens, and Axel groans when a nurse enters. She’s wearing a face covering. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he snaps, and she removes the face mask.
“I had to see him,” she hisses. And then her eyes fall to me and she smiles wide, rushing over and throwing her arms around me. “I’ve been so worried about you,” she cries.
I glance at Axel, who looks pissed. “How the hell did you even get out of the clubhouse?”
Clubhouse? She’s from the club? The nurse pulls back and runs a hand down my cheek before kissing me gently on the lips. I frown. I mean, she’s hot, don’t get me wrong, but Jo would slam her to the ground for touching what’s hers. “I love you,” she whispers, her eyes teary.
I glance back to Axel again, my eyes wide with confusion. Axel sighs, rubbing a hand over his forehead. “Xanthe, he doesn’t remember.”
Xanthe. This is Xanthe? Shit, she’s grown. Of course, she is, it’s been years. I smile a little, but she looks horrified. “Xanthe,” I manage to say.
“Yes, it’s me,” she says, smiling again. “See, he does remember,” she shoots to Axel.
“Do you?” Axel demands.
“Xanthe,” I say again. “First . . . love.”
“Yes, that’s right,” she cries again, swiping tears from her eyes. “And your last, I hope,” she adds, giving a nervous laugh.
My smile fades, and Axel shakes his head slightly in disappointment. “He doesn’t remember, Xanthe. He remembers what you had before.”
My head hurts from everyone around me talking in riddles.
Xanthe
I see it in his expression. He doesn’t remember me. The way he keeps looking to Axel for confirmation is one of the many signs he doesn’t have a clue about the promise he made me. “What do you remember?” I ask.
“N-Nottingham,” he replies.
“Okay, but we can fix it. I can update you, and we can get back on track,” I say, my voice wavering slightly. This is not the big reunion I had planned.
The door opens, and a woman comes in. She looks from me to Axel and then to Fury. “What’s going on?” she asks, staring pointedly at me. I remember my uniform and snap out of the current terror I’m feeling.
“Who are you?” I ask politely.
“His wife,” she says firmly.
I inhale sharply, and my heart twists painfully. “Not strictly true,” snaps Axel. Strictly? Why isn’t he saying it’s not true at all?
She steps in front of me, effectively pushing me to step back, and places a gentle kiss on Fury’s head. He looks pleased to see her, relieved even, and he takes her hand. I stare at the connection, wondering how many lies he’s told.
“I should . . . erm,” I look back at the door, “go.”
“Don’t go,” says Axel. “Not on your own, anyway.”
“I just . . . I need to . . . oh god.” I rush from the room, unable to hold it together.
Annabella looks up from behind the desk. “Xanthe, what are you doing here?” she asks, jumping from her seat and rushing to me while looking around suspiciously. My supervisor places an arm around me protectively. I’d told her Donnie was stalking me. How else would I explain not being in work for weeks?
“I came to see my . . . friend.”
“Hottie in room two?” she asks with a grin. “Wow.”
“How is he?” I ask. “Like really?”
“He’s doing good. He’s showing improvement every day, and once he can get up and walk, the doctor will release him.”
“Really? That soon?”
“Well, apart from his memory, there’s no lasting damage. He’s very lucky. The neurologist will have him come back in a few weeks to see how he is. You know what brain injuries are like—he’ll need monitoring for any permanent changes.”
Axel steps from the room, and Annabella gives my arm a gentle squeeze before she goes back to work.
I look through the window in the door. The woman is sitting on the bed showing Fury something on her mobile phone, and he’s smiling.
“Who is she?” I ask.
“Jo.”
“His ex?” I almost screech.
He nods, taking me by the arm. “We need to get you back to the clubhouse and then we’ll talk.”
By the time we get back, I feel sick. Fury talked about Jo, but he didn’t mention she was his wife or that they were still a thing.
I follow Axel into his office, and Grizz joins us. “What’s going on?” he asks, looking back and forth between us.
“He’s fully awake,” says Axel. “Eyes are open, and he’s trying to put things back together in his head.”
“That’s great news,” Grizz says.
“Jo turned up at the hospital,” he adds.
Grizz frowns. “Why?”
“Because apparently she’s his wife,” I snap, dropping down onto the couch.
“They’re not married,” Axel tells me.
“Well, whatever you bikers call it,” I mutter.
“She isn’t his old lady either,” he adds. “She’s with Ripper.”
My head shoots up. “What?”
“Which makes me wonder if Ripper knows his old lady is off visiting her fling?” asks Grizz.
“Yeah, it got me wondering too,” Axel says in agreement.
“Wait, isn’t that why he left Nottingham?”
“Yep,” says Axel, popping the P. “So, why would he allow her to visit him?”
“Maybe he doesn’t know,” Grizz suggests.
“Or maybe she’s trying to figure out what he knows,” I say. They both turn to me, waiting for me to elaborate. “Well, Ripper was acting shifty when he was here,” I explain.
“In what way?” Axel asks.
I shrug. “Just odd, like he was nervous.”
“I didn’t pick up on that,” he replies.
“Gemma did,” I say smugly, and his eyes narrow. “She agreed with me.”
Axel sits down. “Okay, Miss Marple, what else have you got?”
“What if he’s back for revenge? Maybe he knows more about the fight and he came to check what you know?”
Axel scoffs. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“Wait,” Grizz cuts in. “She might have a point. You wouldn’t let him end Fury when he asked. Maybe he came back to help him on his way after he heard he was in a bad way.”
“He wanted to kill Fury?” I demand.
“He asked, I said no, hence why Fury came here. Shit happens, and Jo was half to blame. But Ripper wouldn’t come here and do it under my nose.”
“So, why is he here?” I ask. “If he hates Fury, he’s not here out of concern.”
Axel thinks, running his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. I questioned it myself when he showed up. He just said he had business in the area. He didn’t mention Fury, but when I told him, he looked genuinely surprised. Especially when I told him Fury lost the fight.”
“Why is that a surprise?” I ask.
Axel laughs. “Cos he never loses.”
“Maybe he lost on purpose,” suggests Grizz.
“He wouldn’t throw the fight. And until I can get hold of Donnie, or Fury’s memory returns, I won’t know the answer to that.”
“What if he was fighting someone he thought he deserved to lose to?” Grizz pushes. “Like Ripper.”