19 Ivy
Ivy
“Can’t see this,” Viking said from his propped-up position on the exam table the moment I stepped over the threshold. The room was only slightly more terrifying than the man covered in blood sitting in front of me.
The hot night air followed me in, and the coolness of the room was jarring. I left the Prospect at the door, but I knew he wouldn’t go far.
The tiny medical room reminded me so much of home.
It was clean and had that antiseptic smell.
Which was a lot more comforting than the one back in the Florida chapter’s compound left you feeling.
But instead of resembling something out of a doctor’s office or hospital, it was leaning closer to tattoo parlor territory.
The lights were low, the lamps in the corner glowed more soft yellow than harsh fake daylight.
The light that curled over, shining down on Viking’s arm, was also more yellow than bright, but it was enough to where I could see he was bleeding from a huge gash on his arm.
“Ivy,” Viking said, tone deadly.
I blinked at him, hoping he would read the shock on my face as being terrified of standing in an obvious back alley medical room rather than terrified because he was hurt. The room didn’t bother me. The blood didn’t bother me. The man patching up Vike didn’t bother me.
But seeing Viking hurt… shit, that did something to me that I wasn’t expecting.
“Grip told me to be here for you,” I said. I quickly glanced at the man sewing up the wound, but he didn’t seem to be paying us any attention.
“Grip did wrong,” Viking said, nearly growling.
I didn’t like the little hint of uncertainty I heard in his voice. I think Grip knew him better than he knew himself. Or maybe knew what Vike needed more than the man could admit.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I told him. My defiant streak slipped out, and I wasn’t even bothered that I’d let it show. I moved to Vike’s free side. “Now be quiet and hold my hand.”
His hand stayed put on his thigh, but he didn’t flinch or stiffen when I curled my fingers around it and gave him a soft squeeze. It nearly brought me to tears when he held my eyes and squeezed back.
Oh, I didn’t like this feeling. I didn’t like what was happening. I definitely didn’t like what this situation was turning me into.
Okay, fine. That wasn’t true. I liked the feelings, I just hated that I’d already fucked this situation up before it ever really had a chance. I knew this would sting later, and I had no one to blame but myself.
“Can’t ask,” he said to me. I knew that, and there was another slip-up since I hadn’t even tried to find out why this had happened. “You can’t ask me what happened. You can’t ever ask.”
My gaze flicked over to the club doc, or so I assumed. This time, his attention was on me, as if he needed to see what I’d do.
The panicked look on my face was a good cover for this situation.
While I wasn’t scared because a wounded man was telling me I’d never know all the dangers of his life or why this happened to him, I was freaking out for another reason.
Maybe he hadn’t meant for it to come out sounding as if he was thinking there would be a future for us to not talk about it, but it sure came off to me that way.
“Don’t ask. Got it,” I said with a wobbly nod. “Are you… okay?”
I hesitated because who the fuck would be okay after being stabbed or sliced up or whatever the hell happened?!
It was clear that this wasn’t one of those situations where he was accidentally hurt while doing something mundane, like fixing the washing machine.
I nearly rolled my eyes at the thought.
The man went back to working on the wound, but I did notice how he discreetly looked at where my hand was holding Vike’s.
At this time, Vike gave my hand another squeeze.
When I swung my gaze to him, he was looking at me with a soft expression plastered on his face.
It was like there was no one else in this room.
Or maybe he just didn’t care who saw him looking at me that way.
My gut swooped.
And I thought how dumb it was.
But I also didn’t hate it.
“I’m okay,” he finally assured me.
His hand left mine, and before I could fully process what was happening, he looped his free arm around my waist and hauled me up into his lap.
I let out a small scream, and cringed when it tauntingly echoed around the room.
The table was barely big enough for him, forget adding me, which meant I was trapped there on his lap.
Okay, fine. I didn’t so much hate it.
“Jesus, Vike. I could have slipped and sewn us together,” the doc grumbled, shaking his head. There was a slight hint of amusement on his face despite his tone. Viking growled, but didn’t take his eyes off of mine. “No fuckin’ while I’m patching you up.”
“Zip it, Slice,” Vike barked.
It was all I could do to hold back a laugh. As it was, I couldn’t stop the wide smile from lighting up my face.
“This is what I get for giving you the good pain meds,” the doc, now I figured was Slice, muttered under his breath.
“Told you I didn’t need ’em.”
“Then what did you do with them?”
“Put ’em in my pocket for a day when I will need ’em.” I snorted at Vike’s comeback. Slice rolled his eyes, but I got the sense he saw that answer coming. “I did empty out Rusty’s flask on the way back here, though.”
Slice sighed heavily.
“Alcohol thins your blood,” he said, sounding like a parent reminding a child of this for the umpteenth time.
“I know. But just because I know, don’t mean I make smart decisions,” Vike shot back. “Besides, I knew what was comin’.” His eyes dropped to where Slice was touching his arm. “Figured I’d make it easier on you.”
Viking had mentioned he didn’t like people touching him, but I didn’t know how deep that went.
It seemed he meant any kind of touching.
Things were starting to come together in my head.
Maybe I should have asked him more about it when he’d mentioned it, but there was that part of me that knew the club life too well and lived by the rule that it was better not to ask.
These men weren’t open books. You didn’t point out their so-called weaknesses to them if you wanted to live. You ignored them and danced around them at the same time.
But seeing how Slice was doing his best to move quickly and touch Viking as little as possible, which couldn’t have been easy, I realized something big. People knew. People in the club knew, and they respected it. Slice wasn’t treating him like a freak or telling him to stop acting like a baby.
I didn’t know what to do with this.
My dad would find someone’s weakness and use it against them until they cracked.
I assumed it would be the same here, but maybe I was wrong.
Or it could have been that Slice was a smarter man than most, and wasn’t going to aggravate the big man while he was trying to work on him.
Leaving me to wonder if the teasing would come later.
Maybe I’d be around to find out. Then again, something in my gut told me I already knew the answer.
Then, maybe, this place wasn’t quite like the one I’d grown up in.
“There,” Slice said as he finished. “Anywhere else I need to patch up?”
“Nah,” Viking replied.
“Can you make it back to your room?” the doc asked with a raised brow.
“Probably, but that’s not where I’m headin’.”
“Prez says you should stay here. They got it handled.” There was no room for arguing in the man’s tone.
Viking’s brow furrowed. I couldn’t tell if he was pouting or mad. It was a little adorable, but I’d never tell him that. He looked like he wanted to argue. I could see it bubbling up inside and how he was pressing his lips together tightly to hold it in. Finally, he gave a short nod.
“Why don’t ya let Little Missy here take you back to your room so you can get some sleep?” Slice suggested in a way that wasn’t really a suggestion.
“Ivy,” Vike grunted, sounding like a defiant teen. I was doing my best to hold back a smile. “Her name is Ivy.”
“Right. Apologies.” There was the barest hint of sincerity in his tone. I nearly laughed. “Have Ivy take you back to your room for a long nap. You look like shit.”
“Such an asshole,” Vike grumbled under his breath.
Slice snorted and shook his head, already moving off to clean up as if he didn’t really care what we did.
“I hope you can walk because I can’t carry you,” I said to Vike in a teasing tone as I slid off his lap.
Vike planted his feet on the ground, stood up without so much as a wobble, and looked down at me as if he were waiting for me to be impressed. I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling.
“Come on, big guy,” I said as I headed for the door.
I was shocked when he slipped his hand in mine, but I tried to play it cool.
“Oh, you!” I gasped as I nearly ran into the Prospect when I stepped out of the room. Had he been waiting out here the whole time in the dark? I was glad he hadn’t come in, but I did feel a little bad that he’d been stuck outside.
With the light spilling out of the room behind me, the Prospect studied me like he didn’t know what to make of me.
A look I was so familiar with by now. He could be a problem, and this wasn’t the first time I’d thought that about this particular Prospect.
I wasn’t sure if I should trust him or not, but it was clear that he saw through my act, and that meant trouble.
He’d never said anything in front of any of the other members, including Grip and Viking, but I figured it was just a matter of time.
When he saw Viking’s hand in mine, his look changed.
“You need help?” he asked. I wouldn’t say no under any other circumstances with any other Prospect, but I wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
“Oh, good. Prospect, get your ass in here. I got another patient, and I need you to clean up this shit,” Slice said from behind me, and I released the breath I’d been holding.