Chapter 15
Haze
I get a call from Vapor and answer it while filling up my gas tank.
“Hey, brother. Is everything okay at the clubhouse?”
“Yeah, one thing did pop off though.” I freeze as alarm bells go off in my head. “Is Anna okay? She didn’t leave on her own, did she?”
“Nothing like that, she’s fine. Mel’s baby got rushed into hospital, Anna drove her and Hark to the ER. I met them there with Trix, cause you gotta know that sent her anxiety spiraling. She’d only just stopped freaking out about possibly having twins.”
“How’s the baby?” I ask.
“She’s gonna be okay. But I think they’re gonna keep her in overnight for observation due to her age.”
I glance over at Siege and Zen, they’re hunched over the tablet looking at security footage from the cameras at the docks to see if they can see anyone approaching my boat. So far there’s been nothing.
Vapor is still talking. “Siege making me sit this one out was probably a good idea. Trix needed me and so did Mel. Your girl stepped up like a champ, offering to drive Mel and Hark to the hospital.”
“Is Anna still there with you?”
“Yeah, we’re in the waiting room. She’s been through a lot tonight.”
“Ain’t that the damn truth. This has been the longest of long nights,” I tell my brother with a sigh, “I’m heading your way right now.”
“Okay, bro.”
I pull the nozzle out of my gas tank and slide it back into place. “Take care of our girls. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I climb onto my bike.
“Roger that. Everything here is stable, so don’t break your neck getting here.”
A ghost of a smile crosses my face as Vapor ends the call and I drop the phone back into my pocket.
Just as I’m starting my engine, Siege and Rigs pull up beside me. “We heard about Mel’s baby,” Siege says worriedly. Siege is a father of four so he knows how stressful parenthood can be.
Rigs adds, “It’s damn good news that poor little thing’s gonna be okay after the night we’ve had.”
“Where’s your new buddy?” I ask Rigs.
He knows immediately that I’m talking about Scott. I don’t know why my prestigious club brother decided to take a personal interest in this particular asshole. It’s possible he sees something in Scott that the rest of us don’t.
“Stop ragging on me about that. You were there when I told his brother to bring him to the clubhouse in the morning.”
I flash him an evil smile and shrug. Rigs is a fucking bleeding heart who feels the need to right every wrong he sees in the world. Good thing his old lady is the same damn way, or his marriage would be doomed. I am choosy about the people I let into my life. A raging alcoholic who thinks he’s God’s gift to women would not be on my list at all, much less at the top.
Siege snaps his fingers in front of my face, “Earth calling Haze. Wake the fuck up.”
Slapping his hand away, I say, “The fuck? Keep your hands out of my face.”
He frowns at me. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?” I ask defensively.
Rigs interjects, “Staring at nothing. You do that a lot.”
Feeling attacked, I fling back, “No, I fucking don’t.” Truth be told, this isn’t the first time someone has pointed this out to me. I’ve always been this way. So what if my mind wanders? It’s nothing. Changing the subject, I say, “I’m heading to the hospital. Anna’s there and I want to be with her. You done with me for the night, Prez?”
Siege revs his engine. “Sure. We’ll be along after we pick up our old ladies. They’re pretty tight with Mel, so I’m sure they’ll want to be there for her and Tracker.
“Yeah, the women in our club stick together that way.”
“That’s the way it should be,” he responds.
Still a bit distracted about everything that went down tonight, I tell him, “See you there.”
***
The second I walk into the waiting room, I see Anna is a complete mess. She’s curled up in one of the chairs and looks as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof.
Vapor jerks his chin at me as I walk into the room. He has his arm wrapped around his old lady. Trix seems to be spiraling. She’s normally smart, tough and capable but the pregnancy hormones, coupled with her anxiety about her being pregnant are really doing a number on her. It was all my brother could do to keep Trix calm. Something about Mel’s baby being rushed into hospital had spiked her anxiety sky high. I’m guessing it’s the feeling of knowing that parenthood can have its scary moments was freaking her out. I wanted to reassure her that emergencies like this are rare, but none of us are supposed to know she was pregnant, so I just shut up and let my brother comfort her.
Hark is pacing back and forth in front of Anna, muttering under his breath. He looked anxious as hell too and was worrying about his little niece.
I put my hand on his shoulder when I walk by and tell him, “The baby’s gonna be fine. She’s in the best place. You don’t have anything to worry about. Trust me on that.”
When he gazes up at me, I can see a world of worry in his young eyes. “Thanks,” he mumbles before going back to pacing.
I make a beeline for Anna, sitting beside her, and pulling her in tight. She melts into me and lays her cheek on my chest. “You okay, sweetheart?”
She nods, not looking up at me. “I’m better now that you’re here.”
I tell her and Vapor about how we tracked down Scott and his brother, only to discover they had nothing to do with my boat getting torched. Vapor’s expression blanks out. I know him well enough to realize this means he’s as stumped as the rest of us but doesn’t want to alarm the womenfolk.
I cuddle Anna up and continue making polite conversation, hoping to distract Trix and Hark from their anxiety until Siege, Rigs, and Rider show up with their old ladies. Cleo and Mattie go on a coffee quest.
Rigs takes Hark aside and talks him down to the point that he can at least sit down with Rigs’ son, Evan, and talk. Evan is a year older than Hark, but he’s prospecting for the Legion, which is something Hark is interested in doing once he’s done with high school, so they have a lot to talk about.
After half an hour, Tracker sticks his head around the door to give us a quick update, saying the baby’s responding to treatment, but they’re gonna keep her in for a couple of days. Everything checked out okay, but because she’s so young they don’t wanna take any chances.
It’s good news, but it’s still worrying for all of us. Mel is like a sister to everyone in the club, and when she’s hurting, we all hurt. Anna must feel how tense I am because she clutches me closer and rises up to drop a kiss on my lips before laying her head back down on my chest. God, this woman makes me feel so fucking seen and respected. I need her in my life something fierce, so I remind myself not to fuck this up.
Since Anna is falling asleep, and everything seems to be under control, I peace out with my club brothers and we head back to the clubhouse. My brothers understand why we left, there’s nothing we can do here, and after the incident with the boat we both need to decompress and get some shut-eye. Tomorrow morning we’re gonna have an early meeting and see if we can get to the bottom of who torched my boat, so it’s easier to stay here than go back home to the tattoo shop. We’re both dead tired so after a quick shower we crash out in Rigs’ old suite for the night. Falling asleep with the woman I’m falling in love with, feels like winning the romance lottery.