Chapter Thirty-One
We’d slept downstairs for two nights in a row, and she’d only had one nightmare during that time, and even though she had a nightmare, it wasn’t about him. It was some random shit that had nothing to do with Sean or me. It was progress in a roundabout kind of way.
I was back on prospect duty, and had been sent out on my ride to drop off some papers at the council office. I didn’t know the details, to be honest. I didn’t ask. My job was to do as I was told, so I was doing it.
I parked up and walked into the town centre, which was empty and desolate, because guess what?
Online stores destroyed shopping centres, and they’re starting to feel like zombie apocalypse scenes could be filmed there.
I delivered the papers, tucked the receipt inside my leathers, zipped up safely, and left the council office, heading back to my ride.
That’s where things went bad pretty fast. The first thing I noticed was my ride laying on its side, which was definitely not how I’d fucking left it.
Son of a bitch! I picked up speed heading over there, and that’s where I made my big mistake.
I didn’t check my surroundings as I headed for it, and something heavy hit me in the face, sending me down onto my knees, momentum carrying me onto the pavement.
Suddenly I was surrounded by leather clad fuckers, and they yelled curses, punching and kicking at me, while I raised my arms to try and defend myself, desperate to try and block some of their blows.
I’m an accomplished fighter, but surrounded by about ten guys, and already half concussed from a blow to my head, I wasn’t getting up again any time soon. All I could do was try and protect the most important parts of me, in the hopes they’d stop before they killed me.
“Phoenix scum!”
“Fucking die!”
I kept trying to protect my face and head, and take the pounding, grateful for the heavy leathers protecting me by absorbing some of the momentum, but I was starting to weaken and if I passed out, they’d kill me for sure.
Something jabbed hard at my back, a foot?
A boot? Baseball bat? I had no idea, but as I was starting to fade into unconsciousness, I sensed them leaving, running like cowards, as I lay there in pain, wondering if I’d lost my chance at a life with Glory after all.
My entire body was throbbing with pain, and my breathing was laboured.
I wished I could see her just one more time, to remind her to live, and love. To keep healing. Fuck.
“It’s okay, son, just breathe. The ambulance is on its way,” someone murmured as they leaned over me, smoothing the hair from my eyes as they finally drifted closed.
Something was beeping, and low voices were arguing somewhere near me, but when I forced my eyes open and they fought the brightness of the room, I caught sight of dark leather and large bodies and sucked in a panicked breath, the beeping growing faster and more erratic.
“Henley? Brother, just breathe, you’re safe.”
I knew that voice. I trusted that voice, and the panic immediately dimmed, as I realised the leather clad men were my brothers, and not the assholes who attacked me right out there in the street where anyone could see. Where they should have seen.
“Is he awake?”
I groaned, forcing my eyes open again and casting them around the room. Everything looked a little blurry, but the dark haired man leaning closest to me patted my shoulder.
“You’re okay, brother. Few scratches, some bruises, you’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, you’ll walk it off, man. It’s all good.”
I snorted, and winced as it sent a ripple of pain down my back. Actually, of everything, my back was fucking killing me the most, and wasn’t that what the pain relief was for? That baseball bat must have done serious damage for it to throb like that.
“Hey, settle down, brother.” Was I moving?
My hand felt around for something, anything. Was I trying to call for a nurse? Trying to find some method of pain relief? I had no idea.
“He needs something. Get the nurse.” See? It worked.
“Wh… they were… bikers…” I gritted out, feeling like the words were torn from shredded lungs, every breath seeming to burn its way in and out again.
“We know exactly who it fucking was, brother. They get theirs tonight.”
“Fucking Double Ds, that’s who it was.”
“Grease got the footage, they fucking ganged up on him, cowardly cunts.”
I just lay there and let them talk, because I had no idea what I could possibly add to the conversation. I’d been jumped, knocked half senseless, and beaten. There was so much I didn’t know. So many questions. So many… where the fuck was that pain relief?
“Pain,” I whispered, and Micro patted my arm.
“Nurse is coming, brother, just rest. We’ll make them pay, I promise.”
I didn’t even care about that right now. A new problem was occurring to me. Glory. Where was she, and was she safe? Did they go after her too? Was she waiting at home, wondering where the hell I was? What time was it? I had no idea.
“G-Glory.”
Micro nodded, his features clearer now than they’d been at first. My vision was improving, while everything else continued to throb and burn.
“V’s picking her up, brother. She knows. She’s on her way.”
“My back… kills.”
Harley leaned over me then, his face grim as fuck.
“Yeah, getting stabbed hurts, brother, but they’ll pay. Count on it.”
Stabbed? When the fuck did someone stab me? Were my leathers trashed? The prospect cut would have been, but I didn’t care about that. Actually, oddly, I did care. It might have been just a prospect cut, but it was mine.
“My cut…”
“Screw it. You’ll have a new one waiting when you get out, brother, and it won’t have prospect on it.” I couldn’t really absorb the magnitude of that statement right now, because my next concern was…
“My ride!”
“Don’t worry, brother, it’s… oh, here’s the nurse.”
“I said two of you, didn’t I say two? You, you, and you, out.” The nurse was barking at the men surrounding me, and I faded out as they were bantering, but the pain was ebbing as I drifted off, so I think I got my pain meds.
Glory
The call from V had me panicking. Henley was in the hospital? Why the hell was he in a hospital? What happened? When she pulled up outside the house, I was already slamming the door closed, running over to slide into the passenger seat.
“Tell me.”
She steered back out onto the road, pulling a U-turn to head back the way she’d come.
“Apparently he was out on an errand, and was jumped by that other club. The ones who were in the pub that day.”
Oh god. He was attacked by them? He must have been all alone, and those cowards took advantage of that. Those sick, pathetic bastards!
“He… he’s hurt? How… how bad is it?” I was imagining such awful things, horrible extremes, and it was starting to make me spiral. I couldn’t lose him now, not now. We’d just found each other. We had a whole life to live together.
V reached out to pat my hand before she put her focus back on turning onto the next road, heading for the local hospital.
“He’s okay, I mean, he’s hurt, but he’ll be okay. He’s not in surgery or anything. He’s just patched up and recovering.”
Oh god. “What’s going to happen?”
V grinned savagely at me. “Retribution. That’s what’ll happen. Rocket’s already talking about how they’re going out there to hand the bastards their asses, and both chapters are going to be involved. I can see a club annihilation coming here.”
“Good,” I murmured, because how dare they hurt him? How dare they attack my sweet man, and gang up on him like that? He didn’t deserve that, he was the best fucking man I’d ever met.
“He’ll… he’s going to be okay,” I told myself firmly, and V nodded.
“He will. He’s tough, he’ll be up and about in no time. The stab-wound was minor, and… Glory? Hey, breathe, babe. He’s going to be fine.”
“STAB-WOUND? He was stabbed? Oh my god!”
“Shhhh… just breathe, okay? His leathers took the brunt of it, he’ll be fine. He’s… here, check what Rocket just sent me?” She passed me her phone, and I hesitated in case it was some x-rated barrage from her boyfriend, but it was a simple message.
Rocket: He’s awake. He’ll be fine. Drive safe, baby.
Oh god. He’s awake. Thank god. That had to be a good sign.
“Well?”
Oh. “Sorry, he said Henley’s awake, that he’ll be fine. Thank god! Oh god, I feel like I almost lost him today, and he still doesn’t know how much I love him!”
V took the phone from me, tucking it in the cubby between our seats.
“You’ll still get that chance, babe. He’s going to be fine, and you’re going to look after him, because he’s yours, right?”
Fucking right. I nodded grimly, turning to glance out of the window, suddenly remembering the rest of the message.
“Oh. Rocket said to drive safe.”
V started laughing. “He hates my car. Can you believe that? He thinks a motorbike is safer than a damn car!”
I was beginning to think that safe was just an illusion, regardless of whether that related to vehicles, people, groups, life, or anything.
I’d thought falling in love and getting married was safe, and I was wrong.
He thought going on an errand for his club was safe, and he was wrong.
Hell, going for a drink in a pub was also wrong.
“Glory, stop dwelling, babe. This is just a little blip. Club versus club crap, but they don’t know what they’re in for, they really don’t.”
They didn’t, and I had an idea that’d help make things go far easier, even though it just might not be that popular with the club.