Chapter 4
Kemah
I hated to leave him, but they wouldn’t let me stay.
I was actually shocked they let me ride in the ambulance with him.
It really pissed Jake off when I didn’t get back out like he was yelling at me to do.
Fuck him. I’m so sick of him and his controlling ways.
I’m sick of the way he talks to me, but I can’t go anywhere.
Where would I go? My father got rid of me.
The thought hits me like a ton of bricks before I swallow hard and lean back in the chair in the waiting room.
“Are you the woman who came in with the man from the accident?” Someone asks. I look up to see a small lady with white hair smiling at me.
“Yes. Is he okay?”
“He’s asking to see you.”
“See me?” I repeat, unsure why he’d want to.
I was just here to make sure that he was okay, considering he wasn’t speaking to me in the ambulance.
She nods her head as I slowly stand up and walk toward her.
She turns, and I follow as she leads me down the hall and past the nurse’s desk.
All heads turn to watch me, and I’m unsure why until she pulls the curtain back.
The man lies on the bed, his eyes closed, yet he looks like a God.
He’s shirtless, his muscled chest and abs on full display.
I look over my shoulder at the nurses, but they all turn away quickly. Fuck, that’s why they’re staring.
I turn back, and this time, bright green eyes meet mine, and I suck in a breath. I open my mouth, but words won’t form. What do I say? What is there to say?
“You stayed with me.” He states. I nod my head when he motions for me to come closer. I shake my head, but he just smiles, and fuck, that is one good-looking smile. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Slowly, I step closer, and the little nurse who was standing pulls the curtain back into position before she walks away. There are noises, beeps of the machines, children crying, people coughing, but I’m staring at him as if he’s the only person in the whole ER.
“What’s your name?” he asks, his deep voice causing chills to run down my spine.
“Uh, my name?”
“Yeah, darlin’. Your name. What is it?” The smile on his face nearly melts my insides, but I quickly shake away the feeling and open my mouth to respond.
“Kemah.”
“Kemah? That’s a unique name. I’ve never heard that before,” he tells me.
“Yeah. Not many with my name, I guess.”
“You’re nervous,” he adds.
“I’m just not used to this,” I tell him.
“Meetin’ strangers after accidents? You stayed. Why?”
“I … well … I uh, I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” I mumble as I look down at my hands.
“Don’t look down. Look at me,” he demands. I lift my head quickly, and I’m not even sure why. Those bright green eyes burn straight through me, and a chill races over my flesh. “You wanted to check on me?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have. I just hated to see you be alone coming here.”
“You didn’t want me to be alone?”
“No.”
“Fuck,” he grumbles under his breath.
“I should … I should go. This probably caused more trouble than it was worth.”
“With that asshole?”
“Yeah, with that asshole.”
“He hurts you?”
“Not really. I’m glad you’re okay,” I tell him as I take a step back.
“Don’t move,” he orders, and I find myself stopping in my tracks. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I listening to what he says? “You’re not goin’ anywhere.”
“I have to go. I shouldn’t have come.”
“You wanted to make sure I was okay. That’s what you said,” he says as I nod. “Then make sure I’m okay.”
“I can see you. You look fine.”
“Do I? How fine?” My cheeks heat while he grins at me. “I’m kiddin’, sweetheart. Anyway, Doc said I fucked my head up pretty good, but the helmet took the majority of the damage. I’m a little bruised and banged up, but nothin’ was broken, thankfully.”
“That’s good. I’m glad nothing was broken. And bruises heal.”
“Yeah, they do, don’t they. You wanna give me your number?”
“What? Why?”
“Because I want to thank you properly one day.”
“Yeah, I’m not giving you my number. I really have to go.”
“Kemah, your number,” he demands this time. I shake my head and step back, turning on my heel to leave. I shove the curtain out of the way and rush out of the area.
I make it back to the waiting room and blow out a huge breath.
I don’t know how I didn’t realize how good he looked when we were in the ambulance.
Maybe I was distracted by what the paramedics were doing.
Maybe I was lost in my own little world.
Doesn’t matter now, though. That was that. I won’t see him again.
I walk out of the hospital and pull my cell from my pocket to get an Uber.
Then I walk over and lean against the wall of the hospital when I hear the roar of what sounds like motorcycles.
After a few seconds, I see a bunch pull into the parking lot and park.
Men climb off and stalk toward the doors.
I take them in as they pass me, one giving me a smile and another nodding at me.
I let my eyes roam over them and read the back of the cut they have on.
“Soulless Bastards,” I murmur. I’ve never heard of them before, but the guy who got hit had one of those on. I’m assuming these are the other club members.
I lean back against the wall when I see a car pulling up in front of me. When I realize it’s my Uber, I walk over and start to climb in, but I see one of those guys come back out.
“Hey!” he calls out. I look over my shoulder and see him looking directly at me. “You! Wait a minute!” He roars. Fuck that! I jump in the Uber and tell them to hurry the hell up and get us out of here. I don’t know if he’s mad I was with his friend or what, but he looks pissy.
The Uber takes off, and I look out the window in time to see the man rushing toward us, but it’s the car is moving before he can reach us.
“Friends of yours?” the driver asks.
“No. I’m not sure what he wanted.”
“Then it’s a good thing we took off,” he adds as he keeps driving. I rattle off the address and sit back in my seat, thankful that we got the hell out of there when we did. I don’t know what he would have done if we didn’t.
We pull up at the house, and I cringe. I see Jake’s car in the driveway, and I know I’m going to have to deal with his drunken bullshit, too.
I sigh as I pay and climb out of the car, walking to the front door. Before I ever make it, it flies open, and I gasp. I wasn’t expecting to see my dad here. In fact, I hadn’t planned on seeing him ever.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“What do you care?” I say as I walk up the steps and right past him. He grabs my arm and jerks me back, causing me to stumble.
“You answer me!”
“You sold me!” I remind him. He huffs and lets go of my arm when I walk away from him.
“You’re going to answer me.”
“I don’t have to. I don’t belong to you,” I remind him. Now he laughs.
“You belong to me just like Jake does. I fucking own you,” he growls. I turn to face him when I see Jake. He looks as pissed as my dad does, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell them shit.
“She jumped into the back of an ambulance with a strange man.”
“A man who was just hit by a car!”
“Did you know him?” My dad asks.
“No.”
“Then why were you needed?”
“I wasn’t. It just felt like the right thing to do.”
“The right thing to do? Are you fat and stupid? Is that it?” My dad screams at me.
“I’m not stupid,” I snarl, keeping my head held high.
“Then why are you just now getting here?”
“I told you why. He was alone and confused. I don’t think anyone should be left alone like that,” I tell them softly. My dad laughs now. He fucking laughs before coming closer to me. My skin crawls the closer he gets.
“You’re stupid to think anyone needs you, Kemah. No one needs you. And one day, you’ll be of no use to us,” he threatens as he stares me in the eye.
Fuck them. I don’t need them anyway. I can do this on my own. I know I can. So I hold my head high and smile back at the bastard who gave me to Jake.
“I don’t need you either.” He laughs again, and this time it pisses me off a little more. I ball my hands at my sides, and he notices, so does Jake.
“You better think real hard about what you want to do here, Kemah. If you so much as lay a hand on me, I’ll have you killed,” he sneers at me.
“Have me killed? Too scared to do it yourself?” I taunt him. My dad steps closer to me, and my fists slowly release.
“I’m definitely not scared to end you myself, Kemah. In fact, if that will make you feel better, I can do it now.” I swallow hard as his hand comes up to wrap around my throat and squeeze. I reach up and try to pull his hand away, but it’s useless; he’s too strong.
My eyes burn, my lungs scream for air that they don’t get until he finally releases me.
“If I didn’t need you alive until you’re thirty, I would fucking kill you now,” he sneers before turning and walking away. I drop to my knees, rubbing my throat as I suck air into my lungs.