Chapter Twelve
"What the fuck just happened? Is she okay?
" I ask in shock. That was intense. She looked fucking terrified when Wrath shut the door after Marissa left with the kid, and when Doc started running through her injuries, we could literally see her face drain of all colour.
Not that she had much to begin with. She's been grey since we came in here, I'm not sure if that’s because of the shit she's been through or if it was because she was surrounded by men she doesn't know pushing her for information.
"It looked like a panic attack, likely brought on by the stress of the last couple of days," Doc tells us, as he checks her over and monitors her vitals.
"I'll go find Firecracker and the kid, keep him entertained." Wrath turns and leaves, gently closing the door behind him.
I blow out a breath and grab the spare chair in the corner of the room, pulling it closer to the bed before sitting my arse down.
"What’s the plan, Prez?" I ask. We haven't really discussed anything, so I don't know how we're playing this.
He watches her for a few seconds. "Dunno, brother. Depends on what she says, I guess. Something's felt off since the crash."
"Is that why you ensured her car doesn't make it to the compound?"
He looks over at me and shakes his head a little. "The kid. When you were pulling her out of the car and I had him up on the road, he kept whispering to himself, 'they're gonna find us, they're gonna find us’. It just felt off. Securing that car felt like the right thing to do."
"She's been through hell, guys," Docs states. "When she got here, we had to run tests, she had to have scans. Those scans revealed countless old injuries that haven't healed properly. And her fresh injuries… somebody really did a number on her."
"What about the kid?" Nitro asks the question we don't want to have to ask.
Doc shakes his head. "Other than the broken arm and the bruise on his face, he seems fine. What did Wolf and Acid say when they were here earlier?"
"Not much. Said that they live with their aunt and uncle, and that they seem a little strict. Mason got yelled at for breaking his bike a few years back, that’s how they met them, they’d taken them home after Mason had fallen off it, then fixed it for him a few days later.
But then he had the bike taken off him in the end. "
"Wait, Prez, when did they tell you that?" I ask, confused. We did not have the conversation when he was here a few hours ago.
Nitro looks over the bed at me. "During one of our first meetings in the cafe. Wolf and Acid spoke to her, and I was curious how they knew her." He turns to Doc. "How long will she be out for?"
"Not long, she was only given a small dose of sedative.
Her body's not strong enough for much more.
I would have preferred not to give her anything, but I don't know what kind of impact it would have had on her body if we had let her ride it out.
She'll be awake in a couple of hours. I have to go do my rounds; are you two staying? "
"Ice will stay," Nitro states casually.
My head shoots up. What the fuck? "Hold up, why am I staying?"
"Because I'm your god damn fucking President and I said so." He smirks over at me. Fucking bellend. "Plus, Mason trusts you, and right now I think more than anything knowing her brother has someone around he trusts will make her feel better."
I can't argue with that, the kid does trust me. I'd just rather not sleep in a fucking chair all night.
"What's on your mind there, Prez?"
"I'm going to go check on the car, see if she had any belongings in there, see if there’s anything we can salvage. When she wakes, see what info you can get out of her. And I’m thinking if Doc lets her go we should maybe bring her to the clubhouse."
I nod. "Agreed."
***
I wake with a start. The room is dark, and there's only a thin strip of light coming from the window, not enough to cast any meaningful light in the room. I hear noises coming from the bed and I look over to see Nova's face scrunched up. I don't know if she's in pain or if she's having a nightmare.
My back aches as I get up from the chair and make my way over to the bed. "Hey, Nova," I whisper, placing my hand on the top of her forehead. "You're okay. Just relax. Shhhh."
She continues to make noises. I realise she’s having a nightmare, I don't know if I should wake her or just let her sleep. The dilemma is solved for me a few seconds later when she cries out and she shoots up in bed.
"Woah, woah, easy, Dragonfly. You're good." I raise my hands and take a small step back from her. I don’t want to scare her any more than she already is.
I hear her breathing speed up, so I quickly head to the door and turn the light on. "Nova, relax, it's just me. It's Ice. You're okay."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You scared me," she tells me, her voice croaky from sleep.
I head back over to the bed and grab the cup. “I'm going to go get you some water, give me two minutes." She doesn’t say anything, she just blinks a couple of times and nods.
She jumps when I walk back in the room. "I'm sorry, it's just me." My heart drops as I see her brush away the tears that are running down her cheeks.
"Oh, Nova. Here, have a drink." I hand her the cup then sit on the edge of the bed watching her as she takes a few small sips. I take the cup from her when she's done and place it on the table, so she doesn't have to twist herself around.
"Mason?" she asks me.
"He's okay, asleep in the children’s ward."
Her eyes bug out and I see the panic. Pulling out my phone, I quickly send a text, holding up one finger to her.
Less than twenty seconds later my phone vibrates with a video call.
I answer, turning the phone around so she can see the Prospect record the corridor outside her brother’s room before entering and showing Mason fast asleep curled on the bed, holding onto the hoody that Wrath gave him at the side of the road when he was pulled from the river.
I see her face relax, and she looks up at me and smiles. I cut the call, putting my phone back in my pocket.
"Better?" I ask.
She nods and lies back down. "Why are you still here?"
"Someone had to stay with you."
She looks confused. "No, they didn't. Why are you here, Ice?"
"Because my Prez wanted someone to stay with you and I was ordered to stay."
"I… I..."
"Nobody knows you're here, you and Mason are booked in under different names. Only Doc knows who you really are."
"Doc?" she questions.
"Yeah. Your doc is called Doc. He's a member of our MC and has made sure that nobody here knows you're here. I'm here to make sure that you and Mason are safe."
"Oh. Okay. Thank you. But I don't understand why you would want to..."
"Because, Dragonfly, that’s what we do. We take care of those who need us to."
"Why do you keep calling me Dragonfly?"
"The day I met you in the cafe, when Mason sat with us and he was drawing…"
She nods at me.
"He was drawing you a picture of a Dragonfly, he said you loved them."
She doesn't say anything, she just shuffles down the bed slightly and smiles. I watch as she fights to keep her eyes open.
"Go to sleep. You're safe, so is your brother, we've got you. Get some rest." I’m not sure she heard the end of my sentence before she drifted off to sleep. And I'm not even sure she realises that she grabbed hold of my hand as she did.