Chapter 2
Chapter Two
KRUGER
I rest my head in my hands, ignoring the ache in my back from the stupid metal chairs. When someone clears their throat, I look up and find the doctor who told me last week that Del didn’t want any visitors.
“She hasn’t changed her mind about visitors, and I honestly don’t think she will. I meet a lot of people in my line of work, but I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite so stubborn as Miss Anders.”
I sigh, running my fingers through my hair. He’s not wrong. I feel his eyes on my scars, but there is no fear or wariness, only mild curiosity.
“Bear.”
“Excuse me?”
“The scars. They’re from a bear.”
“Sounds like you were lucky—”
“Yeah, that’s me—lucky.”
He grins before he starts chuckling. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Miss Anders, but something tells me it will all work out.”
I tilt my head and study the guy. “You’re a little odd.”
“Thanks. It’s one of my better qualities.” He leans in closer. “Barring any complications, she’ll be discharged next week. While I can’t share her medical history with you, I can tell you she’s going to need help.”
My brain starts running through what that would entail when the doctor’s name is called.
“Excuse me,” he says before walking away.
I pull out my cell phone and head outside to make a call. Midas answers after a couple of rings. “How is she?”
“Doctors won’t tell me shit, and she still won’t let me in.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that’s stopped you?”
I sigh and sit on the bench. “I sneak in and see her when she’s asleep,” I admit, feeling like a creeper.
“And?”
“She looks like shit, Midas. The list of injuries is endless.”
“But she’s alive.”
“Yeah.” My mind flashes to her wrists and the scars there. I’m not a fool. I know precisely what those scars mean, and every time I see them, it feels like a knife to the gut.
“What do you need?”
“To get my place ready for her to stay. She needs help, and we both know she won’t take it from me unless I leave her no choice.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
“No, I just don’t care. She was willing to die for Legs, Midas. Why would she do that?”
“She loves her.” Midas sighs, and I’m surprised he admitted it.
All along, he had his suspicion about Del using Legs to get close to the club for revenge or something else equally as sinister.
But I just don’t see it, not after all this time.
And then she fought Midas for a fucking grenade.
I know she didn’t do it for him. She owes us less than nothing.
But the fact that she’d give her life for Legs’s happiness has swayed a lot of us, especially given how we treated her all those years ago.
“What about her family?”
“Her brother works on an oil rig, so he’s away for large chunks of the year.
He was here last time she was in the hospital, so I don’t see him getting time off again anytime soon.
Her dad hasn’t been by, which isn’t unusual.
Ike loves his daughter, but he’s not altogether with it enough to remember he has one half the time. ”
“Alzheimer’s?”
“Not as far as I know. She used to say he was like an absent-minded professor, brilliant and focused, but also forgetful to the point of neglectful. It only got worse when his wife died because she at least knew how to keep him reined in.”
“So she’s effectively alone?”
“Yeah.”
“Could hire a nurse. She’d probably prefer it.”
“I don’t trust a stranger around her while she’s vulnerable.”
“It’s not much different than her being in the hospital.”
“It’s very different and you know it.”
He curses before he lowers his voice. “My woman loves her, considers her our kid’s aunt. If you hurt her or make her run, Legs will gut you while you sleep.”
“I’m not going to fucking hurt her,” I snarl.
“Physically no, but all we are, all we did…” His voice trails off, but I can fill in the blanks myself.
We turned on her. Acting on pure emotion, we decided on her guilt without any facts, and we punished her for Snake’s crimes. And just when she rebuilt her life, one we destroyed to begin with, she was once more left with nothing but ash.
“We owe her. We have to try to make things right. I have to try.”
“Alright, man, I get it. Me and Legs will help get her stuff over to your place. I’m sure Legs can talk her way around Delphi’s dad. I’ll get back to you when we’re ready.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem. You talk to Blade yet?”
“No.” I don’t elaborate. I’ve avoided Blade for the most part because I don’t want him chiming in on shit right now and skewing Havoc’s opinion.
My only saving grace is that Havoc found himself in a situation not dissimilar to this, where a woman he cared about was cast as the villain.
Behind closed doors, she was repeatedly victimized because nobody had the full truth about what had happened except Lola herself.
If anyone might have sympathy toward Del, it’s him. Plus, he wasn’t part of the mother chapter when all this shit went down, so he isn’t blinded by his feelings of rage or sense of betrayal like the rest of us were.
“Alright, I’ll get back to you.” He hangs up, so I slide my cell into my pocket and head back inside.
I take my usual spot in the waiting room.
She’s been refusing to see me for weeks now.
If the roles were reversed, I’d probably do the same.
Hell, I’m surprised she hasn’t called the police on me.
Still, I keep coming, only leaving for work or if Havoc needs me.
I’m determined for her to know that I’m here and she’s not alone anymore, regardless of whether she wants me here or not.
The place I’m renting is centrally located between work, Au, and the clubhouse. It’s a one-story, two-bedroom house with a small backyard and an even smaller front yard. It was always only meant to be a stopgap until later on, and plenty big enough for just me.
The living room, dining room, and sitting room areas are all open-plan and decorated in plain white.
If I planned on staying, I’d add a splash of color.
As it’s only temporary, it will do for now.
At least until Delphi is better and we can plan what comes next.
It’s not big or fancy, but it doesn’t need to be.
What it is, is a place to heal. And hopefully a place where I can start making amends.
I finish stocking the fridge with all the things I remember Del liking.
The bathroom is full of dozens of girly products.
I’ve given her the main bedroom on account of the other being my office.
Plus it has the bathroom with the large tub she’ll be able to soak in as well.
Once that’s done, I double-check the security system to make sure everything is up and running before I head out.
I ride to the office, something I’ve not done much of lately with everything that’s been going on.
I’m lucky I have enough employees to keep things running.
Technically, ELM is my baby, but Raven Souls has a forty percent share in the company, which works for me.
I can’t think of a time when Ravens wouldn’t be part of my life.
They offered me a home and a purpose when I was a young idiot with a chip on my shoulder, running around with a cocky swagger, and convinced the world owed me something.
A bear attack and a dozen surgeries put that shit into perspective real fast. Turns out, nobody owes us shit.
Our issues are just that—ours. It’s nobody else’s job to pander to us.
I’m not a model citizen by any stretch of the imagination, but I try to be a better person than I was before.
Unless Del is involved. For some reason, I always fall down when it comes to her.
“Hey, Kruger, long time no see.” Matt, one of my IT guys, greets me as I walk in.
“It’s gonna be a flying visit at best. I just want to check in and see if there are any issues.”
He shakes his head. “Things have been pretty quiet. Just the usual run-of-the-mill cases. Nothing dangerous or wacky we need to worry about.”
“You just gave us the kiss of death. You know that, right?”
He smirks. “Like I said, shit’s been quiet. I could do with some excitement.”
I shake my head and walk into my office before turning on the computer.
Everything we do here—mainly offering protection to businesses and shit—could be done by the active MC members.
But having it run through an off-site professional business gives the whole thing a legality that most don’t expect with a motorcycle club.
Plus, we don’t have enough brothers free to run this place without pulling them from our other business, and that’s counterproductive.
We need a legitimate business to clean our money, as not all of it is obtained legally.
I spend my time signing off on shit that needs it and assigning cases that have just come in before rerouting what I can to my second in command, Nathan.
He can handle this place just as well as I can, if not better.
Once that’s done, I move on to a more personal matter and see if anything has come in about Lil.
G is working on tracking her down, but since most of her protection fell to me and my team, I feel like I’ve dropped the ball somewhere.
I scan everything, but there are no leads anywhere.
It’s as if she simply up and disappeared.
With a groan, I rub my eyes and shut shit down before getting to my feet. I stretch out the kinks before heading out to find Nathan. I tap on his half-open door when I hear him talking.
“Come in,” he yells. I push the door open and wait while he finishes his call. Once done, he gets up from his desk and gives me a one-armed hug.