Chapter 5 #2
“Sorry, Mrs. Williams. I just… I really don’t want to go to the hospital. If you’re worried about a concussion, can’t I just set an alarm every hour to wake up?”
“Please, call me Cece. And let’s just take this one step at a time. Let me grab my kit and check out the cut first, okay?” I nodded gingerly, studying her as she dug through the bag I hadn’t seen her bring in.
She looked to be in her mid fifties. It was clear that Charlie took after her.
Their features were almost a carbon copy of each other.
The only difference was their hair. Cece’s hair was mostly grey, with blonde peeking through.
It was short in the back, leaving most of her neck bare, but angled lower in the front, hitting below her shoulders.
I couldn’t help but marvel at how she managed to look both edgy and elegant.
She took my vitals before examining the back of my head. I winced as she cleaned the wounds, closing my eyes in a vain attempt to disassociate. I heard movement, and once again opened my eyes slightly to see Charlie placing a cup in front of me before sitting down next to me and taking my hand.
“I left Bash like fifty voicemails, but he must still be on the road. How does it look, Mom?” she asked.
“She’s lucky. It’s not deep, and she doesn’t need stitches, but I’m still not comfortable leaving her alone for the night.”
“Of course not. I’m going to stay with her,” Charlie replied from her spot next to me.
“What?” I asked, looking at her in surprise. Cece pulled her phone out of her pocket and excused herself, stepping out into the hallway to answer an incoming call as Charlie pulled my attention back to her.
“You’re family. Family takes care of each other. If you don’t want to go to a hospital, then you get to have a slumber party with me. Not to mention, you gotta tell Bash what happened so he can take care of that asshole.”
Before I could respond, Cece was back in the apartment, taking charge with a renewed vigor. She hustled me into the bedroom before relaying her orders.
“Charlotte and I will both stay here. We’ve got Brothers outside, so you don’t worry about a thing.
I’ll keep an eye on you so you don’t have to go to the hospital, but right now, you need to get some rest.” Even if I wanted to argue, as soon as I was in my bed, my body slipped into a tenuous sleep, craving escape from the physical trauma.
The rest of the night passed in fitful bouts of unconsciousness, memories of Cece checking on me throughout the night blurring with memories of the attack. I finally fell into a deep sleep around dawn.
Waking up, my whole body hurt. My head ached, and my throat was raw. I sat up slowly and grabbed the water on my nightstand. Suddenly parched, I swallowed the liquid in a few gulps, wincing at the pain it caused.
I could hear voices outside, and turned to look at my alarm clock. It was nearing two in the afternoon, and I was horrified. I missed work! Cece and Charlie have been stuck in my apartment for hours now! I pulled on an old T-shirt and thick sweatpants before stumbling out of the bedroom.
I made my way into the kitchen, then came up short at the small army of people filling the space. Bash stood out among them, and it felt like my eyes were immediately drawn to him. Suddenly overwhelmed, I took a step back, craving the privacy of my room.
Cece was next to me in an instant, guiding me out of the room and over to the couch. I had gotten used to her comforting presence throughout the night and let her maneuver me without much thought. Charlie followed us into the other room, leaving three men there.
I could just barely make them out, the entrance to the kitchen visible from the living room. I caught the moment Bash shot a look at the youngest of the group, giving him a nod that had the kid heading for the exit.
I couldn’t help the sigh of relief at having one less strange man in my personal space. Bash stayed in the kitchen as the older gentleman came forward.
“I’m sorry if we startled you, Miss Fiona. I know you’ve had one hell of a night. My name’s Guard. Cece is my wife, and these two heathens are the fruit of our loins.” I giggled as Charlie audibly gasped. Cece smacked him over the head, and muttered curses came from Bash’s post in the kitchen.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Guard,” I replied with a genuine smile. I reached out to shake his.
With a playful slap, he batted my hand away before stepping over to press a kiss to my forehead. In a lower voice, he spoke just to me.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for my daughter. I’m so sorry this happened, and you have my word that we will make that fucker pay.” My throat hurt for a different reason this time as I had to swallow down the knot in it.
It was silly, but no one had ever said that to me before and meant it. I was overwhelmed on every level. Finally, Bash came into the room. I looked up and was caught by the intensity in his eyes. With a squeeze to my shoulder, Guard left my side and pulled Cece with him.
“We’re going to throw some food together for you while you talk to Bash. Do you want anything to drink?” he asked.
I shook my head distractedly as his son sat down.
His big body looked ridiculous, folded into the accent chair I kept next to the couch, his long legs extended so far out, our knees touched.
I barely registered as everyone else left the room.
Bash was still staring at me but had yet to say anything.
He leaned forward and took my hand. I looked at our entwined fingers with confusion.
“I don’t have the words, darlin’. I hate that this happened, but I will make him pay for every single mark on your skin. Sorry to do this, but I’m going to need you to tell me everything just once more. Then you don’t have to talk about it again.” I nodded before clearing my throat.
Even though I had only been awake a short time, I was already exhausted.
Using what little energy I had left, I repeated the events of the night before in concise sentences.
I confirmed it was definitely Theo and that he was already injured.
As I detailed the attack, including his threats against Charlie, Bash’s jaw tightened.
When I finished, he cupped my face, his hand far gentler than I could have ever imagined.
“You’re so brave. You did good, pretty girl. Let’s get you fed and back into bed. You need to rest.” I blinked up at him, confounded by the whole situation.
He held my gaze. Something intense was brewing in his eyes.
I let him pull me to my feet and followed along meekly as he guided me toward the kitchen.
At some point, whether I realized it or not, I had surrendered to Bash.
I clung to his hand, using it to anchor myself as I was engulfed in the type of chaos I had always avoided.
Bash
I was grateful we had gotten a late start on the trip.
We had only been on the road for about eight hours when I had to turn around.
Riding alone with far fewer pit stops, I knew I could make it back in less time.
Every horrific scenario popped into my head on that ride back, but I knew that, with my mom there, Fiona was in good hands.
Any good reason I had for going on the trip suddenly seemed fucking stupid.
It was my own fault that I was too far away to help, that I wasn’t even within the same city limits of the fucker who put his hands on her.
I stopped once to pick up a coffee and piss, and used the break to check my phone.
Seeing a text from my dad, I called him, no time to waste.
“Son,” he answered on the second ring.
“Still four hours out. Tell me what you can,” I said as I paid for the coffee, ripping the lid off to let it cool down.
“The pretty boy you guys picked up after his date with Charlie? Apparently, things took a turn for the worse once you got done with him. Lost his job and apartment, and decided to use his newfound free time to stalk Charlotte. Haven’t gotten the full version out of her friend yet, but sounds like he went after her to send a message to Charlie and the club. ”
I saw red and had to stop myself from smashing my phone.
It was my fault. Fiona had been hurt because of me, because of club business.
An emotion I had never felt before swirled in my stomach—something akin to guilt and fear—but I snuffed it out.
Channeling all my emotions, I focused on plans for swift revenge.
I would make that fucker pay. He would be in the ground for thinking he could touch a single hair on Fiona’s head.
“Keys is digging up footage from nearby security cameras. Prez already sent some Brothers out to look for that shit, but we haven’t found him yet.
No job or apartment to hide out in, so we have them searching for his car.
He doesn’t have much family, just a grandma back in Minnesota.
I’m heading over to Fiona’s place now. Your ma demanded I bring some groceries over so she can make some soup and shit. We’ll be here when you get in.”
I ground my teeth together in frustration that I was still so far away. With a grunt, I disconnected the call and drank the last of my coffee without tasting it. Back on the bike, the roads were empty in the early morning hours.
Round-trip, I had been riding almost fourteen hours so far, but rather than feeling tired, I felt electrified. All of my senses were heightened. Every fiber of my being was unsettled, like I was crawling out of my skin. The only cure would be to see Fiona, to get home to her.
By the time I was back within city limits, muscle memory guided me toward her apartment complex. Two Brothers were out front, and I nodded at them as I jogged toward the building. My dad met me outside, and we headed upstairs together.