Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
Gretchen
Now that the proverbial seal has been broken, Doc and I go at it like rabbits.
Mornings, before we even start the day, then we shower together, go down and eat breakfast, and he heads off to the clinic while I head into my treat making room.
These past few weeks, despite the club not finding the men involved with abducting me, have been like a dream.
One I don’t want to wake up from, if I’m being completely honest.
I’m still not quite ready to go back to work at the clinic and he says he understands, but deep inside, I feel like I’m letting him down. Sighing, I finish boxing up the stuff I just made because I’ve got a delivery to make.
My decision made, I quickly clean up, then head out to my SUV. First stop is my delivery, then I’m going to the clinic. It’s time to reclaim all of my life and I know Doc will keep me safe while at work. Mongrel gets on his bike since he’s apparently my guard for the day, and we head out.
“Son of a bitch!” I seethe as I watch Mongrel get hit and pushed off the road. “I bet this was a set up! Call Doc,” I say out loud then I hear the robot repeat my instruction before the phone starts to ring.
“Gretchen? What’s going on?”
“How do you know something’s going on?” I ask, my eyes moving on a swivel as I weave in and out of traffic trying to get away from the dark SUV following me.
“Anyhow, yes, there’s something going on, honey.
I was on my way to make a treat delivery and Mongrel was behind me, but an SUV just ran him off the road! ”
“Where are you?” he questions, urgency in his voice. I can hear him running, the sound loud in my car, and I know he’s trying to get to his bike so he can find me.
I quickly let him know where I’m at and what direction I’m going in as I make a quick decision to turn at the intersection that’s coming up. “What do you want me to do?” I query, my mind spinning.
I’m obviously scared shitless because I suspect it’s the person who got me the first time trying to capture me again.
But I’m also angry, belligerently so because what gives these assholes the right to snatch people off the street so they can sell them?
It’s that profound anger that’s keeping me focused on my surroundings as I turn.
“I just turned onto Percy Boulevard,” I announce.
“Keep going, Mongrel managed to call Rio and let him know what happened. The brothers are coming in hot from the opposite direction,” he says. “Whatever you do, don’t stop driving, Gretchen.”
I hear a popping noise and realize someone’s shooting at my vehicle. “Even if they shoot out my tires?”
“I’ll buy you another fucking car, sweetheart. If the tires go, keep driving on the rims, the brothers are nearly there.”
Because I don’t know the outcome, I decide I need to let him know how I feel. “Doc, in case this goes south, you need to know something.”
“It’s not gonna go south, baby,” he says over the roar of his bike. We’re now connected via Bluetooth, which is a good thing because just hearing his voice has calmed me significantly.
“But just in case, you need to know that I love you,” I reply.
“And I love you more, but it’s gonna be okay. Then, you can tell me when I’m holding you in my arms, Gretchen,” he insists.
Hearing he feels the same way has tears springing to my eyes which I quickly blink away.
When I see that the SUV is closer, I press the pedal down even more, the engine screaming as I accelerate even faster than I was already going.
“Hurry, please,” I whisper, momentarily forgetting that he’s on the phone.
“We’re all going as fast as we can, baby, you just keep driving.”
To quiet my jangling nerves, I start babbling. “I was actually going to stop by the clinic when I was done,” I say.
“Why?” he asks.
“Because it’s time to take back my whole life, Doc. I’m ready to start working again. The patients need to see that this was just a blip in my road, not my whole story. Remember, experience, strength, and hope.”
“You amaze me every single day, sweetheart,” he praises, making me smile even as the SUV gets closer in an attempt to hit me and bump me off the road.
Thank goodness I’m the kind of person who always puts their seatbelt on. I accelerate a little more and swerve just a little bit, so he misses me. “Take that, fucker!” I yell.
“What’s happening, Gretchen? Talk to me!” he demands.
“Whoever’s driving just tried to hit me, but I swerved over and they missed,” I reply. Glancing in front of me, I see a wall of bikes coming. “I think your brothers are here,” I say, as they split so I go between them then close up the gap before the SUV gets through.
“Thank fuck,” he whispers. “I’m almost there, stay in your car!”
“Planned on it, honey,” I tell him as I watch in the rearview mirror. “Do you want a play-by-play?”
I hear him chuckle then he says, “Absofuckinlutely.”
“Okay, it looks like they’ve got the vehicle surrounded and… holy shit, Abyss just yanked the driver out of the window while Rio did the same to the passenger!”
A knock on my window has me shrieking until I turn and see Mongrel standing there. He’s banged up but thankfully alive. Rolling down the window, I ask, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Rio wants me to drive you back to the clubhouse.”
“Don’t get out, Gretchen, just climb over the console,” Doc says, hearing Mongrel.
Shaking my head at his caveman ways, I make sure my vehicle’s in park then climb to the passenger seat, quickly putting my seatbelt back on while Mongrel gets into the driver's seat. Once the door is closed, he puts it in gear, and I lose sight of what’s happening behind me.
“Mongrel?” Doc asks.
“Yeah, Doc, I’m here,” Mongrel replies.
“Not sure how you got there that fast, but thanks for taking care of my ol’ lady.”
“I ran,” Mongrel says.
I look at him, seeing the gouged-up skin with blood still oozing down his arms and ask, “How?”
“Had to get to you, Gretchen,” he states. “Called Rio on the way and hauled ass.”
“But… but you’re hurt,” I stammer.
“Isn’t the worst I’ve ever had. Used to be a long-distance runner when I was in school,” he admits.
“When y’all get to the clubhouse, head to the medical room, Mongrel,” Doc instructs. “I’ll let Rio know I’m headed in that direction since it sounds like they’ve got things under control at the site.”
Mongrel chuckles. “Yeah, I’d say they do.”
“Gretchen, I’ll be there shortly.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll get started cleaning his road rash,” I reply. I can tell he wants to protest but I continue. “It’s the least I can do considering his bike is probably a mangled mess, and he put his own life on the line for mine.”
“Fine, do what you’ve gotta do, sweetheart.
” He disconnects, leaving me with Mongrel, who doesn’t always talk all that much, but from what I’ve seen, he’s serious about becoming a brother.
He goes out of his way to take care of things before he’s even asked, plus what he did for me today cements him in my heart as a brother, regardless of how the vote pans out.
By the time Doc makes it back to the clubhouse, I have all of the road rash thoroughly cleaned out and have started an IV with a bag of fluids hanging. I feel pretty confident that Doc will probably put him on a bag of broad-spectrum antibiotics to ward against infection.
I watch him wash his hands, hiding his grin as he sees I have Mongrel sitting on the exam table with his shirt and prospect cut off.
His jeans are scuffed, but apparently, according to him, Rio found a brand of denim that is pretty durable, as they didn’t tear at all.
Doc slides on a pair of gloves and I watch as he carefully checks each area.
“You did well, Gretchen,” he finally says as he adds a bag of antibiotics and gets it running into the existing IV.
“I should, I had a great teacher,” I sass as he moves toward me.
Once he’s closer, he gently tugs me into his arms and leans in to kiss me. I can feel his heart thudding in his chest as he hugs me. “I love you and I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my entire life,” he whispers.
“I love you too, and that makes two of us,” I reply. “If not for Mongrel’s quick thinking, I don’t want to think about how today could’ve turned out.”
He turns to Mongrel and says, “It’ll be about an hour before the bag empties, but after that, I’ll cover the IV so you can shower.”
“Appreciate that, because that ditch was rather disgusting,” Mongrel replies. “Did… have they gotten back yet?”
Doc shakes his head and I know he’s about to spout something about it being club business. With Mongrel being just a prospect and me being a female, it’s unlikely either of us will know the end results.
But he surprises me when he says, “Normally, I wouldn’t be able to tell either of you a damn thing.
However, this situation involves both of you so I will say that the two men we’ve been looking for are on their way back and we’ll be dealing with them accordingly.
Mongrel, I suspect Rio will let you get your hits in as well. ”
“Good. Those fuckers deserve whatever’s coming to them,” Mongrel growls.
Shaking my head, I look up at Doc and say, “I need to go grab a shower. Those damn stress sweats still take me out all the time.”
“Go shower, baby. I’ll be up as soon as possible.”
“No, you’ve got club stuff to deal with. When I’m done, I’ll come back downstairs and hang out in the common room if that’s okay.”
“That’s perfectly fine, sweetheart.”
He kisses me again and I turn to Mongrel and say, “Thank you again for what you did today, Mongrel.”
“No thanks needed. My job is to protect y’all.”
“Well, you did your job today,” I reply before I head up to our room in order to wash off the past hour or so.