Chapter Eight
Rage
My fingers trail over my sister’s forehead as she sleeps soundly in her hospital crib. I watch as the IV drips, rehydrating her tiny body. The bag next to it is giving her antibiotics. The doctors tell me she has an infection somewhere. The fever is a sign that she’s fighting it.
They also mentioned several other things. She’s covered in bug bites and bruises. She’s malnourished, and she has a horrible case of diaper rash. The doctor told me we’re lucky this is all that is wrong with her.
Lucky.
That’s not fucking lucky. What the fuck would he know? What’s lucky was following the strange persistent voice inside my head that told me to keep Serenity close.
It’s also lucky she’s a brat and didn’t listen to me when I told her to stay put.
The CPS lady peeks her head inside the door. “Can I talk to you?” she asks, waving me toward her.
I kiss my fingertips and then place them against Mila’s forehead.
“What?” I say, folding my arms over my chest as soon as I’m out in the hall.
“I … I got you emergency protective custody.”
Oh, so now she’s figured out how to get that done.
She places her hand on my arm, and I stare at it pointedly. She slowly pulls it away. “I hate to be the one to tell you, but when I went out to talk to Janet, she was gone.”
I snort. “It figures she’d run.”
“She didn’t run, Chase. She’s dead. She overdosed.”
The woman waits for me to react, and when I don’t, she takes a step back. “I’m sorry about this. You were right, but I really did try to get over there.”
I think we both know she didn’t.
“Anyway, this doesn’t mean you will get custody. There will be a process.”
“I’m sure there will,” I say, moving aside so my sister’s nurse can enter her room.
“Chase, the judge is going to want to see that you have a place for her in your life.”
My brows pull together. “I’ll handle it from here, but thanks for the advice.”
I walk away from her and head down to the room where my brothers are waiting.
Wolfe and Shelly are the first to stand. She hugs me, and her husband pats me on the back. “What do you need from us, honey?” she asks.
I shake my head. “I just need for you guys to take care of the Omaha Chapter while they’re here. Make sure they get settled over at the Inn.” I meet Wolfe’s gaze, and he nods.
He understands what I’m not saying. We also need to make sure the guns are secure until we hand them off to the buyers who are coming in from the west coast.
“I’ve already whipped up a big ‘ole batch of my famous chili. It’s on the fire over at the Trough,” Shelly assures me.
“The kind with the bloody mary mix in it?” I ask.
She laughs, patting my stomach. “I’ll make sure to send some out to the ranch for you.”
I give her a quick hug and kiss and then move on to my other brothers. Everyone is here. If only I could get the state to see how much love and support Mila and I really have. The Bastards have treated me better than anyone in my biological family ever has.
As Wizz gives me the low down on what happened at the trailer after we left, my gaze follows Serenity as she leaves the room.
“You can catch me up when I get home. I need …”
He notices what’s caught my attention and stops me. “No hurry. Just shoot me a text when you break out of here,” he says.
I nod, sidestepping everyone in the room. Cole places his hand on my chest before I make it past him. He’s leaning against the doorway.
“She’s been awfully quiet,” he says.
We both look around the corner and find her sitting in front of the windows at the end of the hall.
“Take her out to my place. Make sure she feels at home, and then I’m going to need all of you to make certain things go smoothly tonight.”
He sighs. “You know, I think this was all meant to play out this way.”
I chuckle lightly. “More of your dragonfly conspiracies?” I ask.
His eyes light up at my laughter. The twins take great pride in easing my foul moods.
“I’m telling you, brother. Did you see that dragonfly sticker on her bumper?”
“No. That wasn’t the bumper I was looking at.”
His mouth falls open, and he slaps me in the stomach. “Don’t talk about her that way. You know this one’s ol' lady material.”
“Is that so?” I ask.
“Yes. And I’m telling you that dragonfly just dropped an angel right in your grumpy ass lap.”
“Are you telling me you think that girl’s an angel?”
Her green eyes turn our way as if she knows we’re talking about her. They’re red-rimmed and puffy.
I drop my head, looking at my boots instead, because Cole is a hundred percent right. If Serenity hadn’t gone inside that trailer, it’s likely my sister wouldn’t have survived another night. I don’t think that’s really quite sunk in yet.
“I’ll give you this one, Cole. You might be on to something.”
He smiles wide and puffs up his chest. “I’m going to turn you into a believer of miracles yet. But anyway, we’ll get her settled in. Don’t worry about it. Just make sure you take care of yourself and that little one.”
“You know it.”
When I approach Serenity, she stands. I motion for her to remain sitting. She falls back into the chair, clearly exhausted.
“How is she doing?” she asks as soon as I’ve lowered myself into the one beside her.
“She’s resting comfortably.” I reach over and tap her knee with my finger. “I want to thank you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but if you hadn’t …” We both turn, noticing the sun rise over the horizon at the same time.
“It’s a new day, and she’s safe,” Serenity reminds me. “You need to let go of what could have been and focus on what is. It will eat you alive if you don’t.”
She’s absolutely right. I glance down at her shirt, finding it covered in my baby sister’s feces. It’s on mine too but not nearly as bad as hers. She took the brunt of it, and she hasn’t complained once.
“You should head out and get cleaned up. Cole is going to take you over to my place.”
“Oh, I can go back to my room at the Inn.”
“The Inn is fully booked tonight.”
Her shoulders fall, and I can tell she really doesn’t want to go to my house.
“My dog will be lonely when I don’t come home. He’s a bit of a baby.”
Serenity’s entire face changes. “You have a dog?”
I nod, running my fingers through my hair. “I guess I could have one of the guys go feed him.”
“That’s fine. I can do it. I mean, I would hate for him to be alone and frightened.”
I want to laugh, but I keep a straight face. “Yeah, that would be something.”
“I’ll stay with him,” she says more confidently. “At least until you get home. What’s his name?”
“Peanut,” I answer while pulling her to her feet. I’ll feel better when I know she’s at home resting.
“Peanut. Aw, that’s so cute. You don’t look like a guy who would name their dog Peanut.”
“No?”
Cole steps forward, and I hand him my keys. “I don’t know when they’ll release Mila, but I’m staying here until they do.”
“Absolutely,” he says, draping his arm over Serenity’s shoulders. “Don’t you worry about anything, Prez. The club has everything under control.”
I sure fucking hope so, because now that Mila’s in my care, I’ve got a lot at stake.