Cheyenne Chapter 4
I tried not to groan or swear as they moved me around, poking and prodding as they assessed me. Only I would go to lunch, have an altercation with a biker, and end up hit by a freaking car. I tried to think if I’d done something bad to someone lately to earn this karma. People said she was a bitch, and I had to agree.
I listened to what the various nurses, doctors, and technicians were saying. I was trying to see what they found. I know it was the emergency room, but they could do better at explaining things to the patient. I felt like a lump of parts on the table. You know, they saw all the systems and parts but not the whole person.
I’d reached almost the limit of my patience and was about to blast someone to ask what the hell they’d found wrong, when I heard my name called. I turned my head to the left and there was Alisse rushing over to me. I was damn happy to see her and not surprised she’d left work early to be here. What I was surprised about was seeing who was right behind her. Towering over her, looking like a pissed bear, was Reaper. What in the world was he doing here?
Alisse reached me and stood there wringing her hands. A couple of people were still fluttering around my bed. “Cheyenne, are you okay, honey? A guy named Spawn called the office and told us what happened. Oh my God, I can’t believe you were hit by a car?”
she cried out. She was looking very upset. I hurried to reassure her as one of the people was poking at my arm.
“Alisse, calm down. It wasn’t that bad, though they haven’t told me yet what... oww, that hurts, damn it!”
I told the guy who’d just rammed a needle in my arm. And it felt like he rammed it too. As I gave him a shitty look and sucked in a breath, I got distracted by a roar from Reaper. He’d been standing there, saying nothing, while I was working hard to pretend he wasn’t there.
“Get your goddamn hands off her. Find someone who knows what the hell they’re doing!”
he told the guy, who promptly scurried off like the hounds of hell were after him. He rushed off so fast, he left the syringe and needle sticking in my arm. Luckily, a woman that had been standing around jumped over and put a connector piece in it. Blood had been coming out of it and it was on the bed.
Reaper crowded up against the bedrail and narrowed his eyes as he watched every step she made. I reached over the rail with my other arm and tugged on his shirt. He looked down at me. “Stop scaring the shit out of people. They’re trying to help. What are you doing here?”
“I’m making sure you’re okay,”
he growled.
“Well, I might be if you’d let them finish! I don’t need you in here bossing people around. Do you do this to every woman you meet?”
“Do what?”
“Turn stalker on them?”
“Only the ones who look like Snow White and won’t give me the time of day,”
was his quick response. I lay there a bit stunned. He thought I looked like Snow White? What the hell? Alisse laughed.
“You know, now that he mentioned it, you do look like her with that skin, hair, and eyes. Damn, my bestie is a Disney princess!”
she crowed out loud.
I gave her the finger. “I think the two of you were the ones hit by the car and have head injuries.”
“Head injury? Is that what they said you’ve got? What about broken bones? Internal damage? Does she need surgery?”
He was firing off questions left and right at the woman. She didn’t know what to say.
“Hold your horses. I’m the one who needs to ask those questions. Thank you for coming, Reaper, but there’s no need for you to stay. Your club has to be wondering where you are,”
I tried to reason. Guys like him were all about their club.
“No, they aren’t. They’re all in the waiting room. They know where he is,”
Alisse said with glee. I didn’t say anything. I just lay there in shock. A whole club was in the waiting room. Why? As I thought about it, I began to gasp for air. Oh my God, it was worse than I thought! They’d found me. This was all about them. He was here to take me back. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I jackknifed up, hissing as pain flashed through my body. I grabbed the side rail and tried to slide down, so I could get out of the bed. It didn’t go all the way down to the bottom of the bed. The nurse gasped in surprise.
“Move!”
I yelled at her as I struggled to get up. Alisse watched with her mouth hanging open. Reaper looked stunned. This was my chance. As I got to the edge, I yanked on the IV line she’d attached to the thing in my arm. Liquid went spraying. My feet hit the cold floor, and I struggled to stand up.
Next thing I knew, I was picked up like a baby and placed back in the middle of the bed. I found myself looking up at Reaper. He was frowning. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting away from you. I’m not going, do you hear me?”
“Going where? What are you talking about?”
He sounded genuinely puzzled. I wasn’t buying it. He was good. They’d gone to a new low to get me. I’d hoped by now they had forgotten my existence. No such luck, it appeared.
“Leave and forget you saw me. Tell them whatever you want. If you don’t get out of here, I’m having them call the cops,”
I told him frantically. I had to figure a way out of here. Reaper leaned over me. He touched my face and I couldn’t help but flinch.
“Cheyenne, calm down. I’m not here to hurt you. I’ve told you that before. Who is this you’re talking about? There’s a cop in the waiting room, waiting to speak to you. Do you want me to go get him?”
He said all this calmly like it didn’t make a difference to him. I glanced over at Alisse. She nodded her head at me. That helped to reassure me. She knew part of my history. She knew what I was thinking. She mouthed, I don’t think they’re with them. My whole body relaxed. I was still safe.
I swallowed so I could speak around the lump in my throat. “Yes, I would like to talk to the officer.”
Reaper stared at me for several moments before he slowly nodded then walked off. I bet he was running for the hills. Now, I needed to figure out what to tell the officer. As I waited, Alisse took my hand.
“Listen, Chey, I know what you’re thinking. But I don’t think Reaper or his club has anything to do with them. My gut says that’s not it. I think he’s attracted to you.”
“And you know that’s not going to happen. I won’t get involved with a biker!”
“You know, maybe not all bikers or clubs are the same. I’ve not heard anything bad about them. They don’t cause trouble around here. If they were really bad, don’t you think we’d have heard something?”
“What if we’re wrong?”
I chewed on my thumbnail. I couldn’t deny I found Reaper attractive as hell. No hot-blooded woman would. But my fear of what being a biker meant had me saying hell no. Men in general had never turned out to be worth the hassle in my opinion. He was saying the right things, if he was only after sex. I couldn’t be sure that wasn’t his ultimate end if he wasn’t trying to get me back to them. That was messing with my head.
The sound of shoes and boots tapping rapidly on the floor had me looking up. There was a police officer coming toward me and Reaper was behind him. Well, he hadn’t run after all. The officer stopped by my bed. He looked me over.
“Miss Collins, I’m Officer Long. I’m the one investigating your accident. I’m sorry this happened to you. Have the doctors said if anything is seriously wrong? You seem very alert.”
“I’m perfectly alert, Officer Long. They’re still running a few tests. I don’t know how, but it seems like I avoided a concussion. And I hope, no broken bones or internal injuries. What can I answer for you? You said you’re the one investigating this. Did you catch the person who hit me?”
“Yes, he was stopped at the scene by him.”
He pointed to Reaper. “And then another one of his men made sure he stayed there. I need to know what happened prior to you being hit. What were you doing in the parking lot? Why were you with the Punishers?”
I didn’t like the undertone he had to his voice, like I’d done something wrong for being there. I narrowed my eyes at him. Cops hadn’t ever been my friends either.
“Why shouldn’t I have been in the parking lot with the Punishers?”
I shot back. He wanted to play; I could play. I’d answer his question with a question of my own.
“I didn’t say you shouldn’t have been. I need to know why?”
“Why is this relevant? I was there minding my own business when the driver came barreling through the lot and hit me. It was so fast, I couldn’t get out of the way.”
“Why were you in the middle of the lane?”
“I believe most people walk across them, don’t they, Officer?”
“Miss Collins, you seem to be avoiding answering me. Why? Do you have something to hide?”
“No. I just don’t like your tone or questions. Here’s my statement. I was crossing the parking lot to get to my car. I stopped to speak to Reaper. All of a sudden, a car came through and hit me. I flew in the air and landed on the ground. I don’t even know who hit me. I was brought here, and I’m waiting for my results.”
“What is your relationship with Mr. Grier?”
he asked with a bite to his voice. It took me a second to realize Mr. Grier was Reaper.
“Again, why is that relevant? If you’d like me to say anything else, I think I’d be more comfortable if it was down at the station and in the presence of a lawyer. Though why in the hell I should need one when I was the damn victim, I have no clue!”
The last bit I said while raising my voice and glaring at him. Fucking little shit thought he was going to fuck with me. Even if Reaper’s club was dirty, I wasn’t going to throw anyone under the bus. Especially when I didn’t know for sure if they deserved it.
Officer Long got a sour look on his face. He looked over at Reaper. He was standing there with his arms crossed and giving the officer a look that would have had me running. Like he could tear out his heart and eat it for breakfast. Officer Long shut his notebook. “I’ll contact you if I have any more questions. Also, if you want to add to your statement, let me know.”
He handed me his business card, then left. I tossed it on the side table.
“Asshole,”
Reaper grumbled.
I laughed. “Yes, he was. Now, onto the other pain in my life. Reaper, you need to leave. I didn’t tell the cop to take you, but I can call him back. I’m not interested in whatever you’re trying to do.”
“So, you’re not interested in conversation and dinner? You have to eat.”
“Yeah, but it’s what else that I worry about. I’m not available.”
He jerked a little when I said that. “Not available? Do you mean you’re seeing someone?”
I thought about lying, but I tried not to do that unless it was to protect myself or someone from harm. I didn’t feel like he was trying to harm me anymore. “No, I’m just not looking to be with anyone, even for a casual thing.”
He came closer and leaned over me. He caught my eyes with his. “Who said anything about casual? Why don’t we table this until after you get out of here?”
I gulped. He wasn’t going to back down. I shifted my eyes to Alisse. She was standing there watching us with a damn smirk on her face. Some bestie she was.
One of the doctors who’d examined me earlier cleared his throat from the door. When we broke our staring contest, he launched into his speech as he walked into the room. I felt like he was reading it from a prompter. “Miss Collins, we got the last of your results back. You’re a lucky young lady. Nothing appears to be broken. Your head scan came back, showing no signs of concussion or a bleed and no signs of internal injury. However, you will be very sore and in pain for a while. We’ll give you some meds for that. We’d like to keep you for another hour and then you can go home. Do you have someone who can take you home?”
“I will,”
came out of both Alisse and Reaper. I rolled my eyes. My doctor finished and told me to relax and someone would be in soon. After he left, I closed my eyes. I just wanted to rest. Reaper didn’t leave. He took a seat next to my bed and Alisse took the other. I heard them do it. They were quietly chatting about something. I let myself float. The pain meds they’d given me were working. I’d just nap until it was time to go home. And it would be Alisse taking me, not him. The last thing I needed was for him to know where I lived.
***
I jerked awake sometime later. I looked around to find that Alisse and Reaper were still sitting there. He was on his phone and so was she. I squirmed around to get into a better position. These beds weren’t made for people to lie on for any length of time. Reaper stood up. “You need something?”
“Just getting comfortable. Has anyone come by while I was out?”
“A nurse did about ten minutes ago. She said you were good to go. She’s getting your discharge papers in order,”
Alisse told me.
“Good, can you see if you can find my clothes so I can change? My car is still at the deli, but I’ll get it tomorrow. Alisse, you have yours, right?”
I asked, and she nodded.
“I can get your car for you, Bright Eyes. And I’ve got my truck here, so I can take you home,” he said.
“That’s nice of you, but Alisse is here.”
He opened his mouth, and I knew he was about to argue, but the nurse saved me. She came in and went quickly over my discharge instructions and showed us where my clothes were. I had him step outside so I could get dressed.
As I did, Alisse whispered to me, “He’s certainly insistent. He tried to get some information out of me about you, but I told him that wasn’t my place.”
I sighed. “I don’t know what to do about him.”
“Let me ask this, are you attracted to him?”
“Yes,”
I said quietly.
“Then I say go out with him and see what happens. If he ends up being after just sex, then don’t go again.”
“I’ll think about it. But right now, I just want to get home and in my own bed. This thing is like lying on a slab.”
I pointed at the hospital gurney. She laughed. As soon as I was dressed, we went out into the main part of the treatment area. Reaper was by the doors, talking to another guy—one that had colors like his. When they saw me, they stopped talking. We walked up to them. Reaper held out his hand.
“Give me your car keys. Braxton will go get your car.”
He indicated the guy with him.
“That’s not necessary. I’ll get it tomorrow.”
“You’ll be too damn sore to move tomorrow, Cheyenne. Let him get it,”
Reaper insisted. I hesitated. If I did, he’d know where I lived. As I was warring with myself, he added. “I already know where you live. I had to give your address to the lady out front. Here’s your purse.”
He handed it to me. I hadn’t even noticed him holding it. I took it. There went that idea. Deciding I was too tired to fight and argue, I gave in.
“Okay, you can take me home. Alisse, will you come over anyway?”
I hoped she’d follow and provide a buffer. She nodded. In a matter of minutes, Braxton had my keys, and I was walking out the treatment door with Reaper and Alisse. When we got into the waiting area, I looked at the wall of leather waiting. There were like ten guys there. They all waited for us by the door.
As we walked outside, there was no way I could keep all of them in sight, which made me crazy. When we got to his truck, one of his guys spoke. “So, Pres, are you going to introduce us or what?”
I looked at the guy. His colors said his name was Maniac and he was the VP.
“This is Cheyenne and her friend, Alisse. Ladies, this is my motley crew. This is Maniac, Mayhem, Ratchet, Crusher, Ink, Lash, Tinker, and Spawn. You met Braxton. The only one not here is our other prospect, Carter.”
He pointed to each one of them as he said their names. We nodded. When he was done, they were all grinning at me.
“You know, you’re right. She does look like Snow White,”
Lash said. I rolled my eyes. Damn, them too. All the others chuckled. I decided to pretend I didn’t hear them. After that, he hustled me into his truck, which consisted of him lifting me and placing me on the seat. They went to get on their bikes and Alisse got in her car. It was a small caravan that took me home. I wondered what the good people of Bristol thought of that sight?