Chapter 27
Remy
I lay in the bed with Charlie snuggled up against me, sound asleep. She has a piece of my shirt in her little hand in a death grip. I can’t help but smile at her. She looks so much like me it’s insane. I never thought I’d have this, have her. It amazes me every day that I look at her that she’s actually mine.
Brad’s still in the basement, and I need to deal with that, but I can’t seem to pull myself away from Charlie. This little girl has a hold on me already, and there’s no way I could let that go. With a sigh, I uncurl her hand and slowly slide out of the bed without waking her. I pull the blanket up and tuck her in, placing pillows around her so she doesn’t roll off. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Fuck, I don’t know what I’m doing with her, but I hope I’m doing something right.
I grab the baby monitor and walk down to the main room to find the guys.
“She asleep?” Kiki asks as soon as I step out there.
“Yeah, she was tired. Curled up in the middle of the bed,” I tell her. She smiles and nods her head when I pass her the monitor. “You listen for her? I need to finish shit,” I tell her. She nods her head and takes the monitor from me before walking away. I head toward the guys sitting at the bar and slap a hand on Hodge’s shoulder. He turns his head to look at me and smiles.
“Ready to finish this shit?”
“Yeah. I wanna get it over with so I can go see Tianna.”
“Then let’s do it,” Locke adds as he slides off his stool and finishes his beer. He sets the bottle on the counter and turns around, heading for the steps. I’m right behind him.
We head down, noticing that the screams have stopped. I’m sure the asshole passed out from the rats. We walk around the corner, and he’s lying there on the table, eyes closed. Locke moves to remove the bucket and the rats as I slap at his face to wake him up.
“Come on, asshole. We’re not done yet,” I yell as I hit him a little harder than I need to. His eyes slowly open as I look down at the mess the rats made of his cock, or what’s left of it anyway.
“Goddamn,” Hodge mumbles as he sees what they did to him too.
“Not bad work for some little rats,” I tell him.
“Might need to use them more often,” he adds.
“Please,” Brad begs weakly.
“Did Tianna say please? No. You drugged her and made her take it all,” I remind him.
“I’m sorry.” That’s what leaves his lips. I just chuckle because sorry doesn’t mean shit to me, and he should know that. My girl, my forever, is lying in a bed fighting for her life right now, and he has the fucking balls to say sorry?
“I’m not,” I tell him as I pull my knife from my pocket and slip it against his throat. I press it there and watch as his eyes widen.
“Please don’t!”
“I’ve thought about this for a while now. Killin’ you. Watchin’ you suffer. Then I thought about my little girl up there, and I almost thought about not killin’ you because of her. What kind of dad does that make me if I kill people?” I ask him while he watches me with wide eyes. “Then I thought of Tianna. And I asked myself, what kind of man would let that happen to his girl and not handle the problem? What kind of dad would I be to let you walk away so that you could do this to someone else’s child?”
“I won’t! I swear to you. I’ll disappear!”
“That isn’t good enough for me, Brad. You may disappear for a while, but you know what? Tianna will always have that fear in the back of her mind. The fear of you comin’ back for her and Charlie.” I shake my head. “I can never let you near my daughter again, Brad.”
“I won’t touch them!” I press the knife harder against his throat until I see the blood slowly coming to the surface. I smile as I pull it away, move down the table, and take in the work of the rats. I flip a piece of flesh with the tip of my knife, and Brad screams in pain.
“They really did enjoy his cock didn’t they?” I ask the guys. Both of them laugh.
“Seems someone did,” Hodge adds. I shrug before walking back to the head of the table.
“I really wanted to draw this out for you, but I also wanna see my girls. What I decided for you is a long, slow death, Brad.” I press the tip of my knife into his neck, hitting just the right spot that will cause him to bleed out, but not too quickly. Brad cries out in pain once more as I pull my knife away and toss it onto the counter next to me.
I watch him as he fights the ties that hold him down but he isn’t going anywhere.
“I’ll see you in hell, Brad. And then? We can do this all over again,” I tell him before turning and heading for the steps. The guys follow behind me as Brad screams for help.
“If you’re not back, we’ll clean that up,” Locke says, nodding toward the basement.
“Thanks, brother. I’m goin’ to see Tianna.” Hodge slaps a hand on my shoulder as I head for the door. I step outside and take a deep breath before climbing on my bike and taking the same route to the hospital that I have been since this shit started.
I’m tired. I’m hurting. I’m still upset, but not at her. More at myself for not seeing what was happening to her. I should have known something wasn’t right. I should have seen it in her eyes, and I blame a lot of this on myself. I should have done more to keep her here and not let her go back to that bastard.
I pull up and park at the hospital when my phone rings. I pull it out to see it’s the prospect, Jim, who’s been sitting with her.
“Yeah?”
“Remy. I don’t know what the fuck is goin’ on, man. The machines started goin’ crazy, and the doctor kicked me out of the room.” I don’t bother hanging up as I take off running for the door. I don’t waste time on the elevator either, I take the stairs two at a time to get to her floor. My heart is racing in my chest, and I can’t seem to get to her room fast enough. I see Jim in the hallway pacing back and forth, but when he tries to stop me, I ignore him and shove my way into the room. I’m not sure what I’m going to find when I get inside but the machines are now quiet. There’s a group of doctors and nurses surrounding the bed when they hear me behind them. I look at their faces, trying to get a read on them before they step aside, and I see her.
My heart lodges in my throat when she turns her head and looks over at me. Tears spring to her eyes when she sees me, and I move straight for her. I grab her and pull her into my arms as the doctor speaks behind us. I don’t listen to much of what he’s saying because I’m too lost in her. I hold the back of her head tightly in my hand, keeping her as close as I can.
“Remy,” she sobs into my shirt.
“Shh. Everything’s okay now. It’s all okay.”
“Charlie?”
“She’s home, baby. She’s home.” Now, she cries harder into my chest. I can’t seem to pull myself away from her, either. I’m afraid if I do, she’s not going to be in my arms again, and I can’t have that.
I turn my head and press kisses to the side of hers but never let her go.
“I’m sorry, Remy. I’m so sorry.”
“No. I’m sorry, baby. I should have been there for you. I should have done more.”
“You didn’t know,” she cries.
“I should have. Damn it, I should have known, Tianna.”
We stay like this in each other’s arms for a long time until her crying stops. I pull back so I can look at her, and fuck, I had forgotten how beautiful she was. I press my lips to hers, and she allows it. She kisses me back, and that’s the best feeling in the world.
I get her settled back on her pillow, but I don’t leave her side.
“How is Charlie? He didn’t …”
“No. The lady who took care of her? That was his cousin. She took really good care of her. He threatened her daughter, and that’s why she took Charlie. She didn’t have a choice.”
“But Charlie is okay?”
“She’s perfect, Tianna. So fuckin’ perfect. I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you, but Charlie? My God, she is everything.” Tianna smiles at me and nods her head.
“She is perfect.”
“You want to see her? You want me to bring her up here?” She shakes her head.
“I don’t want her to see me like this,” she says softly.
“We’re gonna get you home, Tianna, and this time I’m never lettin’ you go.”
“I don’t want you to. I’m so sorry, Remy. I should never have left you to begin with. I should have … I don’t know what I should have done, but I know I should have done everything differently.”
“We’re here now, yeah? Neither of us is goin’ anywhere. I know you don’t like the club shit, and I’ll do my best to keep it away from you and Charlie, but I can’t let you go. I’m never lettin’ you go.”
“The club is your family. I see that now, and I would never ask you to leave it.”
“They’ve done so much to help me with Charlie. Kiki has watched her, taken care of her. Gunner is a proud grandpa,” I chuckle a little.
“I could see him in that role.”
“They’re great to her, Tianna. She’s loved there,” I tell her.
“I know she is. I’m just so glad you have that.”
“And you. I have you.”
“And you have me.”