13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Kaison
The hospital waiting room is packed full of big rough guys with a shit ton of black eyes, bloody knuckles, and busted lips. They have extra security detail and cops standing between us all because fights keep breaking out. They stand between us like a wall, waiting to tase anyone who thinks they’re tougher than the other. Usually we handle shit ourselves and the cops don’t get involved, but the fight was too big, the cops too close, and us too slow to get away. Besides, Rhino got fucked up pretty badly, and he needed medical attention. Doctor said he should be fine, but that doesn’t mean he will be. Though they’ve got three of their guys in here being checked, we will retaliate for them getting one up on Rhino.
We went there to settle this shit with them, to make sure they know to stay off our turf and quit fucking around. Their Prez got mouthy. Ours did too. And we stepped up to back our Prez because that’s what we do. There’s more of them than there are of us, and the fact more of their guys are here in the hospital says a lot. Serves them right for coming into our town, messing up our shit. They have no respect for our people and the kids in our town, and we will not stand for that shit. Not for a second. I’ll stay in that bar every goddamn night if I have to, just to show them we ain’t playing around.
Cops have a few of their guys, plus Coyote and Grizz. Grilling them about what happened, I’m sure. None of them will give anything away. We all know we don’t say shit about shit, even if we hate the others. We handle things ourselves, and tonight is no different. Even if we did go there to rile them up, they ain’t going to rat us out. It doesn’t work that way. What they’re going to do is get revenge—or try. Because we’re ready for those fucking pricks. If we don’t go back and get them first for what they did to Rhino—which we will.
“Yo, Shark, take a fucking seat,” Bullseye says. I glare and he raises a brow, so I finally just take a seat. My guys aren’t the ones I should be fighting with.
“This is goddamn bullshit,” I sneer.
“Fucking right it is,” my brother answers. His head is rested back against the wall, eyes closed. I think one is swollen shut. He’s got a fat lip too. He’s the reason one of their guys is in surgery though. Broke his forearm with his bare hands. Guy won’t be riding for a while. Too bad, so fucking sad.
Haven’t looked at myself in the mirror, but my head fucking hurts. I caught a few to the face, but nothing feels broken. Worst was the taste of blood in my mouth, but all my teeth are there, so that’s something. There ain’t much I give a fuck about when it comes to looks, but if I lose my chompers, I’m not going to be a happy guy. I’m proud of these pearly whites.
“So, what’s up? Have you heard anything?”
I look up to see Ghost and Tank looking at me, and I can’t tell which of them said it. They’re cousins, but they look and sound much the fucking same.
“Nothing more than you have,” I spit out.
“Okay, brother. Was just asking,” Tank says, shaking his head and walking away. Ghost follows him. Which is exactly how he got his name. He’s like a fucking ghost, hovering after people. And he’s silent as fuck on his feet, even if he weighs about three hundred pounds.
I run a hand over my face and lean back, crossing my arms over my chest.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I pull it out to look at it.
Coyote: Free and on our way.
“Coyote and Grizz are on their way!” I shout loud enough for everyone to hear. There are sounds of approval on this side, but growls on the other. “Yo, you got a fucking problem with that?” I shout, getting to my feet.
“Take it easy, big guy,” the one and only female cop says. She steps to me, giving me a cute smirk. Bet that works on all the guys, but it ain’t going to work on me. I scowl at her and go back to my seat. Fuck all these asshole cops who think they’re big shit because they get called in to handle small town matters. Obviously they ain’t too busy where they are or they wouldn’t be free to come here.
“How much longer is he gonna be?” Spam shouts at a doctor walking by. The doctor raises his brow, pulling his attention from the file he’s looking through.
“Who are you looking for?” he asks gently, as if he isn’t afraid. But of course he is. Anyone in their right mind would be intimidated standing in a room full of us.
“Fucking Rhino, that’s who!” Spam says, throwing his arms up.
“I’ll check and let you know.” The doctor gives a small smile and keeps walking. Not sure he’ll come back, but I guess there’s a chance.
“Mother fucking bullshit,” Spam says under his breath, pacing.
It’s mostly quiet and I think maybe I fall asleep, until Coyote and Grizz get here and everyone gets all riled up. Our guys bombard them with questions, but Coyote raises a hand and they all shush. He comes right to me. Of course he does. I’m the fucking VP; why wouldn’t he?
“What’s going on here?” he asks.
“Just waiting on Rhino to get some stitches and we can get outta here. What about you?”
“Same shit,” he says. “They throw around some threats and when they see we ain’t budging, they give up and let us go.”
“Bullshit,” I mutter, closing my eyes again .
“Maybe you should go wash that blood off your face. You’re going to scare that pretty cop.”
I open my eyes, not sure who he’s talking to, until I see him smirking at me.
I need to wash the blood off my face?
I have a startling realization then, and jerk upright, pulling my phone out to check the time.
“Motherfucker,” I growl as I get to my feet. “I gotta go,” I say to Coyote, who is watching me carefully. “You good here?” I walk backwards, hoping like hell he says yes cause I’m going anyway.
“‘Course we’re good,” he says, and I can’t tell if he’s going to use this against me later or not. As I jog away from the crowd, I faintly hear someone shouting something about getting fifteen stitches, and bet it’s Rhino bragging, the idiot. I don’t have to time to worry about that. Not about him, not about his stupid stitches. Because I stood my girl up, and that shit ain’t cool.
I don’t have time to stop home and get the hose for her washer. I’ll have to fix that another day. Right now, there’s something much more important I need to fix. This time of night, my bike sounds like a train as I drive down the quiet roads. Deer scatter, running for their lives. Wouldn’t be surprised if I saw something bigger either. It’s common out here .
I pull into the driveway and hurry to the door. Raising my hand to knock, I pause, not wanting to wake her father.
Damnit. Stepping back and looking left and right, I decide to go around the house to where her bedroom is, hoping she’s in there. Hoping I even get the right room, first of all. I move across the porch but get a glimpse into the living room through the slightly parted curtains and see her asleep on the couch. Dressed all cute in a lilac sundress. I wait just a minute, watching her sleeping so peacefully before I go back to the door and knock. When she doesn’t answer, I do it again, this time slightly louder. I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear footsteps inside the house. There’s a pause, probably as she looks through the peephole, and then the door is unlocked and pulled open.
Her eyes are frantic, and I expect her to be mad at me, as she should be, but anger isn’t what comes out of her mouth.
“What happened to you? Are you okay? Why are you covered in blood?”
Fuck. I forgot to clean my damn face. I bet I look like a fucking monster.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I say, trying to rub at it, but I know it ain’t doing me any good.
Her tiny hands grab my wrists and tug me inside with more force than I thought she’d have. I mean, I kind of let her do it. No way her small body could really pull me like that, but still, it’s kinda sexy.
Cora drags me through the living room and kitchen, into the bathroom. She shoves the shower curtain aside and points at the edge of the tub. Wanting me to sit, I guess. Not the best place for that, but the toilet seat is a definite no, as the sink is across from it and there ain’t enough space for us. Hell, I can hardly fit over there myself.
She digs around in the medicine cabinet, muttering to herself. The faucet is turned on for a moment and then shut off. I can’t see her, since the wall of the shower is between us. Well, I can see her ass from here, and it’s real nice. When she takes a step back, I jerk back, not wanting to get caught staring and lose my balance, falling into the wall, my ass slipping into the tub.
“Oh my god, are you okay?” she says, rushing to me. “Are you dizzy? Can you see okay?” She’s in my face, worried as hell, spewing all kinds of questions at me ‘cause she thinks I lost my balance over my injury. She’s so fucking cute. I right myself, sitting up straight again.
“I’m fine, sweetheart. I promise.”
Her lips purse and she nods, then grabs everything she gathered and tosses it on the top of the wicker hamper against the wall beside us. Taking the wet cloth, she wipes at my face, her other hand gently holding my chin in place. My eyes fall closed, and I let out a sigh because this feels damn fucking good. I’ve never had someone take care of me before and I didn’t think I’d like it so much. Her hands on me, taking care of me. Not that I need it or anything, but it’s nice. Real fucking nice. She pats the towel along my forehead, my eyebrows, down the right side of my face. She stops just to rinse it and then goes back to doing it again .
“Does this hurt?” she asks as she brushes some hair back.
“Nah,” I answer.
“Doesn’t look like it needs stitches. It isn’t bleeding. What happened?”
“Beer bottle, I think.”
She steps back to look at me. “Someone hit you with a beer bottle?”
I shrug. She asks like it’s the craziest thing she’s ever heard, but on my list of crazy things, getting hit with a beer bottle is all the way at the bottom. Hell, being shot at by a naked drunk guy in the woods isn’t even top ten.
She drops the blood-stained towel on the floor. She opens a small medical kit and pulls out a few things. When she faces me again, I put my hands on her hips, just loving the way she feels. Loving that I can touch her like this. Loving that she lets me.
“This may sting,” she warns before pressing something cold at my hairline. I grunt at the sharp sting, but barely. I’ve dealt with worse.
After she does that, she covers it with a band-aid that makes me smile.
“Really?”
“You don’t want it to get infected,” she argues, and I guess she’s right. All I need is to go out because of a goddamn infection. How pathetic?
She holds my gaze, and I hold hers right back. I can’t tell what she’s thinking or how she feels, but I know I feel like absolute shit .
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I should have called.”
Cora nods slowly, her hands coming up to rest on my shoulders. “Yeah, you should have.”
“I’m not used to this.” She gives me a look that says she doesn’t know what I’m saying. “You know, having to tell someone where I am. Not that that’s what this is, but I’m not used to people waiting on me. No one outside of the club, but even then I usually do my own thing. I should have told you. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Her thumbs run along my neck as a small smile crosses her lips.
“Are you okay?” she asks softly.
“Better now.”
Her smile turns into a grin, but then it slowly fades.
“I was mad, I won’t lie. Disappointment isn’t something I deal with well. Calling would have helped.”
I nod. “I understand.”
Her hands slide around my neck, and she leans down so we’re eye level. I expect her to kiss me—I want her to kiss me. But that’s not what she does. Her eyes shine with humor, excitement, maybe.
“When’s the last time you had a sleepover?” she asks.
“A sleepover?” I question. “I don’t fucking know. Never? Why?”
What the hell kind of question is that?
She lets out a little laugh. “Because I was hoping you’d want to sleep here tonight. ”
“Sleep here? Like in this house?” I ask.
She stands tall, taking a slow step back. Giving a little nod, she bites on her bottom lip.
“In my bed, more specifically.” Now, I know it’s been a while since I’ve been with a woman like this, one who is interested in me for me and not because I’m part of the club, but I’m not stupid. This girl is talking all seductive-like because she wants me. There is no fucking doubt about it.
“Fuck,” I breathe out, getting to my feet. “Sign me up, sweetheart.”