Chapter 2
Shooter
Idon’t know why I couldn’t stay away from her. She was a spitfire, never letting it be known that sometimes I’d get under her skin. I knew I didn’t have to stand guard during Melody’s therapy days, but I couldn’t resist seeing her every chance I could.
Ever since that day in the hospital, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
We had been waiting for updates from Melody’s surgery.
I wasn’t in the warehouse to witness what happened, but when I saw the poor girl’s weak and fragile body, I saw the panic in my Prez’s eyes, almost pleading for life to come back to her.
I still remember seeing the blood spilling from her side from supposedly Saber’s, our old rival’s dead president, blade.
A sacrifice that many wouldn’t have taken. What a woman. What a protector.
Hound Dog found himself a queen that would understand putting your family before anything else.
I tried my hardest to get her steady for the nearest hospital. I spun a story that would buy us time before Greene could collaborate and let the raised eyebrows calm down. Hound Dog was losing his mind waiting for an answer, he couldn’t handle the silence, and the minutes were ticking by.
I don’t think it helped that once the club made it to the hospital and a few needed medical attention, the story wasn’t as solid as I had hoped, but no one asked any further questions.
When no one wanted to answer my questions, my anger flared up. I should have known that they couldn’t tell me as much, even Hound tried to convince them that he was Melody’s fiancé, which wasn’t too far from the future truth.
You could call it wishful thinking at the time.
Amongst my temper, the club grew impatient and may or may not have gotten rowdy. Tensions were already high from the events before, adrenaline was coming down, and it wasn’t a good mix. The men snipped at each other due to the lack of sleep and food.
Time ticked by and brothers started to bicker like grouchy old men that should have returned to their ol’ ladies by then.
Hound Dog kept pacing, and I swear there were tread marks from his path.
I could see the madness in his eyes. He was also annoyed that his own mother and Melody’s best friend were going to be the first ones to see her.
How they let that happen, I’d never know.
When my patience grew thin, I must have upset the wrong nurse, or at least the wrong nurse told another one that ended up charging at me.
She was so fierce looking, her short stature with her ashy blonde pixie cut, with those piercing brown eyes, and tiny freckles that speckled her nose.
Steam was practically coming out of her.
“You have one of two choices. Y’all can settle your asses down and behave like good boys or you can kindly get the fuck out of my waiting room. ”
She squared up to me, that feisty little thing.
Hidden beneath those scrubs I wondered if those hips would be enough for me to grab and then some.
Her eyes scanned around the room as the brothers shut up, waiting to see what happened next.
The dwindling silence was frightful enough, turning an entire MC to quiet monks.
“They’re just antsy. One of ours was extremely hurt and they’re just waiting on an update.” I tried to remain calm but bits of my temper still flared.
“I got it, but it doesn’t mean that y’all can throw attitudes and scare my nurses.
We’re working under enough pressure ensuring the health and safety of the patients and their loved ones.
” She threw her hands on her hips. “You fuck with them and you get me. The next person you’ll deal with is my charge nurse, Maria, and I don’t think you want that,” she threatened.
“I suggest y’all sit your asses down and behave.
” She was challenging us, standing her ground.
She wasn’t backing down. “Forgive us. They’re just worried,” I tried to say.
“Doesn’t mean they forget where they are.
No more attitudes or alpha male bullshit.
This is a place of healing, not the local shithole bar.
” A protective little one. She had that spark of passion, the fight that never backed down.
Rarely are there women that are brave enough to stand up against us and not have the flash of fear in their eyes.
A woman after my own heart, making it beat faster in my chest.
“Just tell us something. Melody Hart, she came through the ED with hip lacerations and went straight to the OR. Just a little information, please?” I asked, feeling Hound Dog step behind me.
With an exhausted breath and a roll of her eyes, blondie went to the front desk computer, looking for something.
She paused for a moment, reading something, nodding her head, chewed on the corner inside of her mouth before straightening up.
She whispered something to the nurse I had raised my voice to before looking back at me.
She walked herself back and huffed out, “I’ll tell you this, then I expect y’all to settle your asses down.”
Hound rapidly nodded. “Yes, please. I just need something.”
Her eyes darted to the side, contemplating her next thought.
“I could get in a lot of trouble for this, HIPAA and all. So, you better be worth it and actually be her fiancé and or emergency contact.” Hound Dog nodded.
She crossed her arms. “She’s out of surgery, looks like she's in the ICU. But overall, she hasn’t woken up, looks like surgery was uncomplicated, it’s a good sign.
When her body is ready, she’ll wake up.”
Hound Dog released a heavy breath; the man would die of a broken heart if Melody had died on the table. He would never forgive himself. I don’t think any of us would.
“Thank you. Seriously, thank you,” Hound said, hiding back the emotions that were building up. “When can I see her?”
Blondie raised an eyebrow, “When the doctor says you can. But I suggest that you get some rest, if you are her emergency contact...”
“I am,” Hound interrupted. I attempted to block him from charging as his temper returned to the surface. We didn’t know how true it was.
I cleared my throat. “He is. Trust me.”
“I trust you just about as much as I can throw you, hotshot.” Blondie snapped and I swear something in me grunted “claim her”. “If you are her emergency contact, someone will reach out.”
“Will it be you?” I asked, secretly hoping that it would be.
She sighed. “It could be, depending on the day.” She dropped her arms, reaching out to cup Hound’s arm. “Listen, you need to take care of yourself first as well. You can’t take care of others if you can’t take care of yourself. She’s in good hands, buddy.”
He nodded before turning back to the brothers who were slowly sitting down and shutting up.
She attempted to turn away to get back, but I grabbed her elbow. My eyes slid down to her badge, the one with her name and all the medical cards attached. Amelia F.
She froze at my touch, I felt the electricity when her eyes shot back at me.
“Thank you for everything. The man was losing his mind.” I said, turning my hard grip on her elbow to a softer one.
I pulled a little, just to get her closer, and I could smell something like cinnamon, like she had chewed on cinnamon gum.
“Keep him under control and we’ll be right as rain,” she sassed.
She shook out of my hold and turned around and for once, I got a really good look at her, because when she walked away, I wanted to go after her like a crazed fool. Those curves and the slight sway of her hips, and I was a drooling man.
“Not a problem, peaches.” I laughed, knowing that she couldn’t hear me.
It wasn’t long before Melody came home and I knew what her recovery was going to be like strength conditioning and mobility. Though an idea popped in my head and resulted in me wanting to piss her off to an extent that Hound Dog would have to replace me.
Something deep down told me that I wanted to see Amelia again, but she would never come to me.
Call me a little twisted but one way or another I was going to have her around.
It worked out. Melody made a new friend, and Amelia proved to be a good person around the club.
By then, days went by and I would just watch from a far, engage in the banter.
I saw right into her heart, a woman that has all the passion and all the love for those around her.
Someone that took care of others but waited to take care of herself.
She had too much goodness in her soul. She should have avoided me like the plague. Every day she came back was another reason for me not to let her go.
But seeing the look in her eyes, it was only a matter of time before she found her way to me.
She worried Melody and I, looking exhausted from working long shifts and then making her way to those sessions. Maybe what worried me was that she had an energy drink in her hand but sleep still hung over her like a shadow.
She was giving her all, but who was looking after her? She didn’t have a ring on, but as much as I wanted to be around her, I didn’t know much.
“Careful, Shooter, someone might think you’re being nice to me.”
I could be a lot of things to her.
I had half a mind to tell one of the prospects, Blaze, to find out what he could. As tempting as it was, part of me wanted to be the decent guy and wait for her to let me in and tell me herself. The other guy in me, the darkest part, exclaimed fuck it and just find out.
Better to know, than to ask for permission.
The screen door squeaked open. I turned my head to see her hustle out of the door. It wasn’t even a full session, I mean I knew they were getting closer to completing Melody’s sessions, but something was off.
“Something chasing you?” I asked, waiting for the witty banter to my question.
“Have a good afternoon,” she retorted back, wrestling the keys in her hand, avoiding any eye contact with me. Yet, I yearned for those caramel eyes to stare back into my soul.
My hands dropped to the side; something spooked her. “Amelia, you okay?”
She huffed out, “Yes. Have a good afternoon, Shooter.” She forcefully opened her driver’s side, throwing her bag to the side.
The woman needed serious sleep. I walked toward her door, leaning on the edge of the rolled down window opening. “Something the matter?”
She let out a deep breath. “I just need sleep before my next shift tonight.”
That wasn’t it.
“Didn’t you work over forty hours this week?” I raised an eyebrow. My guess was that it was more than forty hours, possibly higher.
“Do you know how short staffed hospitals are? Someone called out tonight and I offered to take it. So, I just need to sleep, that’s all.” That was still the partial truth, but I’d take it.
I shook my head. “You don’t have to explain yourself, saying you were tired would have been enough.”
Amelia froze, taking in my words for a moment before she could catch her next breath. “Sorry,” she apologized.
“No need, peaches,” I said, taking a step back.
She didn’t argue or snap back when she heard me that time, she just threw her truck in reverse and left. She had never busted through the door like that, so something in the session changed. Her whole body was tense, concealing a secret almost.
I went through the door, finding Melody in the kitchen cleaning up. With her back turned she said, “You better not eat the leftover chili or you’ll be six feet under.”
I grinned. “Ah, come on Mel, you wound me.” I grasped my chest.
“Nothing could hurt you, you big oaf.” She didn’t have to turn around for me to know there was a little smirk on her.
I leaned on the kitchen island. “So, what’s going on with Amelia?”
The water turned off. “Mia is fine, why?” Her head turned in my direction.
I shrugged. “Don’t know. Something was off about her. Didn’t know if you two got into an argument or what.”
“She’s fine,” Melody said flatly, avoiding direct eye contact, and quickly deflecting. Melody knew what happened and wouldn’t share.
Amelia wasn’t fine. Just by the way Melody’s body tensed up when I asked was enough evidence that there was something I missed. And I didn’t like not knowing.
I wanted to chase her and find out what she was hiding, but the sane part of me knew that she didn’t need that in her life, especially a psycho ass like me that craved violence and found outlets for doing just that. There are always two sides to a person, with me they were united as one.
I wanted to know more about her.