Chapter 8
8
Cassidy – Twenty-Seven Years Old
“Take two tablets three times a day for seven days,” I say to Mr. Andrews, the elderly man who came in with a sore throat, handing him his prescription.
His doctors sent him away because he was showing no signs of infection or fever, and yet one look at his throat showed his tonsils enlarged and full of white puss, which says otherwise.
“Thank you, Dr. Brody,” he croaks.
I smile and reply, “You are most welcome. The nurse will be back in with your discharge papers momentarily," before I turn and head back to the nurse’s station.
I give Hannah, who is amazing, a smile as my eyes go to the clock, and I sigh. I’m tired. I’ve been at the hospital for over fourteen hours without so much as an hour break, but I guess that’s the joy of being a resident.
Shaking my head, I quickly sign off on Mr. Andrews's discharge papers, handing them to the nurse in charge. Then, I grab the next folder in the growing pile of patients, knowing I can get at least one more in before I clock off.
I’m in my last year of residency, something most people my age don’t manage, especially after having a child, but I’ve worked my butt off for Moira, my dad, and my sister.
I may have left Perrie, but she’s never far from my mind; none of them are.
After I passed out in the ER that day, I woke to a worried Dr. Carmichael. He said I had low blood sugar, and my stress levels were too high. He explained my pregnancy needed to be monitored and that I’d miscarry if I didn’t stay stress-free, which was easier said than done after having the father of my child put a gun to my head, but with the added trauma to my stomach from him , I had to be careful.
I knew I couldn’t start over in a new place, not having the money for it and barely scraping by as it was—not that my sister or ex knew—but I remembered Piston telling me that, one day, if I needed to run from someone, I should hide in plain sight but change my last name.
So, when I woke up in the hospital and realized it wasn't a horrible nightmare, I devised a plan. I rang my landlord, who agreed to change the locks to my apartment and lie to Steal about me handing in my keys if he was to show up looking for me, something he wasn’t keen on but agreed after I explained what had happened in the club—minus the whole stabbing someone thing—and I asked him to change the name on the lease to Cassidy Brody, Steal’s last name, something no one will consider me doing after he treated me so bad. I’m still in the apartment, but I’ve managed to remove myself from the club fully, no one seeing me, mainly because my apartment is out of their territory, more in the Killers’ territory, a group of thugs who think they own New York when really, they’re just parasites who like to cause shit for the sake of it.
I quit the grocery store, obviously, and got a job in a care facility for the disabled, knowing I’d need the money for Moira, while continuing to help the fighters down at The Fight.
Thankfully, I’ve never bumped into Perrie, who used to fight religiously to help keep Dad’s gym afloat, no thanks to our mother's spending. Though Perrie did promise to quit, so that made it easier for Viking, the Rebels brother, to sign me up for duty four times a week.
I explained exactly what happened, and he was happy to help keep me under the radar.
I sigh as I open the next patient folder, hoping it’s not a big case so I can go and pick up my girl, who is now three, but my eyes widen when I read the notes.
“What hour are you on Cassidy?” a voice asks to my left and I turn and make eye contact with Dr. Carmichael, who has become a father figure to me.
I blink in shock and murmur, “Fourteen. I was just about to take my final patient, but I, uh, I think I’m going to need help….”
He frowns, clearly not used to me being this perplexed, but damn….
Without a word, I show him the file, and he reads it before his eyes widen in shock, and I nod numbly.
He clears his throat and shuts the folder before shaking his shoulders and says, “Right, we’ll go in there, and we’ll act professional….”
Professional, right….
I wince and admit, “Uh, Dr. Carmichael, I’m not sure I can go in that room and treat this couple with a man I see as a father….”
I hear the Hannah snort but cough to cover it while Dr. Carmichael raises a bushy white brow, and states firmly, “Well, tough shit. Get your ass moving, Brody!”
I shake my head with a small smile.
It took him a while to get used to me changing my last name, and I know he believes it’s because of the assault, and he is partially right, but it’s not my attacker I’m hiding from, it's his family.
I know he isn’t out to get me because he’s dead. I saw the paper of the bike parade the brothers did to the church and then the cemetery on the other side of Brooklyn from Dad’s gym.
I wonder if they would have still given him that honor if they’d known what he did….
Probably.
Sucking in a deep breath, I turn and head for the cubicle the couple is in and, despite reading it in black and white, seeing it in person is shocking.
The man with black hair and perfect white teeth winces at our reaction, and asks, “I take it you don’t see this every day?”
I clear my throat and reach for the gloves, admitting, "Uh, no, we don’t, but we’ll help you both.”
The guy on his knees gives me a slight wave, and I send him a reassuring smile as the doctor follows me in.
After gloving up, I walk over to the couple, trying to ignore the man’s member, which is hard, I look at the tongue piercing that is stuck on his Prince Albert.
“Can you fix this, doc?” the guy sitting above me asks with a tremor in his voice, and I tilt my head.
“Actually, if I just….” I start but look at the man, then the one who’s tongue is stuck, and I ask, “Do I have your permission to touch?”
Both men nod, but the man sitting above me grunts, feeling the motion from his partner, and I wince, really hoping he doesn’t ejaculate, because then he’ll most likely rip both piercings out, and we’ll have a bigger problem.
Swallowing hard, I gently take the tongue in my hand, then the tip of the penis with my other to keep it still. Without jolting either man, I slowly twist the tongue to the side, then move it up, disconnecting the piercings before letting go of both men. The guy on his knees sighs with relief as he moves back and removes his tongue piercing, making me snort.
He grins my way. “You’re a lifesaver, sweetheart.”
I shake my head with a smile and stand before grabbing the blanket and covering the guy on the bed.
He sighs. “Thank you, doctor.”
I nod. “No problem,” I reply before turning to my mentor, who grins wide at me. Laughter shining in his eyes makes me narrow mine toward him as I grab the chart from him.
“Nice work,” Dr. Carmichael mumbles, and I stick my tongue out at him. I complete the paperwork so these men can leave and get back to what they were doing, which hopefully, now that the tongue piercing has been removed, won’t send them to the ER again.
After collecting my bag and saying goodnight to some of my co-workers, I head to the fifth floor and as always, with my sister on my mind.
I wonder what she’s up to, if she’s graduated from college.
When I said goodbye to her, I knew she hated me, but I knew I couldn’t change the circumstances. Only once, in the four years I’ve been out of her life, have I contacted her.
I didn’t write anything; I only sent her a picture of Moira when she was an hour old. I don’t know why I sent it, but something inside me compelled me to do it, knowing she wouldn’t tell a soul.
When the elevator dings, I push off the bar I’m leaning against and walk out, heading to the end of the corridor before entering the light blue door. My eyes instantly lock with the dark gray ones I see in my dreams.
My daughter grins wide before she stands and runs over to me, nearly falling twice before I catch her and throw her in the air, making her giggle. I hold her close, pressing my nose against her curly, dark red hair as her arms wrap around my neck.
She’s a mixture of me and Steal and absolutely perfect.
She has my dark red hair, freckles, and bone structure, and has his eyes and nose, though the bigger she gets, the more she looks like her father, making me miss him more each day.
I know I was going to leave him, but something deep in my gut tells me I wouldn’t have stayed away for long, even with Faith and his club against us. He would have fought for me, and I would have caved because the man owns my heart. He’s the love of my life, but he destroyed us that day. Maybe even before then, but that day cemented the end of our relationship.
I know I won’t ever get over him, especially seeing his double in our daughter as she grows, but I know this is the right path.
I killed his brother, and it doesn’t matter what Brute did to me, what Faith orchestrated with him, the club and Faith will always come first because they’re family and I’m not.
I didn’t accept his cut, and now I’m kind of glad I didn’t. Once you have their cut, you are bound to the brother for five years before you can give it back. Hammer’s father enforced this when too many brothers were handing out property cuts like candy, and then snatching them back when they were bored.
“You ready to go home, my angel?” I ask my darling daughter who lays her head on my shoulder.
She nods, and I kiss her head before accepting her bag from the daycare worker. I give her a smile in thanks before I turn and walk out, knowing they’ll email me a report on Moira’s day.
I hate that I have to leave her here four days a week, and with Tanner on the nights I patch up the fighters, but I know it’s to ensure she has a future she’ll love and, most importantly, a roof over her head, especially since she doesn’t have her daddy in her life.
I wish she did. I wish things were different and we meant more to him, but his club will always come first.
She’ll always come first….