Chapter 14 Isla #2
He guides me to walk ahead of him on the stairs, like he’s scared I’m going to try to escape. A part of me wants to.
But the other part of me…
Their bedroom is large with a huge bed. The sheets are thrown back as if a person got out on each side. There are two bedside tables. One has nothing but a lamp and a water glass on it. The other is swimming with motorbike magazines and cookie wrappers and other tchotchkes.
The realization sinks into me.
Of course, they sleep together.
They’re a couple.
And the thought hits me with a strange mix of relief, and then, something suspiciously like loss.
Which is ridiculous, as I barely know them.
There’s another groan as Garrett is lifted onto the bed by Kai and Butcher.
“Garrett,” Greer says. “I need you to rate your pain, where ten is the worst you ever felt.”
“Seven,” he slurs. “Maybe six. Feels like I fought a snowplow and lost.”
“Keep the gas and air combo for the night,” Greer says.
“I’ll be by to pick it up in the morning.
Use it for a couple of minutes for fast relief.
Max ten minutes continuous. But then, I’m gonna need you to put it down for the rest of the hour to let the nitrous levels in your blood clear.
You start getting dizzy or nauseous, you stop because you’re using it too often. ”
Garrett nods, but his eyes are closing.
Butcher and Kai move to carry the chair down the stairs.
“Isla,” Greer says. “A word.”
I follow her out of the bedroom. Within the club, I had a spine, but with that came a meanness and a recklessness. I knew how to meet Greer head-on, even though she looked down her nose at me.
I don’t know why she needs to speak with me, because she won.
“Why are you here?” Greer asks.
“Because I live across the street.” I point in the direction of my home, which is completely unnecessary because Greer has a billion degrees from fancy universities, so I’m reasonably confident she understands what across the street means. “I was worried when I saw the ambulance.”
She glances back at Garrett. “Here’s the thing, Shade’s hurt and Jackal’s struggling. But I need to give details to someone who, I hope, will retain them. You got this if I give them to you?”
I nod. “Of course. I’m not stupid.”
Greer looks at me for a second, as if she might argue with me, then sighs.
“Fine. He can use the gas and air but only when the pain spikes. He’s going to be in a lot of pain for the next two days, but he can’t suck on that stuff continuously.
Move it away from the bed and only give it to him when the allowed time has passed, no matter how badly he begs. ”
“Put it out of his reach?” I ask.
Greer nods. “He’s not gonna want to get up to get it.
Out into the hallway, where he can’t see and fixate on it.
And no sleeping with it or using it while lying flat.
Put a couple of pillows behind him when he uses it.
One of you needs to keep an eye on him when he takes it.
And given Jackal is exhausted, I’m nominating you. ”
I think about my house, my job, the things I need to do. But they all disintegrate, at least for the next day or so, as I am not on shift tomorrow. “I’ve got it from here. But why can’t you prescribe him stronger pain meds, ones that will last?”
“What treatment I offer and why I offer it is between me and my patient. But I want him checked for alertness every hour. If the pain becomes uncontrollable, call us, and we’ll come get him and take him to the ER. We’re cheaper than calling an ambulance and can get here much faster.”
“You’re not going out with the clinic tonight?”
Greer’s face softens, then shakes her head. “Butcher wants us close by in case Jackal or Shade need us.”
That’s so Butcher. Still looking out for his men.
Greer winces, then pushes a hand firmly at the top of her bump.
“You okay?” I ask.
She nods. “This little guy likes to treat my insides like a kickboxing ring.”
“It’s a boy?” I ask. “I hadn’t heard. Congratulations.”
Greer nods, but the moment stretches thin, an awkward silence settling between us. I don’t belong here.
“I should just, uh…” I let the words trail off as I gesture vaguely toward the stairs.
I make my escape quickly, heading to the front door left open by Kai and Butcher as they maneuver the chair into the back of the ambulance.
Leaving the door open doesn’t matter much, considering the giant, window-shaped hole in the living room wall letting in far more cold air.
But as I reach the threshold, a truck slows at the curb, and my pulse skitters.
It pulls onto the wide driveway, and just when I’m about to scream for Kai to be careful, Grudge jumps out.
His shoulders are hunched against the cold as he moves to the back of the truck and removes two large sheets of plywood.
Smoke follows, and together they take in the shattered window, the glass that glitters in the porch light, and then me.
“Fucking assholes,” Grudge says when he takes in the shattered glass. Then, his eyes turn to me. “Evenin’, Isla.”
“Shit, they really made a fucking mess,” Smoke says. Then: “Hey, Isla.”
My throat goes dry and tight. I don’t know why they’re both being nice, but I feel the automatic smile appear on my face, even as the sight of them…boots, patches, leather…makes something in my stomach flip.
My palms sweat, and I realize they’re trembling when I try to rub them together.
“Came to secure the window,” Grudge says. “Doubted they’d have a big enough piece of wood to board it up.”
Smoke sets the toolbox he’s carrying down with a heavy thud, and on instinct, I flinch.
And I hate that I flinched. It was a source of pride I had amongst the other girls, that I was one of the ones Smoke liked best for his kinks. But being fucked in front of other people was never romantic, or sexy, or caring. It was about Smoke finding what he needed in the physical shell of me.
“You alright, Isla?” he asks. “You look like you’re about to puke. Or bolt.”
Before I can answer, Kai jumps down out of the back of the ambulance and comes over. Exhaustion is carved into every feature of his face. He moves to my side on instinct. “It’s been a long day for everyone,” he says.
Grudge looks closely at me. “You sure you’re doing okay, Isla?”
“I’m fine,” I say, but all the men around me can tell by the waver in my voice it’s a lie.
“She doesn’t need the third degree,” Kai says, stepping forward just a footstep, while nudging me behind him a fraction.
Thoughts race. I feel safe, protected by him.
The very feeling I’ve been looking for my whole life.
And, yet…upstairs is his boyfriend, partner, or husband.
I don’t know which. But whatever the definition of their relationship is, it means I shouldn’t be thinking about Kai this way.
Grudge has the audacity to look hurt, but I can’t think about that now, while my knees shake.
“I wasn’t—” Grudge starts, but whatever he sees on Kai’s face causes him to shut up. “Fine. We’ll just handle the window. And then, we’ll figure out who did this, and who the fucker was who ran you off the road. Could they have been the same person?”
He was run off the road?
My heart tilts. I assumed he skidded.
“Thanks, brothers. I don’t think so. We saw the alert that someone had broken the window, not sure they could have done it and then make it to where we were in time to knock Garrett off his bike.
We appreciate it. And I sent Wren the video footage.
It looked as if whoever it was thought about going across to Isla’s but changed their mind at the last minute.
If they find any clues, where the fuckers came from, all that shit—let me know. ”
Grudge nods.
I want to thank them for looking out for Kai and Garrett.
Or tell them that I’m fine, that I’ve moved on with my life.
Or even to not look at me and expect answers, because I still don’t have any to give them.
Instead, I wrap my arms around myself, and Kai stands close enough that the heat of him slows the shakes.
Kai thanks Greer as she makes her way to the ambulance and waits until it pulls off the driveway.
“Come with me,” Kai murmurs for me to hear.
Something buckles in me at the instruction, and I follow the reassuring steadiness of his voice. I want his presence and his stupid warm hands, even though I shouldn’t want any of it.
Smoke hoists the first sheet of plywood, and Grudge begins hammering as I follow Kai into the kitchen where no one can see. There’s a large open-plan family room off it with a large fireplace. Like the other rooms in the house, there isn’t a ton of furniture or furnishings.
“You don’t have to be here for this,” Kai says. “I was being selfish when I asked you to stay.”
My eyes sting. “I’m fine. It’s just…everything I did, Kai. Things I said. The people I upset.”
He tugs me to him, and I fall against this chest. “You’re going to be alright, Isla. I promise.”
His palm is strong against my back, heat seeping through my clothes.
And just like I was when I was in the clubhouse, I’m making a choice that isn’t good for me or those around me by staying.