Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
SIMONE
I hadn’t expected to get a message from Elias in the middle of the night.
It was lucky that I was a light sleeper and the buzzing woke me up.
When I saw his panicked message asking for help, I moved before my mind had even fully come online.
Pulling on a sweater over my pajamas, I grabbed my purse and ran out the door, so focused on getting where I needed to go that I almost forgot to put on shoes.
I had to double back, stuffing my feet into my running shoes that were right by the door, before rushing into the garage again and dropping into the car.
The hospital wasn’t far from my home and since it was the middle of the night, the roads weren’t busy.
I considered testing speed limits a bit to get there faster, then decided against it.
Even if there were fewer police on the roads, if I did get pulled over, it’d be just that much longer until I got to the hospital.
I was on an empty stretch of highway when lights appeared in my rearview mirror.
Not flashing lights. Motorcycles. A big group of them raced toward me, overtaking my car so quickly, it was obvious they hadn’t been paying the speed limit any mind.
I thought they’d pass me by, maybe it was Zero’s crew going to the hospital as well, so when I was suddenly surrounded on all sides, I was confused.
Cautiously, I eased off the gas, thinking if I slowed down, they’d go around me.
They didn’t. They slowed down with me, and the one next to my door kept swerving and grinning at me.
My blood turned to ice as I realized what was happening.
They were trying to get me to pull over.
In the middle of the night on a mostly empty road, surrounded by bikers I wasn’t familiar with, none of which looked like they were in any hurry to get somewhere.
Most rode without helmets and I could see them laughing as they brake checked me and forced me to slow down even more.
I didn’t want to stop my car, I was under no illusions that they’d let me go once I did, but I didn’t have much of a choice.
I was surrounded. If I stopped too quickly, the bikers behind me would hit me.
If I accelerated, I would run into the ones in front of me.
The ones on the side prevented me from switching lanes. I was trapped.
My heart hammered in my chest and my fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly. Using the button on my steering wheel, I called the emergency line, watching my speedometer needle slowly drop as they forced me to slow down even more.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“I’m on the highway surrounded by a group of bikers who are trying to get me to pull over. They’ve got me boxed in. I don’t know what to do.”
The 911 operator’s voice was serious as she asked, “Do you know where you are?”
Luckily, I did. “I’m two exits before the hospital.”
“Eastbound or Westbound?”
“East,” I replied, lifting my phone to show the biker near me the screen. I’d hoped if he saw who I was speaking to, he’d leave. He only grinned at me, lifting his jacket enough to show me a gun in a holster on his hip. My blood ran cold. “Ma’am… they’re armed.”
“Okay, stay calm,” the operator instructed. “There are two units headed your way. One is only two minutes out. Just keep going and don’t stop your car.”
“They keep slowing down!” I argued, feeling my stomach tighten as the red brake lights appeared again in front of me. If I kept my speed, I’d end up hitting them.
“Trust me, they’ll move or they’ll face the consequences. Do not stop. Can you tell me what you see? How many are there? Are there any distinguishing features?”
“At least two on each side, but I can’t really tell.
They’re swerving a lot. They’ve all got leather jackets on.
The patches on their vests say Hellfire Riders with a burning skull with a scythe below it.
” Not Elias’s crew. I’d seen his vest before.
The skull with the helmet was odd, but nothing like what this crew was wearing.
To my great relief, the sound of sirens cut through the air just as one of the bikers braked again and I nearly hit him before he swerved and moved out of the way.
My foot twitched to slam on my brakes, but the operator’s warnings still rang in my head.
I couldn’t stop. If it came down to my life or theirs, I couldn’t hand myself over. I wouldn’t.
Flashing lights behind us stole the laughter from the bikers and the one next to me reached for his holster with a glower.
In response, I slammed my brakes, causing the bikers behind me to jerk wildly to avoid me and one of them lost his balance and crashed, his bike skidding past me as he rolled out of the way.
The bikers couldn’t slow down to go after me without risking the cops catching up to them, so with one final glare, the biker who had been next to my door raced off with the others following after him.
The only one left was the one who had crashed.
“Someone just crashed,” I reported to the operator, almost shouting at the poor woman.
“Ambulance is on its way,” she replied. “Are they moving at all?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to get out to check,” I answered honestly. I was a little afraid he’d pop up and attack me if I did.
“No, don’t get out of your car. The officers should be there momentarily. Do you see them?”
The cruiser that had shown up sped past me, chasing the bikers, while a second one came the wrong way down the nearby ramp and parked right in front of me. They had their gun out and pointed at the biker on the ground, while their partner spoke into their radio and headed my way.
“Yes, they’re here,” I answered, my voice trembling.
My heartbeat was thundering in my ears and when I unrolled the windows I almost didn’t hear the officer speaking when she asked, “Are you okay?”
I nodded quickly. “Yes.”
She couldn’t stick around for an interrogation. The biker who had crashed got up and was trying to limp away. She ran off, helping her partner tackle him and cuff him. I watched it all happen with wide eyes, almost missing the operator when she spoke again.
“Ma’am. Are the officers with you? Are you safe?”
“Uh, I think so, yes. The officers apprehended one of the bikers. The rest drove off and another cruiser chased them.”
“Okay, that’s good. The ambulance is two minutes out. I’m going to hang up now. Don’t go anywhere until the officers speak to you to get a report, okay?”
Well… there went all my effort to not speed to get to the hospital quickly. I had to wonder, was that crew targeting me specifically, or was I just the unlucky one on the road when they decided to cause mischief. And what would Elias do when he found out?
Since they had to follow the ambulance anyway to keep an eye on the biker they’d taken into custody, when I explained to the officer that I was headed for the hospital to help a friend, she let me go after ensuring I was safe to drive.
I understood the need for caution, my hands were shaking after that experience, but I felt well enough to drive, and it wasn’t far.
I managed to get to the hospital only a little after when I’d intended.
I’d need to check in with the officer at one point and give my statement, but I figured she understood I needed to check in with Elias first.
I rushed into the emergency room, looking around wildly, but Elias must’ve told them I was coming because the charge nurse sitting at the desk asked, “Are you here for Isla Reed?”
“Yes,” I agreed quickly. “Is she okay?”
The nurse nodded, coming around the desk to lead me to one of the closed off rooms. “She’s right through here.”
Knocking on the glass door that separated the space, she poked her head in to ask if it was okay for us to come in. There was a curtain in front of the door, so I couldn’t see what was happening, but I could hear Isla fussing and Elias’s gentle shushing as he tried to soothe her.
“Come in,” he called, his voice weighed heavily with exhaustion. When I stepped past the curtain, he looked relieved to see me, giving me a pained smile. “Hey. Thanks for coming.”
“Of course.” I set my purse down on an empty chair, pushing aside the run-in from earlier for now. I needed to focus on what was happening here. “Is she okay?”
He nodded, rubbing Isla’s back and bouncing her lightly. “Yeah. Ear infection. Poor kid didn’t make a fuss until she was throwing up and had a high fever. I had no clue her ears were bothering her.”
“Poor baby,” I cooed, moving to join him and brushing her messy curls away from her face.
While I was close, he leaned in to whisper, “I actually called you here for Jasper. He was really freaked out when she started throwing up. He looks pale to me. I’ve tried talking to him, but he just yells at me to focus on Isla. Can you talk to him? He trusts you.”
Glancing around, I frowned. I’d been so focused on Isla, I hadn’t noticed Jasper was missing. “Where is he?”
“Waiting room.” Elias winced. “I felt bad kicking him out, but he was screaming at the nurses because they didn’t have an instant cure for her. I couldn’t hear the doctor with both of them screaming like that.”
I couldn’t blame him for that. Isla was fussy now, but from the tear tracks on her face and the redness around her eyes, Isla had been crying hard for a while. With her and Jasper both, I didn’t think I’d be any better trying to comprehend what the doctor was saying to me.
Squeezing Elias’s arm reassuringly, I murmured, “I’ll go talk to him. Have you tried singing to her? Babies like music. It might help.”
He looked between me and Isla, making a face. “Even if I can’t hold a tune to save my life?”
I couldn’t help but snicker. “Maybe not. Just remember to breathe. She can feel it when you’re stressed out. When you relax, she will too.”
I didn’t tell Elias about what happened on my way here.
Now wasn’t the time. He was overwhelmed as it was, and I didn’t want to worry him.
Once things settled a little, I’d tell him.
I felt like it was important for him to know.
Whether they were coming for me specifically or just causing trouble, Elias’s crew needed to know how things were escalating so they could prepare themselves.