Chapter 12
Nina
Lauren and I stayed at the Den until almost two.
Several of the Vikings returned with minor injuries.
I offered to help them. Hendrix opened up an old office that Lily turned into a medical room for moments like this.
Club life is rougher than I thought. Thankfully, the medical supplies I needed were here.
As an ER nurse in a major city for a decade, I’ve seen some pretty weird injuries, especially in the early morning hours.
Los Angeles is a bizarre city at night. I was able to help most of the Vikings.
Well, except for Patches. The prospect’s left hand was broken.
I didn’t need an X-ray to confirm it, but I sent him to the hospital anyway.
Lily tried to come help me, but Granddad marched her right back to the main house.
Pops and Hendrix walked Lauren and me home after the last biker was treated.
It's six in the morning. Neither of us has slept. We sit quietly at the kitchen island with a fresh cup of coffee. I’ve lost count of how many pots this makes.
Breakfast is just bagels with cream cheese.
We don’t feel like cooking. Our eyes widen, and we jump off our stools when the front door opens.
Jay rushes in and slams his overnight bag on the couch.
“You need to calm down.” Jack storms in behind him.
Jay whirls around to face his cousin. “I’m calm.” He tosses his hand toward the front door. “The world fell apart while I was gone, but I’m calm.”
Oh no, he’s not. Seeing my nephew like this breaks my heart.
“Really?” Jack stares at him like he’s grown wings or something.
“Jason?” Lauren slowly walks into the living room.
Jay’s back straightens at the sound of his mother’s voice. He inhales deeply before turning to face her. These two clung tightly to each other when they lost his father.
“I’m okay, Mom.” His voice is level and even. He’s never spoken to her out of anger.
“I’ll fix you breakfast.” Lauren walks past me, back to the kitchen.
“You don’t have to,” Jay calls out.
“I do.” She continues to set everything for pancakes on the counter.
This is what they do when one of them is upset. Jay was only ten when his father died. For some reason, having pancakes together calmed them both. No one questioned it. No one told them to stop. It’s what they needed, and all of us backed away when it happened.
“This wasn’t your fault,” Jack lowers his voice.
“I wasn’t here.” Jay runs a hand over his face. “The one time I leave town, the Mavericks attacked Bankz.”
“Still not your fault.” Darin steps inside and closes the door. “Jack, your parents landed in Nashville an hour ago. They’ll be here in two. You go home. You have a house full of women who need you. Your dad’s gonna need you when he gets your mom home.”
“I’ll go.” Jack sighs in defeat. He jabs a finger at Jay. “But don’t you leave club property without me.”
“Fine.” Jay storms off to the kitchen. His mom is the only one who can settle him when he’s like this.
Jack doesn’t want to leave him. They were raised as brothers rather than cousins. At times, I think Jack feels guilty for wandering around the country for two years, leaving Jay behind.
“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Darin promises. “Coty’s in Nick’s office watching the cameras.”
“Thanks, Worley.” Jack glances at me and back at Darin. “You’ll handle things?”
“Always do.” Darin opens the door and waits for Jack to leave.
Jack pauses in the doorway and looks at me again over his shoulder. “Take care of her. We’ll get the details later.”
I narrow my eyes at the big biker across the room. “What was that about?”
Darin scratches the side of his head. He’s like a big teddy bear when he’s nervous. “In all this madness, we have an angel on the way. They’ll be in fifteen.”
“Oh, wow. Let me tell Lauren and get my coat.”
He waits by the door while I hug my sister and nephew.
I rush upstairs and grab my coat and gloves.
We don’t have a lot of time. Darin is right where I left him.
He opens the door and offers me his hand to help me down the steps.
The wooden steps are still wet and slick from yesterday's thunderstorms. So, for the first time in years, I cautiously place my hand in a man’s.
Sensing my unease, Darin releases me once my feet are on the ground, and we start down the path.
“Do you know anything about her yet?”
“She doesn’t say much. Very skittish.” A growl comes from deep in his chest. “Her left arm is broken.”
“Can we hunt him down now?”
“I like the way you think.” He steps behind me when the path narrows and back to my side once we pass the area of small decorative bushes. Jack’s niece, Everly, is in charge of the flowers and plants along the paths. “The cops arrested him, but his parents bonded him out in less than twelve hours.”
Twelve hours isn’t a lot of time to escape. Someone knew. They were watching and waiting for the moment they could save this woman. Just as I did when I sent Lily here.
“Of course they did.” It’s my turn to growl. Abusers shouldn’t be given a bond. Sadly, the legal system doesn’t agree. “I’ll have everything ready for her.”
I turn to take the path to the Haven House. Darin reaches out to take my arm, but quickly drops his hand. The patched members have been trained on how to treat an angel. The men only touch the angels as a last resort. Usually, it’s to keep them from getting hurt or from hurting themselves.
“Um.” His eyes dart from side to side. “I was hoping you’d be part of the team that helps greet her. Nanny usually does it.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t expecting this. I look past him toward the clubhouse. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
Since rescuing me, the club has worked with doctors and counselors to form guidelines for Ariel’s Angels.
Everything about their secret organization follows a planned set of steps and actions.
With Harley missing and the McLeod family needing to take care of each other, the organization’s protocols have to be broken.
They’ll never turn an angel away. She’s protected at all times.
“I’m sure. I ran it by Mack first. He approves. It seems to help having another woman present when an angel arrives, but if you’re not comfortable doing it, I can ask Nana.”
“Oh no. It’s fine. I don’t mind at all.” I shrug one shoulder. “I just don’t want to be in the way or upset the balance of things.”
“You’d never be,” he whispers, not intending for me to hear it. He clears his throat. “You’re the perfect choice.”
“Okay then.” Is it just me, or have we fallen into some weird awkwardness? “Are we meeting her in Mack’s office?”
“We are.” He motions for me to walk around the side of the clubhouse.
I strain to hear what he’s mumbling now, but can’t make it out.
Does he not like me? They’ve rescued women and children for twelve years.
Maybe he’s tired of it. Who knows, but we’ve definitely fallen into awkwardness.
If my presence upsets him, Nana should do this.
I can’t ask her to do it, though. Her family needs her. Besides, she’s falling apart, too.
We walk in silence to the private entrance on the far side of the clubhouse.
This hallway leads to Mack’s office and probably Nick’s.
We reach for the doorknob at the same time, our hands touching.
He jerks his back like it’s on fire. Okay.
Enough is enough. I turn to look up at him and wait until his dark eyes meet mine.
“If you’d rather not be around me…”
He holds his palm up and out, stopping me. “No. It’s not that.”
“Then what?” I demand, widening my eyes.
He takes a step back and stumbles for words. “It’s nothing. It’s okay.” He motions to the door. “You go first.”
I plop my hands on my hips. “Out with it, big guy.”
“I don’t want to scare you or make you uncomfortable,” he says each word with a little pause behind it.
Oh, he’s scary, but not like he thinks. Being around him does make me nervous.
I’m not sure why. I didn’t have many friends in California.
The men I came in contact with were patients, doctors, other nurses, or members of the Viking Warriors MC chapter there.
I’ve had twelve years to get stronger. What happened to me will never fully go away, but I don’t live in those moments every minute of every day as recent victims do. He doesn’t have to be afraid of me.
I move in front of him again and place my hand on his arm just above his wrist. “I’m not afraid of all men.” I’m afraid of one man, but I’ll never voice my fear out loud. “You don’t have to tiptoe around me or treat me with caution. I’m not an angel anymore.”
“You’ll always be one.” His eyes snap to mine. “I mean…”
I lightly laugh and let him off the hook. “It’s okay, Darin. Let’s greet this angel. She needs us.”
“Good idea.” He quickly moves to the door and holds it open for me.
We walk in silence, once again, down the hall. He leads me to Mack’s office. It’s not the same room they explained Ariel’s Angels to me in. The clubhouse has had several new additions built on since I was here.
As Darin unlocks the office door, my eyes roam over his broad back. His overcoat is solid black with no club patches. It hides the Viking Warriors emblem on the back of his leather cut. Those golden wings stand for more than just a motorcycle club. They offer hope to women who have none.
His hair is down today. The light brown wavy strands fall past his shoulders. Like his beard, they’re peppered with gray, the beard more than his hair. All of a sudden, I want to know what he really meant outside.