Chapter 19
Curtis
“Teddy,” I called softly, shaking her shoulder carefully so I didn’t jostle Finn, who was sleeping behind her. “Baby, where’s Jesse?”
“What?” she asked, flinging herself out of the bed. Once she was on her feet, she stared blankly at the empty bed. “Oh god.”
“Don’t panic,” I said quickly, walking over to double-check the dark bathroom. “Got men in the waiting room. They couldn’t have gone far.”
“Dylan,” we both said at the same time.
Turning, I led Teddy out of the room.
“They’re being discharged in the morning,” Teddy hissed as we hurried down the hallway. “I said we could go see Dylan as soon as they were.”
“You’re surprised they didn’t wait?” I asked. I’d thought we should’ve pushed against it when the nurse said Jess had to stay in their room, but I’d deferred to Teddy. Everyone was strung tight as a wire after a week at the hospital, and I wasn’t about to start an argument and make it worse.
She scoffed as we reached Dylan’s room. Then, quietly, she opened the door.
Inside, Jess was sitting next to Dylan in bed, both of them awake and watching the muted TV.
“Busted,” Dylan said with a grin. He was looking better every day, and we thought he might be discharged with Jess the next day or the day after.
“You’re supposed to be in your own room,” Teddy chastised without any heat as she walked toward the bed. “How’re you feeling after sneaking all the way down here?”
“Not great,” Jesse mumbled carefully.
Teddy let out a short huff of laughter. “I bet.”
“Let me stay?” Jesse asked. “Ten more minutes?”
“You just had to make it one more night,” Teddy said with a sigh, walking over to drop into the chair beside the bed. “How did you even get up there?”
“Very carefully,” Dylan replied for Jesse. “But they said that getting out of their bed hurt worse.”
“Shut up,” Jesse said to Dylan, shooting him a glare.
“Did you understand that?” Dylan joked, looking at me.
My lips twitched. He was the happiest I’d seen him since he woke up.
When Dylan had come out of the sedation, he’d immediately started fighting against the tubes and wires keeping him in the bed. He’d nearly passed out from pain by the time I’d calmed him down enough to get him to listen to me.
When he’d lost consciousness, the last thing he’d seen was Jesse’s mangled face.
It had taken a while to convince him that both the kids were okay, especially since his mom was there with us and Teddy wasn’t. I wasn’t sure what had been racing through his mind during those few minutes, but I could guess.
“I’m goin’ to get back so Finn doesn’t wake up and panic,” I told Teddy. “Text me when you’re ready to head back, and I’ll come carry Jess.”
“I can walk,” Jesse protested.
“We’ll come with you,” Teddy replied, ignoring them.
“That’s bullshit,” Jesse grumped.
“How long have they been here?” Teddy asked Dylan.
Jesse glared at him.
“Half an hour, I think,” Dylan replied.
“Yep, long enough,” Teddy announced, rising from the chair. “We’ll see you in the morning, Dyl.”
“I’ll come back once I get them settled,” I told Dylan as I walked forward to pick Jesse up.
“It’s fine,” he said easily. “I’m goin’ back to sleep anyway.”
“Where were you?” Jesse asked me as I carefully lifted them from the bed.
“Lucky for you, I was in the waitin’ room talking to my uncle,” I replied as Teddy leaned over and kissed Dylan’s head. “How’d you know I wasn’t in here?”
“Didn’t,” they answered, waving weakly at Dylan. “I gambled.”
“Got lucky,” I mused as I carried them back to their room.
Finn was still asleep when we got there, and Jesse crashed almost the same moment their head hit the pillow.
“We should’ve known they’d do it at some point,” Teddy said ruefully, looking down at them.
“I’m surprised it took this long.”
“Me too,” she said, leaning her elbow on the arm of the chair so she could rest her chin on her hand. “God, I’m sick of the hospital.”
“Same.” I walked over and leaned down to give her a chaste peck on the lips. “Not much longer, and then we’ll be home.”
“Is it wrong that I’m not looking forward to that either?” she asked quietly.
“Nope. But we gotta go back at some point.”
I left her in Jesse’s room and went back to Dylan’s, but my boy hadn’t been kidding. He was snoring softly by the time I got there. Turning around, I made my way back to the waiting area where Uncle Leo and both grandfathers were waiting.
“All good?” Dragon asked.
“Small scare,” I replied, lowering myself into a chair across from him. “Jesse wasn’t in their bed.”
“Went to see Dyl?” Casper asked.
“Yep.”
“Unsurprising,” he said with a small smile. “Can’t believe they waited so long.”
“That’s what Teddy and I were just sayin’. All good now. Carried Jess back to bed, and everyone’s back asleep.”
“Good,” Dragon said as he shifted in his chair. “Back to what we were goin’ over.”
“As long as that man lives, my family isn’t safe,” I said tightly. “Not sure why we’re even discussin’ it.”
“Because he’s got a lot of control,” Uncle Leo replied. “You eliminate him, and you’ve got a power vacuum in Sacramento. As of now, they keep their shit tight. Next person that comes in, maybe they don’t.”
“And that’s our problem?”
“We gotta look at it from all angles,” Casper said. “We’re not sayin’ no. We’re sayin’ that there are pieces on the board that we have to study before we make any moves.”
“So I just take my woman and kids home tomorrow and hope for the best? Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?”
“Calm down, Curtis,” Dragon ordered. “You already know that you’ll have boys on the house until we get this figured out.”
“Have you found out who Granger sent yet?” I asked Casper.
“Yes,” he replied, leaning back in his seat. “And Daddy Granger is displeased with them, to say the very fuckin’ least. Word is, not only are they in the shit because they didn’t bring Finn back with them, but also because Granger told them not to hurt anyone.”
“Sure, he did,” I scoffed.
“We already knew that Granger doesn’t fuck with kids,” Dragon reminded me. “What we didn’t know is that he’s got a soft spot for Jesse. Used to be around them when they were small. Considers them one of his own.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I cursed.
“He’s livid that they were hurt,” Dragon continued. “He’ll take those boys out himself if we don’t get to them first.”
“Do you know where they are?” I asked Grandpa Casper. The man had connections everywhere, from the homeless guy who stayed near the laundromat to senators with skeletons in their closets. If something was happening, it was only a matter of time before he learned any information there was.
“Not yet,” he replied. “But I’ve put feelers out. They won’t stay hidden for long.”
“Thank fuck,” I mumbled. “And the cops?”
“They’ve been waitin’ to talk to Jesse and Finn.
They’ve also got that DNA they pulled from under Jesse’s fingernails.
Beyond that, they’ve got nothin’. Oh, that reminds me,” he said, reaching into his pocket.
He pulled out a tiny plastic bag and handed it to me.
“Found that in the house when we were cleanin’ up.
Not sure why the cops didn’t. Figured I’d give it to you. ”
It was one of Jesse’s teeth.
“They lost two,” I said. I cleared my throat as I clenched it in my fist, imagining all the teeth Jesse had lost before I knew them.
Had Teddy done the whole tooth fairy thing?
It was hard to envision pragmatic Jesse believing in that kind of thing, but I could see them going along with it for Teddy’s benefit—or Finn’s.
“Only found one,” he replied. “They may have swallowed the other one.”
I nodded and stuffed the tooth into my pocket.
“You’re clear,” Grandpa Dragon said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “As soon as thing one and thing two are taken care of. Granger’s not gonna do shit after this.”
“There’s no way you can know that.”
“I know men,” he replied. “And when I told him I’d feed him his balls before I killed him if I ever heard of him tryin’ to contact Teddy or Finn again, he didn’t bluster. Motherfucker knows I meant it, and he likes his balls where they are.”
“He sent men to my home,” I gritted out. “He sent men who nearly killed my kids to my home.”
“And we’ll deal with that when the time is right,” my grandfather replied, his eyes steady on mine. “You have my word.”
Swallowing back my anger, I gave him a nod and rose from my chair. “I’m gonna go in with Dylan.”
As I walked away, a hand fell heavy on my shoulder, and I turned to find that my grandfather and president had followed me. I wasn’t sure which one of them I was looking at until he spoke.
“I’ve been in your shoes,” he said, glancing back at Leo.
My uncle’s drawn expression highlighted the scar bisecting his face from a shooting that happened when my mother was pregnant with Draco and me.
“I know exactly how you’re feelin’ right now.
I know the rage boilin’ in your veins, and I know how it feels to wonder if you’re ever gonna be able to keep your family safe because you didn’t see this shit comin’. ”
“That’s about it, yeah,” I replied hoarsely.
“Listen to me, Curtis,” he said, leaning in. “You won’t see everythin’ comin’. No way you could. All right? Sometimes life is more fucked, and sometimes it’s less fucked, but it’s always fucked in one way or another.”
“Not sure this is makin’ me feel any better.”
“You can’t control any of it, is what I’m sayin’,” he replied.
“So control the shit you can. Love your woman. Love your kids. Love your club. Do your best for each of them. That’s what you can do.
Don’t let that rage boil over. It’s just gonna end up hurtin’ everyone around you.
Use it. Channel it, yeah? And trust your fuckin’ club, kid. We’ll see you through.”
“Got it,” I replied.
“I’m gonna head over to Nix’s for what’s left of the night,” he said, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “Your grandmother’s already there and probably waitin’ up on me.”
“I’m surprised Uncle Nix didn’t show up here.”