19. Chapter 19
Kneeling down by Mary, I reach out and feel for her pulse. I release a heavy breath when I feel a semi-strong pulse. With her injuries, I was worried it might be weaker.
“Someone get me the hardback stretcher from my truck bed,” I call over my shoulder, and then look back at Mary. With her broken leg and not knowing how injured her ribs are, I don’t want to lift her into my arms and possibly hurt her worse. The stretcher will be the easiest, and less painful, way of getting her out of here. Quickly, I look over all the knife wounds, but thankfully, none look serious and she’s not losing copious amounts of blood.
“Siren, Baby, I’m here.” I brush her matted, bloody hair out of her face, and she struggles, but finally cracks her good eye open.
“L-L-Luke?”
“Yeah, Siren. I’m here. We’re going to take you to the hospital.”
At that, she struggles to fully open her eye, but when she does, it widens and she starts to panic as she tries to scoot away from me. The moment she puts weight on her right arm, she cries out in pain as she grips her shoulder.
“N-No. I can’t g-go to the hospital. H-He’ll kill me. Stephan will k-kill the k-kids and then k-kill me. He t-told me he would if I l-left the house and w-went to the hospital. He’s finally s-snapped. I can’t r-risk them. They’re why I n-never left before this. I couldn’t r-risk it until I knew for s-sure how to g-get out and g-get the information to n-nail that b-bastard once and for all so he c-couldn’t c-come after us.”
Once again, the anger and rage that’s been simmering pulses red hot at what this asshole’s done and said to her. Tonight, and over the years. Reaching out, I gently cup her less injured cheek and brush the lock of hair that had fallen down out of her face and behind her ear.
“Siren, I promise I won’t let him get to you or the kids. I’m sure by now Haris is gathering information to help with getting a restraining order against him, along with Uncle Sam. Please, Siren. You need to trust us to protect you.”
She stares into my eyes for a few moments before tears start to form in her eyes and her body relaxes slightly.
“I do trust you, but it’s hard reconciling what he’s told me all these years with what you, Alli, and even what my παππο?? και γιαγι? (grandparents) told me today. I think that’s part of why he snapped. While γιαγι? (grandma) and I were cleaning up the kitchen after we ate, she whispered to me how much everyone missed me when I was kidnapped and how much everyone’s been looking for me since then. I think Stephan heard her because of some of the things he said while he was beating me.”
When she’s finished speaking, a wave of exhaustion washes over her and her eye starts to droop. At that moment, panic starts to set in as I worry about a concussion. “Siren, you need to stay awake. You might have a concussion. Talk to me, Mary.”
She nods weakly, but then shakes her head. “I don’t think I have one. My ears aren’t ringing, and there’s only one of you. While yes, I have a terrible headache, it’s from the beatings, not that. I’m nauseous, but that’s most likely because I can taste my own blood.”
My fists clench and my jaw clenches at how she knows she most likely doesn’t have a concussion, but I tamp it down. Seconds later, Gunner comes in with the stretcher.
“We’re going to put you on the stretcher now, okay? With not knowing how your ribs are, I’d rather not risk injuring them further by picking you up myself. It’s most likely going to hurt, but we’ve got to get you to the hospital, Siren.”
She nods weakly again, but at least her eyes, er eye, is staying open, which is a relief.
Stepping back, I lay the stretcher down and between Bones, Bear, and I, we get her laying down on it, though she does cry out in pain when we touch her broken leg as well as her right shoulder. Shit. Just going off looks alone, it doesn’t seem dislocated, but it could be partially dislocated. Carefully, we secure her to the board.
Glancing around, I’m relieved that Ash isn’t in the room anymore, but I’m not sure at what point he and Dragon stepped out. I’ll just have to trust him and the others to watch over Ash. Not to mention Cassie and Isaiah as well.
Turning toward Thor, we share a grim look.
“If possible, I want everything of theirs out of here. I don’t want them coming back here. There’s no way he’s getting a chance to do what he threatened.” Determination fills me. I will protect my Siren and our kids. Even though they aren’t mine, I’m claiming them.
He gives me a chin lift, his eyes hard and cold, no doubt at the fact that Stephan threatened her and the kids the way he did. “Was kind of figuring you were going to say that. We’ll make sure it’s done. Between all of us, it should be pretty quick. I already have the Prospects in route with the vans and those that have trucks have left to switch out vehicles to help get stuff out of here quickly. We don’t know if Stephan has this place being watched. Hopefully, we can get them all out before someone comes by. Smoke’s working his magic to try and track Stephan’s movements. You take care of Mary. We’ve got your back.”
Thor clasps my shoulder and I give him another chin lift in thanks before stepping around to grab the board at Mary’s head. Bear takes the spot at her feet and within minutes, we’re loaded up in my truck with Mary laying on my lap and Bones’ in the backseat. Bear’s driving us with Gunner in the front passenger seat as we follow Brady in his SUV. This time, Brady’s got his lights on as we race to the hospital. The sound of motorcycles fill the air and I know some of my brothers are following to support us. Not to mention for protection in case that asshole shows up. I know he will at some point—it’s just a matter of when.
Reaching into my cut, I pull out my phone and dial Alli. I know she’s working tonight, and I want them prepared for us. As I wait for her to pick up, I run my thumb over Mary’s forehead, hoping to help her relax some. She’s trying to keep her eye open, but it looks like it’s getting harder for her.
“Hey, Luke. Is everything alright?”
“Not really. I need you to meet me at the entrance of the ER with a gurney. I’m bringing in Siren.”
Instantly, her light-hearted voice switches and is in nurse mode. “Shit. What are her injuries?”
“Multiple lacerations, including one on her face. Her left eye is swollen shut. Multiple contusions are all over her face and body, including her ribs, but I don’t know if they are bruised or broken. Her left leg is broken and it hurt her when we got her on the backboard. Something’s wrong with her right shoulder as well. It hurts her if it’s touched or if she puts weight on it. I’m thinking it might be partially dislocated. She doesn’t think she has a concussion, but so far, she’s staying awake just in case.”
“Dr. Rodgers is working tonight and is right next to me. I’ll fill her in after we hang up. We’ll have a pod and a gurney ready for her. How far out are you?”
Good. Dr. Rodgers is one of the best doctors we’ve got. “Five minutes, maybe less. Brady’s leading the way.”
“Got it. See you in a few,” she says before ending the call.
Tucking my phone back into my cut, I reach back down and rub my thumb across her forehead again. “Almost there, Siren.”
She blinks and takes a shaky breath in, though I don’t miss the panic in her eyes. “He’s g-got connections in the hospital. P-People he pays. He’ll f-find me. That’s how he always k-knew what was said in the r-reports.” A tear rolls down her cheek and I wipe it away.
I keep talking, partly to take her mind off the pain she must be in but also so that she doesn’t go to sleep because of the possible risk of a concussion. “That’s why I’m going to talk to Curtis as soon as we get there. We’ll get guards outside the OR and your room. This isn’t the first time we’ve been allowed to guard a room. He won’t get to you, Mary. Or the kids. My brothers and sisters will protect them.
“Once Haris and Uncle Sam have done their thing, I’m going to extend our protection to Haris and Maria as well. You and I both know Haris is set in his way about doing things. He’ll want to make sure he gets everything set up for you as soon as possible.” I smirk and her lips kick up as a little huff escapes her. Thankfully, she doesn’t wince in pain, so maybe her ribs aren’t hurt that badly this time.
“Yeah, he is. I just h-hope he took my suggestion to h-heart all those years ago and s-saved his files in the c-cloud or somewhere external. Especially if someone b-breaks into his office or house.” She pauses and tears fill her eyes again. Even though her other one is swollen shut, a tear still falls from it. “If S-Stephan can’t get to me, he’ll go after anyone I c-care about in order to hurt me. Even if it means d-destroying their p-property, if he can’t get to them d-directly. I’ve seen him d-do it before. To innocent p-people. He m-made me watch as part of my p-punishments.” More tears spill from her eyes and I wipe them away as I tamp down my rage.
“I’ll talk to Brady and Uncle Sam for help. Since Stephan’s the Deputy Chief, this can’t be a completely club thing and Thor, my President, knows this. I just hope the Chief of Police is clean.”
The panic in her eyes intensifies, but then it’s replaced by determination. “I know the d-dirty cops and the C-Chief is clean. I’ve known who the d-dirty ones were in every t-town we’ve lived in, and I can give S-Sam a list if he wants. For Forest C-Creek, I can either just tell t-them or if they can b-bring the roster lists, I’ll mark everyone d-down. Just depends on w-which way they’d r-rather document it. I can also tell you which cops S-Stephan’s men have been p-pressuring to give in. They’re t-threatening their f-families and jobs. T-Their homes.”
A sinking feeling fills my gut and I look up, catching Bear’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. This is definitely not good. We had a sneaky suspicion most of the police here were crooked, but to threaten their families? Their livelihoods? Their homes? That’s taking things way too far.
The hospital comes into view and I look back down at Mary. “Just a couple of minutes and we’ll be there.”
Bear pulls into the parking lot and doesn’t stop until he’s right in front of the ER entrance. Alli and Dr. Rodgers are there waiting for us, as well as two other male nurses, Chris and Jonesy. A groan of frustration escapes when I see Claudia there. I have no problems with Chris and Jonesy, but I do with Claudia. Though from the glare Alli just gave Claudia, she wasn’t asked to be out here. Claudia’s been a pain in my ass since she’s started here a few months back. Ever since then, she’s been trying to get me to sleep with her and go out with her. That was never going to happen. Especially not when I finally had my Siren so close.
Alli comes forward and opens Bones’ door. Chris and Jonesy step forward, and once Bones is out, Chris takes his end of the stretcher from him. Carefully, I get out and Jonesy takes over for me.
I follow them and when they lay her down on the gurney, I’m right there, pressing my forehead to hers. “I’m not allowed back there in the ER since I’m so close to you, but I’m not leaving you. I’ll be there when you get out of OR. Σε αγαπ? (I love you), Siren.”
She stares at me in shock. She must not have thought I’d continue learning Greek, but I have. Though, I did slack off for a few years. However, at the start of the year, a few months before I saw her for the first time, I had picked it up again. Then, after seeing her at the ER that first time, I started upping my lessons. Her family means everything to her, and I wanted to respect her roots when I won her back. Not to mention, it helped fill the time since I couldn’t be with her.
Her eyes turn misty, and she swallows thickly. “ Κι εγ? σ’ αγαπ? (I love you, too).”
My heart feels like it’s going to burst at hearing she still loves me. Giving her a quick kiss on her forehead, I step back and watch as they wheel her inside. Claudia frowns at me, a weird, confused look on her face, but I ignore it. Dr. Rodgers gives me a nod and my shoulders relax. Even though I’m not family, she’ll make sure I’m kept informed about her. Alli must have filled her in a little about us.
Someone clasps my shoulders, and I turn to see Brady standing next to me. “Come on. Let’s go talk to the receptionist and then to Curtis. We need guards on her.”
Seeing Mary disappear down the corridor has my chest tightening, but I nod and follow Brady.
It’s been an hour and there have been no updates about Mary. I’m about to go out of my mind and storm my way back there when Alli comes speed walking down the corridor, tears running down her face. Worry fills me as she walks straight to me and I wrap her in a hug. Not surprisingly, Ryder steps forward with an irritated look on his face at Alli in my arms, but thankfully, he doesn’t say anything. For a while now, I’ve been wondering if there’s something going on between them, but I wasn’t going to pry. She’ll tell me when she’s ready.
I hold her as her shoulders shake, her tears soaking my shirt, but I don’t care. After a few moments, she pulls back and wipes her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Luke. I didn’t mean to cry all over your shirt.”
Rubbing her arms, I give her a look. “You should know by now that I don’t give a shit about that. Are you on break?”
She shakes her head. “I only had a couple hours left, but Tiffany told me to clock out early. I think she could tell I’m a complete mess because of Mary. And before you ask, I haven’t heard any updates. I would have told you right away if I had.”
Alli sniffles again as more tears threaten to fall, and I’m about to pull her back into my arms when the door opens, and Haris, Maria, and Uncle Sam walk in.
Ryder pulls Alli into his arms and I cock an eyebrow at her when she snuggles into his side. A shy smile crosses her face, but she shakes her head slightly. At some point, she’ll tell me, but I hope Ryder treats her right. I’d hate to have to kick his ass if he hurts her.
I motion for Uncle Sam and Haris to step over to an empty corner and they follow me, along with Brady. Looking over my shoulder, Alli has stepped away from Ryder slightly and already has Maria wrapped in a hug as they talk quietly.
“There’s no news yet on Mary. What did you guys find out?”
Uncle Sam gives me a smug, satisfied grin, which I see mirrored on Haris’ face as well.
“Thanks to Mary, we’re going to blow quite a few of our cases out of the water. The information she was able to gather…” Uncle Sam pauses as he stares off into space, a look of shock and disbelief on his face. “I can’t begin to thank her for this information, but I fucking hate that she was hurt so much while she gathered it.”
Haris nods in agreement. “Between the scan drive and what Ash gave us, there’s enough information to clean up a lot of shit that’s been happening around here.” He turns to me, and a look crosses his face that I can’t decipher. “I’ve talked to a judge friend of mine that I know we can trust. As soon as Mary’s out of surgery and awake, we’ll be able to process the restraining order against Stephan. Then we’ll go from there on other things as she’s able to, but we have to get that restraining order in right away.”
“It’ll be for all of them, right? He won’t be able to go near the kids either? Did the guys tell you what Mary said at the house?”
Both Uncle Sam and Haris nod, a furious look crossing both of their faces before they mask it.
“It’ll be for all four of them. Ash asked Dragon to talk to me after they got back to the clubhouse.” Haris pauses as his eyes turn misty, and he takes a deep breath before continuing. “Apparently, Mary must have known something like this would happen, because Ash told me that Mary told him I’m a lawyer. She told him that when it got to this point, he was to seek me out and tell me everything that Stephan had done to all of them. That he had to do that to keep his siblings away from Stephan.”
“ When , not if ,” I mutter as I run my hand through my hair in frustration, and Haris nods glumly.
“Yeah, I noticed that, too. But the information he was able to rattle off,” he pauses, a bewildered look on his face. “He has to have eidetic memory or something, because he was able to provide a ton of details including dates.”
I’m about to say something else when the doors to the ER open, and I step forward along with Haris and Maria.
Dr. Rodgers nods at us, a grim look on her face. “Mary’s out of surgery and in recovery. They’ve already weened her off the anesthesia, so it won’t be long before she wakes up. She doesn’t have a concussion, but we still elected to perform surgery. Reason being that any movement from her while we were working on her could have resulted in permanent damage being done or even nicking or severing an artery. A few of her wounds were close to a couple of arteries.
“Overall, she had twelve wounds that needed stitches. Most of them will scar, including the one on her face. Her left leg was broken in two spots, so she’ll be in a cast for a minimum of six weeks. X-rays showed no other broken bones, but that doesn’t mean that her ribs aren’t bruised which we are worried about due to the amount of bruising. We’ll be able to find out more about that when she wakes up. Her kidneys are bruised so don’t be surprised if she mentions blood in her urine. Her right shoulder was partially dislocated but wasn’t broken. There’s also heavy bruising around it. We’ve put her in a sling for now until it’s healed a bit more.
“Mary will be in recovery for a while before we move her up to TCU, our transitional care unit. She’ll stay there for a minimum of twenty-four-hour observation. After twenty-four hours, she’ll be moved to a regular room for an additional twenty-four-hour observation. If no issues arise, then Mary will be able to be released.”
Dr. Rodgers pauses as she tucks the chart under her arm. She turns, looking at me and then Uncle Sam and Brady, and I see her nod when she notices their badges clipped to their belts. She looks around and steps a little closer. “Is my assumption correct that this is an abuse situation and we will need to bring security up to speed?”
Uncle Sam gives her a curt nod, stepping closer and pitching his voice low. “Yes, it is. I’m Captain Sam Morgan. It’s already been discussed with Mr. Thatcher that we will need to post guards outside her room rather than using the hospital’s security staff. Because of the nature of who the abuser is and adding in the fact that he has people placed in the hospital, the Steel Archangel’s will be providing security, not the police. In fact, I’d like to limit which police officers are allowed into her room to myself, Officer Brady, and Officer Dixon for now,” he says, pausing as he points to them in turn. “Once she’s awake, we’ll begin the process for a restraining order.”
Dr. Rodgers’ eyes blaze in anger at the implication that there are people working in the hospital that are corrupt, but thankfully, she doesn’t say anything more on the topic. After a few seconds, her shoulders relax slightly. “Good. I’ve seen her when she’s been in here in the past and knew that it was more than what she was telling us. I’m just relieved you got her out of there before it was too late.”
“Can we see her?” Maria asks, her voice trembling.
“Yes, but we can only allow two at a time while she’s in the ER. The two men that were posted outside the OR are outside her room now.” She pauses before looking over at me, cocking an eyebrow. “I take it you’re going to relieve one of them for a while and provide security from inside the room?”
I can’t help my relieved grin, even though everything in me is coiled tight and will be until I set eyes on my Siren. Dr. Rodgers has always been able to read me pretty well and right now is no exception. “Yeah, I am.”
She returns my grin, and we follow her down the hallway to Mary’s room.