18. Jules
JULES
I’d been awake for hours, but I hadn’t moved. I could feel Quinton lying there next to me, and I wasn’t ready to face him. I was still struggling with the fact that he wasn’t there when I needed him most.
I knew I wasn’t being fair. Until last night, he had no idea that James was in town or that he’d come to see me.
He had no clue that he’d found my apartment and had bullied his way inside.
He also didn’t know that he’d struck me multiple times and had threatened my life.
I might not have made it out of there alive if Smokey and Hayes hadn’t shown up.
I had no idea how they knew I was in trouble, and I didn’t care. I was just relieved that they’d come. I was on the floor, my head was spinning, and I was fading in and out of consciousness when I heard Smokey roar, “Get the fuck away from her!”
“Who the hell are you?” James spat.
“I’m not saying it again,” Smokey growled. “Back away from her, now!”
“You the guy who’s been fucking her?” James let out a disgruntled breath. “Should’ve known she’d be seeing some derelict piece of shit like you.”
I was still trying to recover from the last blow when I felt his boot slam into the side of my head again, and this time, it sent me spiraling. I saw stars, and then everything went black.
I don’t know how long I’d been out when I woke up in the backseat of Smokey’s truck. Hayes was sitting next to me and was holding a rag to my head. When he noticed that I was awake, he leaned down and whispered, “You’re okay. We’ve got you.”
“Where are we going?”
“The clubhouse,” Smokey answered. “Gonna have Doc take a look at you and make sure you’re okay.”
“Why?” I asked with confusion. “I’m okay.”
“Doc will be the judge of that.”
I was lost in a deep fog and unable to think, much less form a cognitive thought. I was struggling to remember how I’d ended up with them when it hit me all at once, and I gasped, “Oh, God! James! He was here.”
“Don’t gotta worry about him,” Hayes assured me. “He’s never going to hurt you again.”
“How can you say that?” I sat up, and my stomach immediately turned, making me feel terribly nauseous. “Stop the truck! I’m going to be sick.”
Smokey quickly pulled over on the shoulder, then waited as Hayes helped me out. I crouched over and prepared for another wave of nausea to hit, but the second the cold, fresh air hit my lungs, the sick feeling faded.
I took several deep, cleansing breaths, then slowly stood upright.
I was about to tell Hayes that I was okay when my attention was drawn to the back end of the truck.
There was a loud thump, followed by a muffled groan.
Curious, I leaned forward to get a better look, but Hayes held his hand up and said, “I think it’s best that you get back in the truck. ”
“Why? What is that?”
“Get back inside, Jules.”
Maybe it was the tone of his voice or the look on his face, but a chill ran down my spine, and I knew it was James in the back of that truck.
I didn’t say a word. I simply got back in the truck and remained silent as Smokey continued driving toward the clubhouse.
When we got there, Smokey got out, and he and Hayes helped me out of the truck, then led me up to the front door.
As soon as we made it inside, Smokey turned to Hayes and said, “Take her down to the infirmary. Doc’s waiting for her.”
Hayes gave his father a quick nod, then helped me down the hall and into a room I’d never seen before. With all the medical tools and devices, it reminded me of a doctor’s office, but not like any I’d ever been to. Hayes was helping me over to one of the gurneys when Doc came rushing over.
“Heard you had quite a night.”
“I did.”
“How you holding up?”
We’d met at the club’s Thanksgiving dinner. I could tell right away that Doc was a great guy, so I wasn’t surprised that he seemed genuinely concerned about me. “I’ve been better.”
“Looks like you got a pretty nasty hit to the head. Have you experienced any dizziness or nausea?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“It’s probably a mild concussion. You’ll need to take it easy for a couple of days.” He continued to look me over, then, after several minutes, he said, “You’re gonna have a couple of nasty bruises, but nothing that won’t heal.”
“Okay.”
“I’m giving you some pain medication. You can take it every four to six hours. Just let me know if you need something stronger.” He handed me a couple of ice packs, then turned to Hayes as he said, “Take her down to Q’s room. She can rest there until... She can rest there.”
“Speaking of Q, do you happen to know where he is?”
“He’s, um... He’s tied up at the moment. He’ll be back when he can.”
I could tell by looking at him that he wasn’t being completely forthright with me, but I was in no state of mind to push. So, I thanked him for his help and followed Hayes down to Quinton’s room. He helped me to bed, then grabbed a couple of bottles of water and put them on the bedside table.
Seconds later, I was lying in bed alone, and it wasn’t long before the tears started to fall. Once they started, they didn’t stop. I cried for hours and was about to fall asleep when Quinton crawled into bed next to me.
I’d asked him where he’d been and why he hadn’t answered my calls, but like Doc, he gave me some excuse about doing something with the club.
It was hard not to be a little hurt that he’d ditched me for his brothers.
It was that hurt feeling that had me playing possum when I felt him stirring in the bed next to me.
He stretched and groaned, then groaned some more as he sat up on the side of the bed. There were plenty of mornings when he made odd sounds, but this morning was different. He sounded like he was in pain, so I rolled to my side and asked, “Is something wrong?”
“No, I’m good.” He kept his back to me as he asked, “What about you?”
“A little better.”
“Good.”
He let out another deep, pained breath, and I knew then something wasn’t right. “Quinton, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, babe. Just a little stiff this morning.”
“Why won’t you look at me?”
“Just taking a minute to work out the kinks.”
“Quinton,” I pushed, but he still didn’t move, which made me wonder if his aversion was with me and not his so-called kinks. “Okay, fine. Don’t look at me. I wouldn’t want to look at me, either. I’m sure I look like hell.”
With that, I tossed the covers back and inched over to the end of the bed. When I stood, my head started to throb, but I ignored it and forced myself to take a step toward the bathroom. I didn’t get very far before Quinton reached for me and said, “Jules, stop.”
Intending to blast him, I turned and immediately froze.
His beautiful face was covered in bruises, his eyes were puffy and red, and there were bandages on his thighs. “Quinton! What happened to you?”
“Nothing,” he lied. “I’m fine.”
“You are far from fine.” I rushed over and took a closer look. “Who did this to you?”
“I can’t get into it.” Emotion filled his eyes as he told me, “All I can tell you is it’s the reason I wasn’t able to answer your call last night.”
“So, this had something to do with the club.”
He didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
I could tell by the expression on his face that I was spot on.
I just didn’t understand why he wouldn’t talk to me about it.
And then, I remembered the conversation we’d had about the club and all its rules.
The brothers weren’t allowed to discuss club business with anyone, especially with the ol’ ladies.
“So, this is one of those club things, huh?”
“It is, and I know the timing couldn’t be worse.
” He gave me a slight tug, pulling me down on the bed next to him.
“I let you down last night. Hell, I let myself down, and it kills me. I hate that motherfucker came here. I hate it even more that he had the nerve to put his fucking hands on you. I’ll kill him for that shit. ”
“Oh, God. Is that why they brought him here?”
“You know about him being here?”
“I heard him in the back of the truck.” My throat tightened as I asked, “Are you guys really going to kill him?”
“That’s not a question you need to ask, babe.”
I thought about all the years I’d spent with James and how horrible he’d been to me. He didn’t deserve to die for what he’d done to me. “Quinton, I know you are upset and want to make him pay for what he did. I do, too, but you can’t kill him.”
“This isn’t something you should be worried about.”
“But I am.” I reached over and placed the palm of my hand against his cheek. “I don’t want you doing something that might get you in any kind of trouble. I love you, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you, especially because of me.”
“You love me, huh?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”
“That’s good because I love you, too.” He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss, then said, “There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive you for. You would’ve been there if you could, and you’re here now. That’s what matters.”
“I really do love you, Jules.”
“And I really do love you.” I leaned in and kissed him, this time with a little too much fervor, and Quinton winced. “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I’m fine, babe.”
“No, you’re not.” I stood up, then walked over and grabbed the painkillers Doc had given me. “I want you to take one of these while I go start you a hot shower.”
He raised his brow and gave me a sexy smirk. “You gonna join me?”
“No, sir. Not a chance. We both have some healing to do before any of that.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Says the man who can barely move,” I teased. “Now, hold tight while I get that shower started.”
Quinton didn’t realize just how sore he was until he got up from the bed and hobbled to the shower. I had to help him clean his wounds and reapply his bandages. He wanted to do the same for me and gave it a valiant effort, but he simply wasn’t able to help as much as he wanted to.