Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Ivy
The deathly silence and smell of bleach and antiseptics are what wake me up. Okay, so it’s not entirely silent. There’s an incessant beeping sound. I’m alive and in the hospital.
Slowly, I peel my eyes open, blinking at the brightness of the light.
Pain radiates throughout my body, and I try to remember what happened.
I scan the room, and my heart skips a beat at the sight of Reaper.
Standing near the window, he’s looking out the window as if something out there will have the answers he’s looking for.
Reaper must sense me watching him. Turning his head, his eyes come to mine before he closes the distance between the two of us. Taking a seat on the bed, he reaches a hand out and gently brushes his fingers along the side of my face.
“Hey, Precious,” he rasps gruffly.
“Hey,” I croak.
Reaper pulls his hand back to grab a cup of water sitting on the table next to my bed.
“Here, baby, drink this.” Guiding the straw to my mouth, he holds it while I suck down a few gulps of water.
When I’m done, he pulls the straw away and places it back down.
“How are you feeling? Are you hurting? Need me to get the nurse?”
What in the world?
Reaper’s being far more caring than I’m used to. All of a sudden, everything comes flooding back in. Seeing Claws jump into Reapers arms. The tractor-trailer running into me. The wreck. My uncle.
Tears well in my eyes, and I can’t help but cast my eyes down to my lap, where I notice one of my hands is in a cast.
“Precious?” Reaper’s voice sounds haggard.
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with bimbo tits?” I demand.
“Ivy, look at me,” he commands.
I do as he says, and I’m met by a look of anguish and something else.
“Claws crossed the line. She knows I’m off limits and that I’m not going to touch her. Don’t know what she thought her outcome would be, but I’m not about to let her bullshit fuck up what we have.”
“Why didn’t you push her away?”
“I did. You didn’t see me push her off me or what I told her after.
She’s already fucked up twice at the clubhouse, and we have a three-strike policy in the club’s book.
” A three-strike policy for whores? Wow.
They must fuck up a lot then. I can’t help thinking it to myself.
“Ivy, you mean everything to me, and I nearly lost you. If I didn’t get to the accident when I did.
You wouldn’t be here right now. We wouldn’t be having this conversation, and I wouldn’t be able to share the news with you . . .”
“What news?” I interrupt him.
Sucking in a breath, he gently places a hand on my stomach. “You’re pregnant, Precious.”
My stomach plummets. No. I can’t be pregnant.
“Are . . . are y–you sure?” I stutter.
“Yeah. They’ve done two more lab draws since you’ve been here to keep an eye on things. It’s still extremely early, Precious, but yeah, it seems I knocked you up that very first night.” Reaper gives me a grin at that little bit of information.
It’s still extremely early. Very early.
I don’t know how I feel about being pregnant. It scares me.
Reaper leans in and presses his mouth to my own gently. “I know it’s a lot to take in after you’ve been out for the past three days.”
“Three days?”
“Yeah, baby. You’ve been sleeping the past three days. The doctors said your body needed to heal from all the trauma, but I gotta say, it’s been a long as fuck three days while I waited to see those beautiful eyes of yours.”
Oh boy. How can he be so sweet to me?
I give him a weak smile. Pain is radiating throughout my entire body, and I know I need more meds to help with it. I just don’t want to sleep yet, not after three days’ worth of it.
All of a sudden, my uncle’s voice fills my head. “You need to give me what’s mine, or you’ll pay. You’re gonna pay. With you out of the way, I’ll get it all. Didn’t want it to come to this, but now that you’ve become a whore, your value went down. I have no choice but to kill you.”
What did he mean by my value?
“What’s wrong, Ivy?” Reaper asks soothingly, his brows furrowing in concern. “Do you need the doctor?”
“Yes, but that’s not it. My . . . uncle. He’s behind my accident.” I tell Reaper what I remember about my uncle being there and what he said to me.
“Don’t you worry about him, Precious. I got him.
I’ll make sure of it. You won’t ever have to deal with his shit again.
I can promise you that.” There’s a glint in my man’s eyes that should frighten me, but instead calms my fear.
With Reaper, I don’t have to fear him, unlike others.
Everyone else is fair game where I’m protected.
“I love you,” I blurt out without meaning to.
Reaper’s eyes darken, and I open my mouth to apologize, to take it back when he brings his mouth to mine.
“You’re mine, Precious. You hold my heart.
I don’t love you; love doesn’t express the full meaning of what you mean to me.
I didn’t think I’d find you or that I deserved you, because of the stains that coat my hands.
Knowing you love me means everything, baby.
” Whispering the words, his lips brush against my own with each one.
Wow.
Kissing me softly, he pulls back slightly. “Now I’m going to get the doctor. We need to know you’re okay. The sooner we know, the sooner we get out of here, and I can get you to the clubhouse.”
“The clubhouse?” Why would he take me there? Why not my house?
“Baby, you yourself just told me about the threats your uncle has made. But what you don’t know is the reasons and who he’s in bed with. Until those threats are eliminated, we’re staying at the club where I know you are protected even when I’m not in the same room with you.”
Well, okay then. I guess I can understand that. I won’t argue with him on this. The look in his eyes tells me everything I need to know. He needs this. To know I’m safe behind the walls of the clubhouse where his brothers can help him keep me safe.
Nodding, I let him call for the doctor. When she comes in, she introduces herself as Stella, rather than Doctor such and such.
Stella informs me that she’s a friend of the club with a sad smile.
She does an exam of my motions while talking to me about pain and how much it hurts.
I tell her the truth, not ashamed to admit my body hurts like hell.
“I will make sure you get something to help with that,” Stella says.
“Thank you.” I nod with a sigh.
“When can Ivy go home?” Reaper asks.
“I would like to keep her in the hospital a few more days Reaper. She only just woke up, and we need to make sure she’s okay. And don’t forget it’s still early stages of pregnancy for her. With the trauma she’s endured, the chances of miscarrying are high.”
Panic seeps in and I’m freaking out. Reaper and I are pregnant, and I could lose the baby. Being an only child, I’ve always wanted a big family. “Please, I can’t lose the baby.”
Reaper can hear the panic in my voice and moves in close to comfort me. “Ivy, calm down, baby.”
“How about I speak to one of our OB/GYN doctors? See if we can’t get one of them to come in here and do an ultrasound to help settle your minds. You might be far enough along for it to show on a vaginal ultrasound.”
“Please, I need to know.” I nod, my panic calming, but my nerves stay on end.
“Alright, I’ll go do that. I’ll be back in just a little bit to check on you.”
“Thanks, Stella,” Reaper says gruffly.
“You’re welcome.” Stella smiles and leaves the room.
Reaper scoots me over on the bed just enough for him to stretch out next to me, and I can curl into his warmth. “Rest, Precious,” he utters, kissing the top of my head.
I close my eyes and pray everything will be okay. It has to be.