Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Tombstone
It took me all of thirty seconds after sitting in this hospital room with Sutton, watching her sleep so peacefully, to know what I need to do.
Sure, she needs to speak to a professional, but more than that, she's gonna need someone who understands her better than anyone else at the moment. I know someone who she can talk to.
Pulling out my phone, I find my daughter’s number, hit send, and bring it to my ear as it starts to ring.
“Hey, Daddy, what’s going on?” Hearing her call me daddy never gets old. Doesn’t matter that Bethany’s an adult now. I still enjoy it. Probably because for the majority of her life, I’ve been Uncle Tombstone.
“Hey, Princess, just callin’ to ask a favor,” I say, clearing my throat and refocusing on my woman’s face. Flashes of her being held at gun point and then the ones of her in the shower bleeding out filter through my head.
“What’s that?” Bethany asks, and I can tell she’s baffled and confused. I’ve never asked my daughter or even my son-in-law for anything . . . other than to see my grandkids.
“Anyway, can you come out here? I need you to do something for me,” I mutter.
“I haven’t shared with you, but I’ve got an ol’ lady.
” I hear her gasp, but she doesn’t interrupt me.
“She . . . well, I can’t tell you much other than she went through something this past week and needs someone who’s been through their own similar hell to talk to. ”
“You want me to talk to her about him?” she whispers, and I’m gutted knowing I’m raising memories that should be long buried in the ground back to life.
“I wouldn’t ask, Princess, if I didn’t think you wouldn’t be able to help. Sutton doesn’t know about you yet . . .”
“How do you have an ol’ lady, and she doesn’t know about your daughter and grandkids?” Bethany demands, interrupting me.
“It’s a long story, and I’ll tell you when I have time, but she’s been through hell. She and I have a lot to talk about as well, and one of them is the fact she’s mine, and I’m not gonna let her go so easily,” I snarl, curling my lip on the last part of that sentence.
There’s a brief pause as I wait for Bethany to respond. When she does, she sighs, “I’ll talk to Chaz, see when we can get on the road and get down there.”
I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding and hang my head, “Thank you, Princess. Love you, let me know what Chaz says.”
With Chaz being in a band but also a member of the Devil’s Riot MC, Franklin charter, he’s gotta check with Twister and the guys in his band.
Most likely, Hunter, Tanner, and Lex would all come down with him, and they’d make a thing out of them being here.
Probably do a gig at the club or maybe Keeper’s Pub.
If they did, the four of them would draw in a large crowd.
Finishing my conversation with Bethany, I drop my phone from my ear and glance back at my woman. “Come back to me, Bambina. I need you more than you’ll ever know.”
Standing, I move from the chair to sit next to her on the bed.
I reach out and brush a few strands of hair that fell in her eyes.
My beautiful woman has to be okay. I can’t think of her not making it through this.
I know she’s strong. She just needs someone to show her the way. And I intend to do just that.
Sutton
The feel of someone stroking my hair out of my face pulls me from the darkness. No one has ever touched me so tenderly. It’s as if they’re scared, I may break. The smell of antiseptic fills my nose, letting me know where I am without having to think too hard about it—the hospital.
Damnit.
I'd wanted all the pain to end. Why? Why couldn’t they simply let me go? Don’t they know I’ve had enough heartbreak in my life? My entire life has been nothing but people hurting me in one way or another.
But the feather-light touches make my heart flutter and my belly clench.
“Come back to me, Bambina,” the husky voice of a man says. “I need you, Sutton. You have no clue how much I need you to wake up and let me see your eyes. Let me know I didn’t fail you.”
Fail me?
What’s this guy talking about?
Wait a minute. I know that voice.
Tombstone.
My eyes fly open. I groan as the bright light hits them and I have to close them again. I raise my hands to shield my eyes and immediately regret it. A throbbing pain races from my wrist to my shoulders.
“Sutton?” Tombstone calls my name, and my face is instantly engulfed in his much larger hands. “Fuck, Bambina, you had me scared out of my fuckin’ mind.”
Blinking against the harsh lighting, I focus on Tombstone’s face. “What are you doing here?”
I mean, I know what I’m doing here in the hospital. I'd fucked up and nearly succeeded in killing myself after Tombstone and the rest of the guys rescued me from that van.
Tombstone pulls away slightly. His eyes seem to darken as he takes in my confused look. “Why wouldn’t I be here? I told you, I wasn’t gonna let you handle this on your own. That you’re mine.”
His?
Um, I don’t think I understand what he’s saying. How could he want someone like me? I’m filth.
Tombstone gives me one of his smirks that simply drives me nuts.
Not in a bad way, but usually those times I see him smirking at me, it’s right before he’s taking me to a room.
“Sutton, we gotta lot to talk about, and we will. I need you to talk to me, tell me about this.” Sliding a hand down, he gingerly brushes his fingers across my bandaged wrists.
“I wanna know what drove you to this. You need to let me in and give me that darkness.”
Now I’m really confused . . . Why would he want all of my dark secrets, the ones that frighten me in the night?
Tombstone
Sitting here with Sutton, I hold her gaze as I say what I’m about to say next. She needs to know that I can understand the pain of something traumatic. “I was married once. In the end, my wife died, because of me.”
Sutton stares at me in surprise, and I don’t miss the glazed look in her eyes telling me she’s close to tears. “What was her name?”
“Ronaele,” I rasp, clearing my throat. “We were best friends growing up.”
“What happened to her?”
Sighing, I shake my head. “Maybe at a later time—after you’ve had a chance to work things out in your head about the shit you’ve been through, I’ll tell you that part of the story.
Just know here and now that I’m letting the past go, the fear of losing someone, and claiming you as mine.
You mean too much to me, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you get all the help you need and overcome the pain of everything you went through and anything else that might arise. ”
Sutton parts her lips and simply stares at me with shimmering eyes, but doesn’t say anything. I only hope she realizes the significance of what I’ve shared with her.