Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
WILL
“Can I please go to the living room for just a little bit?” I whined.
Tech turned those icy blue eyes my way, giving me an unimpressed look. “Bed. Rest,” was all he said before turning his attention back to his laptop.
I groaned, folding my arms as best as I could with this damn cast. As the days went on, I felt myself unraveling. Doc had put me on bed rest until my ribs healed. Tech wouldn’t let me do a damn thing. Between hunting for his father and taking care of me, we hadn’t done anything else.
Even though I was a little annoyed with his overprotectiveness, I was also grateful.
Tech hadn’t left my side once. While I was in the hospital, he arranged for me to be moved to a bigger room.
He even had another bed added to the room so he could sleep as comfortably as possible.
Tech was six two and his body was not built for sleeping on a hospital couch.
During my stay, all the brothers stopped by with flowers, get-well-soon cards, and balloons.
A few even dropped off food for Tech and me.
It warmed my heart to see the club rally behind me better than my own family.
Well, that was everyone except for my grandmother and Aunt Toya.
They were there both days, fawning all over me.
My grandmother and Aunt Toya were the only two in my family who always defended me and never looked down on me.
They didn’t know how bad things were between my mother and me.
My grandmother had tried to get me to talk about what was going on for years, but I didn’t want to cause a huge rift in my family.
When my grandmother and Aunt Toya laid eyes on Tech for the first time, they nearly lost their minds.
Just like Oscar, they kept telling me how I had hit the jackpot.
He really won them over when they saw how attentive he was to me.
We hadn’t picked things back up romantically, but the love he had for me shone through with his care.
After everything he told me about his childhood, I honestly couldn’t be mad at him anymore. I wasn’t giving him an excuse for all his behavior, but I now understood him better. If I had gone through half of the things he did as a child, I would have suppressed my feelings as well.
The more I thought about it, the more I hated his father. He was an evil man. We still weren't certain whether his father was responsible for my attack. All signs were pointing in his direction, though. That phrase that he said wasn’t something people just walked around saying.
The day we returned to the clubhouse, Tech asked Viper to call church, so he could tell them the rest of his story.
He wasn’t as detailed as he was with me, but he made sure they knew the important details.
Once he let them know he believed Sire was behind my attack, the club was ready to help in any way.
Finding his father was harder than I thought it would be for Tech, Cara, and Sara. Mainly because Tech had no information on his father. No real name, birthdate, or Social Security number. The only information he had was where he grew up in a small town in Alabama.
The bar's cameras were also a bust. Although my attack was clear as day, you couldn’t see the men’s faces. They all wore black hoodies over their heads, masking their identities. That still didn’t deter Tech, Sara, and Cara. They were working day in and day out to get a location on Sire.
I didn’t know what they would do once they found him, but I worried about Tech.
He acted like he wasn’t bothered by coming face-to-face with his father.
I knew better. That man caused so much trauma in him that he had to seek therapy.
Seeing him after all these years was bound to reopen old wounds.
At least this time, he wouldn’t have to face Sire alone.
Tech had me and the entire club behind him. His real family.
A knock sounded on my bedroom door, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Come in,” Tech shouted.
Crystal opened the door and peeped inside. “Lunch is almost ready. What do you want to drink with your food, sweetie?” she asked me.
“I’ll take a water, but can I please eat in the living room. I promise to sit back in the recliner, rest, and watch terrible reality TV.” I pouted at her and Tech. They were both treating me like I was handicapped. I had been home for five days and had only seen my room.
“Will,” Tech said sternly.
“Please,” I begged, giving him my best puppy dog eyes.
He sighed in defeat before getting out of bed. Placing his laptop on the nightstand, he held his hand out to me. “Fine, but the second I sense you’re in any pain, back to this bed you will go.”
I smiled in triumph. “Thank you. I promise not to overdo it.”
“I’ll get the folding tray and set up your lunch.” Crystal made her way out of the room, leaving the door open.
As Tech helped me out of bed, I did my best to mask any discomfort.
If he thought for a second I was in pain, I wouldn’t leave this room.
Slowly, Tech guided me to the living room and into the recliner.
He grabbed a throw blanket off the couch, draping it over my body.
After he was sure I was comfortable, he made his way back to the room to grab his laptop.
He settled in the recliner next to me and refocused on his task.
Fifteen minutes later, Crystal had my lunch set up in front of me—fried catfish, home fries, and a salad.
She had been an absolute godsend. Just like Tech, she was here every day taking care of me.
Bianca’s mother, Victoria, filled in at Crystal’s house to help Debbie with the children while she was here.
I tried telling Crystal many times that it wasn’t necessary to come here every day.
By the second day, she told me to hush my mouth and worry about getting better.
I knew she looked at everyone on this compound like they were her children and grandchildren, whether they shared blood or not.
But to see her nurture me in a way my mother hadn’t done was bittersweet.
“Do you need anything else before I go back to the kitchen?” she asked after setting my water and plate down.
“No. I’m okay.” I grinned like a little boy as I took a bite of my food.
“What about you, Tech? You hungry yet?”
“Not yet. I’ll eat in a little bit,” he told her and turned his attention back to his screen.
Crystal placed her hands on her hips with a frown. “I’ll give you an hour. You skipped breakfast this morning, so you need to eat.”
She left no room for argument and left the room before he could say anything. Tech shook his head with a grin. “Yes, ma’am.”
Right as I finished my food, the front door swung open. Sara walked through with a waddling Cara right behind her. She was two days past her due date. Like me, she was supposed to be on bed rest. I was surprised Viper let her out of his sight long enough for her to sneak out.
Crystal came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands with a towel. “What are you doing here, belly?” she addressed Cara.
She glared at her mother. “I wish you would stop calling me that. And I’m here for the food.
Where’s my plate?” She placed her hand on the arm of the sofa, attempting to lower herself.
Sara and Tech rushed forward to help her.
Cara swatted both of them away. “This is my fifth baby. I’m a pro at this now. I got this.”
“I was going to bring you your plate. You didn’t have to walk all the way over here for some fried catfish, Cara.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “The doctor said a little walking would help move things along. I’ll do anything to get this little boy out of me. It’s like Jasper is hell-bent on living in my body,” she hissed.
We all broke out in laughter. I knew she had to be tired of being pregnant. In three and a half years, she and Viper were five babies in, and it didn’t look like they were stopping any time soon.
“Jasper? That’s his name?” I questioned.
“Yes. Viper and I decided last night.”
“I can't believe you and Viper are four out of five with boys. Poor Angel is going to be surrounded by nothing but brothers,” Tech said, chuckling.
Cara scoffed and pursed her lips. “God knows better than to give Viper another girl to share his attention with. Angel would lose her shit.”
I snickered at the thought. Yeah, that definitely wouldn’t go over well with Angel. She didn’t like sharing Viper's attention with anyone. I could only imagine if it were another little girl, sibling or not.
When Crystal walked back into the kitchen, I noticed that both Sara and Cara had their laptops with them. Tech noticed too and sat up in his recliner.
“You got some information?”
“I believe so. I just need you to confirm I found Sire and his cult.”
Crystal returned to the room and handed Cara and Sara a plate of food. She spotted my empty plate and grabbed it before returning to the kitchen.
Sara tapped away on her laptop and turned to Tech. “I just sent you the information.”
“Can I see?” I asked, trying my best to peek at his laptop.
Before he could answer, Cara grabbed her laptop and leaned toward me. “Here. Use mine.”
I grabbed it, propping it in my lap. Tech and I scrolled through the information.
The first thing I saw was a news article from eight years ago.
It was a cult being taken down by the Feds.
There were many pictures of crying children and women.
The men were cuffed while countless agents roamed the grounds.
I turned to Tech because he was extremely quiet.
His face was pale, as if he had seen a ghost.
“That’s them.” He swallowed and looked up at Cara. “What happened?”
“Based on the timeline that you gave us, it seems the Feds were tipped off about them six months after you left. Over fifty arrests between the women and men for child endangerment and neglect. A few of the men also went down for false imprisonment, including Sire.”
“What the fuck?” Tech whispered. “Who reported them?”
“I couldn’t find that out. Whoever did this wanted to ensure their safety.”
“I can’t blame them for that.” Tech sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. Suddenly, his head popped up, and he stared at Cara, confused. “Wait, so if Sire went to jail, he isn’t the one behind Will’s attack.”
Sara shook her head. “He got out six months ago, Tech.”
Tech and I groaned in harmony. “That isn’t a coincidence. He gets out six months ago, and Will gets attacked by a person saying the same bullshit he used to say to me.”
“I’m with you on that, Tech. Through the jail records, I was able to obtain his given name. Nehemiah Matthews. I don’t have anything on him so far. The man is living like a monk. No kind of paper trail whatsoever. He hasn’t been seen since his release.”
“This just keeps getting better and better,” Tech growled in frustration.
“I know, but give it time. He’s bound to make a slip and… Sssss,” Cara hissed, rubbing her stomach.
Everyone sat up in alert. “Are you okay, Cara? Do you need me to call Viper?” Tech whipped out his phone.
Sara set her plate down and sat up on the couch. “I told you, you need to go to the damn hospital.”
“Wait, what?” I asked, looking between them.
“She’s been having contractions all morning,” Sara told us, pointing at Cara.
She rolled her eyes, taking a bite of her fish uncaring. “I’ve been timing them.” Cara held up her wrist that had a watch on it.
“Your point?” Sara raised her brow.
“Like I said, I’m not new to this. My contractions have to be every three to five minutes to be in active labo—”
The front door slammed open, cutting Cara off. Viper stood there, his chest heaving, looking like he was about to panic.
“Cara, why in the hell did you leave the house?”
Cara held up the fish, which was placed between two slices of white bread. “Mama made fish,” she replied before taking a bite.
Viper pinched the bridge of his nose, staring at the ceiling. Tech and I were trying our hardest not to laugh. Cara was always stressing this man out, but he loved her no less.
He took a seat next to Cara, palming her belly. Even from where I was sitting, I could see her stomach moving in all kinds of directions. It looked painful. She was truly a pro at this because she was eating her food completely unbothered.
“Whoa. Jasper is really moving around in there.”
“That’s because she’s borderline in labor,” Sara snitched.
“What?!” Viper shouted, looking at Sara and then Cara.
“They're only twenty minutes apart.” Cara shrugged and took another bite of food.
Viper stared at Cara in disbelief. “Ma!” he yelled for Crystal.
She came out of the kitchen with a confused expression. “Hey, son. Did you come to get a plate too?”
Viper shot to his feet, shaking his head. “No. Your daughter could possibly be in labor, and she’s over here eating a fish sandwich.”
“Is that true, Cara?”
“Maybe. But I needed to eat before I went to the hospital.”
“Why?” Viper questioned.
“Because they starve me once I get there. Do you not remember that I was in labor for fourteen hours with Chase? Every time I asked for food, those nurses kept saying, ‘get her some ice chips,’ as if that wasn’t frozen water! Like, bitch, I’m hungry, not dehydrated.”
Cara continued to eat while everyone looked on in amusement. Well, everyone except Viper.
Crystal walked over to Cara and palmed her stomach. “How far apart are your contractions, baby girl?”
“Twenty minutes.”
Crystal waved a hand. “She’ll be fine. Sara, go to her house and grab her bag. Once she’s back, Viper, you can take her to the hospital.”
Viper’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious, Ma?”
“I did the same thing with Marco and Sophia. I made Paul stop at a drive-thru both times so I could eat. Being in labor is hard enough. Doing it while hungry is just inhumane.”
Sara left to grab Cara’s bag, and Viper took a seat, growling and grunting. By the time Sara returned, Cara had finished her food. Viper helped her to her feet. “Okay, let's go have a baby,” Cara said.
Viper grumbled something under his breath, but helped her out the door. Sara and Crystal were right behind him. When the door shut, Tech and I turned to each other and burst into laughter.
“Cara is going to drive him insane one day.”
I nodded in agreement right as silence fell over us. Tech skimmed through all the information the girls had found. Every so often, his body would tense up.
I reached over, placing my hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
He laced his fingers with mine, staring into my eyes. “The sooner I find Sire, the sooner I will be.”
His voice held so much conviction that goosebumps formed all over me. I had never heard him take such a tone. I didn’t know what all would come of this. I just hoped, in the end, it didn’t cause any additional damage to Tech.