Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Lola
M y patience is frayed.
I just want this whole thing over and done with.
“Miss Williams? I’m Officer Mills. This is Officer Evans. We want to talk to you about your attack.”
I blow out a shaky breath.
“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be.”
“Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell us when you first knew something was wrong?
“When there was a hand around my ankle, yanking me from my bed.
”
“And you were alone in bed?”
“Yes. Hannibal was at the clubhouse with the kids.”
Officer Mills blinks before looking at Hannibal.
“You took the kids to the clubhouse?”
“The old ladies were watching them. But as our son was still so young, I wanted to be close, and Lola needed a full night’s sleep. Jokes on fucking me, huh?” Hannibal sighs.
“What happened next?” Officer Evans takes over, looking back at me.
“It all happened so fast, and yet it seemed to go on forever.” I rub my temples, my head throbbing to the beat of an invisible drum.
“I was yanked to the floor and punched in the head and chest, which stunned me. Then they dragged me across the floor by my hair to Hannibal’s daughter’s room. I’d never been so glad in my life that she wasn’t there.” I press my hand to my throat, feeling the ghost of Driller’s fingers still there.
“Did you see what your assailant looked like?”
“No. They wore a black ski mask. Actually, everything they wore was black.” I frown as if trying to remember.
“I could tell it was a man, though. They were taller than me, stronger than me, and broader than me. I was too out of it to notice much else.”
“Why the daughter’s room?” Officer Mills asks.
“I don’t know. I thought at first they might have been looking for her. Her daddy’s the president of Raven Souls MC, after all. She’d make good leverage if they kidnapped her, but he didn’t seem disappointed that she wasn’t there. I asked him what he wanted and begged him to let me go. Pathetic, I know, but I have a baby who needs me and a new daughter who just lost one mom. I didn’t want her to lose another, or worse, be the one to find me if she decided to come home early, for whatever reason.”
I stop to clear my throat and take a sip of water when Hannibal holds the cup to my lips.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, fighting back tears.
I might be fudging the truth here, but my memories are very real.
“It’s okay, Miss Williams. Take your time,” Officer Mills says softly.
I blow out a shaky breath.
“I don’t know what he wanted. But there was just so much rage inside him. He straddled my chest and started hitting me again and again before his hands were around my throat. I knew I was going to pass out, but then he sped that up by bashing my head into the floor. Next thing I know, I’m waking up here.”
“And you have no idea who your attacker could be?” This time it’s Officer Evans that asks.
“The only person who wants to hurt me is in a coma,” I reply, playing dumb.
“And who might that be?”
I give them Driller’s name and explain where he is and why.
They look at each other before Mills speaks again.
This time, his question is aimed at Hannibal.
“We’ll look into it. Was it you who found Miss Williams?”
“Yeah. I thought we could catch an hour together while the kids were occupied. I never expected to walk in and find her unconscious on the floor. I thought she was fucking dead.” He runs his fingers through his hair before I reach out and catch his hand.
“I’m okay, thanks to you.”
He leans down and kisses my forehead.
“You took ten years off my life,” he mutters, and I know those words are meant only for me.
Turning back to the officers, he continues.
“I’m a medic. I was previously in the military, but I kept all my certificates up to date, so I’m pretty good in an emergency. I’ll admit, though, that seeing her like that made me panic. I called a couple of brothers for help, and in minutes, I had her loaded up in the back of the car, and we were on our way here.”
“You didn’t think to call an ambulance?”
“I didn’t want to waste time when I was worried about internal bleeding.”
“Understandable.” Evans nods.
“I think we have all we need here. We want to send a crime scene unit out to the property.”
“That’s fine, though I’m not sure how much it will help. A couple of old ladies have been in and cleaned up, not wanting the kids to see anything.”
I can tell both cops are pissed, but what can they do?
“Thank you for your time, Miss Williams. We’ll be in touch.”
When they leave, I let out a relieved breath.
“Do you think they’ll be a problem?”
“I think they might have a hard-on for the club, but anything they may find at the house will be inadmissible in court now, and they have no witness. Once they realize Driller's missing, they’ll likely conclude he was responsible. But again, without proof, what can they do? I doubt they’ll waste many resources looking for him. They might not like the idea of the club taking things into their own hands, but it saves the taxpayers money and the cops a bunch of paperwork.”
I chuckle before wincing. “I’m not sure they’ll see it that way somehow.”
“Probably not,” he agrees. “I’m going to see where the nurse is with your meds and text the all-clear to everyone.”
I want to tell him I’ll be fine. But all I want to do is curl up into a ball and cry, so drugs sound pretty damn good right now.
“Okay, I’ll just lay here looking pretty,” I joke.
“You’ll always be beautiful to me.”
His lips brush mine before he’s out the door with his phone in his hand.
The man makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I swear he’s more potent than any drug I’m likely to get.
Speaking of which, the nurse comes bustling into the room, offering me a polite smile. “I hear you need a top-up on your meds.”
“I want to be strong and say I’ve got this. I survived labor after all. But between you and me, I don’t think I’ve got this.”
This time, her smile is full of sympathy. “Honey, you don’t have to be strong all the time. It’s exhausting. Now you’ve had a rough night, and you’re hurting, so cut yourself some slack and let me help you.”
“Okay.”
She gives me a wink and holds out a little paper cup with some pills in it. “Think you can swallow these?” she asks, eyeing my throat.
I nod. “It’s sore, but I can manage.”
“Great. Let me grab your water. Here you go.”
I tip the pills into my mouth before taking a large mouthful of water and swallowing them down. “Ouch, that hurt more than I thought it would.”
“Taking tablets is no fun at the best of times.” She looks at her watch before taking the water and empty paper cup from me. “My shift is finishing in thirty minutes, but if you need anything, one of the other nurses will be by to check on you in a little while.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. Get some rest. It will speed up the healing process.” She turns and leaves.
She’s gone for maybe a minute or two before the door opens again.
“Did you—” My voice trails off when I realize it’s not Hannibal in the doorway but his daughter looking at me with wide-eyed horror.
“He said you were okay,” she whispers, a teddy bear falling from her arms to the floor.
“I am, I promise. This all looks worse than it is.”
“Really? Because you look like shit.”
“Millie,” Hannibal’s voice rumbles from behind her.
Her voice cracks. “You said she was okay.”
“And she is. She’s a little banged up, but bruises heal, Millie. She just needs rest.”
“Ugh, so everyone tells me. I’m gonna be so bored,” I joke, hoping to ease the tension.
“I’ll look after you. I won’t let you get bored.” She walks into the room, moving closer to the bed. She hovers, unsure what to do next. “I was so scared,” she admits in a whisper.
“Come here, honey.” I open my arms for her, and she steps into my embrace. I bite back a wince as my bruised body protests. “You were so brave. Thank you for keeping Evan safe.”
She sobs into my shoulder. I look up as Hannibal moves to stand next to her. Byte stands just inside the door.
When she lifts her head to look at me, I wipe her tears away before they trigger my own. “I don’t think I’m the only one who needs rest.”
“I’m staying?—”
“You can stay all day with me, every day until they let me out. But sleeping here isn’t necessary. I’ll just be sleeping myself. Stay with your brother for me. I like knowing his big sister is watching over him.”
“Okay,” she reluctantly agrees.
“Thank you.”
She takes a step back and allows Hannibal to wrap his arm around her shoulder and tug her away as Jolene walks through the door with my sleeping boy in her arms.
Now, I have no chance of holding back my tears. I hate that one day, I’ll have to tell him the truth about who his father is. I never ever want him to feel tainted in any way. As far as I’m concerned, Evan was never Driller’s. He was always mine.
“I thought you might want to see him.”
“Yes, god, yes. Thank you, and thank you for watching him for us.”
“It’s no problem at all. I’ll watch him anytime. He’s a sweetheart, just like his sister.” She winks at Millie, making her blush.
She eases Evan into my arms, his weight seeming far heavier than usual thanks to how weak I feel. I pull him close and breathe him in. There's no better smell in the world. I press my lips to the soft downy skin of his forehead and mummer to him how much I love him before my eyes start to get heavy again.
“I think you better take him.
I don’t want to drop him.
”
“I’ve got him, don’t worry,” she says gently as she takes him from me.
“We’ll leave you in peace, but I’ll bring him back for another visit tomorrow if you’re up for it.”
“Absolutely.”
“Alright then, night.” She heads out, and I see her old man, Germ, waiting for her.
He nods to me before following behind them.
“Let’s get you back too, Millie.” Byte walks closer, his hand reaching out to squeeze my foot.
“You sure I can’t stay?” she questions.
“You really don’t need to watch me sleep. Come back tomorrow with snacks and some playing cards. I’ll teach you how to play poker.”
“Deal.” She grins, giving me a hug before pulling back.
“Am I missing the party?” Gunther appears in the doorway with a couple of drinks in his hand, bending down to scoop the fallen teddy off the floor.
“Oh, this is for you, Lola.” Millie takes the teddy from Gunther and lays it on the bed next to me.
“He’s adorable. Thank you.”
She beams a grin at me.
“Glad you’re okay, Lola.” Byte winks before offering Millie his arm.
“Milady.”
She blushes.
“You’re such a dork, Byte.” But she takes his arm anyway.
“You should go too,” I tell Hannibal, knowing he wants to stay.
“Doll—”
“I know you have a package that needs dealing with. Go do that while I sleep. It will make me feel better knowing it’s done.”
Reading between the lines, he gets what I’m saying.
I need this to be over.
I need Evan and Millie safe.
For that to happen, I need Driller to be dead.
“Alright, but I’m leaving Gunther here, no arguments. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to leave you alone again.”
I sigh but give in.
“Fine. Now kiss me and go do what you’ve gotta do.”
“So bossy.” He kisses me gently before pulling back and staring at Gunther.
“Any issues, you call me.”
“You got it.”
“Come on, Millie. We’ll wait for your dad in the car.”
“Bye, Lola,” Millie calls out as Byte leads her out of the room.
Hannibal hesitates before growling.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“You can’t stay. It has to be you. If I can’t see the proof that he’s gone, then you’re the only one I’ll believe to tell me the truth.”
“Even though I didn’t protect you?”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Simple as that?”
“Of course, it’s as simple as that. I love you, you idiot.”
“Fuck, if you weren’t injured…”
“Still in the room, people,” Gunther mutters.
“Rain check?” I giggle.
“Fucking count on it.”
I wait for him to leave before the smile slides off my face.
Gunther puts the drinks down, walks over to the side of the bed, and sits on the edge, taking my hand in his.
He looks at me with sad eyes and that ever-present hint of guilt.
“We all know how strong you are, Lola. But you can let go now.”
And that’s all it takes: permission to let go without worrying about scaring Millie or sending Hannibal into a murderous rage.
I break apart as I relive the horror of what happened, knowing how close I came to losing everything.
“It’s all going to be alright now, Lola girl.”
“How do you know?” I whisper, my breath hitching painfully in my chest.
“Because Hannibal will make it so. That man loves you. More than that, he suits you. You fit, you know, far better than you and Havoc ever did.”
“I think maybe he was my reward.”
“Oh, sweetheart, haven’t you figured it out yet? It’s you that’s the reward. Hannibal's just the lucky bastard that gets to keep you.”