We were kids. His uncle was being an asshole to his cousin, touching her and shit. Stuff a father shouldn't be doing to his daughter.
We threatened him and he laughed in our faces, asking what two little puny sticks like us were gonna do. Nico put his head down and started to walk away. I, on the other hand, decided that no-one talks to my best friend like that. I dropkicked him behind the knees until he buckled.
“You little shit! Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with the big boys if you can't handle it?”
I remember the stench of his breath even today as his large hand wrapped around my neck, cutting off the air supply. My father taught me to always keep a weapon on me; I had a knife. Pulling it from the back of my jeans, I drove my blade into his arm. I still remember the scream that left his mouth. He never touched Sofia again.
“I know, Nico. Usually, I would say yes. But you have to be around to look after Jess. Daria wouldn't forgive you if you let anything happen to her.” Saying Daria's name has my heart skip a beat and a shiver run down my spine..
“You're right. Plus, I don't want her mom to go off on one at me again.” I laugh at him. “You laugh, but Mrs. Cross is one scary lady.”
My cell rings again. Pulling it back out of my pocket, I see Emily's name flashing again.
“Princess, I'm on my way.”
“Daddy, I think... I think...” I can't understand what she's saying because she's crying so much.
“Princess, calm down.” I need to know what the hell has her so worked up.
“I think Mom's dead.”
“Emily? Stay on the line.”
“Daddy, please. There’s three men beating up Mom. You need to hurry.”
For the second time in my life, I feel my heart shatter into a million pieces. The first time was finding my mom's dead body. Flashbacks of that day push forward from the deep, dark abyss of my brain. I was excited to tell my mom that I had made the wrestling team. She had said if I got in, we would celebrate by getting a pizza delivered and Dad would be there too. The smile I had on my face the whole bike ride home was like nothing I had before. It soon wiped off when I walked in to see a needle hanging out of my mom's arm, her blue eyes staring back at me. Lifeless. Nothing in there. There was no love. No sparkle. Nothing.
“Daddy. Please hurry.” My daughter's shaky voice brings me to the here and now.
“Stay where you are, sweetheart. I'm coming.”
“Hey, man, I'm coming.” I'm about to protest but he quickly stops me. “Don't even give me your shit! You have the same look on your face like you had when I came over the night your mom died. If Daria or Emily is in trouble, I'm helping with this shit!”
“We got a plan?” Cobra asks, overhearing us.
“Yeah. Kill whoever has scared Emily!”
***
Arriving, I see the door wide open. Not thinking, I jump off my bike, letting it fall. I don’t care if it gets scratched or how much it will cost me to get it repaired. Nothing is worth more to me than my daughter right now. And Daria.
Stopping dead as I take in the scene before me, feelings inside me like I have never felt before in my life surface, not even when my mom died.
“Holy shit,” Nico breathes from behind me. “Cobra, call an ambulance.” He pushes past me, kneeling down to check Daria for a pulse. I'm rooted to the spot. I can't get my feet to move, no matter how hard I will them to. “Striker! Snap out of it, man. We need to help her. We need to find Emily!” Nico screams at me.
Hearing Emily's name finally snaps me out of the trance I was in.
“Emily?” I shout, taking the stairs two at a time. “Emily!” I look in all the rooms but she's nowhere to be seen. “Emily, please be here.” Opening the closet door, I see her sitting, hugging a scared Blue. Her whole body is shaking with fear, and the soft sobs coming from her break my heart. I crouch down, reaching out to her.
“Please don't hurt me.” She jumps, pushing herself back, not looking up. Blue sees me and licks my arm, nudging Emily.
“Baby.” My voice cracks a little. “Emily, it's Daddy.” She finally looks up with glazed over baby blue eyes that match my own.
“Daddy.” The relief from her voice causes a tear to drop from my eye. Her arms fly around my neck and she cries.
“Hey, shh.” Kissing her raven hair, I comfort her the best I can. “Daddy's here. I've got you. I'll always have you.”
“Striker, the paramedics and the cops are here,” Nico informs me.
“Emily. Will you go with Uncle Nico?”
“No. I want to stay with you and Mommy. What about Mommy? Did they kill her? We need to finish my science project. I can't do it without her!”
I take her face in my hands. “Mommy is fine. The people downstairs are helping her and she’ll be back helping you in no time, okay?” I kiss her forehead.
“Okay.”
Lifting her, I walk over towards Nico. “Take her to my dad’s house. Do not, and I mean under no circumstances let her out of your sight.”
“Never.” He takes her from my arms.
Walking downstairs behind Nico, he turns Emily's head into the crook of his neck to shield her from seeing her mom's bloody, motionless body. She's seen far too much already in the short time since we found each other again. Daria has taken the brunt of all my anger since I found out she kept Emily from me. . She could have easily taken Emily and ran, but she stayed, just so I can have some sort if relationship with our daughter. Maybe she should have.
***
“Twenty-seven-year-old female, unconscious on arrival. Blunt trauma to the head and a stab wound to the abdomen-” I drown out all the fancy words the paramedics are telling the doctors. All I can do is stare at her lifeless body. Her heart stopped twice on the way here. I swear, when her heart stopped, mine did too. I run along with the doctors and nurses until the lead doctor stops me.
“You can’t come in here.”
When I find out who did this to her and scared my little girl, I will make them pay with every breath in my body.
“Sir.” A young nurse speaks as I watch through the window. “Sir?” I look down at her. “Are you next of kin?”
“Huh?”
“Next of kin?”
“Uh, um, no. I’m… um,” I struggle to find the words to describe what I am to her. “I’m her child’s father.”
“Okay. We need to find her next of kin. In the meantime, I’ll show you....” I look behind me to see five other brothers. “I’ll show you all to the relatives’ room.”
“Striker.” Jess rushes towards me and shocks the hell out of me by hugging me. “What the hell happened?”
“Emily-” I don’t get to finish when she cuts me off.
“Oh my God, Emily. Where is she? Is she okay? Is she hurt too?”
“Jess, calm down.” Cobra says, since she’s eight and a half months pregnant.
“Calm down? You want me to calm down when my best friend has been attacked in her own home? She’s fighting for her life as we speak! She could die.” Tears flow down her cheeks. “Remind me to tell you to calm down if anything ever happens to any of these guys.” Thankfully, Nico walks in before Jess kills Cobra. I walk towards him.
“You’re supposed to stay with Emily,” I say.
“Your dad, Chucky, and Fran are with her and Blue, safe at your dad’s house.” He turns to Jess. “Babe, please calm down. Think of the baby.”
“Nico, I swear to all that’s holy, if one more person tells me to calm down, I’ll kill you.” She growls. “I won’t calm down until I know Daria will survive.”
“Emily’s fine. They didn’t get near her. She’s scared and worried about her mom, as you can imagine.”
“And Daria? Have they told you anything?”
“No. They won’t tell me anything. I’m not family and I’m not next of kin.”
“Well, I’m her next of kin. I’ll be back.” She walks towards the door
when a tall doctor walks in wearing bloody scrubs. Daria’s blood.
“Jessica?”
“Uncle Ant.” She throws her arms around him. “Are you looking after Daria?”
“I am.” A sad look flashes across his face, and I collapse on the seat behind me. No. Mars sits beside me, squeezing my shoulder.
“Uncle Ant. Please tell me she’s okay,” Jess begs him.
“She had a severe bump to the head and a stab wound to the abdomen. We did everything we could…”
“No!” Jess lets out a loud scream, her breathing becoming labored. “She’s not dead. She can’t be. I need her here.”
I don’t want to believe she’s dead. I don’t want to imagine telling our daughter that her mother died at the hands of a bunch of cowardly pricks. I’m brought out of my thoughts by Jess wailing out in pain. Looking up, I see her holding her stomach.
“Babe?” Nico looks panicked.
“It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s just a twinge.” No sooner are the words out, we see a puddle appear at her feet.
“Shit,” the doctor mutters, sticking his head out of the door and shouting for a nurse. “Jess, I’m going to call your mom and dad, okay, sweetheart?”
“No. No.” Jess panics, looking at Nico and squeezing his hand. “Daria should be here. She needs to help me.”
“Jess, you need to breathe.” Nico kneels down, mimicking the breathing. Jess nods, breathing at the same time.
“I can’t do this. I can’t do this without Daria, Nico.” She sniffs.
“I know, baby. But Daria would want you and the baby safe. I’m here, and your mom will be there too.” Nico moves a piece of hair away from her face. Watching this exchange kills me. I’ve spent time with them to know their love is real. I’m not saying Jess and I are best friends, but we tolerate each other for Nico’s sake. If he’s happy. I’m happy.
“I can’t go anywhere without my best friend.” Walking across the room, I place my hand on her shoulder. She looks up at me, her eyes glittering with tears. “I can’t.” She sobs. “I need to say goodbye.”
“Jessica, honey. Daria is okay. She’s in surgery just now. That’s what I was going to say. Just like your dad, you jump in both feet first,” the doc says.
“So, she’s not dead?”
“No.”
“Okay, Jessica. Let’s go have a baby.” Nico and I help her into the wheelchair.
“But it’s too early.”
“Don’t you worry about that. We will do everything in our power to bring your baby into the world safely.” The older nurse smiles reassuringly.
“Striker?” Jess grabs my hand, looking up at me with shiny blue eyes. “Tell her.”
That’s it. They start wheeling her away. Nico is still standing beside me, staring at her. I nudge him.
“Nico!” Jess yells at him.
“Shit.”
I chuckle when he jumps, hearing her voice.
My thoughts turn back to Daria and to what Jess said; Tell her. Tell her what?
As if reading my mind, Nico turns to me. “Tell her you love her.” He runs to be with Jess, leaving me stumped by that statement.
Love her? I don’t love her.
Do I?
Chapter Twenty-One
Striker
We’re still waiting on news from Nico about Jess and the baby, and the doctors about Daria. She was taken down to surgery two hours ago because she had internal bleeding they were trying to stop.
“Any news?” Hearing Dad’s voice, I look up.
“Where’s Emily?”
“Still safe at my house with Fran and Chucky. She’s asleep with Blue sleeping right beside her.” My mind casts back to the day I brought Blue home and the fight with Daria to keep him.
I had her that night. She couldn’t resist me and I couldn’t resist her. Just like every time we’re in a room alone. She doesn’t take any of my shit and calls me out on it, which makes me pissed and hard at the same time.
“Daria Denver’s family?” Jess’ uncle calls. He looks me up and down, assessing me for whatever reason. I’m as close to family as she has at the moment.
“How is she, Doc?” Cobra asks while I stare at this fucking asshole.
“She’s in the ward in an induced coma. She has significant swelling on her brain that we’re trying to reduce.”
“Can I see her?”
“Only one at a time.” He looks behind me at all the guys. He doesn’t look fazed by eight bikers standing staring at him. He’s Tyler Cross’ brother. Looking back at Dad, he nods and pats me on the back.
“I’ll be right here, son.”
Nodding, I follow the doctor to a side room.
“Just a heads up. She has tubes and bruises over her face, and her face is swollen.” He sighs. “Talking as a man, as a husband, as a father and as a family friend of Daria, find the bastards and kill them. The Devil’s Reign will help with whatever you need to find the cowards. I’m sure my nephew would love to get his hands on them.” Nodding my head, I walk in and see Daria lying motionless, the left side of her face covered in bruises and swollen.
“What have they done to you?” I whisper, walking closer, sitting by the bed. Her chest rises and falls, the beeping from the machine helping her to breathe is the only sound in the room. “Come on, baby. You need to wake up.”
I need her to wake up. I need to tell her the truth.
***
“How is she doing?” I raise my head when Dad's voice hit my ears. I've been staring at Daria since we came to the hospital yesterday. I waited around for hours while the doctors worked on her and rushed her to surgery. I've paced the same floor, wondering what I’ll tell our daughter if she doesn’t make it, the thoughts quickly moving to killing each and every fucker that made Daria lie in this bed, breathing through a fucking tube. Making them suffer the worst kind of death possible for touching my woman.
Your woman? You don't have one woman. You fuck them and dump them. You play with their minds, fucking them up before sending them a clear message that you don't do relationships.
Daria is different. She's the one that gets under my skin. Eleven years ago, she burrowed herself so deep I haven't been able to get her out, no matter how hard I scrub. She. Just. Won't. Leave.
“Son?” Dad's hand touches my shoulder.
“Maybe I should have let them go.” I watch as her chest moves up and down and listen to the beeps from the machine. “I should have told her to get as far away from me as possible. Daria deserves much more than this life. Emily.” I squeeze my eyes closed as I think about my sweet, caring, and beautiful little girl. “Emily deserves so much more than me as her father.”
“Don't do that, son. That little girl dotes on you. You're her hero.”
“I'm a fuck up, Dad. I mean, look what I've put them through. I've been in their life barely a year; Emily has already been kidnapped, threatened, and look at Daria.” Standing, I walk to the window, tearing my eyes from her. “She's barely hanging on. She died twice on the way here. I can't keep doing that to her.” I take a deep breath. “I can't do that to Emily too.”
Turning, I walk towards the door, leaving Dad calling on me. I can't be there. I need to leave her, and when she wakes up—if she wakes up. When she wakes up, I’m telling her I’m leaving.
***
I haven't slept in a week. I can't leave her. Not again. I need to be with her to make sure she's safe. I should have done that eleven years ago. She should have told me she was pregnant. She should have come straight to me. I could have taken care of her.
Don't lie. You would have accused her of sleeping with someone else and pinning the baby onto you.
“Babe, come on. You need to wake up,” I beg her, closing my eyes. I fall asleep holding her hand.
“I want to see her! I have every right to see her.” A voice outside shouts, rousing me from my sleep.
“You gave up that right when you abandon
ed her,” I hear Tyler say. Tyler and Alexa have been here every day. Emily has been staying with Dad while I keep Daria safe.
“Please. From one father to another. I need to see my baby girl.”
A few minutes later, the door opens.
“Oh, pumpkin.”
Pumpkin? I stand at my full six foot seven height as an old guy comes to Daria’s side, touching her hand and her head. I want to snap his hands clean off for touching her. She's not yours. He finally looks up at me, and looks down at my cut. His nose flares and he rounds the bed to stand in front of me.
“You're the asshole the knocked up my baby! You son of a bitch.” Grabbing my shirt, he punches me right on the nose. Strike one. “You ruined her life.” Punch. Strike two. One more strike and he's dead. I can feel the anger building up within me. “Now look at her. She's so broken!” Punch. Strike Three.
That's it. I shove him off and pull out my carving knife, jumping on top of him and putting it against his neck.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“I'm her father!” He has a slight accent I can’t quite put my finger on. Like Daria, he has no fear in his eyes. What the hell is wrong with these two? Everyone is scared of me.
Tyler pulls me off her father.
“Get off.” I shrug him off and sit back down and take Daria’s hand.
“Dad? You’re bleeding.” Emily frowns, walking into the room.
I feel the old dude’s eyes on us. He looks like he's about to burst into tears.
“I’m okay, princess,” I try to reassure her, while looking at the asshole father.
“Who are you?” Emily looks up at him. “Are you someone from Mom's work?”
I don't miss the sadness that crosses his eyes. Why wouldn’t Emily know her grandfather? He places a fake smile on his face and nods.
“I just wanted to make sure your mom’s okay.” He looks down at Daria then back at Emily. “I should go.” He turns and walks out of the room. I look to Tyler who shakes his head. I'll question him later.
“Is Mom going to die?” Emily asks after a few moments.
Three Strikes (Demons Disciples MC Book 1) Page 15
