“Yeah, I’ll check it out later. Appreciate the talk, Brother. I had actually planned to find you this morning because I knew I was at the end of the proverbial rope.”
Reese just smiles at me and says, “Let’s eat before our food gets cold, yeah?”
2
Nick
Pulling up to the shop, I see the van is once again parked around back. Getting off my bike, I head towards the van and then hear the cry of a baby. I purposely make extra noise, so the person inside won’t be startled. Knocking on the driver’s side window, I wait until a female comes to the front and cracks the window slowly. “Who…who are you?” she asks. I can hear the fear in her voice and mentally chastise myself for not changing my clothes. Dressed all in dark colors, I’m sure I look scary to her. The area isn’t as well-lit as it’s supposed to be, and I make a note to get the prospects out to replace any burned out bulbs.
“Nick Johnson, I’m with The Black Tuxedos. What are you doing parked out here? It’s not safe, especially for a female.”
“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she states.
“Why not? Reese says you’re working for the club cleaning our businesses.”
“Because I just don’t,” she replies. I can see she’s getting agitated and want to calm her down.
“I know you don’t know me, but I know of someplace that’s a lot safer than here. Will you follow me?” I ask. When she nods, I tell her, “Let me give them a call so they’ll know we’re on our way.”
Pulling my cell phone out, I call my dad. When he answers, I ask, “Dad, I need a favor. Do y’all have somewhere a single mom can stay? Any positions open at the diner or the truck stop?”
Shayla
I watch him through the window, only catching pieces of the conversation. At first, he scared the crap out of me, but when I saw he was wearing the same kind of vest thing that Reese wears, I realize that I’m safe. With the life I’ve led, I’ve learned to trust my instincts and even though they failed where Quentin was concerned, somehow, I know that this man won’t hurt me or Amelia. When he hangs up, he turns back and says, “Okay, follow me.” I nod and am about to roll up the window when he holds up his hand. “What’s your name?”
“Shayla. Shayla Hopkins.”
“Well, Shayla Hopkins, today’s your lucky day.” He goes back to his bike and cranks it up and then waits until I start the van. Pulling in front of me, he motions for me to follow him and then we make our way to someplace unknown to me.
Nick
“Nicky!” Mom calls out as she runs down the steps toward my bike. Shutting it off, I meet her halfway and pick her up in a bear hug. I catch my dad walking up at a much slower pace, a grin on his face at how Mom is acting.
“Hey, Mom,” I whisper as I hug her close. “I’ve missed you and I need to talk to you and Dad, but we need to get her settled first, okay?” Mom looks at me and I feel like I’m little again. Somehow, without me saying a word, she knows what’s been going on in my head judging from the tears that start to flow.
“Yeah, Nicky. That’s fine. Now, who is this?” she asks, walking over to the van.
“Mom, this is Shayla Hopkins. Shayla, this is my mom, Jaycie Johnson, and my dad, Brody Johnson.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet y’all.”
“Who’s this little one?” Mom questions as Shayla lifts out a wrapped bundle.
“Amelia,” Shayla replies. “But something’s wrong and I don’t know what to do.” I can see the weariness on her face and feel something thaw around my ice-encased heart.
“Let’s get you inside,” Mom states, grabbing the diaper bag, “and I’ll see what’s going on.”
I feel almost superfluous as I follow my mom and Shayla into my childhood home. “Where are the kids?” I ask my dad.
“After-school activities. Bryce picks them all up now, which helps tremendously.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
“You two wait out here. I want to look at the baby. Nicky, go grab her bag out of her van, I’m sure she wants to clean up.”
I nod to my mom to show I’ve heard her and head back outside, my heart troubled. I can see how thin Shayla is and instinctively know it’s because she hasn’t been taking care of herself properly.
Shayla
I stand in the bedroom that Jaycie takes me to and watch as the older woman carefully unwraps Amelia, cooing to her the whole time. “Tell me what’s been going on,” Jaycie commands.
“She’s got a barky sounding cough, has been feverish I think, and her appetite is off.”
Just then, Amelia starts coughing again. “Sounds like croup. How about you get into a hot shower and I’ll bring her in to get some of the steam?”
I don’t want her to see me naked. She’ll see my bruises. Nodding my head, I slowly go into the attached bathroom and get the shower running. Nick hasn’t come back with my bag yet, but I’m now anxious to get clean. The ‘spit baths’ I’ve been taking whenever and wherever I can just aren’t cutting it any longer. Undressing, I step into the shower and a sigh of relief escapes. Taking the bar of soap, I lather up and then wash myself twice, finally feeling clean for the first time in weeks, ever since I left. Then, I shampoo and condition my hair, getting all the dry shampoo I’ve been using to hide how greasy it was out after the second shampoo. Feeling refreshed, I step out of the shower to grab a towel, forgetting that Jaycie’s sitting in here with Amelia. At her gasp, I freeze.
“Oh, honey, who did that to you?” Jaycie asks.
“Amelia’s father,” I whisper, shame causing me to turn beet red.
“Is that why you left?”
Unable to speak past the tears that clog my throat, I nod, wrapping the towel around the worst of the bruises after slipping my panties and bra back on since they’re clean. My arms still show the handprints where he had grabbed me, and I’m pretty sure one of my wrists is either sprained or broken. It still hurts as bad as the night he grabbed me and threw me into a wall. I’d tried to brace my fall but was unsuccessful. Once he had left, I’d grabbed whatever I could and ran, staying to the back roads until I ended up running out of gas. Reese had been out with his wife and they had helped me out of that jam, then he offered me a cash job cleaning the businesses the club owned so I could stay under the radar. It hadn’t been easy cleaning with the injuries Quentin inflicted, but the money Reese had given me so far had allowed me to get the starter replaced on the van, and a set of used tires. Granted, I was barely eating, but I made sure that Amelia had formula and diapers and that was my main priority.
“Well, you’re safe now. I’ve been where you’re at, and trust me, no one will ever hurt you again.”
I’m afraid to believe the other woman’s promise. Too many broken promises in my short life have left me skeptical. But right now, I need help and if they were going to offer it, I wasn’t going to refuse.
Walking back into the bedroom, I stop when I see Nick standing there. His face shows shock at first before he quickly masks his expression. I cross my arms over my chest, subconsciously holding my sore wrist. He turns around and pulls his shirt off over his head and hands it back to me.
“Nicky? What are you doing?” Jaycie asks, coming out of the bathroom with Amelia.
“I grabbed her bag but there aren’t any warm shirts,” he replies. “Take this, Shayla, it’s cold out.” The command in his voice has me moving forward without thinking to take the long-sleeved shirt he’s holding.
“Thank you,” I murmur, grabbing my duffel bag as well. “I’ll…I’ll just go get changed,” I state, before heading back into the bathroom and closing the door.
Nick
As soon as I hear the door shut, I turn my eyes towards my mom. “Is she bruised like that all over?” I whisper, not wanting her to hear my words. I remember when my mom was bruised like that and old feelings that I thought were long gone are clamoring to the surface.
Mom nods, her eyes filling with tears, and I hiss in anger. “There’s something wro
ng with her wrist too, Mom,” I state. “She’s holding it close. Need to get that checked out.” Without another word, I leave the bedroom, the sight of her thin, bruised body playing havoc with my heart.
* * *
Out on the back porch, I’m staring at the sky, my thoughts a chaotic mess, when my dad comes out to join me, a bottle of water in his hand. “Nick? You okay?” he asks.
I shake my head. I haven’t been okay in so long I’m not really sure what the word means any longer and seeing Shayla inside, nothing but cheap cotton underwear on underneath a barely-there towel and covered in bruises, has me completely shook up. “Dad, what kind of man does that to a woman? Someone who’s smaller than him? Someone who’s the mother of an infant?”
My dad shrugs before stating, “Don’t know, Son. Not any kind of real man, though, at least not in my eyes. You were right to bring her here. We’ll get her sorted out and see that she’s safe. What else is going on?” I know that he likely knows, from his own time serving, what I’ve been dealing with but I’m afraid to tell him in case there’s no way he can help. My shoulders sag as if the weight of the world is on them.
“More than I know how to explain,” I admit. “Not really sure where to start, actually.”
“Let’s go for a ride,” Dad offers, as if knowing instinctively that I don’t want my mom to hear what I’ve got to say. I follow him back inside, then wait as he lets my mom know we’ll be back shortly. Once in the car, the silence lengthens as I gather my thoughts.
“Dad, I’m sorry I’ve not been home much since I got out. I just…I just couldn’t.”
“I understand, Nick. Your mom, not so much. But I’m glad you found somewhere that you feel you belong. Your club brothers seem like good men.”
A ghost of a smile graces my lips as I reply, “The absolute best. They took my sorry ass in when I was too ashamed to come home.”
“Never a reason to be ashamed to come home to family, Nick.”
“Dad, I fucked up. If I hadn’t fucked it all up, all of them would have come home with me, even Jester.”
Brody
I think about that disembodied phone call I’d taken that long-ago night when Jaycie had dropped the phone after hearing Nick was hurt. How the man at the other end had advised that despite being critically injured, Nick had returned fire and done what he could to save those caught in the roadside bomb until the others caught up. From Nick’s words, he doesn’t remember anything. It’s time to give him a clue. “Nick, what do you remember about your last mission?” I ask.
Long minutes pass as I watch my son stare out the passenger window before he says, “Not much. Going out on a patrol to save some hostages. Clearing the area with Jester. Then, not much more because McCoy tripped a landmine.”
“You don’t remember pulling any of your team members to safety? Returning fire? None of it?”
Nick’s shocked glance tells me what I need to know before he admits, “I remember waking up in the hospital and being told that Jester didn’t make it. I heard that click, Dad. I heard it. There’s no way I returned fire or pulled anyone to safety.”
“But you did, Nick. The tankers that came up to the scene supplied that information in their written reports. And Jester wasn’t hurt initially when that bomb went off. He was caught by an insurgent’s bullet pulling McCoy to safety. But he saved you first. You did what you were trained to do, Son, and you’re not a fuck up. Is that why you haven’t come home?”
I watch my son as he slowly shakes his head in disbelief at what he’s hearing. “Dad, that’s not what the nurse told me when I woke up.”
“Son, she wouldn’t know. Did you ever talk to anyone in your old squadron?” I know the answer the minute I see Nick’s head drop. “Never mind, I can see you didn’t. So, let me guess, you’ve been punishing yourself ever since.”
I hear Nick’s bark of laughter. “Yeah, you could say that. Drinking too much, taking risks I shouldn’t take. Not bothering to connect with anyone on more than a superficial level. Reese and I just talked about that before I headed here, as a matter of fact.”
“Reese is a good man,” I state. I’d met him briefly when I’d driven down to see Nick, concerned because he had been avoiding our calls. The younger man had told me that they’d watch out for Nick, that he was familiar with the after-effects of war, and while he wouldn’t promise to keep us in the loop, he had reached out from time to time to let us know Nick was still processing shit.
“Dad,” Nick starts, “fuck, I don’t know how to say this, but Reese has suggested I see a therapist that specializes in PTSD. And he wants me to train one of the dogs at Corrie’s sanctuary to help me.”
“I think that’d be a good idea. You tried it your way and that’s obviously not working very well. What can it hurt?” I’m about to say something else when my phone rings. Hitting the button on the steering wheel, I say, “Hello.”
“Brody? How long before you two get back? I think the baby and Shayla both need to go to the emergency room.”
I turn around at the next intersection before saying, “We should be there in about ten or fifteen minutes, Firefly. What’s going on?”
“Amelia sounds worse and is now running a fever. Shayla’s wrist is broken, Brody! After Nicky told me it was hurt, I made her let me check it and it’s nearly three times the normal size and she’s in so much pain, I think she’s got some cracked ribs too. Please hurry.”
“Calm down, sweetheart. We’ll be there as quick as we can, and I’ll get Nick to put the baby’s carseat in here since it’s already warmed up.” I knew my wife would take the younger woman under her wing, especially with a baby involved.
After hanging up, I glance over to the man I’m proud to call mine and tell him, “Whatever you want me to do to help, you know I’m there.”
I watch as his eyes get glassy and can tell he’s holding back tears. “Thanks, Dad. I need to let Reese know I’m here for a few days and that Shayla’s up here and won’t be back to work because of her injuries. I wanna make sure that Shayla and the baby are okay before I head back.”
“I mean it, Son. If you have to go to a support group and need me, I’ll drive down.”
“How are you gonna keep Mom from finding out?”
“We don’t keep secrets, Nick. Never have and never will. She’s known something was going on for a long time now and suspected PTSD after we finally pieced everything from your last mission together.”
Nick sighs and I chuckle because by now, he should know how his mom is. “I don’t want her worrying about me.”
“You could be ninety-nine years old and she could be bedridden in a nursing home and she’d still be worried about you. About all of you kids. That’s how she is, you know this.”
Nick’s laughter fills the vehicle before he says, “Yeah, you’re right. The guys in my squadron loved mail call because she always sent more than enough for me to share with them. A lot of them didn’t have family to send them shit and it meant a lot that someone cared that they had dry socks.” I grin remembering how Jaycie and the girls would go shopping and then fill boxes to send to Nick. She made it her mission that every man would have ‘something’ from home, and I gave up trying to stop her.
“A word of caution about this woman you’ve brought to us, Nick. She’s young and she’s scared, but she’s a mom. Make sure you want to invest in that before you show your interest, yeah?”
“Nothing gets by you, old man, does it?”
“Nope. And if you’re truly interested, get your shit sorted out so she gets the man I know you are, not the shell you’ve been walking around as, or you’ll have me to answer to, got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Pulling back into the driveway, I send a text to the morning manager letting her know she’ll be opening the diner. She won’t get it for a few more hours, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day dealing with the young woman and baby.
3
Nick
I get o
ut of the vehicle and go over to the aging van where I grab the carseat and quickly install it into the warmer SUV. As I head into the house, I think about what my dad had said and decide that he was right about me keeping my distance. At least for now. Because there was something about the younger woman that piqued my interest. I see her struggling to get my brother’s jacket on and go over, saying, “Let me help.” I gently ease the arm that isn’t hurt into the sleeve and then drape the other over her shoulders. “Don’t think you need to put that in the sleeve,” I state, pointing at the wrist that definitely has something wrong with it.
“Thank you,” she replies. I notice she doesn’t look directly at me and figure it’s a byproduct of the hell she’s come out of. Time enough for that, right now, we need to get the two females to the hospital.
Once they’re all loaded into the SUV, I got on my bike to follow them to the hospital, still unsure of my reasons. I had done what I could to help, bringing her to my parents, so I had no real reason to stick around.
Except…I did.
She was reason enough, despite being so skittish she would barely talk to me. I manage to beat them to the hospital and am waiting to help her out once my dad parks and shuts the SUV off. Once she’s out, I reach in and unlock the carseat from the base and, making sure that the little girl is covered by a blanket, I head into the emergency room.
“Nick?” Shayla asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Yeah?”
“I…I don’t have insurance and I know I won’t have enough to cover an emergency room bill.”
“I’ve got it,” I tell her as I sign them both in and then head to a group of seats away from everyone else.
Nick: Black Tuxedos MC Page 2
