Stone

by Addy Archer

  My father only mentioned her when he couldn’t beat me any longer because his body wasn’t physically able to, due to all the alcohol he consumed. If that happened, he would drag me out to the back of the junkyard and point to where cars were piled up, telling me how she was buried there in that very spot.

  All lies, I now realize, but he used them to keep me in place. I guess that’s also the reason he made a deal with Keith: to have someone around who could take over everything he did to keep it going the way it had been for many years. The junkyard, suppressing me, all of it.

  The numbness spreads, and I’m floating into darkness again. I’m unable to feel my body, and the pull to surrender into nothing is tempting.

  A stabbing pain jolts through my body, different from the kind that was lingering in my abdomen. It’s coming from my heart. My heart is hurting, feeling as if it’s being ripped apart.

  “Don’t you dare leave me!” The soft words are a faint whisper in the background, but I easily recognize the only man who touched my heart. Another jolt of electricity spreads from my chest.

  “We have a pulse,” someone says from beside me.

  I try to open my eyes, but they’re too heavy. When I finally regain some strength, I try again, but the light filtering through is intensely white. The words Dani gave me—“Don’t you dare go into the light”—come to mind, and it makes me grumble, “Can someone hit the lights?”

  Warm hands cup my face, and I instantly know who they belong to. Believe me, when you’ve endured a touch of darkness inflicted on your body time and time again, you can easily recognize warmth and kindness when it hits your skin. I have to blink a few times to finally see Stone’s handsome face filtering through.

  “Hey,” I croak.

  “Sir, you need to step back.” I read the lips of the woman standing next to Stone.

  Stone strokes my cheek, making my eyes land on his. “We’re at the hospital. You hang in there so I can marry you and make you squeeze out a kid or three. Promise?”

  “Three?” I squeak.

  “Four or five would be okay too.” He shrugs, and the smile he gives me pushes away some of the emotions running through me when the stretcher I’m lying on starts to move.

  Other people are around me in a flash, and Stone isn’t anywhere to be seen. Someone is pulling a mask over my face. She’s saying something, I’m sure, but I can’t read her lips. I start to panic, attempting to get up while a lot of hands are trying to keep me down.

  Suddenly Stone is there again, and I can hear his voice while reading his lips simultaneously as he bellows, “Her hearing isn’t fully functional, dammit. Let her read your lips before you do anything.” His eyes land on me. “It’s okay. I’m here. I have to step back now, but I’m not leaving, and neither are you. You hear me? You’re tied to this world through my heart.”

  “Did you say four or five?” I croak, unable to voice the words I’d rather give him, too scared the current soap bubble I’m wrapped in will pop and reality will come crashing in.

  He loves me. I can see it in his eyes and the fierceness on his face. This man won’t ever let me go.

  “Six is okay too.” He winks before stepping back, allowing a woman to appear before me who gives me instructions about breathing in and counting backward. Drowsiness filters through and lets me float away into a dreamless sleep.

  It takes even more effort to fight the heavy weight of my eyelids this time. My stomach feels as if it’s ready to vomit, and I’m slightly disoriented. When I’m finally able to let my eyes roam around, I notice Stone is sitting in a chair to my left, his head slumped over his forearms on the bed beside me.

  All I can do is stare and take in the safety he gives me by just being beside me. Such a strong contradiction of this mountain of a man who others see as a rough biker while all I see is kindness, warmth, comfort, safety, and all the love my heart can hold.

  His eyes slowly open, and when he realizes I’m staring at him, he lifts his head, swallows hard, and murmurs, “You’re awake.”

  My hands go up and feel what I already suspected—I have new hearing aids.

  “I had a prospect pick up new ones,” Stone says as he guides my hand back to the blanket, his touch ever so gentle with the IV sticking out. “Are you in any pain?” he asks while pressing a button, lighting up a red dot.

  “I’ve felt worse,” I tell him as I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

  When I open my eyes, they land on Stone’s pained face. I try to reach out, but he keeps my hand pinned on the mattress.

  “Don’t,” I tell him. “Don’t blame yourself, and stop worrying about me. I’m fine. I’m not going anywhere. I would be crazy to fall off this earth and leave you behind. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’d haul my ass back if I did.”

  “You almost died. Twice. You coded,” he croaks.

  “And still you commanded I stay alive long enough to demand six kids from me,” I snap in fake anger.

  A burst of laughter rips from him, but I can see the tears burning in his eyes.

  He clears his throat and states, “You must have heard me wrong. I demanded seven.”

  A nurse strolls into the room and checks the machines I’m attached to, introducing herself as she starts to check my vitals. Stone steps back and mouths how he’s going to slip out of the room for a minute to update Daniela and the rest who are in the waiting room.

  I watch as he leaves the room. I’m still staring at the door when I hear the nurse’s voice. “The way you stare at him? I can tell you right now that man loves you equally as much.” My eyes slide to the nurse, and she gives me a kind smile. “It’s rare and hard to find, but when you see the kind of connection between two people like the one you two have? It gives a girl hope to know true love is out there.”

  I feel a blush spreading across my face, and she gives me a wink. “He hasn’t left your side, and I heard what kind of a scene he made when you arrived at the hospital. He also made sure you had your hearing aids in as soon as they wheeled you out into the recovery room. Tiny details show how much a person values love and the amount he has for a single person.” She pats my arm. “The love you two have for one another smashes all boundaries and heads straight into the irreplaceable and unparalleled.”

  Stone barges in with a bewildered look until his gaze lands on me and he visibly relaxes. The nurse gives me another gentle pat on the arm, making my gaze hit her face as she mouths, “Unparalleled.”

  She turns to Stone. “I don’t have to mention she should rest as much as possible, right?”

  He gives her a curt nod, but his eyes are locked on me. The nurse leaves the room as Stone steps toward the bed, scooting the chair closer before he sits down.

  “Daniela wants to come in and see you. The others too, but I told them you needed some rest first. I’ll let them come in when you’re able to, or I can send them home if you’re not up to visitors.”

  “In a bit. I want to see them too,” I tell him. “Is Dani okay?”

  He reaches out and brushes his knuckles along my cheek. “She’s okay. Turns out the bullet did slightly more than nick her leg. She needed some staples and some care to make sure it’s not going to cause an infection, but she’s up and running, so to speak.”

  “Tell me what happened,” I whisper. “I need to know. I only remember Lala being there. Then she left, and Benny snorted some coke and then the gun went off.”

  “It can wait,” Stone says with a pained voice.

  “I need to know,” I push.

  He takes a deep breath, pressing the fingers of one hand into his eyes to rub them furiously. His hand falls to the mattress as he starts. “Carlisle came into the Shaken Titster, telling us about a text he received with a ransom demand. We checked, and you two were gone from the diner. When I came back into the Shaken Titster, Carlisle had received a call with you two screaming in the background. We were discussing it when Lala walked in. The bitch thought she could sway us into letting her come back.
When she realized that wasn’t going to happen, she mumbled something that snagged my attention, and we found out her brothers were holding you guys. We headed over and—” Visible pain slices over his face as he cuts off his sentence. Jumping up from the chair, he starts to pace the room.

  He digs his fingers through his dark hair. “You were on the floor. I thought you were dead. I never want to be in that position again where I felt like I lost my whole reason to live in this fucked-up world. I should have protected you. I should have seen it coming. Should have known that bitch and her brothers would want revenge.”

  “As long as there are humans roaming this world, there will be a diversity of personalities. A few of those are insane and don’t appreciate other living beings. They only care about personal gain, and then there are those who thrive on pain and inflicting the worst upon others. And let’s not forget about those who balance the good and evil while making the world better through their own personal view on things. See how the world is filled with all kinds of people? Every person owning a piece in this fucked-up world we all share?”

  Stone steps toward the bed, leaning down as he places his hand on each side of my face. “And then there’s an angel who hit the dirt and was bounced around until I was finally able to embrace her and claim the most precious gift walking this earth as mine.”

  A smile starts to spread my face. “Don’t let my white hair fool you.”

  “Woman,” he growls. “I’ve been fooled a few times in my life, but the day I pulled you into my arms to drag you out of that alley was the day my life was given new meaning.”

  “So,” I whisper and lick my bottom lip. “Eight kids?”

  He slowly shakes his head. “We’re aiming for a complete soccer team.”

  “Eleven?” I gasp.

  A smirk spreads across his face. “Including substitutes.”

  I start to sputter, but his laughter and gentle kiss on my forehead make warmth spread through my body.

  The door opens, and Dani barges inside with a slight limp, Jace hot on her heels.

  Stone steps back and snaps, “I told you to wait until I came to get you.”

  “You’re not the boss of me,” she retorts and rushes toward me. “He’s had you to himself long enough. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine,” I tell her and reach for Stone’s hand.

  “You’re not, but you’re going to be,” Dani says as she glances over my chart. Without looking up, she adds, “Don’t ever scare us like that again.”

  “Getting kidnapped and shot isn’t something I’d like to repeat anytime soon,” I mutter and notice Stone freeze up beside me. I shoot him a glare. “Don’t. It wasn’t your fault.”

  Dani puts my file back and says, “Idiots will always roam the earth. You should see what pops up in the ER on a busy night. From people claiming to have fallen off a ladder and ending up with a potato up their ass to a fork jammed into someone’s eye because a lunatic thought he wanted to eat it. See? Weirdos all around. No one to blame, though. Well, except maybe mankind, but we’re all a part of it. Pointing fingers at yourself, dodging potatoes and forks, or wallowing in guilt, it’s all useless if you ask me.”

  “Need me to drag these two out of your room?” Jace says as he squeezes my foot.

  Dani smacks his chest and glares along with it. The whole interaction between them, having my friends along with their concern, care, and love filling the room, is everything I need to recover.

  Though I feel as if I’ve run a marathon or two and need to sleep for three weeks straight to get my strength back. But I don’t want to miss out on feeling alive and being in this moment, thankful to have all of them surrounding me.

  “Nope.” I sigh, answering Jace’s question while I find Stone’s piercing gaze.

  Stone scoots the chair he’s now sitting in closer to me and leans his forearms on the bed. “Sleep. I can tell you’re fighting to stay awake. We’ll all be here when you wake up, okay?”

  “Okay,” I mumble, already closing my eyes to let sleep claim me.

  C H A P T E R T W E L V E

  – S T O N E –

  “Could you sit your ass down?” Jace snaps from my left. “You’re making me nervous, and there’s nothing to be nervous about.”

  I shoot him an angry glare but don’t stop striding back and forth.

  Jace releases a groan and starts to recite, “Hot pussy, tight pussy, wet pussy, smelly pussy, hairy pussy—”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I reluctantly plant my ass in the chair. “Shut up. I’ll stop, okay?”

  The fucker always tries to break frustration by reciting variations of pussy. Though his claims that there’s nothing to be nervous about bothers me. In some ways, he’s right, but…. Ry was released from the hospital a few weeks ago. She’s fully recovered, and the woman decided to go to work today.

  It might not be a big deal to anyone else, but she’s going back to a place where she suffered to live while underneath her father’s thumb as he held her in place to endure every beating he gave her. I don’t want her facing those memories alone.

  “I don’t understand why I couldn’t go with her,” I mutter in annoyance.

  Jace snorts. “Maybe because you’ve been hovering over her as if she can get hurt at any damn second. Let her breathe without having your breaths mingle, Stone. She’s a tough one and won’t break. Besides, there are four brothers hanging around the junkyard.”

  Leaning back, I glance at the ceiling, knowing he’s right. But it’s frustrating as shit.

  “I gave the sheriff his bonus,” Jace says. “He closed Bellick’s case and tied the Reffereen brothers along with Lala to his murder. They killed Bellick, kidnapped and shot our women, and then turned on each other. Open and shut case.”

  Open and shut, my ass. I spent hours carving my anger into their skin until I was satisfied they’d suffered enough to end their lives.

  It drags my thoughts to Keith. There hasn’t been any blowback from him being missing yet. Fucking scumbag. It’s been almost two months, so I’m guessing his parents aren’t missing him either. But his family is shady as fuck, always keeping to themselves, so that might explain it.

  “Carlisle handled it, by the way. He forked over the cash without blinking,” Jace states.

  I turn to stare at him. “He did?” I ask, somewhat surprised.

  Jace shrugs. “He has a bigger wallet, and I didn’t think it would be that much of a deal. The sheriff is still on our payroll, and Carlisle’s niece is your old lady. It works.”

  “I still think we need to be careful.” I shoot him a knowing look, which he returns.

  “We’ll make it a onetime thing. No repeats, Pres. And how are things between Ry and Carlisle going, for that matter?”

  I reach for my phone to see if Ry texted—which she hasn’t—and to check the time. Two more hours until she’s back at the clubhouse.

  “They have lunch two times a week, both taking it slow to build up a solid connection. Ry is still hesitant, but he’s understanding. They’ll make it work.”

  “As will we, brother. With the shit that’s happened, all of us came out stronger. Remember when we came from a brotherhood that was rotten to the core? We headed here, and now look at us. See my face?”

  “Don’t smile, asshole. It’s terrifying, and it makes you ugly as fuck.” I snicker.

  He punches me in the shoulder. “Dickhead. I meant to show you how much has changed. Both of us have an old lady and value our future by knowing the past is full of the shit we learned from, so we can prevent it from happening again.”

  “Fuck yeah,” I tell him as he stands.

  “I need to head out. Dani’s shifts ends in half an hour, and I told her I’d pick her up.”

  Dani started volunteering at the clinic last week. Something about giving back to the community because she has the skills to help people, even if she only fills a position that’s fifteen hours a week.

  “Is she liking her new job?�
�� I chuckle when he checks his phone like I was doing earlier. “Are you?”

  He winces. “I need some more adjustment time than she does. I hate not having eyes on her. I wonder if that shit ever fades. It’s as if half my soul is walking out in the open for anyone to harm or snatch up.”

  “Fuck, yeah.” The description he just gave hit the nails on the head.

  He glances back at me. “Though it beats not knowing such a feeling was out there. No going back, asshole. We’re hooked.”

  This time my “Fuck, yeah” is filled with laughter as I follow him into the main room of the clubhouse. He leaves to pick up Dani as I stalk over to the bar where Dreamer is nursing his beer.

  He lifts his bottle slightly. “You want one? It’ll be well over an hour before Ram escorts her back.”

  I shake my head and tell Ulser, who’s behind the bar, “Grab me a bottle of water, will ya?”

  Ulser places it in front of me, leans his forearm on the counter, and asks, “Want me to check with Ram to see if everything is okay?”

  “Motherfucker,” I grumble to myself. “I get it. All of you can fuck off. She’s going to be back later and doesn’t need me to keep an eye on her every damn second.”

  Everyone around me laughs his ass off.

  Dreamer smacks me on the back. “We’re just fucking with you, Pres. But in all seriousness, Ry and Dani are the first two old ladies, and it’ll take some time to adjust for all of us. A few bumps in the road are expected, but we got this, right? Well, you and Jace got it. Until there’s a chick who needs saving, or is there to save my ass, I’m not handing my balls over to any woman, no matter how good-looking or sexy she is.”

  “I didn’t hand over my balls,” I grumble, making Dreamer snicker.

  “Yeah, you did. I saw it when I walked in to help out back in that alley when you saved her. And I saw it when Jace met his old lady again, the one who saved his ass by stitching him up all those months ago. See? I’m right. But I don’t imply it’s a bad thing, Pres. Hell, my balls are in dire need of some crucial attention, but I’m saving myself.” The corner of his mouth keeps twitching.