I pushed on the mask again. “I get it. But I’m still glad things are salvageable.”
“I swear to God, Razzle, you keep messing with that mask, I’m gonna cuff you to the bed.”
I couldn’t stop a smile. “Kinky.”
“Put that back on,” he demanded, settling it on my face again.
“But you smell like a campfire. It’s nice.”
“You two need to get a room,” Sierra retorted. “Oh, wait, you’re in one. I’d ask if I could hang out and watch, but I have to work. I’m going to come back right after, though, so don’t be naked.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Technically, I’m already naked. Hospital gowns can’t be considered actual clothing.”
“Well, keep that on,” Sierra ordered. “I called your brother, so you’re welcome.”
She rushed out of the room before I could verbally spank her. Great. Tristan. That would mean my parents, and, well, crap. How was I going to explain being caught in a fire in a grow house?
“It’s going to be okay,” Orion said, interrupting my thoughts.
“My dad’s going to lose his mind.”
“I already talked to your brother. He’s coming, but he’s playing interference with your parents and little brothers. He wants to assess the situation, then go from there.”
I relaxed a little. “Oh, thank god.”
He smiled and squeezed my hand. “You freaked me out.”
I shrugged. “I knew you’d save me.”
“Bullshit.”
“I did,” I argued.
He lifted my fingers to his lips. “Smart getting your T-shirt wet, baby. I’m glad you had the wherewithal to do that. Not so glad you were only in your bra when I found you, though. Jesus, Chan was probably hard while he was passing out.”
I rolled my eyes. I’d pulled my T-shirt off and wet it, then wrapped it around my nose and mouth, getting as low as I could as the smoke grew worse. Doom, the VP of my brother’s club, had been a fireman for years before he moved on to other vocations. He still had a lot of stories, and told them often, and talked about how important it was to block the smoke and get low.
“I knew you’d find me,” I said.
“What if it hadn’t been me?”
“So?”
“So?” he hissed. “Your tits are the kind that’ll bring a man to his knees, Razzle. But they’re mine and I don’t want any other asshole enjoying the view. I’m already contemplating beating the shit out of Chan the second he wakes up.”
I pulled the mask off, finding it difficult to argue with him with it on. “You are insane.”
“Put that back on,” he ordered, placing the mask back on my face.
“Quit bugging me, Smoky,” I admonished.
“Smoky?”
“Your new name.”
He shook his head. “Are you the Bandit?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
He sighed. “Baby, don’t be so flippant.”
“Don’t worry. I’m okay,” I said.
“Maybe. But until the doctor clears you, I’m gonna worry.”
I nodded, a coughing fit suddenly overtaking me.
“Jesus,” Orion hissed and rushed into the hallway. “I need a doctor!”
For the next two hours, I was poked and prodded, forced to take in copious amounts of oxygen and generally made to feel miserable. Well, I suppose the burns on my hands from stupidly trying to open the door by touching the hot handle were making me miserable, but regardless, I wanted everyone out so I could sleep.
“Orion?” I whispered.
“Yeah, baby.”
“Find me some morphine, then make them go away.”
Within minutes, my man had cleared the room, pressed the button on my pain pump (that I had no idea I was hooked up to), and turned out the lights.
“Sleep, Frazzle. I’m right here.”
I closed my eyes and let the morphine take me away.
* * *
Orion
As soon as I knew Raquel was asleep, I stepped out of her room and pulled out my phone, calling Moses.
“Hey, brother,” he said after answering on the first ring.
“You better have a fuckin’ update for me.”
“I told you I’d call you when I got any.”
I scowled. “Yeah, but my woman’s in a hospital bed because those assholes fucked with our club. I want them fuckin’ dealt with, but Jaws is mine.”
“You want the prez, brother, we’re gonna have to do this smart,” Moses said.
“Yeah, I hear you,” I growled. “But I’m reiterating the fact that no one but me deals with him.”
“Got it,” he said and sighed. “How’s Raquel?”
“Asleep. But she was in a lotta pain before that.”
“Burns on your hands are a motherfucker,” Moses said, and he should know…he was a firefighter in Savannah for years before moving to Colorado. “She’s gonna need help to do basic things for a while.”
My anger swamped me again. “Yeah.”
“You need anything, you let me know.”
“I need Jaws in the basement so I can have a conversation with him.”
“Okay, brother. We’re workin’ on that. I’m gonna let you go.”
“Okay,” I said, and hung up, stepping back into Raquel’s room.
She looked so small in the huge hospital bed and it broke my heart knowing she was in pain. Jesus, the Predators’ were gonna fuckin’ pay.
“Where did you go?” Raquel whispered as I sat in the chair next to her.
“Nowhere, baby.”
“Will you get me a nurse, please?”
I stood and leaned over her. “Why? Are you in pain?”
“No, honey. I need to pee.”
I nodded. “Be right back.”
I grabbed a nurse, then waited outside the room while Raquel got comfortable.
“She’s good now,” the nurse said, holding the door open for me, and I headed back inside the room.
“Will you sleep with me?” Raquel asked.
“Sure.” I climbed on the bed and pulled her gently toward me. “Watch your hands.”
“I’m okay,” she rasped, dropping her head to my chest. “I just need to feel safe right now. Hands be damned.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered, stroking her back.
“I’m good now. I just need you to stay here, okay?”
“Not goin’ anywhere, Razzle. I promise.”
She nodded into my chest and I held her until she fell asleep. I slid my phone out of my pocket and set the alarm, making sure to hit her pain pump before I let myself sleep as well.
Four hours later, my alarm beeped, and I silenced it as quickly as I could, trying not to wake Raquel. I hit her pain pump, then set my alarm for another four hours before falling back to sleep. I wasn’t asleep for long when my phone beeped again, but this time, it wasn’t my alarm.
It was Wrath.
“Hey,” I whispered into the phone.
“It wasn’t Jaws,” Wrath said.
“Bullshit.”
“We’ve got proof.”
“Who was it?”
“Zilla.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I hissed, and Raquel stirred beside me. “Sorry, baby, go back to sleep.” I slid off the bed and stepped into the hallway. “What the fuck crawled up that dinosaur’s ass?”
Zilla was actually only twenty, and he was a newly patched member for the Predators.
“Figured you could ask him,” Wrath said. “He’s here.”
Now that the fire breathing little prick had earned his patch, my guess was he was trying to make his bones. If that was the case, this bastard was gonna lose his arms. He couldn’t ride without arms, which would mean he couldn’t patch into an MC. No bike, no life. “Okay. Gotta make sure Raquel’s okay first. Don’t let him out of your sight.”
“No problem. I’m having a little fun with him.”
“Just keep him lucid,” I ordered.
&n
bsp; “Killjoy.”
“See you in a bit.”
“Okay, brother.”
Wrath hung up and I slid my phone into my pocket. I walked back into Raquel’s room to find her trying to get out of bed.
“Baby, what the hell are you doing?”
“I have to pee.”
“Let me help you.”
“No way in hell,” she ground out. “We are not at the ‘wipe my puss’ level of our relationship.”
I chuckled. “I can lick it, but not wipe it?”
“Oh, my god.” She groaned. “Yes. Exactly.”
“Stay here,” I ordered, laying my hands on her shoulders. “I’ll get a nurse.”
“You can just press the call button, Smoky.”
“Right,” I said, and fished the wire out of the mattress, pressing the red button.
A nurse arrived a few minutes later and helped Raquel with her personal stuff while I waited in the hallway.
“What the fuck is going on?”
I turned to the sound of my father’s angry voice.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “You’re supposed to stay isolated during chemo.”
“Why the hell was Raquel at the warehouse, Ori?” Dad demanded, crossing his arms.
“She’s doing research for her thesis.”
He shook his head and I saw just how wiped out he was.
“Dad, sit dow—”
“Don’t tell me to fuckin’ sit down.”
“Raquel has asked that you both come inside,” the nurse said, interrupting us.
I led my dad inside, and Raquel frowned. “Why are you here, Sundance? You should be resting.”
He walked to her and leaned down, kissing her cheek. “How are you feelin’?”
“I’m okay. How are you feeling?”
“Don’t worry about me, kiddo.”
She sighed. “You shouldn’t be in a germy hospital with a weakened immune system, crazy man.”
“Well, if my kid kept me updated on shit, then maybe I wouldn’t have to.”
“You don’t need to be updated on shit,” I snapped. “You need to be dealing with your health.”
“Sundance, would you please sit down before you fall down?” Raquel asked.
I pulled a chair close to my dad and waited for him to lower himself into it.
“Okay, now that I’m sitting… Why the fuck was she at the warehouse, Orion?” Dad growled.
“Because I’m working on my thesis,” Raquel answered.
“She should never have been there alone,” Sundance continued.
“Hey!” Raquel snapped. “I’m here in the room with you, big man. I’m quite capable of answering your questions all by myself.”
“I don’t want answers from you, Raquel. I want to know why my son left you in a grow house alone.”
“He didn’t leave me alone. I had two armed security officers and Chan there with me. Also, Ori only left for half an hour to grab something I’d forgotten to bring with me, so would you please give him a break?”
“What if Raquel hadn’t made it out of there?” Dad continued, totally ignoring Raquel’s request.
“That wasn’t an option,” I said.
“It’s always an option!” Dad growled. “You weren’t fuckin’ there!”
“Yeah! I know!” I ground out.
“I don’t think you do, goddammit. If you did, you would have been there!”
“Like you were with Mom?” I sneered, suddenly realizing I was pissed at him. More than I’d ever been pissed at anyone, which confused me because I was sure I’d dealt with all this shit.
Raquel let out a quiet gasp. “Okay, wait. Let’s not let this conversation—”
“Yeah, exactly like your mom,” Sundance snapped. “You have to be more vigilant, son.”
“You mean, do what you say, not what you do?”
“Orion!” Raquel admonished.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean,” Dad said.
“Well, you don’t have to worry, Dad, I’m a hell of a lot more vigilant than you—”
“Stop!” Raquel snapped, tears streaming down her face. “Both of you, please stop.”
Dad pushed up from the chair and nodded. “I’m gonna go ahead and leave now.”
He stepped over to Raquel, leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Sorry, baby girl,” he said, then walked out the door. I sat in the chair he’d vacated, but my woman was having none of it.
She threw her arm out, pointing to the door. “You follow him!”
“Razz—”
“You get your ass out the door and follow him.”
“Babe—”
“And you apologize. Get down on your knees and beg if you have to.”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“As a fucking heart attack,” she hissed. “Your dad is sick. You might not have him for long, so you need to make this right. We’ll figure out your other emotions later.”
“Other emotions?”
“The ones you obviously haven’t completely dealt with.” She pointed to the door again. “Move.”
Feeling like an errant child, I made my way out of the room and found my dad talking with Raquel’s brother and Rabbit.
What the fuck was Rabbit doing here?
“Hey,” I said, eyeing up my competition.
Rabbit gave me a shit eating grin and I forced down irritation.
Doc gave me a chin lift. “She awake?”
“Ah, yeah, she’s definitely awake.”
He nodded and led Rabbit into Raquel’s room, leaving me standing with Dad in the hallway.
“You gonna get down on your knees now?” Dad asked.
“You heard that, huh?”
“Pretty sure the whole floor heard it.”
“Right. I’m sorry our conversation went to a place it didn’t need to go.”
“We obviously have a few things to work out,” Dad said.
“I’d like to put a pin in that until we sort this shit out with the Predators and your cancer.”
He sighed. “I can get behind that.”
“Give me a few and I’ll drop you home.”
“I don’t ride bitch, Ori. But it doesn’t matter. I drove.”
“You fuckin’ drove?” I snapped. “Jesus, Dad, have you lost your fuckin’ mind?”
“I’m fine.”
“Bike or truck?”
“Truck.”
“Give me a few minutes. I’m still gonna drop you home.”
He sighed. “I don’t need you to—”
“Not up for discussion,” I hissed, holding my hand out. “Keys.”
He slammed his keys into my palm and lowered himself into one of the benches against the wall.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, and headed back to Raquel’s room.
* * *
Raquel
“Jesus Christ, what the fuck did you do to yourself?” Tristan asked, walking into my room.
“You’re here!”
“Yeah, sissy, of course I’m here.”
I reached my arms out and he immediately wrapped me in a hug, which gave me a view of Rabbit. “You too?”
“Yeah, sweetheart,” Rabbit said, and kissed my cheek. “How ya feelin’ there?”
“Better than I probably should,” I admitted, and turned to my brother. “Did you tell Mom and Dad?”
He shook his head. “No. But I’m going to as soon as I know the extent of your injuries.”
I sighed. “Will you downplay it, please?”
“Let me talk to your doctor and we’ll go from there,” he said.
I nodded. “Is Liv with you?”
“No. She’s home with the twins.”
I blinked back tears. “You didn’t need to come.”
“You seriously think I’d stay away?” he asked.
“Why am I always walking into a room you’re in and my woman’s crying?” Orion demanded, walking back in.
“I’m fine, Ori,” I said. “Did you talk
to your dad?”
“Yeah. I need to drop him home and head back to the cabin to take care of a few things. You gonna be here for a while?”
This question was for my brother who said he wasn’t going anywhere.
Orion kissed me gently. “You okay if I leave for a few hours?”
“I’m fine, Smoky.”
He rolled his eyes. “If you need me, text me.”
I held my hands up. “That’s not gonna happen.”
He grimaced. “Right. Make your brother text me.”
I nodded and he kissed me again.
“Be safe,” I said.
“Always,” Orion said, then he was gone.
“Let me look at your hands,” Tristan said, and I reached one out to him.
“Why are you here?” I asked Rabbit. “Did you get permission from Parker?”
“Raquel,” he said, his tone one of warning.
“You need to get on that, honey,” I continued. “Actually, you should just get on her. I can’t believe she’s been able to resist you this long.”
“Leave him alone, sissy,” Tristan warned as he gently pulled out his penlight and unwrapped my bandage, studying my hand. “Does the other look like this?”
“No. It’s better than this.”
He sighed. “Second degree burns are no joke, sissy, but it looks like it’s healing the right way.” He wrapped me back and gave me a gentle smile. “Your life’s gonna suck for a couple of weeks, though.”
“Yeah. I’m aware.”
“I’m gonna stay for a few days. Do you want me at your place, or at the cabin?”
“You’re staying?” I asked. “Why?”
“To make sure you’re okay.”
“And…” I prompted.
“I’m gonna help the Howlers out with a minor issue they’ve got.”
“This ‘minor issue’ started the fire, didn’t it?” I deduced.
“Not sure.”
“Tristan,” I said with a frustrated sigh. “I’m not an idiot.”
“Fair enough.” He smiled.
“So?”
“So?” he parroted.
“What’s going on?”
“Still not discussing this with you,” he said and smiled. “Are Rabbit and I staying with you or at the club?”
“Either’s good with me, but if you’re at the club, I will be, too. I don’t want to miss out on time.”
“And Sierra might try to climb into bed with me if I’m at your place.”
Primal Howl (Primal Howlers MC Book 1) Page 11
