by Erin Osborne
Chapter Sixteen
Bear
THE LAST MONTH HAS SEEMED TO FLY BY. We got the nursery all set up after Psycho and Smokey helped me paint it with soft greens and yellows. I haven’t changed my opinion about not wanting to know what we’re having. For me, the suspense is making me more excited about having not one, but two, little ones. I can’t wait to see them look like their mother with blond hair and the brightest blue eyes that I’ve ever seen in my life. We’re going to raise them to have her personality to care about every single person they come across in life and help when they can.
Callie fell in love with the nursery as soon as she saw it. It’s not finished yet, according to her, but it’s baby ready. The walls are a mix of green and yellow. Tats and Ink painted a mural on the wall that has a motorcycle surrounded with bears. One is riding the bike with a cut on and a bandana tied around his head while the other little bears are on the side of what looks like a road. I guess that it could be gender neutral and that’s what I keep telling myself. The cribs sit end-to-end, and the beds have been made with the washed bedding. On the opposite wall, right beneath the window, Callie put the rocking chairs they bought. There’s a changing table in here and two dressers. I can’t wait to see them filled with the little as fuck clothes. In the huge closet, we added shelves so that blankets and things like that can be stored along with their little clothes that my wife wants to hang up. The room is amazing and now it’s just missing our little ones to fill it with life and love.
“Bear, you almost ready to ride out?” Smokey asks me as he walks into the nursery.
“Yeah. Just wanted to make sure that everythin’ was ready to go before we left,” I answer him, turning and shutting the door before we head down stairs.
Callie’s sitting out on the porch with her juice and bagel. Her appetite is hit and miss, and I really don’t want to leave her right now, but we have to ride up and meet the Phantom Bastards for an exchange. This is the first time I’m making the ride with my brothers and there’s an air of excitement surrounding me.
“Baby girl, gotta run,” I say, leaning down to place a kiss on her soft, kissable lips. “Love you wife.”
“Love you more husband. I’ll miss you,” she says, lingering against my lips before pressing hers to mine once again. “Stay safe and come home whole.”
“Always baby girl,” I respond, pulling away and setting my hand on her round belly. I feel our babies move around and the feeling strikes me straight through to my heart.
“Bye Callie,” Smokey says, straddling his bike and waiting for me.
“Bye Smokey. See ya later,” she answers, a smile on her face as she watches us take off.
We met up at the location with the Phantom Bastards. It’s not the first time I’ve seen these guys, but it’s the first time I’m a part of the run and around them as more than a friend to the club. They were shocked to see me wearing a cut, but happy at the same time. It’s a strange feeling to be interacting with these men in a business relationship. Boy Scout talks to me a little before we all head our separate ways and I can sense something going on with him. I’m not sure what it is, but I made sure that he knows I’m here if he needs an outsider’s point of view on his problem.
Psycho and I are the only two on our bikes. Smokey, Grave, and Tex are riding in the trucks that are transporting the guns back toward home. I’m not sure where they’re going but I’m following the trucks and keeping my eyes peeled for any cops along the route that Smokey planned out. Thankfully we haven’t seen any other cruisers except for one that was pulled over taking a nap on the side of the road. He didn’t even move when we all roared by. I laughed to myself and let my mind wander to Callie and how she’s doing today.
Renegade didn’t think we’d need a lot of guys on this run with the Scavengers fucks out of the way. We all thought it was back to business as normal. He wanted to see what would happen on our first run with the knowledge that we didn’t have to worry about those crazy fucks anymore. None of us have an uneasy feeling about this run so we’re all ready to go. Our President tells us to remain vigilant while we’re gone, and he’ll meet us later to find out what happened.
Bishop knows that he’s on Callie watch at the shop. Bentley is there working on his bike so that he can help keep an eye on my girl while she’s working. I don’t want her there at all, but she cried when she thought she’d have to sit home alone all day. It broke my heart and I know that she knows her limits and won’t do anything to hurt herself or the babies. So, she still goes to work every day and makes sure things run smoothly while I’m not there. Honestly, the guys dote on her and all want to help her as much as they can. Even the old asshole Sam is a fool around my wife. I’d laugh if I hadn’t fallen under her spell too.
We round a bend in the road and suddenly shots are being fired at us from behind the large rocks on the side of the road and up on the hill. As I look around to make sure that my brothers aren’t getting hit while trying to find where these bastards are hiding, I pull my gun from my cut and take aim for any motherfucker I see. I’ve taken down two men when I hear a truck barreling down on us from behind me. Before I can react, the truck is on my back bumper. It’s dangerously close to me and I’m trying to push my bike harder so that I can put a little distance between us. The rest of the guys are all shooting and trying to take out as many men as they can to help me right now. It’s an ambush and there’s no way out of it.
The truck pulls back as I get ready to rev my engine and fly in front of at least one of the trucks. Instead the truck roars like it’s going to pass me and stops alongside of me. There’s a male in the passenger seat and he gives me an evil grin before the driver yanks the steering wheel so the truck slams into the side of my bike, crushing my leg between the two hunks of metal. I immediately lose control of my bike and watch as I go flying over the side of the hill. The last thoughts I have are of Callie and our unborn babies.
Renegade
Psycho calls me and I can hear the gunfire in the background. Fuck! I didn’t send a lot of guys out this time because I didn’t think we’d need them. Apparently, I was wrong.
“What’s goin’ on?” I holler out through the phone as I walk in my office and slam the door shut.
“Shots fired. Twenty minutes out from the warehouse,” my brother says, his voice loud in my ear as he relates where they are.
“Bringin’ the rest of the guys and headin’ out. Turnin’ your tracker on now,” I tell my baby brother as I rush out of my office and find Hawk.
I hang up my phone and tell him to turn on the tracker to the guy’s phones that are out on the run today. Chains, Doc, Ryder, Tats, and Snake are sitting at the bar and they immediately turn around to find out what’s going on. Hawk runs off to his room to do what I’ve told him while the rest of the guys listen to me tell them the little that Psycho told me on the phone.
We all run out to our bikes as Hawk meets us. He nods to let me know that he got the tracker turned on so we can find our guys. I let him lead because he knows where we need to get. The seven of us take off like bats out of hell to get to our brothers. They need us and we can’t let them down when we don’t truly know what the situation is that they’ve ridden in to. Guilt flows through me as I realize that this happened because I got comfortable and fucked up. There should’ve been more guys on the run no matter what happened to the Scavengers fucks that we put down.
It doesn’t take us that long to make it to the spot our guys are at. I see a sea of red as blood flows on the road and down over the embankment. I’m looking at the guys still standing, and I see all my guys except for Bear. Where the fuck is he? Looking at my guys, I can see that they’re all dazed and probably haven’t noticed that they’re a man short right now.
“Where the fuck is Bear?” I growl out, shutting my bike off and racing toward the back of the pack of trucks.
There’s no bike or any evidence that he was even on this run. I race to the edge of the little cliff as I
see skid marks along the road. Sitting about fifty feet down I see Bear’s bike. It’s a mangled mess as I don’t listen to the men surrounding me and slide down until I make it to him. Psycho follows me down and we find Bear lying about ten feet from his bike. I race over to him and the first thing I do is make sure that he’s alive. He’s got a pulse that’s barely there. One of his legs is fucked up and I’m not sure if they’re going to be able to fix it.
“We gotta get him to a hospital. Now,” I tell Psycho, pulling my phone out so that I can get a fucking ambulance here immediately. “Get the fuckin’ trucks out of here. Not answerin’ questions about them when the cops show up.”
Psycho races up the dirt hill as fast as he can. He’s using the small trees and everything else that he can in order to make sure that he gets up to the top of the hill as I talk to the operator on the phone about getting an ambulance here. She tells me that they might have to send out a helicopter because of where he is right now.
“Listen lady, I don’t give a fuck what you gotta do to get my man. He needs to be picked the fuck up. Now! He’s barely got a pulse and I don’t know if he’s gonna make it. My man has a wife and is about to become a fuckin’ father. Get someone here to fuckin’ help him now!” I yell through the phone so the bitch I’m talking to knows that I’m deadly serious. I’m not gonna threaten her right now but I will if that’s what it takes to get an ambulance, helicopter, or whatever the fuck else we need to use to get him there.
I hang up the phone after the operator tells me that an ambulance is in route. I’m not gonna sit there and listen to her drone on and on about nothing when I can be spending this time with my brother. Bear groans out as he attempts to move. Laying my hand on his chest, I tell him to be still that help is on the way.
“Callie, I love her,” he whispers, his words broken and painful for him to speak.
“Don’t fuckin’ do that. You’re gonna fuckin’ tell her that shit yourself when you see her. Help’s on the way Bear. Stay the fuck with me,” I yell to him as I look up and see my family that’s still here looking over the edge.
Bear coughs and I hear the scream that erupts from him as pain takes over his body. It’s enough to make him pass back out as blood starts pooling from his mouth. Fuck! This can’t happen. Bear cannot fucking die out here. I won’t let it happen. So, I lean down toward his face and start talking to him. I have no clue what to say to get him to fight, but I know I need to do something. I won’t be the cause of Callie losing her man and her babies growing up without their daddy.
“Bear, Callie needs you. She’s strong as fuck, but her and those babies are gonna need you by their side,” I say, knowing that Callie is the piece of Bear’s heart that’s always been missing. “If you give up and die on her, I’m gonna claim that sweet pussy for myself. Or maybe I’ll let Grave have her. You know how depraved that fucker can get when he fucks. Is that what you fuckin’ want? You want one of us to raise your babies and call us daddy because you gave the fuck up? Hell, if you don’t fight, I’m gonna tell you right now what you’re havin’. We all know and we’re tryin’ to let you have what you want, but if you don’t start showin’ me that you’re fightin’ I’m gonna fuckin’ tell you and take that want away from you.”
I have my hand on Bear’s chest and I can feel his heart racing even if it’s faint. He can hear what I’m saying to him is my only thought as I hear the ambulance arriving to get him. These fuckers better send someone down here and figure out the best way to get him out of here without causing any more damage. I watch as three men start to slide down the hill so that they can work on him. It’s not long after that I hear the telltale sound of a helicopter and know that Bear is gonna have to be lifted out of here. Right now, I need to put my focus on Callie and going to pick her up so that I can bring her to the hospital.
Callie
I’ve had a bad feeling all day. I’m not sure what’s going on, but my gut is telling me that something is off. I can’t concentrate on the paperwork in front of me as I try to input the numbers into the computer so I can file the hard copies away in the customers folders. The only thing I do is keep looking out to the bays expecting to see Bear working away on whatever project he has next. The only person I see though is Bentley. He’s been working on his bike for hours and isn’t done yet. I personally think that he’s just here to keep an eye on me with whatever is going on.
I hear the familiar rumble of a bike pulling in and I know it’s one of the guys from the club. My heart skips a beat as I expect to see Bear lumbering into the office before going out to get to work. He wasn’t sure what time he was gonna be back today so I’m not sure when to look for him. Instead, I see Renegade walk into the office. He’s got blood on his shirt and hands while there’s a dejected look on his face. I crumple.
“No!” I scream as I try to stand on legs that can’t hold me.
The guys out in the bays rush into the office as Renegade rushes over to catch me. “Sweetheart, we gotta go. Bear was in an accident and I need to get you to the hospital,” he says, lifting me up into his arms and heading outside.
I can’t focus on anything other than the knowledge that the blood I’m seeing on this man belongs to my husband. What happened to him? How bad is he? He hasn’t called me so I’m thinking the worst as I look again at the amount of blood on Renegade. Bishop rushes to open the passenger side of my car as I’m set in the seat while I hear hushed voices talking around me. I’ve gone into some sort of zone where I can’t understand anything as tears fall from my eyes and a panic takes hold like I’ve never felt before.
“Gotta go. Callie needs to be at the hospital,” I finally hear as the door slams shut and Renegade runs to the driver’s side of my car. He gets in and takes off without looking back.
I don’t talk or do anything other than cry and think of my man. The scenery passes by in a blur the same that pictures fly through my brain of Bear and I together and just the man himself. It’s like I’m playing our entire time together on a loop and no matter what I do it won’t stop. I can feel my heart racing faster the closer we get to the hospital and I don’t know what I can do to make it stop.
“Breathe Callie. You need to take deep breaths and calm down as much as you can,” Renegade says, resting his hand on my arm.
“How bad?” I ask, finally needing to know something about Bear.
Renegade looks at me for a second and I can tell by his face that it’s not good. He doesn’t answer me as he swings my car into the parking lot of the hospital. I don’t take in anything of my surroundings as I open my door and run as fast as I can through the doors. Renegade is right on my heels as I stop at the desk sitting in the middle of the room.
“Damon Jones was brought in. Where is he?” I ask, not knowing any other information than that.
“I don’t have anyone listed by that name,” the older lady says looking up at the two of us standing in front of her. Her eyes widen as she takes in a blood covered Renegade.
“He was brought in by helicopter within the last few minutes. This is his fuckin’ wife. Tell her where the hell her husband is,” Renegade growls out as I almost collapse on the floor.
I’m set in a wheelchair as Psycho and Smokey come up behind us. The older lady rushes off to find out where my husband is as the three men surrounding me have a whispered conversation. I can feel myself getting worked up again as I sit here and wait for any news on my husband. It seems like years pass by as I watch the lady returned followed by a nurse.
“Ma’am, your husband has been rushed into surgery. I can’t tell you anything other than that,” the nurse says, standing directly in front of me. “I’ll show you to the waiting room for surgical patients. I’m sorry but I can’t even give you a time frame for when you’ll hear anything about him.”
A wail escapes me as I realize that if Bear isn’t dead yet, he might not make it through whatever surgery they have to perform on him. Once again, I can feel my heart racing and there’s black spots formi
ng in front of my eyes. The voices of Renegade, Smokey, and Psycho all become a buzzing sound as panic and grief overtake my body. It’s like everything in me is shutting down with the thought of losing Bear.
“We’re gonna have to sedate her if she can’t calm down. She’s obviously very pregnant and she needs to relax for her baby,” the nurse tells the men surrounding me.
“She has no clue what’s goin’ on with her husband and you expect her to be calm right fuckin’ now,” I hear a male voice say. “Get us the fuck up to the waitin’ room and I’ll call her doctor myself.”
Those are the last fuzzy words I hear before everything goes black. I’m floating on a cloud and there’s nothing around me. I don’t hear my grandma’s voice like the last time. There’s simply a void that has sucked me in and refuses to let me go.
I wake up in a hospital bed attached to several machines. At first, I’m disoriented, and I don’t remember the reason that I’m here. My hands fly to my stomach as I look around for Bear. My husband. That’s why I’m here. I begin to try to take the blood pressure cuff and the bands wrapped around my stomach off in my attempt to get to him and find out what’s going on.
“Callie, calm down,” Grave says, grabbing my hands with one hand and forcing me to look at him with the other. “You need to calm down before the nurse comes in here and makes you calm down. That’s the last thing you need right now.”
“Bear,” I mutter, my voice sounding weak and broken as I let his name pass my lips.
“The doctor will be right in,” Hadliegh answers, walking through the door to my room. “Babe, you scared the shit out of all of us.”
I don’t say a word. Leaning back against the scratchy pillows, I close my eyes and wait for someone to bring me news about my man. That’s the only thing I want right now.
“Mrs. Jones how are you feeling?” a male voice asks as I open my eyes and see a doctor making his way toward me.
