Bash

by Sapphire Knight

  Chaos chuckles, attempting to ease a bit of the tension radiating through the small hospital room. “Ma’am, let’s have a chat.” He interrupts my tirade before I end up with security called on me for tossing the nurse out of my woman’s room.

  I know she’s only doing her job, and I commend her for it, but I’m doing mine as well. It’s up to me to protect Savannah, and I haven’t done a good enough job in the past. That changes now. I plan to be within three feet of her the entire stay at this hospital unless one of us is pissing. In that case, I’ll wait on the other side of the door while she handles her business. The staff around here better get used to it and quickly. I didn’t leave last night, and I won’t go today either.

  I hear Chaos’s deep tone out in the hallway reverberate through the door. “Savannah Lexington is his ol’ lady. That’s his wife in our world. They’ve been through some serious shit recently if you can’t tell by her face and his overbearingness. Now, I can have my prospect order you folks some dinner or something, courtesy of the club. Try to help make up for his attitude, but I know my brother, and Bash won’t be leaving that room without his woman. I’m also aware you don’t want Savannah checking out just yet, so this is the only way.”

  I’m surprised he’s aiming to rationalize with her, but I’m grateful for it. We’re used to demanding shit so often, that we often forget that sometimes a situation can use a bit of finesse to get what we need. You ever hear that saying you can attract more bees with honey? Well, Chaos’s working his charm, and the ladies don’t ever seem to hesitate to fall for it either.

  I forget about what’s going on out in the hallway, sending a tender look at my angel. She’s lying here appearing just as helpless as last night, even though I know she’s anything but. The doctor and nurses haven’t let her do much of anything since we arrived. They want to monitor her, and I know it’s driving my stubborn woman a bit crazy. “How you doin’, babe?” I haven’t left her side, and I’ve asked her the same question pretty much every hour. I’m determined to make sure she has whatever she needs.

  Savannah sighs, setting the remote down. One of her eyes is swollen shut, and she’s been struggling to watch anything with her open eye. She says it gives her a headache, and knowing she is in any kind of discomfort makes me want to bring that fucker Maliki back to life so I can torture him. She doesn’t deserve any of this. Savannah’s been through enough to last a lifetime already. “I wish we could go home.”

  I grunt, agreeing with her, but not admitting to it out loud. While it’d be great to have privacy, I like knowing she has a team of people looking after her and our baby, in case either one of them needs anything. “Tomorrow, Sweet Pea,” I promise, glancing up to the monitors. Savannah’s had on this elastic belt thing around her small tummy since we showed up, and it’s been keeping up with our baby’s heartbeat. I like seeing hers and the baby’s hearts beating on the screen before me. It gives me a small sense of comfort with the proof they’re still here and alive.

  “Come lay with me,” she requests. Comfort washes over me at her invitation, and I do as she asks. I’ll do anything to make her happy now and in the future. We take life for granted too much. Yesterday’s incident was my come-to-Jesus moment. I won’t waste time or take my woman for granted ever. Life is far too fucking precious. People need to wake up and realize it before it’s too late.

  Moving slowly and carefully, I crawl into the single size hospital bed. I remain on my side, facing her, attempting to take up as little bit of the space as possible. I slept in this same spot last night, much to the hospital’s dismay. There was no way in hell that they were peeling me away from holding her, no matter how vigilant I had to be not to bump her or whatever. I was overly concerned she’d end up with nightmares, and I wanted to be close so I could console her if she needed me.

  “You sure this isn’t hurting you?” I check with her, the same as I did last night and this morning. I’ve been as gentle with her as I can manage.

  Savannah’s face is bruised up with a horrifying array of colors, ranging from purplish black to blue. It has me automatically thinking her body is just as bruised up, and I wish I could take her place. Thankfully, the rest of her isn’t as beat up. I’ve seen it with my own eyes when she initially got checked out. I know her creamy flesh is unharmed, aside from bruising on her upper arms and neck, anyhow. Yet, I still fight with the gut-wrenching feeling each time that I glance at her face. My beautiful woman looks nothing like she usually does, and it makes me rabid inside with rage and heartache. I’ve been trying to hide it, but I know my brothers can see right through my charade of calm. I’ve kept up the façade for her. She doesn’t need to witness me any more distraught than she already has.

  “I want you close. Please hold me.” She’s been whispering brokenly too.

  The doctor didn’t want her attempting to speak at all yesterday. She was so emotionally shaken up, they gave her a mild sedative in the end so they could run as many tests as they needed without disturbing her further. Today she’s been whispering here and there. I asked about her throat when she woke up, and she told us that it still hurts badly. I’ve been giving her ice chips, but I know they can’t take the pain away completely, and it cuts at me that I can’t do more to make her comfortable. The doctor says she’s lucky her vocal cords weren’t damaged when Maliki nearly crushed her throat.

  “Anything for you, Angel. Whatever you need, you let me know, and I’ll make it happen.”

  She tilts her head to lightly rest her temple against my forehead. My hand instantly seeks out her stomach, protectively resting over the baby. Ever since I saw the ultrasound they did on her yesterday, I can’t stop touching her belly. The baby is tiny, we couldn’t tell the sex yet, but that didn’t matter. The most important thing was everything inside looked like it should, according to the hospital staff. The tot was moving, and there was a strong, quick heartbeat. The tech was cool enough to print us out a few snapshots of our tiny baby bean, and amongst all the terror yesterday, we had a little piece of joy to focus on.

  “I love you, Sebastian,” she murmurs, a bit dazed from the last dose of pain killers the doc gave her. He reassured us both the meds wouldn’t hurt the child, and she wouldn’t get much more, so we needn’t worry. I’ve learned that where Savannah and our child is concerned, I will never stop worrying.

  “I love you, too. I’m so fucking grateful you two are okay. I’ll never forgive myself for not figuring it out and getting to you sooner.”

  She mumbles, “You had no way of knowing. You were already at your club talking to your brothers about how to protect me. Besides, you showed up right when I needed you the most.”

  “Judging by him hitting you so many times, you needed me much earlier.” The words choke me as I admit my failure.

  “No, you don’t understand.” I gaze at her curiously as tears swim in her one eye that she has open. “H-he was cutting through my clothes when you stormed in.”

  “Bastard,” I swear. That explains why her shirt was torn apart. I haven’t asked much about yesterday, and the doctor has kept the cops away for the most part so far. Still, I know she hasn’t let me in on all the details that went down between her and Maliki yesterday.

  “He was going to r-r-rape me and kill me. You don’t know how perfect your timing was.”

  “Christ, Angel.” I breathe. My insides feel like they’re being shredded at that thought. “Goddamn. I wish I could bring him back and torture him for weeks for what he’s done to you. The thought of him threatening to do those things to you, I-I don’t know how to handle that right now without combusting and completely losing my shit.”

  She brings her hand to my cheek. “Sebastian, you’re where I need you right now. You’re here, next to me, being my anchor. I would be lost if I didn’t have you with me, truly lost. You can’t keep thinking of what you should’ve done.” Her voice breaks, and she has to stop and swallow a few times before she can quietly continue. “You killed him for me. You s
aved both of us. I will always love you for what you’ve sacrificed for us.”

  “There was no sacrifice, baby, I will do whatever’s necessary to protect you and help you in any way possible. You and our baby. I love you too fucking much to let you go through life without me having your back, precious woman.”

  I want to wipe away her tears, but I’m too damn frightened I’ll hurt her even more. I shouldn’t have to worry about my touch harming my woman, but today I do. It’s a lesson I’ll never forget either. Savannah may be strong enough to take care of her problems on her own terms, but one thing is certain, she’ll never have to do it alone again. It’s a silent vow I make to myself and her, as I watch my beautiful woman eventually find sleep. I’m here in case she needs anything, and I won’t ever go anywhere, for as long as she’ll have me.

  Two weeks after Savannah’s home from the hospital…

  “How’s your woman?” the brothers ask. It’s been two weeks since she’s been back home. I moved her shit to my apartment for the time being. I could tell going back to her place was freaking her out a little too much. It’s only temporary, as I’ve been checking out the paper for any decent local listings. Savannah and my kid deserve more than to be cramped in a tiny one-bedroom apartment.

  “Not happy. She still can’t work. The bruising is getting better, but you can still see it through her makeup. The boss said he doesn’t want her in until it’s completely gone, so she doesn’t give customers anything to talk about. I guess he’s determined this had to be a club situation she got dragged into, and he doesn’t want to be affiliated in any way with it. Stupid motherfucker. I wanted to beat his ass, but Sav made me promise to leave him alone.”

  Sly scowls. “That’s some shit.”

  I nod. “She’s acting like everything’s okay, but I hear her dreaming at night. It’s the whole reason I got her to move out of her apartment and into mine in the first place. She’s a strong woman, but nightmares haunt everyone. Unfortunately, that includes her.”

  “She been talking it over with you?” Jinx asks.

  I shrug. “Yes and no. I can see her processing shit on and off. She hasn’t wanted to come to the compound, but I’m going to surprise her and bring her. She needs to be around people, some who actually give a fuck.”

  Chaos grunts. “No one will mess with her here. She’ll always be safe with us.”

  I know, that’s why I want her here. I trust my brothers with my life, and in that sense, my woman’s. “Appreciate that. Thank fuck there wasn’t anything wrong with the baby too. I’ve never been so worried in my life, and I haven’t even met the kid yet.”

  Jinx flashes a grin. “It’s only just beginning, brother.”

  I meet North’s somber gaze. “You find out anything else on Maliki?”

  The brothers perk up at my question, their gaze beating down on North for answers. Being the enforcer, I know I can count on him to take care of any loose ends. We didn’t get much of a chance to prepare for anything since Maliki struck while we were discussing him. “I went by the addresses you gave me, did a little recon. I got rid of a few people at his warehouse, but otherwise, there hasn’t been much else going on. His company is organizing his funeral and shit, but I haven’t found anyone in particular poking around. He had an assistant who’s been arranging the service and having Maliki’s house packed up. The only family I can find is his dead brother and a long-lost cousin. We’ll have to sit and wait a bit, but I don’t anticipate any retaliation. That father you mentioned a while back didn’t check out. He died some time ago as well. Looking closer, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the two prick brothers that offed him.”

  I release a tense breath. “Good to know. Hopefully, my woman can finally relax and stop hiding away from now on.”

  Chaos murmurs, “She deserves to live her life. Can’t believe she’s been dealin’ with all this like she has. Your ol’ lady is a keeper, brother.”

  “Thanks, Prez.” I agree. I wouldn’t give her up for the world. She’s proven herself time and again that she’s exactly the type of strong, but sweet woman I need in my life to help balance me out.

  He continues, “Other than keeping an eye on Maliki’s associates, we don’t have much going on this week. Anyone have something to be discussed in church?”

  “Centerfolds,” North growls, garnering all of our attention. “I’m going to be over there more this week. I may need a few of you around. Some asshole and his buddies keep stopping in and stirring up trouble.”

  Jinx brows shoot up. “They have a lot of fucking nerve.”

  Chaos huffs. “We can’t have shit going on at the strip club. We don’t need that headache, being one of the few spots around here that can serve liquor. We don’t want to fuck up any of our chances with our grandfather clause. You know as well as I do, if something goes down and we lose our liquor license, we’ll never get it back for that location.”

  North grunts his agreement. “Exactly why I’m nipping that shit in the bud, ASAP.”

  “Anyone got an issue with helping out?” Chaos flicks his gaze to each of his officers. None of us speak up. “Anything else we need to discuss?” Again, we’re quiet. “All right, then, church dismissed!” He slams the gavel down, and as the noise reverberates through the space, I quickly stand.

  “I’m out, brothers, gotta get back to my woman.” I say my goodbyes and head for the apartment as quickly as possible. Any moment away from Savannah is a moment too long.

  Fifteen

  Just because I love you, it doesn’t mean I won’t kill you. It just means I’ll bury you in a nice place with flowers and shit. - Tattoosplendour.com

  Seven weeks later…

  “Can’t wait until you can be on the back of my bike again. I miss your fine ass snuggled up to my back, Angel,” Bash rasps as he pulls his Charger into the MC parking lot. It’s a full house with all of his brothers’ bikes parked out front along with a few vehicles I don’t recognize.

  “Not sure how often that’ll happen with an infant to tote around.”

  He grins and with a shrug, says good-naturedly, “You’re right, Sweet Pea. I should probably trade this in for a bigger cage. You’ll need it hauling our bunch around.”

  My heart rate beats wildly in my chest at his words, and I sputter. “B-bunch? Excuse me? We’re having one.”

  His smile grows. “Yeah, for now. You really think I can keep my hands—or my dick, for that matter—away from you? You remember what happened the last time my dick got near you, right?”

  I point at my stomach and smirk. “Well, no shit, Sherlock.”

  He chuckles, shaking his head as he throws the car in park and hops out. Rounding in front of the Charger, he comes to my side and opens my door. He does it all the time, always right by my side to make me feel safe. I love him even more for it too. “How about we strike a deal.”

  “Oh, heavens, why am I getting anxiety with this?”

  He snickers some more. I love it that my man is always smiling and laughing around me. It makes me feel like I’m doing something right. “Probably cause you’re one intelligent bitch who knows her ol’ man.”

  I lean in, offering a kiss at his compliment. It took some warming up to grow accustomed to their MC terms, but now I know he’s not being ugly. Just like him claiming me or being his property is another compliment, it’s him taking responsibility for me and pledging to care for me always. A man willing to commit that strongly to a woman says something about their character. In Bash’s case, his is golden, and I’m one lucky woman to have a man who cherishes me so much. “Out with it, VP.”

  “You can pick out any SUV you want if you give me another kid.”

  My footsteps falter, and I pause outside in the heat. He stops next to me, his playful gaze meeting mine. My smile drops as I hold his hand a bit tighter. “You weren’t joking?”

  He grows serious and shakes his head. “No, Angel. I want a family with you. I love you.”

  I bite my lip, not needing a
ny more time or reassurance to think it over. I nod, pushing up on my tiptoes to kiss his lips. His arms wrap around my waist as his forehead gently leans against mine and allows me to peck his lips a few times. I state quietly, “I love you, too, Sebastian. Let’s have this sweet little pea, then we’ll work on having another once I’m healed. I want a family with you too.” And if we have another that ends up being a girl, maybe I can name her after my best friend whose life was taken because of me. She deserves to be honored for her spirit to live on.

  I start to tear up, my feet going flat again, and I laugh. “Damn hormones.” I wave them off, stepping back from his hold, but keeping my fingers linked with his. Ever since everything went down, my man is always touching me in one way or another and double-checking everything to make sure I’m safe and happy. I know he’ll make an absolutely amazing father when the time comes for us to meet our child.

  “You make me the happiest man, Savannah. Never in my life would’ve thought a wreck was my blessing in disguise.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I say, using my free hand to smooth down my sundress. My closet has grown immensely since Bash has come into my life. The man is forever having me order new sundresses. He practically wants me to live in them. I get benefits from it as well. He’s still eating me out all the time in random places. The man is insatiable. “I can’t wait to tell everyone what we’re having! Is this why everybody is here? Did you tell them we found out?”

  “Told ‘em we’d be stopping by and to be around.”

  “Okay, good.” I nod as he opens the door and waits for me to step inside ahead of him. I stride over the threshold, tugging him along with me, expecting to be greeted with the usual low volume rock music and bikers drinking beers at their bar.