“What if whatever you have planned doesn’t work?” I question, thinking worst-case scenario.
“Then we’ll pack our bags and run,” Bull laughs, his tone not serious. “It’s my club; whatever I want will work. I just need it to go smoothly,” he continues. I sigh and shake my head in understanding.
Bull smirks. “Now, enjoy the party, babe.”
Hours pass since I have arrived. I’ve had to literally apply a whole bottle of sunblock to keep from burning. Not sure this beach idea was the best idea for someone with fair skin such as myself, but I can’t help but feel giddy and excited; everything is finally falling into place. I look over the table and notice the chips are gone, but plenty of dip is left.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“Hey, we’re out of chips. Got anymore? I can’t eat this dip with my fingers?” Hawk requests, his mustache hiding the top of his lips as he eyes the table as if more chips will suddenly appear.
“I’ll make a run to get some. Hold tight, grumpy,” I reply, grabbing the empty chip bags and throwing them in the trash. I hear Bull, his voice rising with a tone of concern, catching my attention.
“What?” Dani asks, her hands held out as she looks down at herself. She has on a leather bikini that is sure to drive every guy at this party on her trail and piss Bull off.
“Go change,” Bull demands, pointing off across the beach. I smirk and abandon Hawk to rescue the poor thing.
“Oh, leave the girl alone,” I laugh, walking up to Bull and Dani.
“Do you see the shit she’s wearing, or not wearing for that matter?” Bull questions, exhausted and pointing at Dani. Her cheeks turn a shade of red in embarrassment. Poor girl is going to have it rough with a man like Bull as a dad.
“She looks fine, Bull. It’s a beach party,” I sass, trying not to laugh.
Bull shakes his head and growls, walking away.
I eye Dani, curious if she told Shadow about what we did, what she did to prove herself to me and the girls. I am grateful for her helping me in my time of need with my niece, but I don’t trust she won’t run to Shadow and tell him. Love makes you do stupid things.
“How ya doing, doll?” I ask, looking at her from the corner of my eye.
“I’m all right,” Dani replies meekly, shrugging. I nod, not getting anything from her tone if she has opened her mouth or not. I look away and smirk.
“That’s good. You better get used to your dad trying to make you wear a paper bag,” I inform her. I look over and see Hawk finger the dip. Gross. I better go get those chips. “Enjoy yourself, ya hear?” I tell Dani, walking back to the table.
“Don’t put your nasty finger in the damn dip, Hawk!” I yell, slapping his hand away. He looks at me and scowls. Well, his face is so wrinkly, I think he scowls.
“I didn’t,” he lies. I put my hand on my hip, my mouth gaping open. I just saw him put his fucking finger in the dip! I close my mouth and shake my head. I know what I saw.
“I’m going now to get chips; stay away till then,” I demand, pointing at him. He grumbles and tosses his plate on the table before walking away.
I grab my keys out of my pocket and head toward my truck, passing Locks on the way.
“Where you going?” Locks asks, grabbing my arm tightly. I yank my arm from his hold with force.
“To Pop’s store to get chips. That okay with you?” I sass, raising a brow with anger. I can’t wait to break free from his ass.
Locks smiles sinfully. “Of course, dear,” he replies condescendingly, his tone making the hair on my neck rise.
I turn my head, unsure, and stare at him as he walks away, digging in his pocket and bringing his phone out.
“Okay,” I mutter nervously.
I hop in my truck and head to the exit ramp, a stop light stopping me before I can turn for the off ramp. A car pulls up next to me at the stop light, a red convertible with the top down and Noah Gundersen playing “Day Is Gone” as loud as it can. The light turns green and I head to Pop’s, arriving quickly.
I scan the chips, looking for the scoops that go perfectly with my cheese dip.
“Aha,” I mutter, grabbing several bags. Who knows how late the party will run.
I head to the cashier and pay, sticking my money in my back pocket as he bags them.
I grab the four bags and head back to my truck. Lyrics of “Day Is Gone” still in my head, I sing them off key as a bright light catches my eye. I look over, and before I can react, a white car plows into me; its grill is hot and the sound of the world’s absent. I fly in the air, the bags of chips scattering everywhere and time freezes, followed by white noise. How come I don’t feel any pain? Surely my legs are broken. Surely something has been damaged by the hit. Like the snap of a finger, time rushes forward and my head slams into the car’s windshield. My head throbs and my face stings where the glass slices through it. I open my eyes, looking through the splintered glass, only to see a green hat before my body tumbles across the roof heavily. I see the pavement as my body is twirled from the car. I try and push my arms out in front of me to break my fall, but it’s no use. I’m not quick enough. The front of my head dives forward, impacting the asphalt with a loud crack, following with blackness.
BULL
I place both hands on my bar’s countertop, bracing myself. Where is Babs? Where did she go and why isn’t she answering her phone? I can’t get over the idea that something bad might have happened. I look up and notice the sun is rising. I look at the clock and find Babs is an hour late. Something bad happened; I know it. I push off the bar and pace the floor, pushing my hair from sticking to my sweaty face. My phone vibrates and I nearly break my wrist pulling it from my pocket.
I look at the screen and find Doc is calling. I scrunch my face in confusion and answer.
“Hey, Bull, you might want to get to the hospital,” she says gravely.
“Why?” I ask.
“Babs came in last night,” she pauses. “She is in a coma. They tried to call Locks, but they never got through,” she continues softly.
A sudden gasp falls from my slack face, tears filling my eyes. Did she say a fucking coma?
I don’t even text Locks. I just get on my bike and break every fucking speed limit on the way to the hospital.
I pull a Shadow and park in the no parking zone, running to the front desk.
“Is Delilah Gia here? What room is she in?” My voice yelling in hysteria.
“Bull,” Doc says my name, coming out of a patient’s room. “It’s all right, I got him,” Doc informs the receptionist, who looks frightened.
Doc starts walking toward the elevator, me following close behind her till we enter the abandoned cart.
“What happened?” I ask, my hands on the back of my neck as we make our way upward.
“From the report I read, she was hit by a car,” she explains, her eyes widening.
“A fucking car?” I question in shock, making sure I heard her right.
“Yup, they didn’t even stop. Some people passing by found her.”
The doors open and she walks out, the smell of sterilizers and cleaning products greeting us. I hate that fucking smell; it always makes me sick to my stomach.
She stops short of a white door and looks at me.
“Brace yourself, Bull. I know Babs is tough, but you need to prepare yourself for the worst outcome,” she says ruthlessly.
I close my eyes and nod, pushing open the closed door.
Babs has some kind of shit taped to her mouth and a machine beeping every pump of her heart. Her face is lax, swollen, and red. She looks like death is knocking on her door. I quickly turn my head away from her, a sob escaping my mouth. Looking at the woman I love, so weak and fragile, it kills me.
“Give it to me straight, Doc, no bullshit,” I demand, my voice cracking with emotion.
“I can’t really say, Bull. I have seen people in worse shape pull through, and I have seen people perfectly healthy pass. Most of the damage was done to
her head, and the brain is very tricky in trying to comprehend its next move. All we can do is wait,” she explains, walking up to Babs and brushing her red hair from her face.
“All we can do is try and make her as comfortable as we can,” she mutters.
“Don’t!” I bark. That fucking sentence, that bullshit they tell family or friends when they want them to have hope but medically the odds aren’t in the patients favor, is not happening here.
She looks at me and nods before patting my back gently.
“I gotta get back on my floor; let me know if you need anything,” she adds softly before leaving. I need to call the boys, figure out who fucking did this, where this fucking happened. But I can’t take my eyes away from her, the urge to climb in that bed and hold her over taking me.
BABS
I hear voices, but I can’t see who they are coming from, can’t comprehend who is speaking. I can’t open my eyes. I can’t sit up. I can’t do anything.
I can hear myself talking, but my mouth isn’t moving and nobody is answering me back.
I feel like I’m falling in nothing but darkness, like I’m on a roller coaster in the middle of the night. I’m at the peak of a hill, free falling all the way to the bottom fast. My body feeling weightless as I’m whipped back into nothing.
“Don’t you leave me, babe.” Echoes through my never ending fall, but I can’t understand it.
I briefly feel the falling stop, only to crash back downward into still blackness. It’s nothing but weightless free falling to the bottom of Hell. Hopefully, Hell isn’t a bottomless pit.
BULL
I’m at the club, fondling a full bottle of jack, sitting on my bed. I can’t open my eyes; everywhere I look I see Babs. I look back down at the bottle of Jack. I have to be strong. I can’t waste away at the bottom of booze, no matter how much I want to. I’m not sure if Locks will be there for Babs. He seems to have lost himself. Babs needs me; I’m all she has. I grab the neck of the bottle and leave my room. Searching for fucking answers is the top of my priorities.
As soon as I walk out from the hall, I see Dani and Shadow entering the club. I am glad they figured their shit out. Shadow is more complicated than a female sometimes. I go straight to the chapel, the boys following me in.
“So, we don’t know who hit her?” Shadow questions Locks across the table. I push the bottle of booze away from me and look at Locks, waiting. When I left the hospital, I saw him speaking to the police. I’m curious when he decided to call the hospital back, wondering what information he has that I don’t. They wouldn’t tell me much, me not being her husband.
Locks hesitates. “I don’t know, probably just some drunk not paying attention,” he responds coolly. My hands steeple, trying to keep from throttling Locks with his vague behavior. His emotions are so in check, so collected, as if nothing has happened.
“What did the cops say?” I ask, tapping my fingers on the table.
“Oh, you know, the same bullshit they tell everyone,” he explains, rubbing his beard.
“Which is what?” Shadow grates, irritated.
Locks looks at Shadow, his face starting to turn a shade of red. “That they will do their best.”
“Who found her?” Bobby asks.
“Some passerby,” I answer. I did manage to get that bit of info.
“Any video surveillance around the area?” Old Guy questions, which is a good question. Hope making me sit up straighter, waiting for Locks to answer.
“Yes. But it only shows a white car speeding like a bat out of Hell. Can’t see anything but a white blur,” Locks rambles, his voice wobbly with excitement.
I can’t stand another moment of this. I can’t make out if Locks is truly upset and just handling this shitty, or if he just doesn’t care. What the fuck is wrong with him? Could he loathe Babs that much, to the point of not caring if she lives or dies, not craving to revenge her death? I exhale, trying to get a hold of myself.
“Right. Well, I’m going to go over and see her,” I state, needing to escape this confusing situation. I pat Locks on the shoulder in passing. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Locks,” I encourage, trying to get a read of his body language, but I get nothing.
*****
Weeks have passed; it feels like months. I’m starting to worry she won’t wake, that something is wrong. I have visited Babs daily, holding her hand and talking to her. The club seems cold and unwelcoming without her. I gave in, started drinking my breakfast, lunch, and dinner, hoping to relieve some of this rage and depression building up. I have reached out to every club in the area, looking for a hit on the white car that struck Babs, but nothing has come back. I have used every one of my favors in the area, and I got nothing. My best man, Shadow, has been sloppy lately. Showing up late when I do pull my ass out of bed and have a meeting, forgetful of runs, and that’s just to name a few. He is mindless since he has made up with Dani. Things were rocky when Dani returned from her mother’s hold. I knew they would work shit out though, and they did. I need Shadow right now. I need him focused. Looks like I will be having a chat with him. Hopefully, it won’t involve me shooting him in the arm like last time when we discussed my daughter. I hate that he is with her, but to see that damn carefree smile on her face, I don’t want to ruin that.
My phone rings, interrupting my thoughts. “What?” I bark.
“She is awake,” Doc chirps. My body swells with relief. I don’t say goodbye. I just hang up and race toward the hospital.
*****
As soon I get there, I say fuck the elevator and take the stairs. I need to see Babs’ eyes, hear her sassy mouth now.
I run into her room and find her… not awake?
“What the fuck?” I whisper. I thought she said she was awake.
“I heard loud-ass boots stampeding through the hospital,” Doc says, walking into the room. “I knew it would be you,” she continues.
“I thought you said she was awake?” I ask angrily, my emotions are not to be toyed with right now.
“She’s asleep. She’ll be very groggy and weak for a while,” Doc explains, looking at Babs.
I walk up to Babs. Her red curly hair is matted from where she has been laying, and her face bare of makeup shows more freckles than I have seen before. I can’t wait to make her mine. As soon as this is all over, I’m telling the club this shit about owning women, that caveman crap my pops ruled in, is out, and I’m claiming Babs’ ass.
“Can you hear me, doll?” I mumble close to her, my lips brushing the shell of her ear.
I look up, expecting something from Doc from my over friendliness toward Babs.
“I knew it,” she says, her eyes smiling. “That’s why I called you.”
I smirk and return my gaze back to Babs.
“B-B-Bu…” stammers from Babs’ dry lips.
I open my eyes in confusion, the words leaving her mouth a slur and strangled.
“She is having a really hard time with speaking. We are doing some scans on her brain, see if we can find anything effecting the frontal lobe.
“I’m here, babe. Just take your time and rest,” I mumble into her hair before giving her forehead a kiss.
She doesn’t say anything.
“She’s back asleep,” I observe, running my hand over her head where stitches line her scalp.
“This is a big step to going forward, Bull. You should be hopeful, but like I said, the brain is tricky.
*****
Just when you think it can’t get any worse, life comes slamming into your ass, reminding you how unpredictable it is.
The last few days have been a fucking nightmare. The club has been targeted. Dani was chased by a car the other night and beaten with a bat. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when Shadow got the call that Dani was in the hospital. Thankfully, Dani’s are mere scratches, bumps, and bruises compared to Babs. She’s lucky to be alive, and I’m on high alert. Someone is targeting my fucking club, and I am going to find out who very
quickly.
A smirk crosses my face. Unpredictable. During Dani’s visit to the hospital, they discovered I’m going to be a grandfather. The smirk crossing my face quickly fades. We have been targeted, and my daughter is pregnant with my grandbaby. I am responsible for every member of this club, their safety is in my hands. I have to figure out who has targeted us, and why, before someone else is hurt.
*****
I wake up to a loud pounding. I didn’t drink a drop last night. Since I brought Dani back here, and knowing her and her baby’s life depends on me, I have stayed away.
“Bull!”
I pop my head up from the pillow and realize someone is knocking on my door like the fucking police.
“What the fuck?” I yell, opening my door to find Shadow. His face is red and he looks angry as shit.
“Get dressed; we need to see Babs, now!” he spits, turning to leave without giving me a chance to ask why.
“Shit!” I curse, turning to grab some damn clothes. A million things are crossing my mind right now. Is Dani hurt? Has something happened to Babs?
I walk outside to find Shadow leaning up against his car, parking where I have told him a dozen times not to park.
“You want to explain what the hell is going on?” I question, digging in my pocket for my smokes. A day starting out like this, cigs won’t be enough.
“Jump in the car. I’ll explain on the way there,” Shadow says, exasperated, climbing into the car.
“Don’t fucking park up here like this again. How many times I gotta tell you, boy?” I question him seriously as I get into the car. The sun shining brightly in my damn face, I pull the visor down.
I look over to see if Shadow is going to answer me, but he just drives out of the courtyard.
“You going to tell me why you woke me up, Shadow?” I interrogate.
“Dani and Babs’ attacks are related. They have gotten themselves into some shit and Dani won’t tell me,” Shadow grits out, his hands strangling the steering wheel. My head whips in his direction. So our girls have gotten themselves in this mess. I wonder who they pissed off and who I’m going to have to kill or pay off because of it.
“That one’s stubborn like her momma,” I inform. Dani’s mom was always pulling shit like that on me, feeding bits of important situations, not giving me all the details.
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