Shadow's Dilemma (Wild Kings MC: Dander Falls Book 4)

by Erin Osborne

  “Yes. She’s going to be just fine. Really there’s a multitude of cuts and bruises on her. All the blood was from her falling and hitting her head when she was knocked down. Jennifer is really lucky this time. She’s awake now and Miss Jackson has been in to see her. If everything stays the same, they’ll let her leave in the morning,” she says, closing the folder sitting in front of her finally. “In my honest opinion, I think it would be best if Jennifer moved away from here. It has nothing to do with your club or what you’ve been doing to help her. I think that in order for her to truly be able to move on, she needs a fresh start somewhere new.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more. In fact, I know two men that would agree with you. Do you remember where Renee took that other girl?” I ask, sitting up straight in the chair.

  “I do,” she says, her face holding a hint of surprise and happiness. “There’s another house there for Jennifer and her son?”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be like she had here. I know that two guys have been talking to her since we brought her into the club’s protection. They would take her into their home,” I say, waiting for the judgement to cover her face.

  “Mr. Patrick, I’m not here to judge anyone. If she has a relationship with two men that are willing to take care of her son and her, who am I to deny her that. As long as they’re okay and not in danger anymore, I’ll be fine with whatever arrangements she chooses to live in,” Mrs. Copeland answers, closing the folder and standing up to walk back to the room my girl is in.

  From the way that Mrs. Copeland was talking, I get the feeling that we wouldn’t be getting Wade if she didn’t see Renee help out before. Anyone can see that my girl has a big heart and is willing to help anyone. It’s part of why I love her and what makes her good at her job. She’s not just here for a paycheck; Renee genuinely wants to make sure that everyone gets the help they need. And, there are bad days when a patient doesn’t make it. She brings that shit home and I help her heal from the pain she feels. Not many people are like that these days. They’re only out for themselves and what other people can do to help them.

  I check-in with Renee before going out to the waiting room. We’re going to be leaving soon with Wade so that we can get him home and out of here. Before we leave, I know that we’ll spend some time with Jennifer though. She’ll want to make sure again that her son is fine and there’s no lasting damage from the trauma of the day.

  Gage, Steel, and Trojan have joined Wayne in the waiting room. They stand as soon as they notice me walking toward them. I meet them and give them a run-down of what Mrs. Copeland said so that they know what’s going on. Wayne immediately says that he’ll stay outside of her room to make sure that no one gets to her. Until we know what happened, we can’t say that this wasn’t related to what’s been going on with Renee.

  “I think they’ll be moving her soon. Then we can go in and see her,” I say, informing my brothers that it’s probably just a matter of finding a room for her to stay in.

  “Okay. Wood and Boy Scout are on their way. I’m not sure who’s comin’ with them, but they should be here within the hour,” Gage says, letting me know what I already suspected.

  “Mrs. Copeland knows that Jennifer and Wade will probably be leavin’ with them. She’s good with it. In fact, she thinks it would be best if Jennifer left the area. Maybe she knows more to the story than we do right now,” I tell them, turning to face the door to the back when I hear my name being called. Renee is standing there with Wade still in her arms.

  “Don’t worry about his stuff. The girls are already at the house packin’ it up for you,” Steel says, letting me know why they’re not here.

  “Thank you,” I say, turning away from them so I can go back to my girl.

  “They’re getting ready to move her to a room. Are Wood and Boy Scout here?” she asks as soon as I get to her.

  “Not yet. They’ll be here soon. Can we go talk to her?” I ask, wanting to bring at least Gage back if we can.

  “Yeah. I have the room number,” she answers, trying to change her position so that she’s more comfortable.

  I grab Wade from her and motion for Gage to follow me. It would probably be best if he’s the only one that comes with us right now. It’s going to be chaos as they try to get Jennifer from the emergency room up to a regular room for the night. Especially since they’ll take her vitals and have to give report when she gets on the floor. The rest of the guys can wait for Wood and Boy Scout to get here.

  We walk up to the room she’ll be in and find her already there. The nurses tell us that they’ll be done in a minute. But we need to leave in a few minutes so she can get some rest. Honestly, Jennifer looks like hell. She’s covered in bruises with cuts here and there on her body that we can see. Thankfully I don’t see any casts or anything indicating a broken bone. We’ll get the guy that did this to her and make him pay. Wood hasn’t been able to play when he’s been here yet, but I’ve heard stories about what kind of torture he likes to do. I feel kind of bad for the asshole, but he had no right to do this to a female.

  “Hey honey,” Gage says, his voice soothing as he walks closer to the bed when the nurses leave. “You doin’ okay?”

  “I’ve definitely been better. I’m just glad it wasn’t worse. Please, don’t take this out on Wayne. I didn’t do what he said to do. Or give him a chance to go to the bathroom before we left,” she says, not seeming to care about the damage to herself. “Wade was getting another fever and I ran out of his medicine and the Pedialyte. I wanted to get it before it was out of control.”

  “Okay. I’ve talked to him and I think he’s beatin’ himself up enough. Wayne’s devastated about you gettin’ hurt,” Gage says, sitting down on the chair closest to her as I pass Wade to her. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “As I was walking out of the store, one of my old clients was walking in to go to work. I always hated when he stopped for a ‘date’. But I couldn’t deny him either. So, I tried to act like I didn’t see him. Well, that wasn’t good enough for him. He didn’t care that my son was with me or that I said I wasn’t in the business anymore. The guy dragged me around the corner and tried to get a quickie in. When I fought back, he did this,” Jennifer says, hugging Wade closer to her chest.

  “Why didn’t you like it when he would stop to pick you up?” I ask, needing to know if I’m thinking the right thing.

  “He’s a demented fuck! He likes to torture and hurt the girls that he’s with,” she says, hanging her head down in shame of her past.

  “Don’t!” Gage says, picking her chin up with a finger. “It’s not on you, it’s on him. You were doin’ what you had to for Wade. Now, who is this guy?”

  “Nathan from the grocery store,” she says as Renee looks up and I watch as her face pales.

  I’ve been wanting to get my hands on that douche canoe for a long time now. Renee walks over to me and wraps her arms around me. She needs the strength I’ll gladly give her. To think that she went out with that asshole steals my breath as I think of what could’ve happened to her. Obviously, Nathan needs to be put down. Wood is just the guy to do that. Don’t think I won’t be getting a piece of him first though.

  “Thank you for tellin’ us that. We’ll take care of it. You won’t have to worry about a thing regardin’ him,” Gage says, standing up so that we can leave her to rest for a while. “Wood and Boy Scout will be here in a little bit. I’ll make sure they know where you are.”

  “Thank you. I was wondering if they’d come,” she says as a blush begins to creep up her cheeks.

  “Couldn’t keep ‘em away if we tried darlin’,” I tell her, placing a kiss on the top of her head as Renee takes Wade from her.

  “I’m going to get him to my house so that we can feed him and get him ready for bed,” Renee tells her, not wanting her to feel like we’re taking her son away from her.

  “Thank you so much for taking him for the night. I can’t believe you’d do that for me,” Jennifer respon
ds as tears fill her eyes.

  “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to help you. The same goes for everyone in the club. I have a feeling we won’t be seeing you much when you get released, but my girl Kim will take care of you,” Renee says, reaching out for her hand so that she’s reassured that it’s the truth.

  Boy Scout

  As soon as Gage called to let us know what happened with Jennifer, Wood and I took off. We didn’t wait for anyone else in the club to go with us. It’s our girl that’s lying in a hospital bed, and it’s our girl that won’t be able to see her son for the rest of the night. I hope they find out who did this to her because I’m ready to get my hands dirty.

  The closest I ever came to taking care of business was cleaning up when it was all over. I’m not a prospect anymore though. And, Jennifer is ours. We’ll be the ones to make sure the fucking twatwaffle gets what’s coming to him.

  My thoughts are so focused on Jennifer and Wade that I can’t remember the trip as we pull into the hospital. Wood has parked and is off his bike before I can even park. He’s practically running into the emergency room entrance. Parking next to him, I run in after him, so we can hear what’s going on at the same time.

  I look to the left and see a few guys from the Wild Kings standing up talking to Wood. Gage sees me as he leaves the elevator and walks over to us. He’s the one that’s going to have news on how she’s doing. So, I patiently wait as they calm Wood down before Gage begins to speak.

  “She’s okay. A lot better than what I expected her to be. We know who did this to her. It was an old client that thought he could take what he wanted. Even after she told him her son was with her and she didn’t do that anymore. Apparently, he likes to hurt the girls he’s with. We’re gonna grab him tonight when he leaves work and take him to the clubhouse. You guys can take your piece of him after Shadow gets a piece,” he says, looking between Wood and I when he gets to the last part. “She wants to see you two. And I’ll explain about Shadow later on. Renee and him are takin’ Wade to their house for the night. You can go there to see him. If you need anythin’ let me know.”

  Gage and the rest of the guys leave. Well, except for Wayne. We know what happened and that it’s not exactly his fault. While I don’t like the fact that he didn’t piss outside or something, I’m not gonna beat his ass either. Jennifer is more important, and we need to get to her.

  Wood and I walk up to the room that Wayne told us she was in. He follows us up there and stands outside the door. I guess that he’s going to continue to stand guard and make sure that no one touches her or attempts to get in her room that doesn’t belong there. He’s a good guy and will make a good brother when he gets patched in.

  We walk in the room and my heart falls. Jennifer is lying in a hospital bed and looks like she’s in pain. When she hears the door open, she turns to face us. A small smile breaks out on her face as the two of us walk closer to her.

  “If you wanted to see us that bad, you just had to call us and say somethin’,” Wood says, stepping up beside her. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

  “Funny. I’m glad you both came,” she says, pulling herself up to sit a little higher in the bed. “I’m okay, really.”

  Jennifer is trying to hold her pain back from us. But that’s just not going to work for us. I can see Wood clenching his jaw so hard that I’m surprised we aren’t hearing his teeth shatter. He’s usually a guy that’s up for a good time and having fun when he’s not doing club business. Today, ever since we got the phone call, he’s tense as hell. So am I. I’m just having a better time hiding it from our girl.

  “You know Wade and you are leavin’ here, right?” I ask, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on her swollen lips.

  “I figured as much. It’s sooner than I thought it would happen, but Renee told me I’ll have help there. Her friend is already living there?” she asks, wanting to confirm that she won’t be the only female around.

  “Kim. She’s there with Fox. You’ll meet her when you’re up for it. Boy Scout, you want to head over to Shadow’s in a little while. You can help them out with Wade and I’ll stay with Jennifer. Tomorrow we’ll have that meetin’ before headin’ home,” Wood says, looking at me so I get the meaning of his words.

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll hang out here for a while and then go there,” I answer, sitting down next to our girl so I can spend some time with her before leaving.

  Chapter Twelve

  Shadow

  BOY SCOUT ARRIVED AT THE HOUSE a few hours after we left. Most of his time was spent with Wade. He’s fed him again, changed him, and got him back to sleep with no help from us. I never thought he’d know what he was doing when it came to taking care of babies, but he’s doing just fine. Between the two of them, Jennifer and Wade are gonna be just fine. She won’t know what to do with the two of them.

  “Doc, we gotta head out for a while. I’ll be back as soon as I can. You gonna be okay?” I ask, knowing that it’s time to get that shithead Nathan.

  “Be careful. Love you,” she says, leaning up from the bed to give me a kiss.

  I know she’s gonna be up early in the morning with Wade being here. As I walk out of the room, I run into Boy Scout in the hallway. He’s torn about wanting to stay and wanting to get the piece of shit that hurt his girl. In the end, he decides that getting revenge for Jennifer is more important right now. Renee has Wade and Dylan. There are guys that are going to be left at the clubhouse. And no one can get to our house anyway. Not with the fence going all the way around the property. There’s barbed wired at the top and the back sections are electric. So, if anyone tries to cut through it, they’ll get quite the shock.

  “We’ll be back before you know it. I’m gonna get mine tonight, but the rest is for you and Wood tomorrow. Wade will be fine,” I tell him quietly as we make our way downstairs.

  “I know. I just want to be here for him since I’m not with my girl in the hospital,” he says, pain and anger evident on his face.

  “She’ll be home tomorrow. Renee will visit with her for a little while and then you’ll be on your way home with her. Renee and I will be in the SUV with her while you guys are on the bikes. I need to talk to Kim while we’re there,” I respond, stepping outside and making my way to the van I brought over earlier.

  Boy Scout gets quiet on me as we leave the compound and make our way to the store. That little fucker Nathan should’ve been dealt with before now. With everything else going on, I put him on the back burner. Next time, I won’t make the same mistake. If I had taken him out when I wanted to, Jennifer wouldn’t be laying in a hospital bed right now. Wood and Boy Scout wouldn’t be pissed and upset the way they are. But there’s nothing I can do now except for makeup for that mistake.

  We pull up on the side of the store and I turn off the lights and engine. I don’t want anyone to know that we’re sitting here waiting for Nathan. As far as anyone driving by will think, we’re waiting for the late-night papers to be delivered. That’s the good thing about living here. A lot of the stores get their papers delivered at night. And a few people that deliver to houses pick them up at different stores instead of going all the way to the office. So, we have a cover. Now it’s time to wait until he brings his ass out here to leave.

  The two of us wait for about a half hour before the employees start to leave. I can tell that Boy Scout is getting impatient. He’s squirming in his seat and about ready to jump out of his skin with every sound we hear in the night. I’m hoping that he’s not always like this and can control himself until tomorrow. I don’t want Wood getting even more pissed off because he didn’t get a piece of the douche bag.

  “You good?” I ask, just as I see a lone male walking through the parking lot. Looking closer, I see that it’s Nathan.

  “Yep,” he says, pulling down his mask as I start the engine and make my way toward the dead man walking.

  We get right up next to Nathan and I throw the van in park. The two of us jump out of the
van and race toward him before he can get in his car and lock the doors. Boy Scout grabs him from behind and wraps his arms around him.

  “I don’t know what you want, but you can take all the money I have in my wallet,” Nathan says, as he tries to struggle out of Boy Scout’s hold.

  “We don’t want your fuckin’ money. You’re about to pay for what you’ve done. What you’ve been doin’,” I say, knowing that Wood and Boy Scout aren’t going to be able to do much to the man in front of us. He’s not going to last long enough for us to have any fun.

  “W-w-what a-a-are you talking about?” he asks, reaching in his pocket for something.

  “We’re talkin’ about what you did to my girl. What you wanted to do to his girl. And what you’ve done to countless others,” Boy Scout says, yanking Nathan’s arms back even more.

  There’s no point in trying to talk to this asshole. He’s never going to admit to anything out here where someone can drive by and see us. Nodding my head to Boy Scout, he drags him to the van and throws him inside the back. He can’t get out, but I toss a set of handcuffs in for good measure. I’d rather have him unable to get to either one of us when I’m driving. I watch as he’s handcuffed to the rail running the length of the van.

  The entire drive back to the clubhouse, we had to listen to him alternately pleading for his life, and the vile shit coming out of his mouth. I was honestly ready to pull over and gag him two minutes after we left the store. Boy Scout and I sat up front, not taking our masks off just yet. Instead of pulling over the way I wanted to, I just turned on the radio and kept turning it up when Nathan got louder.

  “Where are you taking me?” he finally asks.

  “The place you’ll take your final breath,” Boy Scout says, not even bothering to turn around as he pulls out a cigarette and lights it.

  I can’t even begin to guess what’s running through his mind right now. Yeah, he wants to get revenge for Jennifer, but there’s something else going on behind his eyes. A storm is brewing, and I can’t wait to see him let loose. We’ve all heard the tales about Wood and how he likes to play games when he’s torturing his victims. No one has ever said a word about Boy Scout though. I’m wondering if this is the first time, he’ll get his hands dirty.