by Erin Osborne
Just as I finish laying out everything we could possibly need for the newest arriving patient, I hear the sirens signaling the arrival of the ambulance. I hope that this is someone not involved with the club. I’m not sure what I’ll do if the person coming in is someone I know. It’s always a possibility when I’m in the ER.
As the stretcher gets rolled in, I see that Killian is the patient. Oh no! My heart drops once again and I can already feel the tears starting to fill my eyes. He’s lying on the stretcher, barely breathing. I can see the burn marks over his body and know that the outcome doesn’t look good at this point. Hopefully I’m wrong and he’s strong enough to pull through.
“Renee, are you okay?” Dr. Montgomery asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Maybe you shouldn’t be here.”
“No. I need to be here. This is just someone I know. Please, help him,” I say, pleading with the doctor to do what he can to save Killian.
We work on him for more than hour. On top of coding twice in the ambulance on the way here, he’s coded multiple times since arriving. Every time I hear the constant beep of the machine, I almost throw up and fresh tears form. Finally, the machine beeps one more time and we can’t bring him back. Killian took his last breath right in front of me. Waddling as fast as I can from the room, I make my way to the locker room. It’s the one place I can be to cry my eyes out before going to let the club know that Killian didn’t make it.
After I pull myself together, I make my way out to the waiting room. It’s packed to capacity with three clubs standing or sitting here. The girls are here, and I look around for Shadow. He sees me before I see him and runs over to me. wrapping his arms around me, he pulls me in close and whispers reassuring words to me.
“What’s the matter baby?” he finally asks, leaning back just far enough so he can look down at my face.
“I-It’s K-Killian,” I say, not being able to utter the rest of the words that I need to. “I tried, I did everything I could to help him. To help Dr. Montgomery help him.”
“Shh! It’s okay baby. Let’s get out of here. You need a break and I can’t be here right now. Let me just tell everyone what happened,” Shadow says, his body going taut with the pain he’s filling at the loss of his friend.
Chapter Sixteen
Shadow
I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT KILLIAN IS GONE. He ran back in after getting Dylan out to make sure that Melissa was out. She was trapped in a room and couldn’t open the door. As soon as he got her out, a pipe burst, and he couldn’t escape the flames that came rushing toward him. Steel and I had just entered the building and I watched the entire scene unfold. We got him out, listening to him scream in pain before passing out when we touched him. It’s something that will be burned into my brain the rest of my life.
Renee, Dylan, and Melissa follow me out to the SUV. I make sure they’re in before heading to my bike. Thoughts of Killian run through my mind as we make our way to the compound. Can’t even say the clubhouse anymore because there’s literally nothing left to it. Eventually we’ll have church to figure out what we’re going to do about it. In the meantime, we’ll figure something out for church.
Part of the reason that I wanted to get out of the hospital was that Renee didn’t need to be working after the last two weeks. She should be home resting and spending time with Dylan. Melissa needs to be out of there too. I’m sure she’s going to want to rest after everything and then figure out what her plans are. She has a job to get back to and a life she left behind to help me when her sister was kidnapped.
The other part is that Slim filled us in on picking up Trenton during all the commotion and chaos. He’s such a dumbfuck that he didn’t even leave our property. He stood right there and watched his handy work. Slim did manage to get that out of him. Trenton rigged the explosion in an attempt to get Renee and Dylan away when everyone was scattered around. What he didn’t count on was his ex-boss having her kidnapped.
When we were in the hospital, waiting on news of anyone back there, we decided that we weren’t going to wait to take our pain and anger out on him. It’s going to be swift revenge for the douche bag that killed Killian and injured members from all three clubs. Once I make sure the girls are settled in at home, I make an excuse to leave and meet everyone else at the shed. Thankfully that wasn’t damaged in the explosions.
When I arrive, I see Gage, Slim, Grim, and a few others standing outside. I can see the pain on their faces before I get close and know that this guy is going to suffer at the hands of three clubs. Multiple men are going to get their hands dirty tonight. I’ll get my hits in first and then stand back and watch. I’m not in the frame of mind to torture this sick fuck. A man that didn’t give a shit about the damage that was going to be caused or if anyone else would get hurt.
“You ready?” Gage asks, noticing me walk up to them.
“Yep,” I answer walking in before anyone else.
Trenton is chained up much the same way that Nathan was. There isn’t a single mark on him as I walk straight up to him. When I’m within reaching distance, Trenton finally looks up with a smirk on his face. He’s pretty fucking proud of what he did. Must be he thinks he’s going to be let go to prance out of here untouched.
“So, you’re Dylan’s dad? A low-life piece of shit that didn’t even want his son. Why come back now? Because Renee and Dylan have someone in their life that takes care of them, loves them, and wants to be there for all the moments good or bad?” I ask, not bothering to hide the anger and rage I feel right now.
“That bitch ain’t nothing but a whore that will spread her legs for anyone. You should see that with all the guys around here that I’m sure have sampled her already,” Trenton spews, a smirk on his face as he taunts me. “I’ve come back for my son. Now that he’s getting older, it’s time for me to take him away from the slut that got knocked up on purpose. I don’t want him to see what a slut is and that’s all he’ll see being with Renee. Plus, I know it will gut that bitch. She thinks she’s too fucking good to be with me. I’m the best fucking thing she ever had and now I’m taking what she loves the most in the world.”
“She hasn’t been with anyone but me since we met. You can think whatever you want to, but you treated her like shit and couldn’t keep your dick in your pants,” I say, deciding that I have nothing more to say to the fucking idiot. “So, it looks like you’re the fuckin’ bitch because you let a good thing go. A girl that would do anythin’ for you, be there for you, and give you more amazin’ kids like Dylan. Now, I get the girl and I get the wonderful fuckin’ son. A son that will grow up to learn what a real man is and how he treats his girl.”
I pull back and let the fury unleash as I rain down hits on him. My first hit lands in his face so I can get him to shut the fuck up. After a few minutes I walk away and let the next guy take my place. Most of them choose to land a few hits and back away. It’s not until Blade gets up there for his turn that things get interesting. He’s not called Blade for no reason.
Blade takes out a bag and pulls out several different size knives. He’s making a big deal of choosing which one he wants to play with first. We all know that he’s going to choose the dullest and rustiest blade he has. It’s his go-to every single time. We all watch as he starts at his face and begins making cuts all over. Trenton, as expected, cries out like the little bitch he is. Blade, however, doesn’t stop until he’s done making hundreds of cuts all over his body.
One right after the other, guys walk up and do whatever pops into their heads when it’s their turn to get their pound of flesh from Trenton. Gage, Slim, Grim, and Cage are the last four to go. It’s already been hours and he’s still hanging up, not having passed out once from the pain he’s being dealt.
Slim steps up and the first thing he does is rub more salt into the wounds Trenton’s been given. Then he slips on the pair of brass knuckles that I’ve used in the ring a time or two. He takes a few hits before walking away. Grim steps up next and uses the pliers to remove his teeth
and nails. There’s really not much left to do to him with all the guys going before him. But I’m sure Cage and Gage will find something to do.
Cage steps up and I see him walk around Trenton before stopping back in front of him. He takes one of Blade’s knives and cuts Trenton’s thighs deep. Once the blood is pouring into a puddle at his feet, Cage steps back. Trenton is starting to fade as his head finally drops down. Gage takes his turn and I watch as my President picks the blow torch up. Instead of starting at his back, he takes it to his chest. It wakes Trenton up enough for his screams of agony to pierce the air. The smell is retched as the smell of his burnt skin permeates the air. It’s almost enough to make us all get sick. But soon Gage turns the torch off before grabbing something off the tray.
“So, you like to blow things up. Not carin’ who’s in there or who could get hurt. Well, let’s see if you like this one,” Gage says, taking a stick of C4 and shoving it straight up his ass. “Since we have to rebuild the clubhouse, we might as well add the torture rooms to the basement this time.”
We all stare at Gage like he lost his damn mind. He tells us to get our asses out of the shed as he begins to unroll the fuse. Every single guy in here runs outside just as Gage stops and takes his lighter out of his pocket. It’s not like we don’t have a valid reason for the shed exploding. All we have to say is that it must be related to the clubhouse explosions.
I stand behind the rest of the guys as we wait for the explosion to occur. It takes a few minutes before it happens. But then there’s a loud boom followed by billows of smoke and fire. The shed falls to the ground and we listen as Trenton screams for the last few seconds of his miserable fucking life. Instead of feeling relieved that he can’t hurt my girl or son anymore, I feel pain. The pain of losing Killian. Even though I didn’t know him for very long, he was going to start prospecting. We had more than one talk about what he wanted out of life. He wanted to be happy, know that others had his back, and find that one person that completed him. He wanted what I found with Renee. Now, he’d never get that chance.
Chapter Seventeen
Renee
IT’S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE I WAS RESCUED BY my man. Two weeks since the clubhouse exploded, and we lost Killian. Shadow and I had a long talk. I explained how I felt like this entire thing was my fault. He immediately took me to everyone and told them what happened. Every single person from Gage all the way down made sure that I knew it wasn’t my fault. Slim and Grim made sure I knew it too. According to them, it happened because a madman decided to come after an innocent female and a little kid.
We buried Killian a week ago and it was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. Sally was a complete wreck. Apparently Killian and her had been spending a lot of time together. All three clubs rode their bikes from the funeral home to the graveyard. The women were in a limo and surrounded by the bikes. Each one of the guys in Shadow’s club stepped up to say something about Killian. There wasn’t a dry eye left by the time my man got done. He’s the one that’s known the fallen young man the longest.
Gwen isn’t staying here. She decided that she was going to go to the motel with the prospects and the club girls. No, she’s definitely not going to become a club girl. She just wanted to give us some space after everything that happened. A few of Slim’s guys are there too. I think that Gwen has a thing for one of them, but she’s so young and doesn’t really know what she wants. Hell, she was kept under Andrews thumb and couldn’t do anything he didn’t tell her to. We’ve decided that she needs to know that Kim is her half-sister. She was shocked to discover that she had any remaining family. According to her dad, everyone died in an accident when she was a baby. Now that she knows about Kim, Gwen wants to get to know her sister and form a relationship with her. I see her moving to Benton Falls so that they can be close.
After the clubhouse exploding, the guys decided that the best way to deal with Senator Andrews was to hand the file over to the cops. They don’t mind getting their hands dirty by any means, but he needs to spend time with the men he employed in a prison environment. Not only that, but I do believe that some guys in there will be told exactly why he’s in jail. See, the good Senator not only sold women, he sold kids too. He’s one sick bastard and I’m glad that Kim walked away from him years ago. From what I hear, he’s currently waiting to go to trial. But, he’s in jail and off the streets. That’s what matters to me.
Now, it’s time for Christmas. Even though we really don’t want to celebrate the holiday right now, we’re going to. Dylan and the rest of the kids don’t understand what’s going on. We have to keep our spirits up for them. So, the houses all got decorated, trees were put up, and now it’s time for Santa to come visit.
We woke up this morning to an exited Dylan. He ran in our room and jumped up on our bed to tell us that Santa had come to see him. Shadow and I got out of bed after being up most of the night. While Dylan was getting more excited about the gifts he got, I was getting more nervous about the gift that was waiting for Shadow. He’s about to find out that we’re going to have twins.
“There’s only two left under there,” Shadow says, getting up from the couch to grab them.
He hands me a large box before sitting down with his gift resting in his lap. “Will you please open yours first?” I ask him, a nervous tremor lacing my voice as I wring my hands together on my lap.
Shadow nods his head before untying the ribbon that I tied to the little box containing a few pictures. He looks up at me before pulling the lid of the box off. When he removes the tissue paper, it takes a second for him to realize what he’s looking at. A smile breaks out on his face. The first one since losing Killian, me getting kidnapped, and everything else that’s been going on.
“We’re havin’ two babies?” he asks, putting the pictures on the couch so he can drag me into his lap. “That’s the news that I’ve needed. Thank you. For everythin’ baby.”
“Well, I distinctly remember you being there to help me make these two,” I say, a smile covering my face before Shadow leans in to kiss me.
We stay locked in one another’s arms for a few minutes, letting the outside world, and all the bad shit that’s been going on. In this moment, it’s just the two of us. Especially when he pushes me away and leans down to kiss my belly. He places a kiss on each side of my swollen and round belly before Dylan comes running up to us. Our son joins our little circle and we spend the next few minutes sitting together and relishing in the peacefulness of the day. At least until we have to leave in a little while to go to Gage and Riley’s house for the club Christmas dinner and party.
Shadow
Renee has made me the happiest man. To think that we created not one, but two babies is a miracle. For the briefest moment I forget about the pain, the anger, and the loss of the last few weeks. Right now, the only people that matter to me are Renee, Dylan, and the babies that Renee is carrying. The club, friends, and everyone outside this house can go to hell right now.
Finally remembering the box that Renee has to open, I hold Dylan in my arms as I scoot away from her so that she has room to open it. She looks at me with a sparkle in her eye. It’s like she’s gone back to Christmas time as a kid. Every new present placed in her hands is a precious gift. It’s a look that I’ll take with me forever.
Renee rips the paper of the box and throws it to the side. Dylan thinks this is hilarious as he claps and laughs, watching the wrapping paper float to the floor. She looks up at me as she lifts the lid off the box and pushes the tissue paper aside. Gasping, she pulls out the rag that I ordered for her a few weeks ago. The back of it boasts our colors with Property of Shadow. On the front has a patch stating her nickname ‘Doc’.
“Thank you, so much,” she says, tears streaming down her face.
“Hey! Are those happy tears?” I ask, wanting to make sure that she’s truly happy with the rag.
“Yes, so happy,” she answers, throwing herself as much as she can between her belly and Dylan at me.
“There’s one more thing you need,” I say, taking the rag out of her hands after sliding Dylan off of my lap. I grab something out of the pocket without her seeing what it is. “Renee, I love you and Dylan so much. You grabbed my attention the very first second, I saw you in the hospital and I couldn’t get away if I wanted to. Will you make me even happier than I already am and marry me?”
For a few minutes, Renee doesn’t say a word. She stares at me like I’ve lost my mind and I start to get even more nervous than I already was. Maybe this isn’t the direction that she saw us heading in. We’ve talked a lot about the future and how we were gonna do what it takes to make our relationship work. But we’ve never mentioned getting married. It’s the one thing that we haven’t talked about.
“Yes!” she finally says, scaring me I was so in my own head.
“Yeah?” I ask, wanting to make sure I heard her correctly.
“Yes!” she repeats herself, sliding off the couch onto the floor in front of me and wrapping her arms around me. “Yes, a million times over.”
After a minute of kissing her senseless, I pull back, so I can see the rag on her. Fuck me! Even if she’s in her pajamas, seeing my name on her back has me hard as a rock. I’m ready to take her back to bed and not come out for a while. But, there’s Dylan to think about and I know that we’ll have plenty of time later on tonight.
“Tonight, I want you to wear nothin’ other than that rag to bed,” I tell her, placing a kiss on her neck before nipping the spot I kissed.
