The Biker's Religion (Rough Riders MC Book 2)

by Shelly Morgan

  Snuggling closer to her, I hold her tighter. “Please wake up, sweetheart. I’m not sure my heart can take much more of this. I need you with me. Please, baby,” I plead with her. Fuck, I’ll plead to God if it would help me.

  I lie there for a while, just holding her. My eyes are closed and all I can imagine is her opening her eyes, seeing me, and then a huge smile overtaking her face before she reaches up and grabs my face, kissing me with everything she has. Like she needs me to live.

  Suddenly, the arm I had laid over my stomach moves. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough that it scares the shit out of me for a second. I wasn’t expecting it. Then, her heart rate starts to jump and her head wobbles against my shoulder.

  Looking down at her as my heart rate skyrockets along with hers, I say, “That’s it, sweetheart. Wake up for me,” I urge, my breathing coming in short pants as if I just ran a marathon.

  She squeezes her eyes tighter and moans, her head moving all the way off my shoulder.

  “Amy. Open your eyes, baby.”

  Please let this be it. This is the most she’s ever moved since I’ve arrived. This has to mean that she’s waking up, it just has to.

  “Ice,” she murmurs, then groans again. I smile because she knows I’m here. But then the smile drops for fear she might be in pain.

  I hit the call button for the nurse. As much as I want this moment to be between us, if she’s hurting, I want to take that away, and the only way I know how is to ask for help. I just hope that they don’t drug her up so she goes back to sleep. What if she slips back in a coma again and this time doesn’t wake up?

  Fuck, I can’t let that happen.

  The nurse rushes in just as I see Amy crack an eye open. “You’re awake,” I whisper, which has both of her eyes now opening and her head slowly moving to look at me.

  She seems lost, like she can’t figure out who I am or where she’s at. The doctor said we wouldn’t know the extent of her brain injury until she woke up. He said she might be confused at first, but then get all of her memories back. Or she may not remember anything. I hope she’s just trying to get her bearings and that her memory isn’t gone. But even if it is, I’ll just have to make her fall for me again. If I could do it a first time, I can do it a second time.

  “I’m going to get the doctor,” the nurse says before leaving the room. Good. I need to know that she’s okay and what happens now that she’s awake.

  “W-what—” Amy begins to say.

  “You were in an accident. You’ve been in a coma for almost two weeks. You’re okay. You’re safe now,” I interrupt in a smooth, soft voice. I smile at her, just happy that she’s finally awake and she came back to me.

  She shakes her head a little, then says, “Who,” she swallows, seeming like she’s having trouble, so I reach over to the table and grab my water from earlier. Giving it to her, I watch her take slow sips.

  “The doctors said you may have some memory problems when you first wake up, but hopefully that will go away. I was hoping he was wrong, but in case you’re feeling a little fuzzy, I’m Ice Man. We met a few months back and became really good friends. But then it turned into more,” I begin to say. This was not the way I wanted to apologize and tell her how I feel about her. If she doesn’t remember what I did in the first place, that changes things. But I’m not going to lie to her, because I was a dick and hurt her.

  After she takes a few more sips, she hands the cup back to me. I place it on the table, then turn to look at her again. But she doesn’t look confused anymore. And not in the way that I cleared things up for her or she’s starting to remember. No, she looks irritated and pissed.

  “I remember the accident. Well, most of it. And I haven’t lost my memory. I know who you are,” she says, looking away from me. “But if my memory serves me right, we aren’t more than friends. Hell, I’m not even sure if we’re friends anymore after the things you said.” She shifts so she’s not touching me, but I try to pull her back to me.

  “Amy, I’m so sorry for everything I said that night. But you have to understand,” I try to explain, but she cuts me off.

  “I don’t need to understand shit,” she seethes, pushing me away from her, literally. I would have fallen off the bed if I hadn’t gotten me feet under me. “I know exactly what happened that night. You got scared and pussied out. Instead of admitting that we had something, or could have something, you decided to throw it all away.”

  Crossing my arms, I start to get upset. Of course she’s right, but that’s not exactly how it went. “Look. I fucked up, okay? I admit that. But if you just let me explain,” I try a different route, thinking maybe it would work out better.

  “I don’t need you to explain anything to me, Ice Man,” she says, now sounding tired, her face falling as she closes her eyes and rubs her head. “What happened with you and your ex tore you up inside and you vowed to never let a woman get that close to you again so you would never feel that kind of pain. I get it, okay. So let’s just call this like we see it, and go our separate ways. You don’t want a relationship, and now I’m thinking I had it right all along as well. Nothing good can come from us being together, so maybe you were right. Let’s just let it go, okay?”

  “No, not okay. Yes, I was scared and what that bitch did to me was horrible. I don’t want to feel that way again, but I also don’t want another day to go by that I don’t have you, Amy. I care about you, more than you know. I realize that now. And I’m sorry for not letting myself see it before, but I want us to be together. Now, forever, for however long you’ll have me for.” I want to tell her I love her, but this is not going well, and I don’t think saying those words to her for the first time under these circumstances will help. She’d probably just throw it back in my face, and that I won’t be able to handle. It’s bad enough she’s pushing me away as it is.

  She quiet for a while, not looking at me. She’s breathing heavily, almost like she’s crying. I don’t know if she’s in pain or if it’s me and this whole situation. “Amy, please. Give me another chance. I want to be with you.”

  Finally, she looks up at me, and a tear falls from her face. “Well, I don’t. So please just leave. Go back to Texas and forget all about us.”

  Shaking my head, I take a step forward. “No. I came here for you and I’m not leaving.” I could never forget about her or the way I feel when I’m with her. My whole world lights up and things don’t seem so cold.

  “You came here because you heard about the accident. And I appreciate your concern, but I’m going to be fine. I accept your apology, but please just go.”

  The nurse walks in with the doctor in tow. He’s an older gentleman with gray hair and large belly. He smiles at us both and looks down at the chart he’s holding in his hands. “Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence,” he jokes. “I’m Dr. Montgomery. How are you feeling, Ms. Worthington?”

  Amy smiles weakly at him, folding her hands in her lap. “A little tired, if you could believe that. And my head hurts,” she answers.

  He nods and comes closer to the bed, laying down the chart and pulling out a small flash light. “That’s understandable. The tiredness will wear off, it’s just your body’s reaction to healing. It’s a lot of work.” He laughs, then turns serious. “As far as the pain goes, that too should start to let up.” He turns the light on and flashes it in her eyes and checking her over as he talks. “And I’m going to get you scheduled for another MRI soon. After we get the results, we can discuss what needs to happen from here. But everything looks good from what I can see. I’ll put in an order to get you something for the pain though.”

  She nods, closing her eyes. “Thanks, Doctor. I’d appreciate that.”

  “Will do. And I’ll get the MRI scheduled right away. We’ll take good care of you, Ms. Worthington. We’re just glad that you’re awake,” the doctor says, then leaves the room with the nurse.

  Amy doesn’t open her eyes even after the door closes. I take a seat in the chair, pul
ling it as close to the bed as I can get it, then, I lean on the bed with my elbows. “Amy, please talk to me. Yell and hit me if you want. But I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.”

  She finally turns to look at me just as the nurse walks in. “Here you go, honey. This will help with the pain, and it will also make you a little sleepy. So just relax and rest. We’ll come in soon to get you for the scan, but you can sleep through it. Then, we’ll bring you back here and let you know when we get the results.” She uses Amy’s IV to administer the pain meds. Then when she’s done, she puts the syringe in the sharps container, checks her vitals, then looks at me. “I know you have been staying here with her through the night, and if she wants you to continue, that will be fine. But for now, maybe you should go take a walk or get something to eat. Let her rest a little. Then we’ll be taking her in for her scan, and you’ll have to wait while we do that, but we will let you know what it shows as soon as we find out and Ms. Worthington tells us it’s okay to share it with you.”

  With that, she leaves the room. I don’t want to leave, but looking at Amy, her eyelids are heavy and I know she’s close to falling asleep again. I just hope that this time, she’ll wake up right away.

  “I’ll let you rest, but I will be back and we will discuss this again. I care about you, Amy, and I want nothing more than to see where this road takes us. I’m all in, sweetheart. Just let me back in,” I tell her, standing up and leaning down to give her a kiss on her soft lips. I can see when it registers in her eyes what I’m about to do, but either she realizes it too late or the drugs are slowing her down, because she doesn’t have time to turn her head, for which I’m glad. I love the way her lips feel on mine and want to savor the taste of her, deepen the kiss, but the nurse is right. She needs to sleep so she can get better.

  When I pull away after a few moments of soaking in all I could from the kiss, I stand up and look down at her. She doesn’t open her eyes but I’m unsure if she’s all the way asleep from the drugs or not. I said I wasn’t going to say it until she was out of the hospital and we were in a better place emotionally, but I can’t help myself. So I lean down once more and this time, kiss her forehead, then whisper, “I love you, Amy. So fucking much. And I’m going to prove it you, even if it kills me.”

  Outside her door, I pull out my phone, heading toward the stairs. Bear picks up on the first ring. “What’s wrong? Is she okay?” he asks in a hurried and concerned voice.

  “She’s fine. And she’s awake,” I tell him.

  “Thank fucking god. Has the doctor been in to see her yet?”

  “Yes. He’s scheduling her for an MRI now but he thinks everything looks good as far as he can tell without seeing the scan. But she was having some pain in her head, so he gave her some pain medicine. She’s resting now since that shit knocked her out cold.”

  “Good. That’s good,” he says, seeming a little distracted. “I have a few things I need to finish up here, shouldn’t take me long. Then I’ll be there.”

  Sighing, I tell him, “The nurses told me to leave for a little bit, said that they would be taking her soon for the MRI and that she needed to rest. So I was wondering if I could use one of the bikes for a little, go out for a ride, clear my head.” I’m not changing my mind or anything, but it’s been a while since I last rode. The open road and wind on my face always helps me figure out what I need to do. Maybe then I’ll be able to make things right with Amy.

  “Yeah, I’ll have Torq bring one over for you. I’m going to call him right now to let Angel know she’s awake. I’m sure she’ll want to head over right now, regardless if the nurses said she needs rest. I don’t think we’d be able to stop her from going.” He laughs at the last part, which makes me smile. Not only is it good to hear him laugh again after all the shit that’s been going on, but I know exactly what he’s talking about when it comes to Angel and Amy. There is no separating those two. I’m actually surprised she didn’t raise hell when they told her she couldn’t stay. Though I’m a lot scarier than she is, and I bet Torq told her it would be better for her to get away a little bit and try to get some sleep. I’m sure she hated it, but she knows she needs to take care of herself so she can be there for Amy. It was the same thing with Amy when Angel was hurt.

  “Thanks,” I say, getting ready to hang up when he stops me. “We need to have a talk soon. About what happens now with our clubs after that shit went down.”

  “Yeah, I hear ya. I’ll stop by the clubhouse later tonight.”

  “It can hold for a few days, but not any longer than that,” he replies.

  “Roger that,” I tell him before hanging up and putting my phone back in my pocket. Hurrying down the stairs, taking two at a time, I make it outside and into the fresh morning air. Torq and Amy will be a little while, but not wanting to miss them when they do show up, I take a seat on the curb a little ways down from the entrance and wait.

  Less than fifteen minutes later, I see Angel pull into the parking lot a few feet away in the car she was driving when we met at Amy’s. I’m not sure if it’s hers or if she’s borrowing it, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s hers. I’m sure Torq talked her into buying it, or hell, he probably bought it for her so she can get to places when she needs to.

  Right behind her is Torq, riding his motorcycle. But instead of parking next to her, he pulls up in front of me. Standing up, I shake his hand when he takes his helmet off and gets off the bike.

  “How she doin’?” he asks just as Angel makes her way over to us hurriedly. I’m sure she’s just itching to get upstairs and see her friend.

  “She’s good. She said she was tired and her head hurt, so the doctor ordered some pain meds, so she might be out of it when you get up there. And they’re getting ready to take her back soon for an MRI to make sure everything is okay,” I tell them.

  “Are they concerned about something? Is that why they’re doing the MRI?” Angel asks, her face falling from happiness that her friend is awake, to concern and fear that her friend may still not be out of the woods yet.

  “No, they aren’t concerned. At least, not that they said. They are just doing the check to be sure everything is as it should be,” I reassure her, but even I’m a little concerned. What if they find something else during the scan? What if they can’t fix it? But I don’t let any of that show.

  “Oh, okay,” she says, still not back to the pure joy she had when she arrived, but I think I placated her until the doctor can talk to them.

  “Did Bear talk to you about possibly let me borrow a bike? Was thinking of going for a ride, letting you guys spend some time with her.” I don’t want to tell them that she kicked me out. It will just make it more real. I’m just going to go with the excuse that the nurse said it would be a good idea for me to step out for a bit, let her rest.

  “Yeah. You can ride mine,” Torq says, handing me his keys.

  I’m a little shocked that he’s going to let me ride his baby. Usually a man’s bike is sacred and only in emergencies is it okay to ride another man’s bike. That’s why most clubs have spares, in case shit happens and you need a loaner for a bit.

  “Oh, damn, okay. Thanks, brother,” I tell him.

  “Just be careful with her, will ya? She’s precious,” he jokes, but that has Angel crossing her arms and glaring at him.

  “Precious, huh? And what am I, chop suey?” She looks pissed, but I think she’s just playing with him. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to read her.

  Torq just laughs, pulling her into him. “Aw, come on, babe. You’re my Angel. You mean way more to me than my bike does.”

  She smiles, seeming to let it go. “That’s what I thought. Now, I’m going to head up there. I’ll see you in a bit,” she says, standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek, then she rolls forward on her little scooter. Her leg isn’t one hundred percent yet, but she’s getting there. I think in a few weeks she has another appointment, and I know she’s hoping to get rid of the damn thing, even though I think sometimes
she has way too much fun on that thing.

  Torq watches her walk inside, making sure she gets in without trouble. Then, he turns to me. “So what’s really going on, brother?”

  Huffing, I tell him. “She’s not making it easy to apologize for the shit I said back in Texas. I know I fucked up, man, and I want to fix it. I just don’t know how or if she’ll let me.”

  “Just don’t let up, all right? I know she cares about you, and I’m starting to understand you feel for her too. One thing I learned with my Angel was that I had to keep at her, never letting up. That way she knew I was in it for keeps. Words sometimes aren’t enough with women, man, you gotta show ’em.”

  I nod, already knowing he’s right. And I already planned on doing just that, but for some reason, hearing him confirm my plan and his support makes me feel better.

  “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. And thanks for the loaner. I’ll be real careful, treat her like my own. I’ll call you later and figure out where you want to meet up to pick her back up,” I tell him, then get on the bike, rev it up, and peel out of the parking lot. I see him scowling in the side mirrors, which just makes me laugh. I said I’d treat her like my own, and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.

  CHAPTER

  SIXTEEN

  Amy

  The past few hours have been a blur. After waking up to Ice Man lying in bed with me, I was thrown for a loop. Add to that just waking up from a coma that lasted almost two weeks, my head killing me from a brain injury, and then the whirlwind of everything that Ice Man said, being thrown for a loop might even be an understatement.